In the Middle of the Sea
at the Dark of the Moon
Forty-one days alone on the Atlantic. A small sailboat, the Falcarragh, crossing the space between two family lands — Philadelphia, and a stone village in County Donegal.
A man's solo sailing adventure — across an ocean - back to the village his father left in 1929.
In 2006, Joe Ferry sailed from Philadelphia, his birthplace, to Falcarragh, County Donegal — the birthplace of his father, also Joe Ferry. Singlehanded, only in the sense of how many were aboard the Falcarragh. In truth he carried the prayers and hands of dozens with him.
He wrote letters to his infant grandchildren, Madeline and Keiran. He logged the wind and the weight of the boat. He photographed every sunrise. Years later, his children and grandchildren helped him gather these pieces into the book you can hold today.
"The space between two fatherlands, two homes, two birthplaces — that space is the Atlantic Ocean. I crossed it, in a small sailboat, alone."
The Crossing
Forty-one days at sea. Two failed attempts before. A small sailboat named for a village she had never seen.
The Letters
Written on long watches to newborn grandchildren — Madeline and Keiran — for them to read in the future.
The Homecoming
A welcome in Ballyness Bay, in the village his father left in 1929. Two shores, one family, one long Atlantic between.
From Philadelphia to Donegal.
A father left Ireland in 1929 destined for America. Seventy-seven years later, his son sailed back across the Atlantic to his father's birthplace in Ireland. The story is finally in print — assembled by three generations of the Ferry family.