The Hard'n-Back — Patrick Moran

A sports odyssey about a planet whose water-borne, raft-dwelling peoples must compete in globe-girding rowing regattas in order to win the right to reproduce. Failure to win means facing the ""Long Death"" of extinction. But more than telling of a fight for survival, The Hard'n-Back tells a love story whose timeless dimensions of devotion and sacrifice reach beyond the boundaries of survival itself.