On Celtic Tides: One Man's Journey Around Ireland by Sea Kayak | 
 enlarge | Author: Chris Duff
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $5.45
You Save: $9.50 (64%)
New (32) Used (30) Collectible (2) from $3.40
Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 494786
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 0312263686
Dewey Decimal Number: 914
EAN: 9780312263683
ASIN: 0312263686
Publication Date: November 4, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
"Every time I thought I had reached the peak, that the passion for the journey must certainly begin to wane, I would stumble on another experience that pulled me onward," writes Chris Duff, recounting his solo circumnavigation of Ireland by sea kayak in the summer of 1996. "Stroke by stroke, four miles an hour, Ireland was filling me with its life blood." Beginning and ending in Dublin, Duff paddled 1,200 miles over the course of three months. Sometimes he piloted his frail craft through waters too tumultuous even for hardy local fisherman; other times he sought refuge in sixth-century monastic ruins on coastal islands or waited out storms for days on end in his tent. In this sense, Duff's journey is a study in contrasting worlds: land and sea; past and present; solitude and society. The story's suspense comes not from a questionable outcome but in the surprise of daily encounters. Who or what relic of the past will the author stumble upon next? Ultimately it is Duff's openness to ancient and elemental forces, expressed in starkly honest prose, that propels his narrative through the churning waters of Irish history and landscape. But this is also the story of a sea kayaker at the top of his game, dealing with nature's harsh blows and quiet caresses. --Kristopher Kaiyala
Product Description
A sea kayak battles the freezing Irish waters as the morning sun rises out of the countryside. On the western horizon is the pinnacle of Skellig Michael-700 feet of vertical rock rising out of exploding seas. Somewhere on the isolated island are sixth-century monastic ruins where the light of civilization was kept burning during the Dark Ages by early Christian Irish monks. Puffins surface a few yards from the boat, as hundreds of gannets wheel overhead on six foot wing spans. The ocean rises violently and tosses paddler and boat as if they were discarded flotsam. This is just one day of Chris Duff's incredible three month journey.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 Celtic book November 3, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
got this for my husband. He liked it but wasn't overly enthused. He likes historical more than this kind.
 Fantastic May 9, 2007
The tale of this trip by kayak around Ireland is full of stories, history, observations, and best of all experiences in a kayak in these rough seas. The accounts of the history and people of Ireland are very well written. I enjoyed this book immensely and urge all you enjoy kayaking or travel to read it.
Lovely writing, uneventful adventure, Duff is the man, though April 21, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
To kayak around Ireland is unfathomable for me. Incredible that a person can do that. Still, there wasn't enough variation in this story to push it to the realm of "great adventure books". The beautifully written descriptions of the landscapes and people, though, make up for the lack of thrills. It does earn the 4 stars. I enjoyed the book, but I was glad that it was over in the end. For more adventure, try Running the Amazon. For a similar book with 1) poorer writing but 2) "interesting" characters who are easy to laugh at, try Keep Australia on your Left.
Good reading January 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a pleasure to read. Chris Duff are a humble paddler who strike the essence of seakayaking and all it's about. His meeting with the people, the thought of the land he travels throug is some of the most enjoyable reeding I have done.
Trond Glesaaen
Norway
 A mind-numbing slog October 6, 2005
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Chris Duff's journey and skill as a kayaker are not in question here. He's definitely got skills and experience.
What was maddening about this book was the starry-eyed reverence, awe and humility he had for every single damn rock and cliff and farmhouse he ran across. Every stone "spoke" to him, every cliff called out the timeless power of the sea, every ancient monastery still had ghosts running around in it.
His encounters with the people of Ireland at least brought him back to the living, somewhat, but even then, he has this sense of awe for the simple farming and fishing folk that, I'm sorry, just gets old after a while. He talks about visiting a pub on one stop, and being both exhilirated and driven to tears in the same song. Really? Call me a cynic, but Chris might want to adjust his meds.
I came away from this book thinking one of two things: Either Chris' "book" persona is a some ideal that he has in his head of what a serious "writer" and traveler should be... and that there are other bits of his character that for one reason or another he chose not to share. Like a sense of humor, perhaps.
Or this book really is a deep, honest, view into this guy's psyche. In which case, he sounds tedious, pretentious and boring.
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