Jonathan White to Speak on his New Book Tides

Saturday, February 18, 5:30 pm, Orcas Center

— from Donna Laslo —

After nearly losing his 65-foot schooner Crusader in a strong Alaskan tide, local author Jonathan White vowed to understand these mysterious, implacable sea surges. An avid sailor and surfer, he recognized that the sun and moon had something to do with it, but exactly what? Thus began a decade-long personal odyssey that resulted in his new book, Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean.

On Saturday evening, February 18, White will launch this book in an Orcas Currents lecture and reception at Orcas Center beginning at 5:30 pm. Following the lecture, he will sign copies of Tides during a reception in the Madrona Room beginning about 7 pm, which will include hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Admission to both events is free to all comers, but donations to Orcas Currents are welcome.

As founder and former director of the Resource Institute, a Seattle nonprofit, White spent eleven years building a seminar program aboard his schooner, which sailed from the Puget Sound to southeast Alaskan waters. These experiences were recounted in his first book, Talking on the Water, which included interviews with Peter Matthiessen, Lynn Margulis, Gary Snyder and several others. He has also served as chair of the Northwest Straits Commission and the San Juan Initiative, and is a local building contractor.

After his close call with Crusader, White read hundreds of books and reports about the tides. For ten years, he criss-crossed the globe to five continents, witnessing the largest, fastest, scariest, and most amazing tides in the world. This research and his experiences have been incorporated into the book, which he will discuss at length.

“Jonathan White has the ocean in his veins, and with Tides he has written a gorgeous elegy to its monumental presence, its ageless mystery,” says Susan Casey, author of The Wave. “White goes deep beneath the surface with the grace of a poet. Be prepared for some serious magic when you read these pages.”

With colorful photographs, stories and short readings, Jonathan White takes audiences on an enthralling journey into the surprising poetic workings of the tides. His lecture and book will be of great interest to sailors, kayakers, and islanders who are mesmerized by the waters lapping at our rocky shorelines.

This event is cosponsored by Orcas Open Arts, Orcas Island Library, Darvill’s Bookstore, and Gary and Lynn Green.