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We Won’t Go Under! |
von
Bettina Haskamp (Autor) ,
Gerhard Ebel (Autor)
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| published: |
August 2002 |
| Original title: |
Untergehen werden wir nicht. |
| Genre: |
Non-Fiction |
| Pages: |
352 |
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with photographs and building drafts |
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| Price (Germany): |
21.90 EUR |
| Price (Austria): |
22.60 EUR |
| Price (Swiss): |
37.00 SFR |
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There was this party. And the morning after… A new man in Bettina Haskamp’s life. A man with an extraordinary dream: to build a boat, chuck in his job, get to know some new continents with all the time in the world…
In the beginning it was just one of those silly flirtations: Bettina and Gerhard needed a relationship about as much as a fish needs a bicycle. But after three years, a wedding and numerous near-divorces, Bettina Haskamp and Gerhard Ebel head south in their plywood catamaran. Neither of them has any serious experience of sailing. “You’re not going to come out of this alive, I just know it!“ says Bettina’s mother after their first mishap in a branch of the local river Ems.
With many a droll punch line and an eye for spicy details, Bettina Haskamp tells the story of building a boat and a sailing trip from Europe to Brazil and back. Turbulent scenes of a marriage lived out on just a few square metres of wood are as much a part of this journey as is the shared sense of boundless freedom and their everyday encounters on shore (“Hello, I’m David, and I wanna have sex with a white woman”). On their return trip the couple experiences what it means to really have time on your hands. The second Atlantic crossing takes 37 days. “My thoughts are as hard to capture as trout”, the author notes in her diary. “I’m all alone here. Completely on my own. I’m happy. I keep thinking of something Valentino said: “What’s special is not just the unusual situation – it’s being at sea that’s the real miracle.”
About the author:
Bettina Haskamp trained as a journalist. She began her career at a small daily paper, went on to study history and politics, and eventually switched to radio journalism.
Gerhard Ebel is a physical engineer and a photojournalist. In collaboration with Bettina Haskamp, he designed and built the catamaran “Manua Siai”. |
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