Action and Adventure: | The Mississippi is still the Mississippi
and Adventure is still Adventure. Combined they equal excitement. Mark Twain fascinated the  world with his stories. "The River Runs South," is a continuation of what he started. The story is true. Every event happened. In the thirty-two days for Yenny, a newly arrived Dutch immigrant, and Bill, an avid sailor, to take "Julia" their 28-foot sailboat, from Milwaukee to New Orleans, they are exposed to the power of the river, the inequity of the people who work it and the exemplary character of the people who love it. The oncoming winter forces them to leave with an untested boat and almost ends in tragedy when Yenny is overcome with carbon monoxide during the crossing in Lake Michigan. Passing through locks presents a fear of being trapped in ones own coffins and the antics of the crew of a second boat keeps the story in a lighter vein. Fog, cold, the sinking of another boat before their eyes, the failure of the engine and abandonment by the other boat as well as the inescapable power of the river moves the couple from one crisis to the next. After a belated celebration in the French Quarter, the story continues from New Orleans to Pensacola. A three-day crossing of the Gulf Of Mexico becomes a five-day ordeal, plagued by high winds with rough seas or no wind and rough seas. A display of wild dolphins and a shark following the boat add both entertainment and reality to the situation. Leaving Tampa for Key Largo, a threatening hurricane, forces them to use the Inter Coastal waterway across Florida. This presents a new challenge, as they must pass their 50-foot mast under a 48-foot bridge. Yenny's Dutch upbringing clashes with the Cuban influence in Miami presenting a hilarious ending to the adventure. |