Rowland's epic books tell the tale of an ordinary salesman who "chucked it all," to sail to the South Seas while he was old enough to afford it, but young enough to enjoy it. From the moment his custom-made sailboat was stolen and put to the torch by thieves - who were subsequently captured in Mexico at the point of Rowland's gun - to fighting off pirates in hand-to-hand combat, Rowland offers a fast-paced behind-the-sails peek at what happens when the romance of the seas meets the reality of the journey.
"No Return Ticket" artfully balances the many dimensions of a complex sea voyage - harnessing a crew, dealing with bureaucracies and natives, maintaining the vessel, and all the various weather, navigation, health and financial worries - while letting us share in the joy of membership in the seagoing fraternity. Rowland makes the journey at once vast and intimate, relaxing and terrifying, so both the layperson and the old salt can feel both the excitement and the joy.
"No Return Ticket" is an inspiring reminder of why we step away from shore.