Lessons from life at sea

For much of his life, David Kilmer has gone sailing for work, for adventure and for a renewed sense of purpose. 

In his latest book, "The Way of the Sailor," he distills these experiences into a marvelous collection of stories, essays and meditations on the seagoing life. 

“I wanted to write about what it truly means to go to sea,” he said. “Not in rope work or sail trim, but in the habits that help us cross oceans safely. It turns out these are also remarkable practices for life.” 

In one of the first chapters, Kilmer writes this: “We are shipmates, you and I and all the rest, on a wandering passage through the stars … Because to be a human is to be a sailor of the highest magnitude, embarking with undue confidence out into wild uncertainty, vowing to hold fast and to keep ready the ship no matter what comes.” 

Many chapters in The Way of the Sailor are essays on a particular aspect of seagoing and how it applies to life. We read about the way sailors pack lightly, why they steer loosely and how they deal with danger. Some sections delve deep into the bigger questions: Love, loss and the meaning of existence. Others describe in lyrical language what it’s like to sail under the stars, see dolphins off the bow or wake up in a new anchorage. 

There are also a series of compelling adventures drawn from the years that the author and his wife spent cruising their small sailboat all the way from the Puget Sound to the Bahamas.  

“I absolutely enjoyed this journey under the Milky Way,” said Mike Patrick, the author of "Full Speed Behind." “From his lofty lookout perch, Kilmer leads us through an experience that both immerses us in the joy of sailing and reconnects us with our spiritual selves, which have always been there but which life has traumatized and tranquilized.”  

Kilmer said he has craved adventure at sea ever since his father launched a little wooden boat for him named Skipper-N-Dad. He found exactly what he was looking for — and much more — on his first bluewater passage at the age of 25, which took him 2,300 miles across the Pacific Ocean.  

By his early 30s, he ran off to the Caribbean hoping to become a boat captain and worked in the islands of the Grenadines for five seasons. His book, "A Peril To Myself and Others," is about those colorful and tumultuous times. “Terror, ­comedy, self-awareness — unfolds like a voyage unto itself in this witty, insightful, most ­pleasurable seagoing ­coming-of-age account,” said Herb McCormick, author of "One Island, One Ocean." 

Kilmer’s stories have appeared in CdA Magazine, Cruising World and Invictus, and his work has been awarded by Boating Writers International and the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the captain of the private sailing yacht Sizzler. 

“Kilmer’s writing is visceral and emotional … There is a lyrical, poetic way he plays with words. It will intoxicate you,” said Sally Erdle of the Caribbean Compass. 

The Way of the Sailor is available on Amazon. More at wayofthesailor.com.