Chasing the Dream: «Tryste» Around the World

Jo-Anne Mary Benson, the former book review columnist for Ottawa Parent
magazine, is an Ottawa-based freelance editor and writer.

One of the greatest joys individuals have is the ability to plan and
dream. For Val and Ernst Haigh and their family, dream became reality
when they boarded their homemade trimaran in British Columbia and headed
out to sea. Little did they know that this journey, which began in 1969,
would end with Val and Ernest completing a circumnavigation of the globe
in 1974.

Chasing a Dream provides all the ingredients of a wonderful travelogue.
The extent of travel is vast, allowing Haigh to reveal much about a
variety of countries, cultures, and people. The family’s journey is
portrayed as one replete with delightful differences and contrasts. The
Galapagos Archipelago proved to be a challenging sail in the midst of a
gale, yet the islands provided a peaceful refuge where one could observe
and feed land iguanas. Whereas some locations were remote, uninhabited,
or barren, Mexico was a country filled with colors. New Zealand became a
much-loved temporary refuge where the children attended school and the
parents earned funds to further their journey.

More than a travel book, Chasing a Dream gives us an insightful look at
family dynamics in an unusual situation, as well as a unique perspective
on the topics of parenting, marriage, childhood, and educational
experiences. In New Zealand, when the two eldest daughters depart to
begin their own lives, readers are left with the knowledge that dreams
can come true and need never die.