Sailing alone around the world
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.
Stats for nerds
9recommend
13mentions
11people
2010–2026years
85% recommend15% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I love “Sailing Alone Around the World” by Joshua Slocum. He was the first to do so. I always wanted to build a replica of his boat (plans are available) and do some solo sailing, but maybe not around the world.
- I really think that the subject of solo circumnavigation should be a natural part of the study of history.
To expand on this, also see:
- Joshua Slocum _Sailing Alone Around The World_ https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6317/6317-h/6317-h.htm
- Half-Safe: The Story of the Jeep/Boat That Drove Around the World https://gearjunkie.com/motors/half-safe-jeep-boat-overland-a...
- The First Human Powered Circumnavigation of the Globe https://wildbounds.com/blogs/culture-and-pioneers/jason-lewi...
- https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/er...
(though I think that the latter two are not quite as impressive in that gear was staged/transported --- I want to see someone do this "bikerafting" using a folding bike and a folding kayak)
and there's some Victorian guy who did it using commercial transport with nothing but his visiting cards and a letter of credit from his bank to facilitate the voyage.
- I've been listening to audiobooks from Librivox and stories of the circumnavigation of the globe have been interesting:
- _Sailing Alone Around The World_ Joshua Slocum
- _Around the World on a Bicycle_ Thomas Stevens
Apparently the first person do circumnavigate the globe using commercial transport was an Englishman (anyone know the name?) who did it with just a letter of credit from his bank and his visiting cards --- I believe during or just before the time of Queen Victoria. I'd be glad to know the further specifics if anyone knows them.
Another book on circumnavigation, more recent, which I've been wanting to read is _Half-Safe_ by Ben Carlin (he took a GPA around the world).
- Joshua Slocum - Sailing Alone Around the World
A fascinating account of the first solo circumnavigation of the world. Definitely a digital detox that will prep you the next book in this list
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6317
John Esquemeling - The Buccaneers Of America
This is a fascinating read and provides some insight into some of the influences on the origins of American democracy. One to read before you start the de Tocqueville.
https://archive.org/details/historybuccanee02perkgoog/page/n...
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
A spy thriller set during the great game between Russia and the Indian Raj. Most anything by Kipling is a rollicking good read.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2226
The travel writings of Isabella Bird
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Bird
Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita
Not pre 1900 but it is the perfect counterpoint to the paranoia inducing crime and punishment.
- Wow, that was interesting.
re: ""The handwritten cards show that in 1925, decades before he wrote his novel The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway was borrowing Joshua Slocum’s memoir, Sailing Alone Around the World.""
A bit off topic, but Joshua Slocum’s book "Sailing Alone Around the World" sort-of changed my life after I read it when I was about 10. His writing was so good, I felt like I was sailing with him. I never did long distance cruising, but I owned capable sailboats for 24 years and sailed between SF and northern Mexico a fair amount.
Not off topic, reading good books is transformative and too many people in modern times substitute social media and generally reading crap on the web, "news", etc. Anyway, I enjoyed the reading lists in the article and am passing the article on to friends and family.
- Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Sloacum.
Related
2012–2026
Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
4 recommend · 5
20,000 Leagues under The Sea
6 recommend · 33
Brave New World
202 recommend · 843
America Alone
2 recommend · 2
Island
26 recommend · 63
Going Solo
5 recommend · 7
The Gone-Away World
7 recommend · 8
