Black Wave: A Family's Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them
by John Silverwood, Jean Silverwood (Author)
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Successful businessman John Silverwood and his wife, Jean, both experienced sailors, decided the time was right to give their four children a taste of thrilling life on the high seas. And indeed their journey aboard the fifty-five-foot catamaran Emerald Jane would have many extraordinary and profound moments...Yet rather than flourishing amid the new freedoms and responsibilities thrust upon them, the children were sometimes confused, frightened, resentful. John's dream trip that began on show more Long Island Sound ended almost two years later as a nightmare in treacherous waters off a remote atoll in French Polynesia, where, in an explosion of awesome violence, the terrifying brunt of the ocean's anger fell upon the Emerald Jane--From publisher description. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
True stories can just as exciting as fictional ones, as this riveting tale of a family's survival at sea illustrates. John and Jean Silverwood decided that a sailing trip was just what their family needed, as a way to give their children an education in what is really important, and a way to rejuvenate themselves and their marriage. They faced challenges they never imagined, the biggest of which was the wreck of their sailing craft upon a reef. In the aftermath John's leg was nearly severed when the mast collapsed on it and the entire family is left stranded on a coral reef fighting for their survival. The first part of the book is the tale of this incredible night when the Silverwood's faced the fight of their lives, interspersed with show more the stories of what led them up to that point. The second part of the book switches from Jean's point of view to John's where he tells about his post-accident recovery and the story of a previous ship that wrecked on the same reef. I enjoyed the first part more than the second as there was a lot more suspense since I kept wondering how in the world the father was going to survive. Their family dynamics were easy to relate to as well, as Jean was good about not sugar coating the tough times they went through with John's alcoholism. Definitely give this one a listen for a true life, thrilling adventure and uplifting story of family togetherness. show less
People doing things that I can’t even fathom have always fascinated me. I couldn’t put this book down. Having just raised two teen aged children myself, I couldn’t begin to imagine how this family coped for two years on a boat. Throw in a shipwreck far from any major land mass and I was hooked.
Jean Silverwood’s description of her family’s harrowing survival of the shipwreck made me feel like I was right there going through it with them. It definitely gives you a new perspective on what’s important in life. You learn from her account that sailing in paradise isn’t always a bed of roses and that you must learn to go where the wind takes you.
Jean Silverwood’s description of her family’s harrowing survival of the shipwreck made me feel like I was right there going through it with them. It definitely gives you a new perspective on what’s important in life. You learn from her account that sailing in paradise isn’t always a bed of roses and that you must learn to go where the wind takes you.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.A breezy, exciting tale of adventure and survival, Black Wave is the story of a married couple from California who took their four children on an extended sabbatical at sea aboard their 50-plus foot catamaran. The book is written by the Silverwoods with (what I suspect to be considerable) help from established writer Malcolm McConnell. The first part of their story, related by Jean (the wife/mother) cleverly interweaves the major plot line (their cat's wreck against a reef in the Pacific) with more minor adventures (including pirate encounters!) and family dramas that took place along their voyage.
John (the husband/father) narrates the second part, which is largely the history of an 1855 ship wreck on the same reef, occasionally show more contrasting the story of his own fight for survival. Like getting two adventure stories for the price of one, I personally was fascinated by the wreck of yore.
My eyes rolled more than once throughout the couple of pages John devotes to sharing (and I got the impression that the sharing was quite important to him) details of his intimacies with Jean during their journey. This is my biggest criticism in a book where I was somewhat expecting not to like or sympathize with the protagonists (attractive, well-off Californians.) My expectations were unfounded, and the book proved a worthwhile maritime yarn. Heavily featuring the Silverwoods two capable and even heroic teen aged children, I would recommend the book for restless teens, as well as armchair adventurers and salty types. show less
John (the husband/father) narrates the second part, which is largely the history of an 1855 ship wreck on the same reef, occasionally show more contrasting the story of his own fight for survival. Like getting two adventure stories for the price of one, I personally was fascinated by the wreck of yore.
My eyes rolled more than once throughout the couple of pages John devotes to sharing (and I got the impression that the sharing was quite important to him) details of his intimacies with Jean during their journey. This is my biggest criticism in a book where I was somewhat expecting not to like or sympathize with the protagonists (attractive, well-off Californians.) My expectations were unfounded, and the book proved a worthwhile maritime yarn. Heavily featuring the Silverwoods two capable and even heroic teen aged children, I would recommend the book for restless teens, as well as armchair adventurers and salty types. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.I read Black Wave in one sitting.
