Home › Essays & Travelogues › And Then We Hit a Rock
  • And Then We Hit a Rock by Greg Buenzli book cover
1 1

And Then We Hit a Rock

by Greg Buenzli

Be the first to review this book

A family’s life afloat, with the plans left behind

$18.44 USD
$24.59 USD $18.44 USD
Save 25%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

A family’s life afloat, with the plans left behind

Greg Buenzli’s travelogue recounts a family of five, a dog, and a cat moving aboard a 46-foot catamaran and setting out by sea. Its five-part structure traces the voyage through life aboard, the Bahamas, and the East Coast, with chapter headings pointing to both practical mishaps and comic incidents. Hurricanes, nighttime storms, Coast Guard calls, naval encounters, and the less glamorous realities of boat life sit alongside the family’s pursuit of the tropical adventure they had imagined. The account presents sailing not as a tidy escape but as an unpredictable change of life, complete with a glossary of nautical jargon.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Travel and sailing readers interested in family voyages and life aboard a boat.
  • Readers who enjoy travelogues that combine practical hazards with comic mishaps.
  • Those curious about a catamaran journey through the Bahamas and along the East Coast.

Themes

Family life at seaTravel and adventureThe gap between expectation and experienceSailing hazards and mishaps

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A family of 5, a dog, and a cat move onto a sailboat. Hilarious true story!

Did you know that the remora fish will try to swim up a whale shark's butt when they poop? The crew of Twig didn't. It turns out there was an awful lot the family of five didn't know when they decided to move aboard and set off for adventure on the high seas.

After decades of dreaming, and planning, the explorers finally sailed off into the sunset. Yes, they found the palm trees and coconuts they had longed for, but they also glimpsed the other side of paradise. They ran from waterspouts, dodged hurricanes, got (sort of) robbed by pirates, and played chicken with naval warships. They found themselves making emergency calls to the Coast Guard in the dead of night and learning the exact purpose of a nut jiggler during a late-night beach bonfire.

Join as the inevitable is pondered after a meal of coffee and chili on a night watch in "What if I have to go poo?". Commiserate the anxiety of the hurricane season and practice dodging rogue unmanned boats during a midnight tropical storm. Laugh at the captain's intimate misfortunes with marine toilets, sense what a pirate smells like, and discover how not to get crabs in this page-turning journey of the East Coast. You are invited to follow along with the frustration and joy of a life newly discovered afloat a 46-foot catamaran.

Remember: If everything had gone exactly as planned....it wouldn't have been much of an adventure.

 

Chapter listing

Part 1: Damn you Lisa

  1. Cocktails and Dreams
  2. The hand of God
  3. Down to the Banana Republics
  4. Panama vs Twig
  5. Christmas Blows
  6. Georgia on my mind
  7. Love and a sailboat


Part 2: Afloat

  1. All Aboard!
  2. There's Vodka in the Boy's Bathroom
  3. Afloat
  4. Hazmat
  5. Things that go bump in the night
  6. Don't Ignore the Bright Red Light
  7. Caulk the Wagon
  8. Perfect Strangers


Part 3: The Bahamas

  1. 42 Flushes
  2. The Nut Jiggler
  3. Watch your six
  4. You smell like a pirate
  5. I wet the bed
  6. Twist and Spout
  7. Weather or not


Part 4: The East Coast

  1. What if I have to go Poo?
  2. Dr Jekyll's Island
  3. You say Savannah, I say Banana
  4. Pepperoni is not a fruit
  5. House of Warship
  6. Feeling Crabby
  7. Tot
  8. There's Always Room For Jello
  9. Oh Ophelia


Part 5: Due South

  1. Boat Chill Factor
  2. I lack depth
  3. Wednesday
  4. Anchor(s) Away
  5. Cinderella Lost Her Slipper
  6. Suck it Murphy
  7. And Then We Hit a Rock
  8. What the Fog?!


Epilogue

  1. There's no place like home
  2. Come Monday (Tribute to Jimmy Buffett)

Glossary of Ridiculous Nautical Jargon
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all