Sheridan House Maritime Classics – serie

"I would like now to write a practical book that will cover three topics: boats, the sea, and the beachcombing life." These were the thought of Bernard Moitessier after he finished writing his last book, Tamata and the Alliance, while in Polynesia.The great master died in 1994 and never completed the book, but here it is, meticulously collected from hus many writings, published and unpublished, by his companion Véronique Lerebours Pigeonnière. Moitessier's notebooks include all the know-how and the 1001 tips of this legendary sailor, the knowledge he acquired on the water, in meeting with sailors, during long passages, and during his many years living on various islands. The first part of the book details how to prepare for an extensive cruise, what kind of boat to choose, the rigging, the sails, the anchors, on deck and below deck. The second part describes the passage: the weather, navigation, watch-keeping, and heavy weather. In the third part, Moitessier takes us to the South Sea islands and shows how to adapt to living on an atoll, gardening, fishing and attaining self-sufficiency.

In May 1946 John Caldwell set out to sail from Panama to Sydney to reunite with his wife who he hadn't seen for more than a year. Eager to reach his destination and unable to secure any other form of transport, he had to resort to singlehanded seamanship.After an ignominious scene in the harbor, where a tangled anchor led him to take an early dip, he spent ten days learning the rudiments of navigation and sailing from a book, before embarking on the 9,000 mile journey aboard the 20-foot Pagan. Ahead lay a mission that was to reveal in him elements not only of astounding courage and determination, but also of incredible foolhardiness. Within 500 miles of Panama John Caldwell had already been shipwrecked once and had his boat's engine and cockpit destroyed by an angry shark. Indefatigable, he decided to press on towards his goal.He endured the terrors and discomforts of life on the high seas and enjoyed the triumphs of fighting and winning against the elements. This is more than an exciting tale of sea-adventure. It is as compelling and unpredictable as a thriller. It is the story, witty and moving, of a man, motivated initially by love, and ultimately by his own fierce determination to survive.

In a salty, slashing style, Tristan Jones unfolds his extraordinary saga--a six year voyage during which he a covered a distance equal to twice the circumference of the world--revealing both a rich sense of history an insuppressible Welsh wit.With a singleness of purpose as ferocious as nay hazard he encountered, Tristan Jones would not give up--even after dodging snipers on the Red Sea, capsizing off the Cape of Good Hope, starving in the Amazon, struggling for 3,000 miles against the mightiest sea current in the world, and hauling his boat over the rugged Andes three miles above sea level to find at last the legendary Island of the Sun. And beyond lay te most awesome challenge of all--the tortuous trek through 6,000 miles of uncharted rivers to find his way back to the ocean.