Water Sports

A Book of Kells recalls the lives of John Kell and Kathleen Ward who meet in 1917 when he is a Canadian sailor stationed in Portsmouth, England. Her father, a Methodist Sunday School teacher, brings him home for tea. Kathleen’s sister writes to Jack until she gets married in 1924 and Kathleen takes up the correspondence. Meanwhile, Jack has been getting an education and has spent a year as a student minister on a Cree mission field where he plans to return for another five years. When he gets Kathleen’s letter it is like manna from heaven. The courtship is awkward and tumultuous. She asks him to come over for another look but, when he does, she rebuffs him. However, they agree to give themselves a year to reconsider. Seventy-two letters get through, even though the Indian reserve is cut off from civilization for six months of the year. They marry in 1927, she goes up to Oxford House by canoe along the old fur trade route, and she treks for five days by horse-drawn toboggan in mid-winter to give birth to a baby. When I enter the picture during the Great Depression, a stressed-out minister’s wife and three little girls are crammed into a duplex on a working-class street in Toronto. We’re working our hearts out as little "examples," trying to help Father. In later years, I discovered an emotional toll to pay. I couldn’t sit through a church service without breaking into unrestrained weeping. My teen-age and college years were full of turmoil. What seemed to be the fundamental problem was that I had been trained to put away my ego in favor of redeeming my soul. Still, religion was a great strength, protecting our family from tendencies towards alcoholism and mental illness. I struggle desperately to avoid the pitfall of black sheep, which seemed inevitable for the youngest of three "perfect" minister’s daughters. The name of this family voyage recalls the famous ninth-century gospel manuscript illuminated by monks.

This is the greatest account of bold manhood in maritime history.This is the true story of the RMS Titanic as told by the people who knew.

One enemy spy knows the secret of the Allies' greatest deception, a brilliant aristocrat and ruthless assassin - code name: "The Needle" - who holds the key to the ultimate Nazi victory. Only one person stands in his way: a lonely Englishwoman on an isolated island, who is coming to love the killer who has mysteriously entered her life. Ken Follett's unsurpassed and unforgettable masterwork of suspense, intrigue, and dangerous machinations of the human heart.

Boating on the Strait of Georgia from Jervis Inlet to north of Desolation Sound. Survival off the grid in coastal British Columbia, where mountains drop into the sea and people practice self-reliance and a different sense of purpose. Destinations on the Strait of Georgia that can be reached by boat, bicylcle, and all-terrain vehicle. Sea kayaking in the Gulf Islands. Contrarian views of the people and places of coastal British Columbia. Includes extensive photos and regional maps.

They say Bethany Hamilton has saltwater in her veins. How else could one explain the passion that drives her to surf? How else could one explain that nothing—not even the loss of her arm—could come between her and the waves? That Halloween morning in Kauai, Hawaii, Bethany responded to the shark’s stealth attack with the calm of a girl with God on her side. Pushing pain and panic aside, she began to paddle with one arm, focusing on a single thought: “Get to the beach....” And when the first thing Bethany wanted to know after surgery was “When can I surf again?” it became clear that her spirit and determination were part of a greater story—a tale of courage and faith that this soft-spoken girl would come to share with the world.

Soul Surfer is a moving account of Bethany’s life as a young surfer, her recovery after the attack, the adjustments she’s made to her unique surfing style, her unprecedented bid for a top showing in the World Surfing Championships, and, most fundamentally, her belief in God. It is a story of girl power and spiritual grit that shows the body is no more essential to surfing—perhaps even less so—than the soul.

Book #1 ~ Scenic Route to Paradise
It’s not Mavericks but a magical beach town and surfer’s maven south of Cape Hatteras.
Adventure, redemption and a Christian romance make for a fun and edgy read.
Toni’s story could be anyone’s if you’re a 50 year old widow who is persuaded to teach a young prince to surf. There is a problem in that her deceased husband although a one time surf professional was never able to get Toni up on her board…
Reality merges with the realm of faith and an almost-could-be story of a nanny turned surf coach.
Toni Merriweather, almost 50 years old and recently returned from the mission field takes a job as a nanny to make ends meet. When her employers find out she is widow to an ex-professional surfer, her job description shifts to the older step son who desires to surf before he steps into the rigors of learning to be king of a small island nation in the Adriatic Sea.
Besides, Mishael (Mish-ay-el) and his Bosnian bodyguard, there is the elderly cousin Hugh who are visiting America and staying the summer at the beach house in a small surf town south of Cape Hatteras. Rather than nanny, Toni becomes a “companion of sorts” and surf coach to Mishael. Always the missionary, Toni labors to bring the three men to Christ before the summer ends.
In the meantime, the grandmother of the prince’s half sister connives to have Mishael disqualified to inherit the throne. Her schemes involve Cousin Hugh and threaten not only Mishael, the future king but also, Toni.
The story begins in Santa Fe, New Mexico and begins again on D’Almata in the Adriatic Sea.