4B - Thursday, September 26, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
45 - Thursday, September 26, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Each week we take shots at the biggest
developments in the entertainment world.
Here's what hit (and missed) this week.
AMC takes cue from "Breaking Bad,"
splits final "Mad Men" season into two
seven-episode installments
Rapper deems h
No. 1 Rockstar on
in BBC rad(
NBC ordered'
chronicling "Cor
Ken Jeong's lift
a
a
4
in- by t'ick Cruz
a
UFE BOAT
Exploring the world for seven years
v
t
Uni
Hinm
footag
misse
admin
Faceb
these(
sailinj
husba
fors
Hin
adven
in My
the L
Odyss
view c
"W
we d
didn't
check
of her
Aft
Unive
in eco
Washi
her fi
follow
they
her ow
trade.
had a
Vendy Hinman grown up sailing with her family
and her husband sailed around
alks new book, the world with his as a teenager.
Without the funds necessary for
life at sea such an excursion, they settled
into the daily grind of work on
ByKATIE BURKE land.
DailyArts Writer Within a few years of working
odd hours to keep up with the
iversity alum Wendy international markets - Hinman
an has seen very little said she slept with a fax machine
ge of the Sept. 11 attacks. She under her bed - she and her
d the majority of the Bush husband decided it was time to
iistration and the advent of get serious about setting sail.
ook. Insteadofexperiencing "We kind of had this unspoken
events on land, Hinman was thing of, 'Someday, let's go on an
g the Pacific Ocean with her adventure,' "she said.
nd in a 31-feet-long sailboat The two began to save up
seven years. for a boat, eventually finding
iman chronicled the one within their price range.
ture in her book - published Though her husband could not
ay 2012 - "Tightwads on stand upright in the cabin, it was
oose: A Seven Year Pacific declared sturdy enough for the
ey,"giving readers an inside voyage ahead.
if her life at sea. The next step was to make the
e didn't have refrigeration, transition from life on land to life
lidn't have Internet, we at sea. Hinman and her husband
have phones, we really just sold or stored what they couldn't
ed out for a while," she said take with them and took a few
journey. trial runs in the new boat. After
er graduating from the paring their life down to the
rsity in 1986 with a degree essentials, and whatever books
inomics, Hinman moved to could fit in the space left over, the
ington D.C., where she met two said their farewells and set
uture husband, Garth. She off, with nonset destination or trip
'ed him to Seattle, where duration in mind.
married and then started In Hinman's book, she provides
en company in international snapshots into their day-to-day
But the sailing adventure life. By using an anecdotal style,
lways been at the back of she's able to depict the trials and
minds, as Hinman had joys of a seven-year voyage in
about 400 pages. Hinman kept a
blog and wrote periodic emails to
her family and friends during the
journey, giving her a seven-year
record to work with.
"I wrote the book out of order,
with scenes as I was inspired to
write them," Hinman said.
The two experienced near
brushes with total shipwreck,
days on end with no wind and
everything in between. Hinman
wrote about these incidences
but also added compelling
descriptions of their natural
surroundings.
"We just had time to notice
stuff," Hinman said. "Nature puts
on this beautiful, spectacular
show every day, and we just have
to take time to notice."
The two took continuous
three- to four-hour shifts while
sailing, one sleeping and the other
keeping watch and maintaining
the course. Books were the prime
source of entertainment, and
Hinman and her husband would
see little of each other until they
made it to port.
By the time they reached the
other side of the Pacific, Hinman
and her husband had experienced
a complete voltage meltdown and
were without any radio or other
electronic equipment. A sailing
friend had told them about a U.S.
military base named Kwajalein on
an island off Japan. Low on money
and supplies, the two began to
look for work. Hinman found a job
with a website while her husband
worked at building maintaining
facilities - he even constructed a
0
COURTESY OF WENDY HINMAN
University alum Wendy Hinman spent seven years at sea on an adventure with her husband Garth.
vehicle to remove and store boats
out of the water, still in use today
on the island. After spending two
years in Kwajalein, they returned
to the ocean.
Once they left Kwajalein, they
explored the islands off Hong
Kong and Japan. Both history
aficionados, they went from
one World War II site to the
next, visiting some locations -
including the storage site of the
two atomic bombs - that have process, Hinman began speaking
barely been touched since the in public about her trip. She
war. Along with the tour through spoke to sailing groups and other
history, Hinman and her husband interested parties - sharing
also traveled to islands home to pictures, anecdotes and travel tips.
populations such as the Kastom "I'm finding that the public
and Lan-yu tribes, who have little speaking helps with my writing,
contact with modern society. too," she said. "I'm up there with
From there, they made the my pictures and stories ... and as
decision that it was time to make I'm up there some stories bubble up
their way back home, and set sail into my mind."
toward Japan. Hinman's book broke the top
"My husband was like, 'I can't 100 on Amazon in August and was
stand up straight. I really don't first on the site's Adventure/Travel
want to look like Quasimodo list.
when I'm done with this,' " She said she continues to build
Hinman said. her storytelling skills through
After seven years at sea, Hinman more public presentations and
was back on land and entered into participating in story slams.
a much different society than the Hinman is set on starting a new
one she had left. Internet was now project, writing a book about her
a norm rather than brand-new husband and his family's trip and
technology, everyone owned a their shipwreck in Fiji - which
cellphone and a new president was made national news at the time.
in office. Hinman said it wasn't Her husband is currently
easy coming back, and she found working on his "dream boat"
she couldn't go back to business as as the two prepare for their
usual. second major adventure. Again,
"Gettingback was really rough; no specific timeline has been
we really changed," Hinman said. laid out, but they plan on sailing
"I wasn't really ready to go back around Chile and then onto the
to the 9 to 5 ... so I just started canals of Europe.
writing about the experience." Hinman said her experiences at
Hinman worked with friends sea and in writing have given her
who had published a book while a new outlook on life and letting
she was away, and week-by-week go of what can hold you back.
compiled her account of the "Taking risks teaches you r
voyage. She said she did not start that the things that scare you
the trip with the intention to write are scary while you're cowering
a book, but as she kept records from them, but as soon as you say,
of their unique adventures, the 'OK, I'm going to tackle that fear,'
idea of putting it all together for they just vanish," Hinman said.
publishing seemed appealing. "I think failure is just giving up
In addition to the writing completely."
COURTESY OFWEONDY HINMAN
To prepare for life at sea, Hinman sold and stored most of their belongings.
0