Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor, an Island, and the Voyage That Brought a Family Together

By Nathaniel Philbrick

Book Overview

A charming memoir of midlife by the bestselling author of Mayflower and In the Hurricane's Eye , recounting his attempt to recapture a national sailing championship he'd won at twenty-two. "There had been something elemental and all consuming about a Sunfish. Nothing could compare to the exhilaration of a close race in a real blow--the wind howling and spray flying as my Sunfish and I punched through the waves to the finish." In the spring of 1992, Nat Philbrick was in his late thirties, living with his family on Nantucket, feeling stranded and longing for that thrill of victory he once felt after winning a national sailing championship in his youth. Was it a midlife crisis? It was certainly a watershed for the journalist-turned-stay-at-home dad, who impulsively decided to throw his hat into the ring, or water, again. With the bemused approval of his wife and children, Philbrick used the off-season on the island as his solitary training ground, sailing his tiny Sunfish to its remotest corners, experiencing the haunting beauty of its tidal creeks, inlets, and wave-battered sandbars. On ponds, bays, rivers, and finally at the championship on a lake in the heartland of America, he sailed through storms and memories, racing for the prize, but finding something unexpected about himself instead.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143132091
• ISBN13: 9780143132097
• Release Date: March 2018
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Pond Sailing with Ego on Nantucket in Winter

For those who have had fun sailing on a Sunfish or those interested in Nantucket, this book might hold interest. In his late thirties, the writer Nathaniel Philbrick decides to try to revisit competitive Sunfish racing, a sport at which, as a teenager, he had been quite accomplished. His game plan is to restore his skills by sailing the ponds of Nantucket from fall to spring. Anyone acquainted with the bleak and dreary godforsaken frozen heath of fall and winter in New England can be well assured that this hivernal contretemps reaches an advanced level on this offshore ascetic locale, not by chance chosen by the grim faced waste-not-want-not, skin-flint, dour-faced, dreary-dressing Quakers of yore. Thus informed, one can appreciate the grit and determination involved in the pursuit of such a plan. The book includes a nifty map so one can follow the action from pond to pond. The tale is smoothly told and flows well. The drawback is the gag reflex triggering. The author tells a story that is less about sailing than it is about ego, envy, competition and foot stomping for attention. Also, some snippets read as if cribbed from some of those photocopied brag sheets that darlings of fortune sent out to “friends” during the holidays. Conceit aside, readers might enjoy the chilly ride through white caps and cattails.

What a great read for a winter afternoon.

Just when I was suffering cabin fever, I discovered this book. Reading Nat's re-introduction to Sunfish racing, I felt myself in my own boat again. His historical contexts were very interesting and his descriptions of sailing were very vivid. Thank you Nat. Summer doesn't feel so far away.

one of his best!

i loved this book, nat philbbrick is one of the best nantucket authors. most of nathaniels books are historical about the island, but this one focuses on nat himself. very well written!