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Roughly in chronological order … it’s never too late to write a review!

A compelling insight into a family’s life on a boat as they travel all over the world. A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended! – The Wishing Shelf Book Award, April, 2025

I loved this book! A terrific adventure story, and a wonderful memoir. The juxtaposition of Kent’s narrative and Pam’s letters gave such an honest and clear-eyed view of their relationship that I really identified with. I would bet that “running away to sea” on a sailboat is a fantasy of many people – it is for me – and this book tells you how it would really be, both good and bad. Reading “We Ran Away To Sea” at least satisfied some of my own fantasies. Thank you, Kent, Pam and Linnea. – Pete Fleming, March 13, 2025

Good Read. My wife and I had also traveled to the Caribbean, so we were somewhat familiar with the area and its challenges. They were able to explore the volcanic island of Saba, but it had a very short runway that was not available to our airplane. Life aboard the sailboat was both a challenge and an adventure and makes a great read. Including Pam’s letters home gave a nice perspective on the trip! — H. Arlowe, April 10, 2024

Not for sailors only. I am not a sailor, I know nothing about sailing, and I do not like to sail on anyone’s boat. But even I found this book engrossing. The sense of commitment, the adventures, the ups and downs, the human emotions and family decisions—these are for any reader. —— L. Gibson, April 5, 2024

Thinking of sailing? This might help. Thoroughly enjoyed the book – both Pam’s letters and Kent’s reflections and recollections. It was a real eye-opener into the life of sail boating. What travails amidst the fun times. I was envious of the snorkeling in the crystal blue waters. Not so much during the deluges, ensuing rank odors, and other assorted mishaps. The camaraderie among boaters, as among any like group, I suppose, was delightful to read about. I enjoyed the side notes and updates on people met then and their whereabouts (or not, in some cases) now. The glossary is a big help. I had no idea there was so much terminology associated with sailboats. All in all, this book is well put together, and I loved reading it! — C. Steele, March 23, 2024

Wow! Not a big review writer, but feel the need to lean in here
The journey is remarkable-the writing superb. A life well lived. — Larry M., January 24, 2024

Surprisingly Captivating. I am not generally a fan of memoirs, so it took me by surprise when I couldn’t put this book down. The tension between Kent and Pam, and the artful retelling of their trials and tribulations (both at sea and in their relationship), make for a captivating read. It would make a great movie. I appreciate that, despite having no knowledge of sailing terminology, I could still understand what was going on (still not 100% sure what a winch is, but I understand the severity of losing one into the sea!). This book appeals to me primarily from the human interest perspective, but is sure to be a page turner for anyone with experience or interest in sailing.

I’m currently a similar age to Kent and Pam when they set out on their initial journey, and I felt a personal connection to Kent’s struggle between maintaining the status quo (happy home, stable career, kids in school), and his desire to shake everything up and go on an adventure. That he planned and executed such a grand adventure is both brilliant and terrifying. I’m glad I have this book so that I can live vicariously through the adventure (and simultaneously appreciate my stable status quo life).

While not exactly a classic “beach read”, this book would be a great book to bring along to a vacation near the sea. I’ll be passing this along to friends looking for something a little different.—— Pastich, January 18, 2024

This is a touching story of two people who sold everything, bought a boat, and had many hardships and adventures. — MomBear Mpls, January 15, 2024

Peek at Real Sailing Life. Kent and Pam didn’t present a glossy, smarmy portrayal of cruising life. Tough? Yes. So why do it? They answer the question by showing us the almost agonizing beauty of the sea and its path to beautiful wonders. Well done. — Ginny A. Sollars, Author of Windswept, December 2024

I am a retired pro sailor. Been to many of the sailing places they visit. Come from a family of two generations of long cruises with kids. Long as in years. Everyone starts out struggling and ends with stories of accomplishment. My parents had it that way, and so did my mom’s. Life is richer for the adventure.
My most common pieces of advice are: take sailing lessons and only place on board equipment you can fix on board and underway. Kent proves my points.
Thanks, Kent for sharing. — Norm on Cape Cod,Retired Pro Sailor, November 1, 2023

