Duncan's review
Sailing Alone Around the World (Penguin Classics)
by Joshua Slocum
Duncan's review
Sailing Alone Around the World (Penguin Classics) by Joshua Slocum
Duncan's review
rating:
recommended for: armchair sailors; lovers of vernacular history
In 1895 Joshua Slocum, forced from the sea when square riggers finally lost their place permanently to steamships, rebuilt a small oyster smack and began to sail it around the world. Radio was in its infancy and the world was not quite completely at war yet. He left Boston and tried to sail around Cape Horn three times. Failing this, he went the other way, completely around the world.
Along the way he was greeted as a hero, feted by yacht clubs and navies, chased by pirates, buffeted by typhoons and visited by the ghost of Columbus. His boat Spray is almost as famous as he is.
He navigated with a tin clock using the celestial movements of the moon to find his position and tied himself to his mast during storms. He was the first person to sail around the world alone.
His memoir of the journey is personable and amusing, as well as instructive for those of us who dream sometimes of casting off. His language is laconic and spare but his personality is generous. As a sto...more
Along the way he was greeted as a hero, feted by yacht clubs and navies, chased by pirates, buffeted by typhoons and visited by the ghost of Columbus. His boat Spray is almost as famous as he is.
He navigated with a tin clock using the celestial movements of the moon to find his position and tied himself to his mast during storms. He was the first person to sail around the world alone.
His memoir of the journey is personable and amusing, as well as instructive for those of us who dream sometimes of casting off. His language is laconic and spare but his personality is generous. As a sto...more