It is the story of a family of six on a two-year, two-ocean voyage on board the Emerald Jane, a fifty-five foot long catamaran. But this book does not read like a logbook. In telling their story, the authors, or maybe I should say the survivors, focus on the details about the voyage that act as anchors for the emotional threads of their story.
The book begins with Jean Silverwood's retelling of the night when the Emerald Jane wrecked on a coral reef in the south Pacific. The boat was breaking up around them and John was pinned to the deck by the broken mast, leg almost severed, near death from loss of blood. That night technology first endangered them by guiding them onto a reef and then saved them by show more sending signals from their distress beacon to a satellite that forwarded the signal to Australia and to California.
Through Part I of the book, Jean moves from details of the wreck through emotional links to the past to touch on the sources of the courage and heroism of her four children, Ben age 16, Amelia age 14, Jack age 9, and Camille age 5. She also tells how and why she and her husband, John, decided to uproot their family for life on a boat, sailing from Long Island, New York, through the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, and the Pacific. Her narrative ends with the arrival of rescue.
In Part II John tells of waking in a hospital in Tahiti and picks up the narrative of their rescue by paralleling the Emerald Jane's wreck with the wreck of the ship Julia Ann, which went aground on the same reef in 1855. John’s narrative, too, is an emotional map rather than chronological narrative. When John describes what happened to himself in that wreck and its aftermath, he says, “I went through a door and I came out on the other side, quite changed.”
At the end of her section, Jean answers, as she calls it, the big question: Was it worth it? Yes.
Is this book worth reading? Oh, yes. show less
It is the story of a family of six on a two-year, two-ocean voyage on board the Emerald Jane, a fifty-five foot long catamaran. But this book does not read like a logbook. In telling their story, the authors, or maybe I should say the survivors, focus on the details about the voyage that act as anchors for the emotional threads of their story.
The book begins with Jean Silverwood's retelling of the night when the Emerald Jane wrecked on a coral reef in the south Pacific. The boat was breaking up around them and John was pinned to the deck by the broken mast, leg almost severed, near death from loss of blood. That night technology first endangered them by guiding them onto a reef and then saved them by show more sending signals from their distress beacon to a satellite that forwarded the signal to Australia and to California.
Through Part I of the book, Jean moves from details of the wreck through emotional links to the past to touch on the sources of the courage and heroism of her four children, Ben age 16, Amelia age 14, Jack age 9, and Camille age 5. She also tells how and why she and her husband, John, decided to uproot their family for life on a boat, sailing from Long Island, New York, through the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, and the Pacific. Her narrative ends with the arrival of rescue.
In Part II John tells of waking in a hospital in Tahiti and picks up the narrative of their rescue by paralleling the Emerald Jane's wreck with the wreck of the ship Julia Ann, which went aground on the same reef in 1855. John’s narrative, too, is an emotional map rather than chronological narrative. When John describes what happened to himself in that wreck and its aftermath, he says, “I went through a door and I came out on the other side, quite changed.”
At the end of her section, Jean answers, as she calls it, the big question: Was it worth it? Yes.
Is this book worth reading? Oh, yes. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Black Wave combines true-life adventure on the high seas with an intimate portrait of family life under stress. Jean Silverwood does a great job maintaining suspense, as she intersperses the harrowing survival story with character-revealing flashbacks. Her unflinching honesty proves the courage shown during the shipwreck. Jean had my heart racing and a few tears flowing.
I also enjoyed her husband John's more analytic reflection in 'Book II.' He provides a fascinating historical comparison to another shipwreck - on the very same reef - in 1855. While not the page-turner of Book I, this account provides context for an equally intimate window onto his examination of conscience: How could I have lead my family into this crisis? We're also show more privy to his wrenching search for redemption amidst human limitation.
This is a generous book, and a great read! show less
I also enjoyed her husband John's more analytic reflection in 'Book II.' He provides a fascinating historical comparison to another shipwreck - on the very same reef - in 1855. While not the page-turner of Book I, this account provides context for an equally intimate window onto his examination of conscience: How could I have lead my family into this crisis? We're also show more privy to his wrenching search for redemption amidst human limitation.
This is a generous book, and a great read! show less
Jean and John Silverwood wrote a book chronicling their adventure at sea with their children. Of course, if a novel was written about their story, disaster had to strike.
