If you long for the "olde" Maine or feel sailing was more pure before gizmos like gps plotters made things easy, this book will bring tears to your eyes. Not that sailing "nostalgians" (my word for lack of a better one) are anything new. The fun part of this book is this would be my granfather reminiscing about the "good old days".

For Brace, pure sailing was lost when they started putting engines in sailboats! By the time the first glass boats were hitting the water in the 60's, his beautiful world was already lost. Anything beyond a compass onboard spoiled the real magic of sailing. Brace, who died in the 70's, would be blown away by todays sailing.

Quite an amazing local history book for Mainers and sailors. He captures both subjects from his earliest adventures sailing downeast as a boy(about the 1930's) when no one could be seen on the coast. He recounts the language of the day, the tasks the water people were accustomed to(the best lobster boats were propelled by sails!), the difference between the population of "away"(he being the more pure, earliest type ,... if you weren't soaked by deck leaks something was lost, etc. ) It's quite a scene back then and Brace writes it up into very entertaining reading. I especially like how he captures sailing in print, something I rarely see. As a writer, he was well regarded in his day.

Nostalgians are nothing new(Brace, a skier then, also laments the advent of the sport to recreation with the introduction of ski lifts, lodges....) This nostalgian is just three generations behind giving a great view into another era.

I on the other hand think I have my sailing in a pretty good place and era, and books like this often convince me of that. Still the book is one of a kind for Maine sailors. The "olde Maine" has always been a moving target.