Daughters of the Sea : A Memoir of Growing up Afloat, Voyaging into Adulthood

Defying the disbelief of friends and colleagues, Geraldine’s parents decided to bring up their family on board a sailing boat, determined to turn their seafaring dream into reality. In 1946 her father is given six months to live and invalided from the Royal Navy. Yet, gradually, with the help of friends and the generosity of strangers, dreams became reality. The Griffin daughters grew up to love the freedom of the sea learning their art from an early age. Geraldine learned to navigate by the stars and to maintain the traditional sails and rigging. While still children, this crew of sisters became Registered British Seamen. In 1965 women, let alone girls, were rarely considered as competent crew, yet they couldn’t have been more ready as they set off across the Atlantic. Sailing the family’s sturdy 50ft ketch with “Captain Cook’s instruments along Christopher Columbus’s route”, there was no satnav, no autopilot, no telephone, just a compass, sextant, paper charts, ample provisions and 100gallons of water. This memoir is a saga of delights, lazy sailing days, mid-Atlantic swims and celebrations; of adversity, storms and disaster. It delivers a unique story of optimism and resilience. It is also a story of coming of age.