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Cover of For Love and the Sea by Jutta Townes. A snapshot of the author as a young woman is features on a background of swirling ocean waves, with a map of the world above the title.

For Love and the Sea Jutta Townes

At 18, Jutta Townes leaves her German coal-mining town and migrates to Australia. She meets a lanky Australian engineer with a yen to sail around the world, and together they buy a traditional wooden yacht and grab adventure with both hands. They sail the eastern coasts of Australia, Africa and South America and the oceans in between, then with a new boat – and a new baby – they travel from Germany down the Danube through the Eastern Bloc countries to Istanbul and beyond.

For Love and the Sea is a memoir of discovery, fellowship, and moments of sublime beauty as well as sheer terror. It also looks back, with the compassion and perspective of time, at a young woman finding her way through adulthood and marriage. Townes writes vividly of travel before GPS and satellite communications and explores what it means to grow up, come to terms with the past, and look forward to the future with an adventurous heart.

Jutta Townes About the author

Jutta Townes migrated to Australia from Germany aged 18, in 1960. After she and her Australian husband spent ten years travelling the world by boat, they settled back in Australia. Jutta raised two sons and worked in a number of different occupations before finally settling into a career as psychotherapist. She now lives in Tasmania.

Photo of Jutta Townes