The Voyage: #1 - BVIs to Falmouth -

by John Passmore

This is what it is like to sail an ocean alone.
Not the world-girdling marathon of the Southern Ocean racers or the “cruise in company” as part of a trade-wind rally, but what it is really like to set off for 3,496 miles from the British Virgin Islands to Falmouth in the UK, totally alone.
That means no contact with the shore, no high-frequency radio or satphone. No weather forecasts, no texts from loved ones. No news…
Just complete and uninterrupted isolation for 44 days.
In other words, this is singlehanded ocean sailing at its One man in a world shrunk to its bare essentials.
John Passmore is a life-long sailor and professional writer. His book Old Man Sailing was described by Yachting Monthly as “a word-of-mouth bestseller”.
In The Voyage, he takes it a step further. At times truly hilarious, at others, quite frankly weird; as Yachting World’s Tom Cunliffe said of the “A professional storyteller who always sees the funny side, even when laughs must have been hard to find.”
Audiobook available from the oldmansailing website.

193 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 3, 2022

Reviews

[Tony Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Voyage -- from the West Indies to Cornwall -- is a great read. Even if you are not a sailor or familiar with sailing, it is a learning experience. Written with Passmore's wry style, you feel you are with him through every mile of the long ocean journey. You read books with him, you learn about navigational equipment, you sit down to meals with him -- you hear about sea creatures running alongside the boat -- and, of course, the weather. Most of all, you learn about John Passmore as a person -- which, as a fellow journalist -- primarily interested me. You wonder how a small sailboat can take such buffeting when the waves get rough. But nothing seems to seriously bother 'our captain.' He is more worried about his favorite foods running low -- and even more concerned about the temperature of the beer in a tiny fridge and in the bilges (especially when the wind charger isn't working). You are also amazed at how nonchalantly John allows the boat to steer itself for long periods -- but that concern is because you are not a sailor. Those who rely on wind and sail set the yacht on a course and snuggle up in their sleeping bags for a good kip. So what if the vessel is 20 degrees off course heading for another destination when they wake up, it's soon fixed. Finally, if I had one criticism of this fascinating book, it would be that I would have enjoyed a little more of John's feelings when he comes into sight of Falmouth -- the joy, the sense of achievement etc. Otherwise, its a unique read -- makes you want to try this sailing lark yourself.

[Robert A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Voyage

I love the way the author takes you along on his journey from the BVIs to Falmouth. I felt like I was sitting at the chart table observing all the little nuances that popped up along the way. Look forward to the next journey of this “old man sailing”.