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Gwyneth Lewis writes both in English and in Welsh and this, her first collection written in English was shortlisted for the Forward Prize. 'Lewis has so many of the gifts required for good poetry the most humane and mysterious succession of poems I have read for many years. It is simply a masterpiece' - Peter Porter. Selected for World Book Day 2003 - Wales.

In her 40s and recovering from a long battle against depression and alcoholism, Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis decided to trade in her landlubber life - a nice house in Cardiff and a sensible job at the BBC - for life aboard a small yacht with her husband Leighton, a former bosun with the Merchant Navy and now in his mid-60s. After buying a yacht - Jameeleh - and teaching themselves to sail it, Gwyneth and Leighton set out to cross the Atlantic. Unfortunately Gwyneth's incessant seasickness and Leighton's daily deterioration into a moody Captain Bastard were not the only catastrophes with which they had to contend. This strange, stirring and often hilarious account of their voyage is as much a beginner's guide to sailing as it is a portrait of a marriage under the pressure of depression, both medical and meteorological. Gwyneth Lewis's training as a poet and film-maker lends her prose a wonderfully visual quality, and her contagious optimism in the face of inconceivable adversity - not much more could possibly have gone wrong - makes this unique book both touchingly witty and incredibly wise.