Take a Trip without Ever Leaving Home! LOVED this book. I’m a little prejudiced because Pam is my cousin, but they both have an amazing way to write that makes you feel you are right there with them. So interesting and fun!— Amazon Customer, December 3, 2023

Great Adventure Story. I loved this book. It’s such an unlikely adventure story about a couple who decide to leave their unsatisfying careers in South Dakota and take their two sons to England, buy a sailboat, and sail across the Atlantic to the Caribbean with only rudimentary sailing expertise. A well-written, well-edited page-turner. Kent Kedl has seamlessly included his late wife Pam’s letters to friends and family in his narrative. Buy it and read it.  — Amazon Customer, December 11, 2023

Congratulations on a job well done! I adore reading books I can’t put down, and We Ran Away to Sea fit the bill perfectly!  Kent and Pam’s travels to many places I have yet to visit carried me away vicariously through them. As a full-time RV-er for 17 years, I was reminded of all the adventures we had on the road, the feeling of freedom to go where we wanted when we wanted, the angels out there who appear when you need them most, and the trials and tribulations of dealing with a constantly moving “house”. Reminders that the world is not nearly as frightening as we think when we’re experiencing it up close and personal was the best takeaway.  — Jeanette Martinez, Personal correspondence, January 15, 2023

A No-Holds-Barred Account of Living Aboard and Cruising. This is a charming, well-written book about leaving life on land and cruising full-time, told from two sometimes-opposed points of view. The book is written both by Kent and his wife, Pam. Her part consists of letters to friends and family that offer a candid look at how she really felt about everything. The story illustrates many lessons about life aboard, both what to do and what not to do. They explore much of the Caribbean, including brave inland excursions into Venezuela and Colombia. The descriptions of the settings and the action put you there and let you sail, and learn, vicariously. Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2023. — Paul Trammell, Author of The Ragged Islands and many other sailing memoirs and novels

Harrowing Situations. I’ve never understood the pull and acceptance of the sea. Perhaps because I haven’t read enough in this genre. What’s not enough is space. The boats were small compared to the great ocean. No stove. The family lived on canned goods. Kent couldn’t fish, but his wife could. Just this alone makes harrowing circumstances. Space too. Tension runs high, but there’s nowhere to move to silently sulk. The greatest harrowing idea is that neither Kent nor Pam is a true sailor. They learned a lot. Imagine that high of a learning curve right on the sea. One final harrowing moment, not being aware of the boat’s structure in compromise. I enjoyed the read, but I took a lot of breaks :). Even so, I highly recommend it. Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2023. — Red House Woman

Great Book. What an adventurous life! What many of us wish we could experience but can only dream about. Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023. — William W. Baas

Who hasn’t dreamed of giving up their job, selling their house, and buying a yacht to sail in warm tropical waters? Kent and Pam Kedl did just that. They sold their belongings, left their home in South Dakota, and flew to England with their two sons to buy a sailboat. With little sailing experience, they managed to cross the Atlantic in their 38-foot ketch, Jacana II, to begin a 16-year off-and-on cruise around the Caribbean and North American inland waterways.

Kent’s narrative is interspersed with Pam’s letters to friends and family as they sail around the Caribbean – Antigua, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica —  living the dream, or at least trying to. We also follow their inland travels through Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala on a shoestring budget, often utilizing basic modes of transport (chicken buses!). I admire their courage to visit countries like Haiti, one of the poorest in the world, and rural Colombia, then one of the most dangerous. I wish I’d had their courage when I was young, but now I’m content to read the tales of other adventurers.

They are honest about deep-water sailing. There are periods of absolute bliss – island hopping down the Windward Islands, anchoring in tranquil bays with palm-lined beaches, meeting generous fellow yachties, and visiting peaceful Latin-American villages. But life on a boat has its downside, including hostile port authorities, threatened hurricanes, thieves, and unscrupulous repair people. The most depressing part of cruising (especially for Pam) was the endless maintenance. Frequent haulouts to overhaul the engine or to scrape, paint, and fix nearly everything drained their savings and sometimes caused lengthy delays.

