On Island Time

Kayaking the Caribbean

By: Scott B. Williams

Narrated by: Dean Smart

Tourists visit popular islands of the Caribbean by the planeload. What they don't see from their resort hotels are the hundreds of out-of-the-way, uninhabited islands sprinkled along the West Indies, from Florida to South America. This alluring archipelago, strung with beaches accessible only by boat but spaced temptingly close together, led Mississippi adventurer Scott B. Williams to embark upon an open-ended quest to see how far south he could go in a 17-foot sea kayak.

No one was willing to accompany him. He spent months working his way down the west coast of Florida, through the Bahamas, and on to Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean, his narrative of this journey of a lifetime, describes the wonders of discovery as he makes landfall on pristine cays. Relentless headwinds, dangerous surf, countless beaches declared off-limits to trespassing, and aggressive sharks that ram his kayak and snap him out of his musing, remind the adventurer that this paradise is far from perfect. Every day of the journey required constant vigilance.

With no one to depend on and often no one even knowing where he was for weeks at a time, Williams learned what it means to be self-reliant and to adjust to "island time." With just a simple craft and the few belongings that would fit in it, Williams explores an almost boundless frontier, and a powerful natural stretch of the Caribbean rarely, if ever, accessed by the island tourist.

The audiobook is published by University Press of Mississippi.

©2005 University Press of Mississippi (P)2017 Redwood Audiobooks

Kayak Sailer

The best book I have listened to and will be looking into his other books!

Ends kind of weird and abruptly

I really enjoyed the book and the content but be prepared for it to end abruptly. The story is cruising along and then there is an epilogue all of a sudden .... would have been much better if the author had have constructed a better ending than leaving the reader with the feeling that the book just ended for no reason.

Great book

I really liked this book. It was interesting to hear the author tell if his adventures and traveling in a kayak going from Mississippi all the way along Florida through the 10,000 islands and then the keys and then into the Caribbean islands. I enjoyed it and maybe someday I’ll be able to do a portion of this.

Modern Huck Finn

This is a great story of adventuring in both habited and inhabited areas. It is a story of how we can still travel through most areas if we are unobtrusive in order to get to those beautiful places of solitude.

A mix of travel and adventure for a great read.

The author's descriptions of the islands the keys and all aspects of his trip are accurate and bring me back to those places. His adventures paddling are suspenseful and make for a great read..