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'Growing up in inland Australia, Judy, a young teacher, has rarely seen the sea. But when she flees a rioting classroom one dismal Friday, a dud and a failure, she gets drunk and wakes up on a boat. Overnight her life changes; she is in love with being on the water and in love with Wes Bannister who lives on the boat. Sailing was not something Judy had ever thought about wanting, but now she craved it. Wind was the best teacher she’d had, by far…
'From then on, Judy believes that the one trusted continuation of herself is with Wes, and always will be, but then events at sea challenge their closeness. Must they become competitors against each other in the push to be equals? It seems they must.
'A Sea-Chase is a novel that vividly tracks ambition, self-realisation, and lasting love tied up in a sea story. The idea that nobody who sets off to do something alone, without family, friends, rivals, and a pressing duty to the world, ever does so alone, finds beautiful, dramatic expression in Roger McDonald's tenth, and most surprising novel.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Dedication: To those who said you would do great things (and you did)
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Epigraph: As I looked at their faces I almost decided not to go; it was too unfair.
I patted Gus, the family labrador, went forward to cast off, and found Ken and Bill still busily bolting down a Highfield lever for the jibstay.
'OK, I'll finish that,' I said. 'I'm off.' -Robin Knox-Johnston, A World of My Own (1969)
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Epigraph: I've been thinking about my boyfriend and our relationship when I get home though. We've been drifting along for seven-and-a-half years now - too long with nothing happening. I've decided, now I can see it all from afar, that I couldn't live like hat for the rest of my life. -Kay Cottee (1989)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also dyslexic edition; large print
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Lives Drawn Out to Sea
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 33 no. 1 2019; (p. 173-174)
— Review of A Sea-Chase 2017 single work novel'A Sea-Chase, Roger McDonald's tenth novel, opens in late 1970s Australia on Judy, "a young teacher sobbing at her desk . . . after [her] rioting class fled for the day" (3). In the midst of this low point, though, something serendipitous happens: Ken Redlynch, a fellow teacher and acting inspector, walks in. While comforting her, he learns that she is the daughter of Elizabeth Darke, a famous geneticist and leading figure in Scientists Against Nuclear Testing (SANT). Politically minded himself, Ken takes an interest in Judy, and through him she gets introduced to a "skinny blue-eyed wildwood creature" (22) named Wes Bannister, who lives aboard Ken's boat, the Rattler. Wes and Ken are passionate sailors, and Judy, through her relationship with Wes and friendship with Ken, discovers her own love for "a breath of wind on a section of taut canvas" (56).' (Introduction)
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Riding the Waves of a Turbulent World
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18 November 2017; (p. 22)'Two of Australia’s finest writers began by publishing poetry before switching to fiction in the 1970s. David Malouf’s debut novel Johnno appeared in 1975; Roger McDonald’s Gallipoli novel, 1915, four years later. McDonald has taken his time since, assaying rich yet untouched or little regarded seams of the nation.' (Introduction)
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Butterfly Nuts
2017
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 396 2017; (p. 31)
— Review of A Sea-Chase 2017 single work novel'As Ratty observed to Mole, ‘There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.’ In Roger McDonald’s A Sea-Chase, lovers Wes Bannister and Judy Compton would certainly agree, but before they achieve Ratty’s state of nautical transcendence much that does matter has to be dealt with.' (Introduction)
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Butterfly Nuts
2017
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 396 2017; (p. 31)
— Review of A Sea-Chase 2017 single work novel'As Ratty observed to Mole, ‘There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.’ In Roger McDonald’s A Sea-Chase, lovers Wes Bannister and Judy Compton would certainly agree, but before they achieve Ratty’s state of nautical transcendence much that does matter has to be dealt with.' (Introduction)
-
Lives Drawn Out to Sea
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 33 no. 1 2019; (p. 173-174)
— Review of A Sea-Chase 2017 single work novel'A Sea-Chase, Roger McDonald's tenth novel, opens in late 1970s Australia on Judy, "a young teacher sobbing at her desk . . . after [her] rioting class fled for the day" (3). In the midst of this low point, though, something serendipitous happens: Ken Redlynch, a fellow teacher and acting inspector, walks in. While comforting her, he learns that she is the daughter of Elizabeth Darke, a famous geneticist and leading figure in Scientists Against Nuclear Testing (SANT). Politically minded himself, Ken takes an interest in Judy, and through him she gets introduced to a "skinny blue-eyed wildwood creature" (22) named Wes Bannister, who lives aboard Ken's boat, the Rattler. Wes and Ken are passionate sailors, and Judy, through her relationship with Wes and friendship with Ken, discovers her own love for "a breath of wind on a section of taut canvas" (56).' (Introduction)
-
Riding the Waves of a Turbulent World
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18 November 2017; (p. 22)'Two of Australia’s finest writers began by publishing poetry before switching to fiction in the 1970s. David Malouf’s debut novel Johnno appeared in 1975; Roger McDonald’s Gallipoli novel, 1915, four years later. McDonald has taken his time since, assaying rich yet untouched or little regarded seams of the nation.' (Introduction)
