He proposed, but interrupted her response with, "Before you say, 'yes', you need to know that someday I want to have a sailboat and sail around the world." She cried. These were not tears of joy. Twenty-five years later, they went to sea. This is the story of their first year as cruising sailors, and what she learned about: weathering storms, provisioning, entering strange harbors, and how living on a small boat with one's spouse isn't the long awaited life-time honey-moon imagined by landlubbers. From December through April they made their way east from Florida through the Bahamas and into the Caribbean, sailing to windward into the prevailing easterly winds. They encountered weeks when they had to wait for a weather window, days of perfect sailing to the east, and days of tacking off shore in six foot seas. They also sailed to windward as they encountered a steep learning curve, numerous unexpected boat projects, and challenges in their relationship. If you're planning a long sea voyage with your loved ones -- then read this book. It won't provide all of the sailing or travel information you need, but it will make you smile and help prepare you for many of the experiences encountered while sailing in paradise. You'll learn some things here that can't be found in cruising guides or how-to sail and cruise books. As Barb says, "This is the stuff I didn't know I needed to know before we left." If you enjoy reading true stories of couples undertaking new challenges, travel journals, and self-discovery sprinkled with humor -- then read this book. It won't answer relevant questions of the day, but it will make you smile as you recognize yourself, your spouse, or your parents in these essays about one baby-boomer couple undertaking a journey together. Harts at Sea Sailing to Windward is comprised of the stories of their first year as full-time cruisers. It's an often funny, sometimes useful, and always honest record of their journey from Portland, Maine to Grenada. Barb Hart and her husband, EW, are still happily married, sailing aboard La Luna, and getting haircuts in exotic harbors.