Recently, chatting to a friend in the pub, I heard the story of sailor Donald Crowhurst for the first time. Said friend loaned me the DVD Deep Water which tells his story using vintage footage and contemporary interviews. It a tragic but fascinating story. When I mentioned it to author Mark Chisnell, who revealed another brilliant true story with its roots in sailing in The Fulcrum Files, he recommended this book to me.The 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe race was open to all-comers. Two titles were available, one for the first non-stop solo circumnavigation of the world and one for the sailor who completed it the fastest. In a country that had watched rapt as Sir Francis Chichester returned to the UK having completed the first solo circumnavigation (with a stop in Sydney) the previous year this competition generated massive interest. The prize money of £5000 was no small sum at that time. Nine men took up the challenge, most of them relative novices, but only one completed the race. This book is the story of that race. It details the men, their boats, previous experience, preparations and their progress in the race. At the start of the book I was slightly concerned that a) I was going to struggle to keep the names of the participants, the boats and their progress straight in my mind and b) that it might turn out to be a bit dry and overly technical for someone who has never been sailing (although I do know some of the basic terms thanks to time on dive boats) I was proved wrong on both counts. Once the story started to gather momentum, when the competitors were beginning to get underway, I found myself engrossed. As events reduced the field by the latter stages the author was able to focus on Donald Crowhurst and Robin Knox-Johnston; for one the race results in tragedy, for the other there is a place in history. The narrative is clear and concise, and largely avoids getting too technical which made it accessible. However there is some amazing description of the challenges facing these men and there are philosophical and touching moments as they, and their families, face the consequences of their voyage. I was so moved I was almost in tears a couple of times. The author employs quotes from other books on the subject to great effect and I appreciated the pictures of the boats and competitors.This is a true story that would probably be deemed unbelievable if it was a work of fiction, but not wanting to throw in any major spoilers you'd have to read the book (or google the race) to find out more about all the twists and turns. I loved this book even though I came away feeling very saddened by the outcome. It is an amazing story and one I'm glad to have found out so much more about.
This is a gripping history of the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe circumnavigational sailing race, in which nine men attempted to be the first on record to sail around the world single-handedly and without stopping or receiving any assistance en route. Only one of the men actually completed the race. Being alone at sea for so many grueling months while facing life-threatening situations seems like such a huge endeavor that only a maniac would attempt it, and there often was some madness involved. The stories of the race and its participants are told in a very readable style, and it was hard to put the book down. The only drawback is that I probably read it too fast--- mostly because I already knew the entire story from watching both the Donald Crowhurst documentary and Moxie's video and hearing Moxie talk about the race so many times. It was good to read the book first-hand, although it's a different experience when you know how it all ends. If I could suggest an order for plunging into the story of the race, I'd recommend Moxie's video first, then this book, then the Donald Crowhurst documentary, and then maybe move on to other books written by and about the participants. I have a particular affection towards Bernard Moitessier because of his poetic nose-thumbing of the regatta establishment, and also towards Donald Crowhurst, who tragically dug himself deeper and deeper into a bad situation before finally figuring out the secret to life.
What do You think about A Voyage For Madmen (2002)?
Peter Nichols has put together a great little book on the 1969 Golden Globe race to be the first man to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe without stopping in any ports along the way. "A Voyage for Madmen" gives a great overview of the race and varying personalities involved -- from professional maritime men to vagabond sailors to one contestant who didn't even learn to sail until he was on his way. Only one person completed the race.I've read other accounts of the race (including the excellent "The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst" and Moitessier's "The Long Way") which are fantastic accounts themselves and perhaps slightly more enjoyable.Nichols' book excels in by providing a good description of everyone in the race. He is more interested in the technical differences between the competitors' boats and their tactics for dealing with the Roaring Forties than providing particularly deep character studies. However, it's a nice overview of the race and the people involved and makes for a compelling read.
—Amerynth
First 20-40 pages are rough. There are gems, but they're tough to get to. I found myself constantly flipping to the beginning to remember who was who, whose background belonged to which sailor, and who was on which boat. And I wondered how I'd ever remember all nine sailors for the duration of the book. I seriously considered taking notes so that I could get through the rest of book more easily. But the cover itself reveals that not everyone makes it, so if you're starting this book, know that w
—Sloane
I enjoyed the first few chapters of this book. In fact, I have wanted to travel to India for years, and the first few chapters inspired me to finally book my trip. I knew my only chance of going to India in the next couple years would be to go by myself. I was slightly fearful of being alone in a foreign land, but this book turned me around. I realized that if 20-somethings could travel around the world via the seas and completely by themselves, with the possibility of confronting any number of problems, I realized I could travel to India by myself.Unfortunately, the fire of the first few chapters didn't extend throughout. I am not familiar with sailing, so I found this book to be way too technical. I think this book will connect to such a small audience due to the author's constant mention of parts of the boat, latitude/longitude, and so on. I was hoping more for the human experience, but I wasn't pulled in and had to push myself to finish a book I thought I was going to end up loving.
—Laurie
