Michigan native and author John Kretschmer will introduce his newest book, At the Mercy of the Sea: The True Story of Three Sailors in a Caribbean Hurricane, at Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S Rose St, on Wednesday, December 6, 7:00 pm. Books will be available for sale and signing.
 
A heart-rending story, At the Mercy of the Sea recounts the fate of three sailboats caught by Hurricane Lenny, a late season monster that defied all predictions by moving steadily east toward the Leeward Islands . Spawned south of Cuba in 1999, Lenny was a borderline Category 5 storm when it stalled in the Anegada passage and overran one of Kretschmer's dear friends, Carl Wake, and his beloved boat, La Vie en Rose.
 
Two other sailboats were also in the path of the storm. English Braids, a tiny 21' racer skippered by would-be elite competitive sailor Steve Rigby, and Fredericanne, a 65' schooner rigged for day charters and skippered by capable French Captain Guillaume Llobregat. None of these men knew each other, yet they converged by fate in a tiny circle of the sea in the midst of a hellish storm no boat could survive. This taut, suspenseful re-creation seeks to make the sense of the improbable intersection of three lives at the height of a storm, as it also testifies to Carl Wake's search for meaning and ultimately, for his soul.
 
John Kretschmer has logged over 227,000 ocean miles on dozens of different boats. His website, www.yayablues.com, lists almost 50 boats on which he sailed 1,000+ miles. During the years when he made a living moving other people's boats from one side of an ocean to another, Kretschmer was listed as one of Lloyd's preferred skippers.
 
One of the most experienced passage making captains in the world, Kretschmer also lectures, teaches seminars, and leads training voyages. He has presented more than 100 lectures to a wide range of audiences around the world and is a favorite speaker at Strictly Sail, the annual Chicago boat show, which last year drew 20,000 sailing enthusiasts to Chicago 's Navy Pier.
 
A great storyteller, Kretschmer is a longtime contributing editor to Sailing Magazine, a sailing/travel columnist for the Miami Herald, and writes regularly for Southern Boating and Cruising World. His previous books include The Used Book Notebook (new edition in 2006), Flirting with Mermaids (a memoir, first published in 1999, 2003 trade paperback continues to sell), and Cape Horn to Starboard, Kretschmer's own coming of age story.
 
Kretschmer is available for interviews before arriving in Kalamazoo . His cell phone number is (954) 205 5845. He visits Kalamazoo in the middle of a book tour that spans the country—from his hometown bookstores in Ft. Lauderdale, to the Annapolis Boat Show, Strictly Sail Chicago and Strictly Sail Miami, to events in Connecticut, New York, Los Angeles, and more. Kalamazoo residents Warren and Marti Fritz and Walter Ogston took a training voyage to the Dry Tortugas with Kretschmer in 2004.