A Quote from Sterling Hayden's Book, WANDERER

[beiland]

.....A QUOTE FROM STERLING HAYDEN'S BOOK, WANDERER

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... "cruising" it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

"I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it."

What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it.

But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?
Sterling Hayden

Since its publication in 1963, Sterling Hayden's autobiography, Wanderer, has been surrounded by controversy. The author was at the peak of his earning power as a movie star when he suddenly quit. He walked out on Hollywood, walked out of a shattered marriage, defied the courts, broke as an outlaw, set sail with his four children in the schooner Wanderer-bound for the South Seas. His attempt to escape launched his autobiography.

[Sand crab]

Just saw him again in Dr. Strangelove, one of my all time favorite movies. Remember don't let the commie bastards steal your purity of essence.

Dr. Strangelove - Precious Bodily Fluids - YouTube

[IslandHopper]

Yep got the book, just haven't got around to reading it yet.....

[Pelagic]

Can’t remember the exact words in his autobiography but it was something like…

“I am probably the only man in history to buy a ?? Foot yacht and join the Communist Party in the same day!”

[beiland]

1959, Jan. 23

Actor Sterling Hayden was somewhere on the high seas last night with the four children he is barred from taking out of the United States. The supposed destination of his 98-foot gaff-rigged schooner, Wanderer, was Santa Barbara when he left Sausalito at 10:30 a.m. With a fair wind and calm seas, he should have completed the 310-mile coastal trip. The Coast Guard was alerted to be on the lookout for the 67-year-old former San Francisco pilot boat once known as the Gracie S. Hayden's former wife, Betty De Noon Hayden, expressed fear he was on a court-forbidden voyage to the South Seas.

Hayden was awarded custody of the four children, ages 6 through 11, by Judge Emil Gumpert last week. But Gumpert refused to let the children go along on a projected South Seas voyage with their father, a former Gloucester fisherman. He said the Wanderer was not safe for such a trip. He described her crew as amateur. The 42-year-old actor-sailor recruited a volunteer crew of eight men, including a doctor. There were also five women aboard and the three children of First Mate Phillip Africa.

Before the judge ruled, Hayden had proposed a trip across the Pacific that would include stops at Tahiti, the Marquesas, the Thursday Islands, Bangkok and Hong Kong. The ship carries no radio.

[IslandHopper]

Short clip of the "Wanderer" from 1964, lovely music......

Schooner "Wanderer", 1964, Honolulu to San Francisco by Melvin P. Miller - YouTube

[S/V Alchemy]

Apparently, "Wanderer" was wrecked on a Tahiti reef in '68, after Hayden sold her.

Too bad.

[gjordan]

When I was in Papeete in 77 I was tied stern too next to a very old 38 foot ketch called the OTTO WALTERS. The owner was a nice old guy that would invite me over for a drink occasionally . His name was Otto Walters. He told me a story about Sterling Hayden and having a race from Panama to Tahiti in the 30s( I believe) between a training ship that Heyden was the Capt or maybe the mate and the training ship that Otto owned(also called the OTTO WALTERS). The bet was that the winner had to put on a Luau for the second boat (loser) to arrive in Tahiti. Otto said that Heyden wrote a book that said that his ship was first into Tahiti and put on the Luau, but Otto said that Heyden was full of B.S. and Otto and his crew won and had to put on the Luau. It is interesting what literary license does for authors. I have never run across a copy of Wanderer, but this thread will make me look for it and read it. By the way, the 2 training ships were square riggers, so I assume large crews._____Grant.

[Kettlewell]

The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Words to live by. I think of this every time I read a thread by someone wondering if they should go or wait until their retirement maxes out.

[gjordan]

Just watched the video of Wanderer. What a beautiful boat. Remember that Philip Africa AKA SPIKE AFRICA was the Presidant of the Pacific Ocean for many years , and his son Kit Africa was a traditional wooden boat builder in Sausalito for a long time. What a time warp.____Grant.

[beiland]

Originally Posted by gjordan

When I was in Papeete in 77 I was tied stern too next to a very old 38 foot ketch called the OTTO WALTERS. The owner was a nice old guy that would invite me over for a drink occasionally . His name was Otto Walters. He told me a story about Sterling Hayden and having a race from Panama to Tahiti in the 30s( I believe) between a training ship that Heyden was the Capt or maybe the mate and the training ship that Otto owned(also called the OTTO WALTERS). The bet was that the winner had to put on a Luau for the second boat (loser) to arrive in Tahiti. Otto said that Heyden wrote a book that said that his ship was first into Tahiti and put on the Luau, but Otto said that Heyden was full of B.S. and Otto and his crew won and had to put on the Luau. It is interesting what literary license does for authors. I have never run across a copy of Wanderer, but this thread will make me look for it and read it. By the way, the 2 training ships were square riggers, so I assume large crews._____Grant.

I could be wrong, but I don't think he ever sailed that route in those years, and certainly not on his own vessel. In his youth I seem to remember that he worked on some of those fishing schooners that 'raced' to and from the fishing grounds of the grand banks...out of Mass, Maine, and Nova Scotia. That was the basis for his fisrt book 'Voyage'...a somewhat difficult read.

He was working one of these fishing schooners when Hollywood first offered him a screen test.

I guess the modern day regulations would never have allowed those big fishing schooners that worked the Grand Banks.

The Queen of the Grand Banks Schooners - YouTube

...some Images

What a shame that the Grand Banks is virtually fished out. The photos of those huge catches and the boats is really awe inspiring. I visited that museum in Nova Scotia.

[beiland]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Words to live by. I think of this every time I read a thread by someone wondering if they should go or wait until their retirement maxes out.

EXACTLY !! I'm so glad I took on some adventure in my younger days.

[beiland]

There is no solace on earth for us—for such as we—
who search for a hidden city that we shall never see.

Only the road and the dawn, the sun, the wind and the rain,
And the watch fire under stars, and sleep, and the road again.
- John Masefield, The Seekers, introduction to Wanderer

************************************************** *******
“Life is a temporary assignment. We are here to play, not to stay. We will not get out of this alive, so lighten up!”

[Soundbounder]

I've read the book and enjoyed it. Wasn't aware of that YouTube video...thanks.

[gjordan]

I am not very good with the internet, but I went searching around and found(on an Amazon book review) that Haydens first command,at age 22 was a square rigger from Gloucester Mass to Tahiti in 1938. That certainly fits in with what Otto Walters told me, but I havent found a copy of the book to read yet. It is hard to imagine a 22 year old in charge of a square rigger untill you think of the multi million dollar jets and helicopters that we send our young people out to fly in today. Three Cheers For Youth and Adventure. _____Grant.