Sea Fever by Sarah Mason

Erica 'Inky' has but one dream and that is to sail in the America's Cup for Britain. This is something that is most definitely easier said than done as she has to compete against old superstitions and prejudices about women on boats etc. And her fellow dreamers also need to battle against people determined to see them all fail. People sharing your world are not always the friendliest.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

I was so excited when I got my hands on this one as I had been so totally won over by the previous ones by Sarah Mason (this and this). But. Sea Fever is quite different to the other 2 and not in a bad way - not at all. Whereas they others are very laugh out loud funny and charming this is more thought out and you can tell there are hours and hours of research behind it. The characters are so nicely captured and I loved every single page of it.

If you don't know anything about sailing, then you will by the end of it. It's not "in your face" information, you want to know more about this different world as the story moves along and you just suck it all up. It's not just about Inky but about everyone who has the same dream as her and they're all fighting on more than one front - they're outsiders and a joke to many but their determination takes them closer to their goal, one step at a time.

In ways it reminds me of Jilly Cooper*, Sarah Mason has chosen a surrounding that is not every reader's familiar milieu but it becomes something you want to be a part of. Albeit Sarah Mason is a bit lighter on the rude-ish language...

Like I said, it's a really good book and my dream of learning how to sail is stronger than ever before!



*Riders - showjumping world, Appassionata - classical music/orchestra world etc etc