Sailing Alone Around the World

by Joshua Slocum

Overview

Joshua Slocum, one of the most famous of American sea captains, really was "The First" to single-handedly circumnavigate the world. The epitome of Yankee independence, he had been captain of his own single-decker, the Aquidneck, and built the Liberdade but he was at loose-ends at fifty-one.

An old friend offered him the old oyster boat which he rebuilt into the 37' Spray and in 1895 he took off from Boston for the Straits of Gibraltar, sailed back across the Atlantic and around South America to the South Seas. Slocum is a captivating writer, observant, humorous, and evocative. And he had a way of dealing with adversity that was at times distinctly theatrical -- here he outwits determined pirates in Tierra del Fuego: I was not for letting on that I was alone, and so I stepped into the cabin, and, passing through the hold, came out at the fore-scuttle, changing my clothes as I went along. That made two men. Then the piece of bowsprit which I had sawed off at Buenos Aires, and which I had still on board, I arranged forward on the lookout, dressed as a seaman, attaching a line by which I could pull it into motion. That made three of us...

Discover for yourself why Slocum's book is called a sailor's Walden -- Jack London sailed the Pacific using it (The Cruise of the Snark, also available from The Narrative Press). Even if you're not planning a solo sailing trip, it's a wonderful adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781775411901
Publisher:	The Floating Press
Publication date:	01/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	271 KB

About the Author

Joshua Slocum (1844-1909) was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. A naturalized American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer, he disappeared in November 1909 while aboard his boat, the Spray.

Read an Excerpt

Joshua Slocum, one of the most famous of American sea captains, really was the first to single-handedly circumnavigate the world. The epitome of Yankee independence, he had risen from a seaman to the captain of his own ship. Marooned in Brazil, he built a "canoe" in which he returned to America (see The Voyage of the Liberdade). At loose ends at fifty-one, he was offered an old oyster boat which he rebuilt into the 37' Spray and in 1895 he took off from Boston for the Straits of Gibraltar.

He is a captivating writer as well; observant, humorous, and evocative:

"For, one day, well off the Patagonian coast, while the sloop was reaching under short sail, a tremendous wave, the culmination, it seemed, of many waves, rolled down upon her in a storm, roaring as it came. I had only a moment to get all sail down and myself up on the peak halliards, out of danger, when I saw the mighty crest towering masthead-high above me. The mountain of water submerged my vessel. She shook in every timber and reeled under the weight of the sea, but rose quickly out of it, and rode grandly over the rollers that followed. It may have been a minute that from my hold in the rigging I could see no part of the Spray's hull. Perhaps it was even less time than that, but it seemed a long while, for under great excitement one lives fast, and in a few seconds one may think a great deal of one's past life."

He met determined pirates in Tierra del Fuego:

"I was not for letting on that I was alone, and so I stepped into the cabin, and, passing through the hold, came out at the fore-scuttle, changing my clothes as I went along. That made two men. Then the piece of bowsprit which I had sawed off at Buenos Aires, and which I had still on board, I arranged forward on the lookout, dressed as a seaman, attaching a line by which I could pull it into motion. That made three of us..."

In Africa he met the explorer Henry Stanley:

"Mr. Stanley was a nautical man once himself, - on the Nyanza, I think, - and of course my desire was to appear in the best light before a man of his experience. He looked me over carefully, and said,

'What an example of patience!'

'Patience is all that is required,' I ventured to reply.

He then asked if my vessel had water-tight compartments. I explained that she was all water-tight and all compartment.

'What if she should strike a rock?' he asked.

'Compartments would not save her if she should hit the rocks lying along her course,' said I; adding, 'she must be kept away from the rocks.'

After a considerable pause Mr. Stanley asked, 'What if a swordfish should pierce her hull with its sword?'

Of course I had thought of that as one of the dangers of the sea, and also of the chance of being struck by lightning. In the case of the swordfish, I ventured to say that 'the first thing would be to secure the sword.'

So this is where Jack London got the idea for watertight compartments! (see Cruise of the Snark, available from The Narrative Press) Discover for yourself why everyone reads this book (called a sailor's Walden) - even if you're not planning a solo sailing trip. And take it with you if you are!

Table of Contents

Chapter I1
Chapter II10
Chapter III19
Chapter IV28
Chapter V38
Chapter VI51
Chapter VII62
Chapter VIII75
Chapter IX84
Chapter X95
Chapter XI105
Chapter XII114
Chapter XIII125
Chapter XIV137
Chapter XV148
Chapter XVI161
Chapter XVII174
Chapter XVIII185
Chapter XIX193
Chapter XX203
Chapter XXI210
	Appendix	217
	Illustrations	225

Editorial Reviews

As a writer Slocum is given to plain understatement, dry wit, wry humor and Yankee observations about nature that led some to call him a sea-locked Thoreau. ... he offers descriptive glances at the sea, in storm or calm, that can rival those of Joseph Conrad.

Smithsonian

A literate and absorbing yarn published in 1900 and still in print... His story is a convincing tale of the intelligence, skill and fortitude that drove a master navigator.

The New York Times

Captain Slocum's place in history is as secure as Adams's. So long as men sailed the seas they will be interested in that first single-handed circumnavigation and will wish to read the book....There is not one single moment at which the ancient mariner is in danger of losing the attention of his audience. And this is true not only of the first, but, as I well know, of the twentieth or maybe thirtieth time of reading.

Arthur Ransome

A classic book... Slocum's writing is as elegant as his thirty-seven-foot sloop, SPRAY, whose crossing of the Atlantic he describes vividly.

The New Yorker

A classic book... Slocum's writing is as elegant as his thirty-seven-foot sloop, SPRAY, whose crossing of the Atlantic he describes vividly.

The New Yorker

Yes, Slocum's journey was 'epic' but it was also eccentric, unlikely, and his unsurpassable action elegiac . . . The unaffected and quirky intimacy with which he writes will never be matched. You cannot do what he did anymore.” —Matthew Parris

“Boys who do not like this book ought to be drowned at once.” —Arthur Ransome

“One of the all-time classic sailing narratives.” —Classic Boat

“It is riveting stuff . . . A great read.” —The Nautical Magazine

From the Publisher

When Joshua Slocum sailed alone around the world, he traveled in good company. He found himself particularly well suited to the adventure. While Slocum relished the companionship he found in port, he was equally at peace when alone on the face of the deep. The secret to his successful voyage? “I made companions with what was around me.” Alan Sklar’s warm, unhurried reading conveys the author’s genial practicality and the good humor with which he approached the wonders and challenges of three years and forty thousand miles. Sklar’s precision and ease with nautical terms add authenticity to his performance. T.J.W. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

APR/MAY 04 - AudioFile