The adventure begins when Jim Moore announces to his bride of two months that they will build a boat and sail to the South Pacific. Circumnavigating the world in a 36-foot sloop isn't generally taken lightly, but that's precisely Jim and Molly Moore's approach. Their refreshing story offers inspiration and amusement to all long-distance cruising sailors, whether practicing or merely potential. Most of the book recounts their four-year voyage that started in 1977 and took them from their home in Oregon to California, Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, Brazil, the Caribbean, Florida, Panama, and Costa Rica before they finally returned homeward. The Moores brought to their journey a great deal of practical knowledge, which Jim Moore's narrative shares in a most entertaining manner. Over the course of their voyage, Jim had to learn a great many skills on the fly; he became a boatbuilder, mechanic, carpenter, amateur historian, unwilling ornithologist, and raconteur extraordinaire. Molly, by turns enthusiastic and dubious, served as a perfect partner and foil.