By Herb McCormick
Published by Paradise Cay Publications (2014)
The epic voyages of Lin and Larry Pardey have inspired thousands of Americans to set sail for the blue yonder. Their biography is told by their friend, Herb McCormick, an offshore sailor and sailing correspondent of the New York Times. At the time of compiling this book, the pair had sailed 170,000 miles, written a dozen books, given lectures and seminars and made five videos on sailing.
Lin was born in Detroit in 1944 and met Larry, born in Victoria, Canada in 1939, when she went to Newport Beach, California to learn how to sail in 1965. The pair hit it off immediately and began a life together as boat-builders, yacht deliveries and riggers before setting off on their own lifelong circumnavigations.
Larry sadly died last year, and a documentary on his life was released at the 2021 Annapolis Boat Show, regularly attended by 50,000 people. Lin tells Ocean Sailor about her life with Larry in this month’s Sailors’ Stories (found on page 27). After reading this book I felt as though I’d been on a global voyage with two of the world’s greatest sailors.
