Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - April 2020

BOOK REVIEW BY NICOLA CORNWELL
Pragmatic Attitude,
Dramatic Adventure
The Art of Getting Wrecked. Peter Roren. Germany: Books on Demand. 366 pp.
A few years of cruising left me with the distinct
impression that those I met on the Caribbean seas
were either running to something or away from something.
Sometimes both. Either way, their stories of
how they got to be sitting with me sipping rum in
some random beach bar were often long but rarely
mundane. So it’s no surprise that idle moments have
often resulted in sailors recalling their exploits on
paper with varying degrees of linguistic and literary
success. Peter “Fixman” Roren’s ambition to write is
no exception in that regard. What is exceptional is
that this part Norwegian, part English, mostly crazy
(in a good way) author has a real life story to tell that
totally justifies the oft-used adage “truth is stranger
remarkable strength of character coupled with a regular
reliance on DIY books. Every setback is seen as the door
to another opportunity, lack of money just another reason
to figure out a new way to make some. Despite the
drama, Peter never resorts to describing it as such:
All I had left in my material world was what I was
wearing — a wet T-shirt, a pair of marine-blue underpants
and a defeated look on my face. The crowd didn’t
say much. They didn’t need to.
Indeed his low-key “then this happened” recollections
make you wonder why you yourself get so bothered
about things when life gets in the way of your dreams
and plans. A good lesson for all of us perhaps.
At pretty much every turn in his journey Peter
NICOLA CORNWELL
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april 2020 CARIBBEAN COMPAss pAGE 35
Author Peter Roren (right) with reader Mikey Wilkie holding his freshly signed copy.
than fiction,” leaving the dear reader (me in this
instance) regularly muttering, “Blimey, you can’t
make this shit up!”
Commencing a book with a relatively lengthy trawl
back through the checkered history of your relatives
is not usually recommended as a successful writing
ploy unless you are royalty. But Roren’s DNA comes
from a highly diverse, often bizarre set of characters
whom he freely admits provide the backdrop for his
internal questioning of who he really is and what
motivates him. Added to this a lonely, peripatetic
childhood tinged with family tragedy and you get the
idea that young Peter was never really going to fit in
to any conventional way of life despite his best early
adult efforts to do so. The wife, the kids, the sensible
job, blah blah.
The inevitable happened in the mid ’80s when Roren
unshackled himself from his “normal” constraints,
hooked up with his neighbour Mariann and set sail in
a boat he had built in his garden, accompanied with a
rag-tag crew of strangers. Their maiden voyage was a
passage across the Atlantic. But by the time the book
is barely a third of the way through, the trusty vessel
Fredag has gone aground on reefs and been apparently
wrecked. You think that would be enough for one
good salty story, but no, Peter has way more and is not
one to let a little sinking get in the way of his ambitions
to conquer the high seas. As we learn, this turns out
to be just the beginning of Fredag and its crew’s
unconventional adventures.
The self-described “Captain Bligh” and his enigmatic
but splendidly stoic First Mate Mariann deal with disaster
as if it’s just another mild irritation in their lives.
There’s a pragmatism to their approach that indicates a
delves curiously into his surroundings, be they physical
or social. As he becomes more familiar with his
varied environments he is not afraid to share his personal
perspectives on them, providing an added
insightful social commentary not often revealed in
sailing books. A stint running a sort of nautical welfare
programme for delinquent kids from Norway indicates
there is even more to the man than is revealed
in one book. I hope he writes more about the hinted
bits that are missing.
If there is any criticism at all, it is the lack of conventional
structure in the narrative as it weaves through
various adventures both offshore and onshore. But
then, that rather reflects the way Peter has lived his
life. The book was originally written in Norwegian and
then translated; editor Bob Berlinghof has done a sterling
job of tempering the “Norwegian-ese” while retaining
Peter’s unique voice. As I read it, it’s as if he is
talking to me.
There’s no doubt Peter Roren lives a life less ordinary.
He now (mostly) resides in Bequia, a place where
it is regularly heard, “We’re all here because we’re not
all there.” He fits in.
This book is a Boy’s Own adventure, a right riveting
read. You don’t have to be a sailor or traveling gypsy
to enjoy it, but if you are or want to be, it will resonate
with you even more.
The Art of Getting Wrecked can be obtained online at
Amazon as a paperback or e-book, at the Chameleon
Cafe on Bequia (paperback), or by contacting the author
at peter@roren.com.
Nicola Cornwell sails on the Carricou sloop
S/V Exodus.
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