Sonnet: One Woman's Voyage from Maryland to Greece

Excerpts from her log detail Bird's voyage across the Atlantic in a 42-foot sailboat. Beginning with the careful purchase of her boat, Sonnet, the author, a California journalist, describes the weather at sea, her visit to family and friends abroad and her reunion with her diplomat husband in Greece. Although hers was a daring adventure, Bird, a former sailing instructor, is a capable sailor, and the voyage was without notable drama (although her instructive descriptions of the technical details of sailing should interest other sailors). A good portion of her account is devoted to musings about her life, her marriage, her visit to her expatriate parents in Spain, with whom she's had a complicated relationship, and her meeting with an old friend. These frank entries portray a sensitive and observant woman not afraid to reveal herself. But though Bird can recreate ambiance and sketch people, these unexceptional revelations are of interest more as private confidences than as inspiring insights. (May)