An Ocean to Cross: Daring the Atlantic, Claiming a New Life

by Liz Fordred

Book Overview

Premanently crippled in a fall from a horse, Liz Fordred refused to accept the limitations assumed for her in the Rhodesia of the late 1970s. She met and eventually married an equally (if more quietly... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071355049
• ISBN13: 9780071355049
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: International Marine Publishing
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Nothing Is Impossible! Liz and Pete live it.

From www.creativewordco.comWe all can get bogged down in our shortcomings and faults and then begin to mentally--and physically shut down. When this happens, I like to read about people like Pete and Liz Fordred--then I begin to remember that "impossible" and "possible" are states of mind. I met them last weekend (10/18/03) at the "Abilities Expo" while researching options for an exciting project for paraplegics called Eaglewings. ed.Don't say, "You can't" to Liz Fordred, or her husband Pete. Paralyzed in her teens, Liz met Pete Fordred through her work at the same Rhodesian hospital where she had been nursed back to life. Pete was in a rollover at age 19, and some thought his career as an electrician would be over. Not Pete, and not Liz. Shortly after they were married, they hit upon an idea: Why not build a sailboat? Why not learn to sail? And why not sail the boat across the Atlantic?"Many people thought they were daft and told them so. (There were no wheelchair ramps, let alone awareness of paraplegics' true capabilities in the late 70s in landlocked Rhodesia, which later became Zimbabwe.) With their families' amazing support, they built a boat from a concrete form in a huge hole in Mum's flower bed. The amazing couple worked day jobs and built every square inch of their boat at night and on weekends, using borrowed tools and improvized parts. The part that amazed me in the detailed and often humorous narrative is the sheer willpower it takes to haul, grind, position, and weld heavy parts with only a wheelchair or arms for mobility. Moreover, the fiercest obstacles they overcame were not debt, bureaucracy, illness, lack of experience, or tropical storms. It was doubt and derision. Yet they overcame all these--especially the last, with wit and a will to show that disability is only the state of mind of those who think the disabled cannot do what others can. Read Liz's book--it will strengthen your resolve to cross the Ocean only you know you must cross. (For more inspiration, learn about one paraplegic man's amazing invention, "Eaglewings," which allows paralyzed people the ability to traverse long distances with a handcycle that attaches to one's wheelchair. With no need to transfer to a separate vehicle, bruises leading to pressure sores are eliminated.

Amazing.

A story about two novice sailors building a boat and sailing across the Atlantic Ocean is interesting. When you consider that these sailors undertook this journey with the physical limitations they had, the story becomes amazing. Even though I know nothing about sailing, the author wrote with such humor and intelligence that I was kept enthralled through the entire book.

Quiet Hero...

Dear Reader, I first met Liz and Pete Fordred just after they had completed their epic journey across the North and South Atlantic Oceans to America as told in her book: An Ocean to Cross. You couldn't meet two finer, capable people with a great story to tell! Liz personally taught me celestial navigation as well as (Pete) rebuilding the engine on my sailboat ( a center cockpit ketch) in Fort Lauderdale! I've personally been on their boat, the Usikusiku [Say:'U-see-ku;see-ku'(dawn's light) They are adventures, marine architects, builders, sailors, and now Liz adds 'writer' to her many talents. If you are looking for adventure and inspiration wrapped up in a real life story, then get comfortable in you armchair and listen as a master mariner tell how (extra)ordinary people become quiet heroes....two if by sea... ...with grace and a touch of class... Sincerely, Phil Foley, Altus, America

Amazing Courage!

Once I started reading, I didn't put it down until I had finished it. This is a truly wonderful book that left me feeling inspired and ready to do whatever it takes to reach my goals.Thank you Liz and Pete for sharing your wonderful story!

Impossible? That's what you think!

2 disabled people in wheelchairs build a boat in a land locked country, truck it to the ocean and sail to America by themselves. What an inspiration to anyone who thinks they can do the impossible. I couldn't put the book down. Wonderful tale, would make a great movie.