The writing is concise, colorful, well-paced, and nicely illustrated with photos and maps. This armchair sailor found it a pleasure to read. — Mark Wuschke, Author of Return to Rome (as Mark Munro), Brisbane, Australia, 2023

I grew up in a family of sailors and have known people who sailed across the Atlantic and the Pacific, but never have I known anyone who set off as Kent and Pam did, knowing so little about boats or sailing.

They were not typical yachtsmen, and unlike most pleasure-boat sailors, they were not wealthy. They sailed in small boats that often required extensive maintenance and repairs, though they had few modern amenities such as refrigeration, hot water, and built-in GPS systems.

Kent never wavered in his dream of sailing the world, but for Pam, it was not a sure thing. Kent’s narrative and Pam’s letters reveal their different perspectives. They both write astutely about their experiences, the places they visit, and the people they meet. If you want to get up close and personal on small boats in the water, this is a read for you! — Anne Roberts, Retired Librarian and Professor, The University at Albany (State University of New York), 2023

How many of us have dreamed of radically changing the direction of our lives — of living lives that are more authentic, more fulfilling, and more interesting? We Ran Away to Sea: A Memoir and Letters is a compelling tale of a couple who acted on this dream, giving up their jobs and their easy existence to live for years on small cruising sailboats. It is a wonderfully written, impressively honest, and often humorous account of the cruising life. The authors have thoughtfully included a glossary of sailing terms for readers unfamiliar with sailing. This is a darned good read! It’s a hard book to put down! — Terry F. Branson, who forty years ago taught the Kedls to sail on the prairie lakes of South Dakota, 2023

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The different perspectives of Pam & Kent were interesting, not to mention Kent’s enlightenment as he learned Pam’s thoughts after the fact. I thoroughly enjoyed it & thought it was well-written. Well done!  — Renée Petrillo, Author of A Sail of Two Idiots, 2023

In WE RAN AWAY TO SEA, two novice sailors embark on a challenging yet rewarding odyssey, relating their maritime adventures through letters and stories. Along the way, they encounter memorable individuals, learn how to sail, travel the high seas, and strengthen their marriage. This compelling story celebrates their spirit of adventure with humor, honesty, and style. — Ross M. Burkhardt, Author of Writing for Real, 2023

Been friends with Kent most of my life. (Grade school, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, high school, college roommates for a bit, attended his and Pam’s wedding, and now meet occasionally at events hosted by our (still very active) high school alumni.) A very interesting and well-written book about a life and adventures most of us can only imagine in our dreams. Highly recommended…in fact, I might just re-read it! — Ronald R. Reed, 2023

Stayed up all night. It was fun trying to decide — I wish I had done the same and — thank God I didn’t. It is a delightful read and one to enjoy.
There were so many unfamiliar locations that I had to drag out my atlas. — Barbara A. Johnson, 2023

The very first page was so touching that it made me cry. This is a wonderful sailing adventure, and so much more. There is danger, and beauty, family drama and healing. . Many of us can relate to this compelling memoir. A good read. — Ann Allen, author of Then Came July as Cornelia Allen, 2023

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Delightful. A lovely story, a quick read, and an engaging look at family dynamics, especially one with such strong personalities. — Nialithic, 2023

A Real Sea Adventure. Kent and Pam Kedl have written a compelling book about their adventures as novice sailors. It is cleverly written with Kent’s narrative, with Pam’s letters to family and friends woven into the story. What makes this book so interesting is the honesty about the good parts of sailing and the sometimes overwhelming adversities. Constant repairs, upkeep, dangers, money worries, and learning how to sail on the fly seemed to follow them throughout their journey, but the rewards were there also. They explored sites on land in South America and enjoyed the thrill of sailing. I have read several books on sailing, but this is easily one of my favorites. For me, it’s an easy five-star. — Sheldon Sollars, 2024

Who Knew? Haven’t we all dreamed of having an extraordinary adventure like this? It is an entertaining armchair adventure for some of us but I hope it inspires the younger folks to reach beyond their known experiences. —Catherine Rosenfeld, 2023

Super Read. Recommended it to our book club. Great fun read! — Gina Montepulciano, 2023

