In my view this is the definitive "sailing adventure book". I love this book and have read it over many times, enjoying the sense of humor and honesty of the author.From leaving pin-tacks on deck pointed up right to 'warn' of barefooted intruders at night off South America through to hallucinations and ghosts of sailors that helped him through a storm.
It is refreshing to anyone, experienced or not, that even the greats make mistakes. He is very honest and open in his writing style, capturing that sense of adventure that any 'around the world voyage' will inspire up.
His talk of his Yacht; The Spray is very interesting as he looks at her both as Skipper and builder, taking pride in her handling and usefulness.
For anyone sailing on a "Shoestring" this story is very relevant, as the book continues you realise that the really was sailing on a shoestring budget, trading and cargo carrying around the world as his voyage continued.
A throughly recommended adventure story. My copy, again a second hand edition, includes his previous adventure: The last voyage of the Liberdade, 1890, is also a great story. New editons, without the supporting story are available on Amazon, but try to get a good secon-hand copy with the additional story for anywhere between £1 to £5 from bookshops.
1 comment:
That's so great that I found your blog. I'm just finishing up a modern book about sailing around the world and I'm hooked! So I've been looking for other books that cover the same topic and now I have one to search for, thanks!
By the way, the book I'm reading is called Chasing Sunsets by Lawrence Pane and his family. He, his wife and young son took off on a six year circumnavigation of the world by boat and the book is a documentation of their adventures. I'd see it as a great contrast to Joshua's book but one I think you'd equally enjoy.
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