As Long as It's Fun, the Epic Voyages and Extraordinary Times of Lin and Larry Pardey

Herb McCormick has done a remarkable job with this double biography. I went in with a normal healthy dose of skepticism, expecting it might turn out to be a typical "buddy bio," where the author has a friendly agenda and sings the praises of his old pals, glossing over the defects in the wood. I was immediately impressed, however, when he did two things that I really respect in storytelling: first, he opened in medias res with a real collar-grabber. Second, he did it using an episode not only foaming with peril but also seething with complex, long-standing, and multi-layered personal conflict. OK, I thought, settling in and getting comfortable, this is going to be an interesting read.McCormick tackles the topic with a comfortable degree of detached objectivity. Although the tone skews favorably overall -- it's certainly not a hatchet job -- in no way does he avoid the warts, disputes, embarrassments, regrets, and sensitive spots. I had recently started reading High Endeavors: The Extraordinary Life and Adventures of Miles & Beryl Smeeton by Miles Clark, and although As Long As It's Fun takes place in a later age, the similarities provided a curious counterpoint and a sharp relief. Unlike High Endeavors, McCormick is writing about people who are still alive . . . an undertaking that demands a certain level of delicacy. The occasional euphemism or wink is to be forgiven.I happened to consume most of this book while sitting at a dockside bar, with the St. Petersburg Yacht Club to my right and Vinoy Basin to my left. It was amusing to glance up from the text and see cruisers and racers coming and going while I sat there with my book and my glass of Malbec, the sun setting behind me. Aside from the proliferation of solar panels, wind turbines and radar installations (and the percentage of fiberglass hulls), not that much has changed since the 70s and 80s, the period in which most of the action of As Long As It's Fun occurs.For anyone not remotely involved with the world of sailing, I should explain that Lin and Larry Pardey (universally known as "Lin & Larry") are huge names familiar to all cruisers and most aspiring or would-be cruisers. (In this sense, the term "cruisers" refers to people who use a small sailboat to travel. It has nothing to do with giant luxury ships, nor does it have anything to do with 80s movies involving someone named Eddie.) Like all huge names, they are controversial. If you are involved in sailing, especially cruising, then you have probably already formed a strong opinion about them one way or the other.The funny thing about being a celebrity is that people feel like they know you. I certainly feel like I know Lin & Larry. I've devoured their books, I've watched their DVDs, I've combed through their magazine articles. If I bumped into them in Annapolis or San Diego, I'd feel an impulse to rush up to them and give them a hug, shouting, "Lin! Larry! How are you?" like they were a couple of weird, crazy friends I've been hanging around with for years. They, of course, would have no idea who the hell I am. Trying to balance staying amicable and available to their many fans and supporters while trying to get things DONE, dammit, has been a struggle for them ever since the blessing and curse of fame and success found them. (At one point, Larry resorted to putting up a sign outside their property in Bull Canyon, where they were building their second boat, asking admirers and advice-seekers to please limit their visits to outside normal working hours.)After the rip-roaring prologue, McCormick begins his account by telling two separate stories -- one about Mary Lin Zatkin (born 1944) and another about Lawrence Pardey (born 1939). The stories continue in parallel until they merge in 1965. From there, McCormick takes us around the world with the couple (twice) as they figure out, largely by trial and error, how to sail away together and make wandering the planet by sea a semi-permanent way of life. Humorous and outlandish anecdotes pepper every segment of the journey. (I am especially fond of the one about the fine china and the traditional Maori war dance.)This is a book filled with larger-than-life personalities, living legends, dead legends, oversized egos, questionable behavior, borderline criminal activity, and everything else you would expect when the subject is sailing. McCormick does not shy away from the rough edges and imperfect moments; we see Lin & Larry run aground, experience extreme marital discord, collect enemies, have legal battles and wrestle with family and finances. This is a fully realized portrait of two human beings with all their flaws. It's a sometimes-tragic, sometimes-funny, always-interesting story about how people who are passionate and determined can create their own destiny even if they start with very little. It is NOT about whether their strongly held, vehemently stated opinions and unique philosophy of life afloat are right or wrong. If McCormick approves or disapproves of their ideas and ideology, he sets his course well clear of that lee shore. Ultimately, the lesson of this biography (if there is one) might be this: There is not much you cannot achieve if you are focused on that one goal with an obsessive, fanatical, more or less insane level of intensity and have a mate who does the same.The story also touches upon the inevitable friction between the editorial and marketing wings of the publishing world, the changing nature of the print industry, and in particular the hostile rivalry between SAIL and Cruising World magazines. (Full disclosure: I subscribe to both.)McCormick does eventually circle back around to the dramatic opening scene. (Spoiler: they survive.) Lin & Larry's Cape Horn adventure highlights not only what makes their marriage work, but also the profoundly distinct ways they each approach life, perceive the world, set their goals and make plans. This complementary style, in no way immune to strife, is also their greatest asset. The book closes as Lin & Larry, now in their 70s, contemplate the final chapter of their life together and look back with nostalgia -- sometimes rosy, sometimes rueful. Back at home in their adopted country of New Zealand, McCormick himself enters the picture as the book closes and he is chosen to tell their story.This is a well-researched and top-notch biography. I feel confident that as the years roll on it will prove to be the first of many.