Introspective and Fun Read. We Ran Away to Sea is a unique take on a couple’s sailing adventure. My husband and I did something similar, so I identified with much of what they experienced, but what was different in this book was that Pam’s portion was published posthumously. Kent provides his “side of the story,” while at the same time using letters Pam wrote of their travels to provide her viewpoint. It is interesting to read Kent’s initial explanations of his decisions and feelings, and then to have him re-evaluate or justify them after he’s had a chance to learn his mate’s take and to describe his feelings to friends and family. I imagine that was a gift to Kent, and it reminds us that it’s important to tune into others around us when we’re so gung-ho about bringing our own dreams into fruition. Our partners might be supportive, but that doesn’t mean they are totally onboard with what we’re doing. Listening & compromising is important.

I had never sailed through a canal before, nor did I have any idea there were so many on the US/Canadian border. It was interesting to learn about their workings and challenges. We Ran Away to Sea included a good balance of the work it takes to live aboard, and the fun that makes it worth it. Too many liveaboard wannabes are convinced that the need for boat repairs will be different for them. It won’t. Be prepared… And remember, once onboard, have fun!

Whether you’re dreaming of sailing, readying yourself to leave the dock, or just want to tag along on someone else’s adventure, you can’t go wrong with We Ran Away to Sea. — Renee D. Petrillo, author of A Sail of Two Idiots

Poignant, Personal, Adventurous, Exciting! This book transported me! Using letters and recollections, Kent takes us on a multi-year sailing journey.
I experienced the unending beauty and power of the sea. I came to understand the constant need to look after a sailing vessel. I saw up close the depth of Kent’s loving relationship with Pam. This book was a real joy to read. I laughed, I shed tears, I wished it wasn’t going to end. Thanks, Kent, for sharing this important part of your life with us all! — Pilgrim, September 29, 2023

“Just do it…” —The Sailboat Cruiser, #76, October 2023

At some time in our lives, usually after a particularly bad day at the office, many of us dream of a new lifestyle that would release us from the tedium of the status quo and the stress of worrying about things that don’t really matter, replacing it with a life of freedom, challenge, and adventure – clearly things that really do matter.

For most, it remains a recurring pipedream, but a few people, like the American couple George Kent Kedl and Pamela Thompson Kedl, have the drive and courage to make it happen.

Kent (a philosophy professor) and Pam (a potter) had a comfortable but unfulfilling life in the United States. With a midlife crisis looming, they craved a new alternative lifestyle and, despite having no experience of the sea or sailing, decided that a live-aboard bluewater sailboat was the ideal accoutrement to help them find it.

With the capital released from the sale of their house and shoreside possessions, they found their ideal sailboat in the UK – ‘Jacana’ a Nicholson 38 ketch – and set off on an Atlantic crossing and their new life afloat.

Kent soon becomes an experienced and proficient yachtsman and finds total contentment in their new lifestyle experience, but for Pam, things are less than idyllic. Torn between her husband, her home, her family, her art, and life on the boat, it all becomes too much. As a result, they reluctantly agree to sell ‘Jacana’ and move back to a house in the US. After several years, and with life ashore now following a similar pattern to the one they had chosen to abandon, the discontent and frustration that had led them to run away to sea returned to haunt them. Predictably, they bought another boat, ‘Coot’, a steelDutch-built Breewijd 31 sloop – and set out to sea again…

What follows is a captivating account of their cruising adventures in the Caribbean and their often risky excursions into the Central American interior.

Sadly, Pam died before this book was published. Kent has incorporated Pam’s letters to friends and family in which she eloquently expresses her views and experiences, which don’t always align with Kent’s. This book would be much less moving and meaningful without them.

Kent certainly knows how to write. He has that envious ability to say what he means in no more words than is necessary to get his point across, whilst holding the reader’s attention throughout.

Thank you, Pam and Kent, I enjoyed ‘We Ran Away to Sea’ immensely and can recommend it to all sailors, particularly those with that recurring pipe dream who might one day ‘just do it’…

The Sailboat Cruiser #76, October ’23

https://www.sailboat-cruising.com/sailboat-cruiser.html

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