The book starts off with Jean's perspective of the events that happened that year. you understand the disaster early on, and she peppers the narrative with flashbacks and vignettes. Initially, I was concerned that this sort of story telling would irritate me, but I found it to be a wonderful distraction of sorts to the events unfolding in the story arc.
Jean's portion of the story was enough for me. I felt that her husband's voice was not as sincere or even as interesting, and sometimes it struck me as rather preachy. Yes, the man went through a major trauma at sea. Yes, show more it changed his entire life and his outlook. However, I did not like the tone of his narrative. It seemed more add on, almost an afterthought to Jean's story. It almost seems as if he felt he needed to get his two cents in and hurried up and jotted down his thoughts. Perhaps John's narrative would have been better situated within his wife's story.
I'd also be interested in hearing the children's point of view on the situation. How are they coping now? What did they come to realize while they watched their parents and elder sibling struggle?
In short: Great story, poor structure, great writing on Jean's part. show less
The book starts off with Jean's perspective of the events that happened that year. you understand the disaster early on, and she peppers the narrative with flashbacks and vignettes. Initially, I was concerned that this sort of story telling would irritate me, but I found it to be a wonderful distraction of sorts to the events unfolding in the story arc.
Jean's portion of the story was enough for me. I felt that her husband's voice was not as sincere or even as interesting, and sometimes it struck me as rather preachy. Yes, the man went through a major trauma at sea. Yes, show more it changed his entire life and his outlook. However, I did not like the tone of his narrative. It seemed more add on, almost an afterthought to Jean's story. It almost seems as if he felt he needed to get his two cents in and hurried up and jotted down his thoughts. Perhaps John's narrative would have been better situated within his wife's story.
I'd also be interested in hearing the children's point of view on the situation. How are they coping now? What did they come to realize while they watched their parents and elder sibling struggle?
In short: Great story, poor structure, great writing on Jean's part. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.I had to wait until this book actually came into the bookstore. I wanted to see the pictures that always accompany these types of personal stories. I read the book twice, trying to pinpoint my feelings and opinions about the events that, indeed, appear true and as far as I can tell, accurate. I decided that this family is somewhat nuts, and the parents are to blame. Dragging their four children (two of which were very young) into a lifestyle of countless inevitable dangers. This just baffles me. Jean and John seem very proud of their accomplishments. I see them as totally blind to the fact that they purposely inflicted years of emotional turmoil (and YEARS of therapy ) for their 4 children, especially the 2 youngest. It breaks my heart. show more The pictures in the book proved to me that these 2 small children will have decades of emotional conflict as a result of their parents' ridiculous notions. The haunting look on their faces was the last straw for me. I cannot believe that these people were not charged with some form of child endangerment. They damn well should be. Had these accounts excluded their children, and it was two grown adults embarking on this "adventure" I would have a completely different outlook. I cannot applaud two parents who would SELFISHLY and carelessly put their own children into this lifestyle. Unforgivable. Stupid, stupid, stupid. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Members
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- Original publication date
- 2008-07-01
- People/Characters
- John Silverwood; Jean Silverwood; Ben Silverwood; Amelia Silverwood; Jack Silverwood; Camille Silverwood
- Epigraph
- A great rolling sea,dashing high up against the reeling ship's high tetering side,stove in the ship's bottom at the stern, and left again, all dripping through like a sieve.
"Bad work, bad work, Mr. Starbuck" said Stub... (show all)b, regarding the wreck, but the sea will have it's way,Stubb, for one, can't fight it. You see, Mr. Starbuck, a wave has such a great long start before it leaps, all round the world it runs, and the comes the spring! But as for me, all the start I have to meet it, is just across this deck here.'
-- Herman Melville, MOBY DICK - Dedication
- With love and graditude, to our parents,Albert, Jane, John and Patricia, and four children, Ben, Amelia, Jack and Camilie.
- First words
- In the same hour that the Emerald Jane was approaching Scilly Island in the South Pacific, my sister-in-law was alone in her New York home.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It's all around us.
- Blurbers
- Cussler, Clive; Woodruff, Lee
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Travel, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 910.91649 — History & geography Geography & travel modified standard subdivisions of Geography and travel Explorers & Travelers Geography of and travel in areas, regions, places in general Air And Water Pacific Ocean
- LCC
- G530 .S5755 — Geography, Anthropology and Recreation Geography (General) Adventures, shipwrecks, buried treasure, etc.
- BISAC
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- Reviews
- 55
- Rating
- (3.33)
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- English
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- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
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