The Borealis; A True Story About Living Aboard While Restoring A 90 Year Old Wood Boat

460 pages, 75 illustrations

The saga recounts the humorous but richly informative true story of the restoration of a recalcitrant and irascible antique Alden sailboat known as the Borealis. The narrative shadows (at a discrete distance, of course) Jinna, Lonnie and the Borealis throughout the three decade "Battle of the Borealis".

Written in the vein of "The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float" by one of Jinna’s and Lonnie’s favourite authors, Farley Mowat, the tale doc*ments the precipitously steep but nevertheless agonizingly long learning curve "travelled" by these two first time boat owners.

As the young (but rapidly aging) couple grapples (sort of) with the day to day tragedies dealt to them courtesy of the Borealis, they metamorphose from neophytes incapable of nailing two boards together to expert boatbuilders. Necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention. The Borey was definitely a "mother" of a boat.

Beginning with Lonnie’s purchase of the obscenely overpriced, decrepit and totally unsound vessel in Fort Lauderdale, the story portrays the two aspiring world circ*mnavigators as they struggle to finance their folly working as musicians in South Florida, the Keys and anywhere else they could find a cruise ship, nightclub, bar or restaurant desperate enough to hire them. Finally they end up… still living aboard their squalid old tub… on the furthest fringes of the Indiantown Marina in Indiantown Florida.

There, hidden securely in the maiden cane under an appropriately ancient live oak tree to avoid offending the public (and being found by debt collectors) they squander more than three years rebuilding and cold moulding their rickety, repugnant hulk of a vessel. With no electricity, no running water and no real hope of success… unless arriving at their graves could somehow be construed as success… Lonnie and Jinna finally hammer out a cease fire with the boat. The Borey is re-launched… sort of like The Prisoner of Chillon regaining his freedom.

It is said that pathos begets humour and this story certainly proves the claim. The story also demonstrates one can live out one’s dream even if it is a nightmare. Let’s face it… if these two can successfully restore a boat which should have become an artificial reef… you can too.

Here is a short biography:

Author, entertainer and lecturer Lonnie Dee Robertson has just published his latest book The Borealis. A true story about living aboard while restoring a 90 year old wood boat. The book is available in both print and eBook at Amazon.com and on Lonnie and Jinna’s website. Lonnie's numerous articles, essays and stories have been published in newspapers, magazines and on the web.

Lonnie was born and raised in Liberia, West Africa, educated in Europe and graduated from college and graduate school in the USA.

Lonnie and Jinna, professional musicians, perform as the musical duo TropiCelts! Specializing in Celtic and sea songs but performing all genres of music, they have performed ashore worldwide and on 15 cruise ships. They have appeared on numerous television and radio programmes. Jinna Jean Robertson has just completed her newest book Living Aboard With Eight Chihuahuas soon to be available at Amazon.com. and on the website.

Lonnie and Jinna currently live and cruise aboard their trawler M/V Margaret Ashton with their crew of eight energetic Chihuahuas.

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