Sophie Lennox also refined the sailing parts, debating the layout of Delilah, adding consistency to the sailing terms, and settling once and for all the jackstay vs jackline question. Bazza is a practical old seadog, but he has the soul of a poet when he talks about the ocean. As well as sorting out my foresails from my mainsails, he reminded me exactly where South America sits on the globe in relation to Australia, thus saving me from a whole heap of embarrassment. He let me interview him for hours about his ocean experiences and then read through the first draft. After all, it took me a while to decide I would like to use a beta in the first place, and when I’d stopped dithering, there wasn’t much time left!įor the sailing terminology, my long-time mate Bazza stepped up. Laure Dherbécourt was a first beta and provided valuable initial feedback in a very short time. Various people helped whip this into shape. So, to me, writing a book set on the ocean seems as Aussie as those books I’ve written set in small inland towns or the outback. People line the cliffs around Sydney Heads on Boxing Day to see the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet sail out of Sydney Harbour at the start of the long (and often dangerous) trek to Tasmania. We bob around the ocean on tinnies, dinghies, cruisers, ferries, paddleboards, and kite surfers. We know beaches and surf, sea life and sea creatures, storms and currents, what fish is good to eat, and what will lead to a hospital visit.

Eighty-five percent of Aussies live within fifty kilometres of the coast. My experience of nights on the ocean was gained on the overnight ferry from Ireland to France. Sailing! What I knew about sailing was learnt from a few sunny afternoons on a friend’s yacht on Port Phillip, Melbourne, with a glass of bubbles in my hand. The dream plot was full of holes and inconsistencies, not to mention it was about sailing. I had a very vivid dream that night about the ocean, and the next morning, I woke up with the basic plot of All at Sea in my head. I remember grainy black-and-white footage of tiny yachts hassling a nuclear warship as it sailed into Auckland Harbour.

To D, who supports and loves me and who took on far more chores than was fair just so I had extra writing time.Ībout a year ago, I watched a documentary from the 1970s about seagoing protesters in New Zealand waters. The Girl Meets Girl Collection (box set) Dedication

A Heart This Big by Cheyenne Blue