A Young Man Sent to Sea

Going to the sea as a sailor at age eighteen is not the dream of most college-aged boys, especially those with some privileges in life. Yet for one young man who navigated this path at the insistence of his father, the unlikely experience turned into a wildly unforgettable adventure.Sent off to sea on the M.S. Grundsunda, an aging vessel with a foreign crew, Long Island teenager Vincent DeOrchis found himself thrown into the excitement of a maritime enterprises involving a motley mix of jobs, sometimes dangerous, sometimes funny - with a side excursion of of jumping ship in Spain during the late 60’s, only to find himself confronted by life under the Franco regime.A buoyant mix of emotions, memories, fears, and humor, this experienced sailor’s coming-of-age story compress tons of life lessons into a concise tale of his transformational, three-month voyage in 1968. From the heart of a man who is now a father, grandfather, and successful attorney, DeOrchis’s compelling memoir proves that the defining events of our youth can serve as a powerful rudder as we set sail toward our destiny.