I've read this book so many times I can't keep track. Every read uncovers another treat about the Pardeys and there voyages.A must read if you like messing around in boats.

Many of us have read the Seraffyn series that Lin and Larry Pardey wrote when the couple was young about their circumnavigation in the 24 foot Seraffyn. They hadn't started off to circumnavigate. They just wanted to go for a few months cruise and continue only as long as it was fun. Well, it was so fun that they just kept going. And that sense of fun was contagious. Everyone who read the book wanted to go and more than a few did. In the process the couple became well-recognized experts on sailing and cruising (with some of their opinions slightly controversial). And they continued to cruise and teach others how to do so through a series of books, articles in the sailing magazines and seminars. They eventually went around the world again on their second boat visiting many of the places they missed on the first trip and including the big capes - especially Cape Horn. They have led fascinating lives full of lessons for the rest of us, even if we don't sail off into the sunset.Mr. McCormick is a gifted writer as well as a sailor. And with his background in the sailing industry he is particularly well positioned to write about the Pardeys. I was grateful to him for writing this book as I wanted to know all about the cruises they did in Taliesin, the second boat. The book is addictive. A page-turner. Highly recommended to everyone.

Nice tale of adventurous souls. Part love story, part adventure tale. If you enjoy cruising or sailing, put it on your list to read.

One of the things I admire about Steve Jobs and his iPhone is how he demanded that the iPhone be as elegant and beautiful on the inside as the outside. That is how this "warts and all" book about Lin and Larry Pardey feels. It's an inside look at the lives of these two extraordinary cruising couple. Even the "warts" part demonstrates an elegance in how they tested and resolved a period of marital discourse.My wife and I have read every book they've written, watched (over and over) every video they produced and this biography totally highlights the foundations behind the scenes that gave rise to such compelling works.Extraordinary people. Lives well lived. Perfectly captured by the author Herb McCormick.I finished the book in a white heat over two days. Once an audio book is available, I'll run through it again. Worthy of a movie.

This is hardly an unbiased review as I have read and enjoyed most of their books over the years. If I had read them younger I am certain I would have been a small craft sailor of some kind. However I always wanted to know more about their adventures on the "Taleisin" and finally this book gives a little accounting of it. It is a wonderful story, told in a seamless fashion, which can really make you turn the pages. I took my time reading it so I could think about and enjoy each adventure, as I don't hear any talk of any new books in the near future. I wish Lin and Larry the absolute best and a long healthy life. I am also going to buy the other books Herb McCormick has authored to see if they are as good as this one.

This is a straight forward, well written biography of the amazing Lin and Larry Pardey. A non sailor, I've always been in awe of this couple who circumnavigated the world twice all aboard their little boats, Seraffyn and Taliesin, both built with consummate skill by Larry.This is in some ways rather a pedestrian read, being as it is a pretty straightforward relating of events, but if you are interested in sailing and adventure, this is a no frills biography and a good read.

As someone who learned to sail late in life, fifty plus, this book tells me what might have been. I have never had the practical hands-on skills to build a boat so I appreciate the achievement all the more.It was a great pleasure to read this story, fun from beginning to end, but how I wish I had lived it.

Great book from the first page to the last. To sail so many miles, through some very bad weather without an engine. Takes nerves of steel.

Brilliant!

A life time well lived ,amazing people,a great read