Seafaring author to read award winning book

It’s all about the kids at the Mount Gambier Library’s upcoming author visit with Susea Spray set to read her book ‘A Big Blue Boat’, with activities and craft suitable to ages 5+.

Seas are calm, winds gently blowing, when a Big Blue Boat and her Captain head out for a day’s sail. The winds strengthen and the sea starts to rollick and frolic. What are the Big Blue Boat and her brave Captain going to do? Will they find a safe harbour in time?

All those questions and more will be answered as the retired classroom teacher and professional photographer, who now lives the life of a cruising sailor, shares her creation with a young audience on January 24.

She and her husband don’t have a brick-and-mortar house. Instead, their home is a traditional big, blue sailing boat.

After four years of preparation, they departed Adelaide, South Australia in 2013. In the boat, they have sailed three oceans, seen amazing animals, and visited incredible places.

The Big Blue Boat now lives in Europe. Northern hemisphere summers find Susea and her husband on board, continuing their journey through the rivers and canals of Europe. The sailing journey has been the inspiration for Susea to at last find her writing voice for children.

During COVID and its restrictions, unable to sail, Susea was at last able to put pen to paper and the rhythmic A Big Blue Boat series was born.

An avid reader who has always written in one form or another, Susea is now sharing her love of language and sea with young and old, through the eyes of a big blue boat and a young girl, the Captain.

Her first book, A Big Blue Boat, is a cumulative tale introducing the boat and her captain. It was a 2022 Literary Titan Silver Award winner, and a 2022 and 2021 finalist in the Page Turner Awards.

Susea’s first sequel was Shortlisted in the 2022 Page Turner Awards and won the ‘Best Genre’ Award for the children’s picture book category. Lesley has come on board for the sailing journey once more and Susea is eagerly awaiting the time she receives a photo of the first illustration.

The January 24 Mount Gambier Library event is at 10am and while it is free, bookings are essential by phoning (08) 8721 2540 or https://bit.ly/4iQroND