'Sailing Alone Around the World' by Joshua Slocum

[wristwister]

OK, so the Spray has a hull speed of 9+ knots, is so perfectly balanced that it can sail 2000 miles with nobody at the helm, is strong as hell and is capable of weathering any ocean storm, is roomy as can be with it's broad beam and dual cabins, and has amazing cargo holding capability, all in under 30 feet!

I can't think of ANY modern sailboats that can come close to these specs!

So it begs the question, why aren't marinas FILLED with Spray replicas? Why arent the Beneteaus, Hunters and Catalina's of the world pumping out Sprays like popcorn?

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by wristwister

OK, so the Spray has a hull speed of 9+ knots, is so perfectly balanced that it can sail 2000 miles with nobody at the helm, is strong as hell and is capable of weathering any ocean storm, is roomy as can be with it's broad beam and dual cabins, and has amazing cargo holding capability, all in under 30 feet!

I can't think of ANY modern sailboats that can come close to these specs!

So it begs the question, why aren't marinas FILLED with Spray replicas? Why arent the Beneteaus, Hunters and Catalina's of the world pumping out Sprays like popcorn?

Cause it is only 9 knots in a gale. Windward, fugedaboudit.

I was aboard a replica and the owner was proud and rightly so. But while not coming out and saying it I could tell it sailed like a pig. I could smell it in his eyes.

[endoftheroad]

Thanks for the audio links.

Each night a chapter put me to sleep on my little sloop.

I just listened to the final chapter, it's 9:48am, I think I'll have a late morning snooze.

[endoftheroad]

My girlfriend asks;


Are there any other great audiobook links that we should know about?

[nv5l]

Recently finished the Kindle (print) version. Excellent book. Really liked the part about the tacks...

[daddle]

Yeah, 9 knots hands-free. It's a book. A story. An ego boosting manifesto. And a good one too.

[capemiker]

We are compiling our Kindle 3 library and wonder if anyone else has already assembled a "nautical" library on their kindle 3.
Would appreciate any pointers, public domain locations, etc.
Thanks in advance,
Rit

[nv5l]

For free books, you might think about: Two Years Before the Mast by Dana, Captain Courageous by Kipling, Hear of Darkness by Conrad, and The Submarine Hunters by Westerman. I read all of them recently.

I think there are a few by Jack London that are good, but I haven't read them yet. I think I'll also reread Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, as well as the Bounty trilogy, Mutiny, Pitcarn Island, and Men against the Sea (read them as a kid) -- these may not be available everywhere, but you can always get Bligh's narrative.

[capemiker]

Thanks Don,
The kindle store had a lot of old public domain stuff as does the Project Gutenburg.
Lots of old pirate stuff, some written in old english, difficult to read but awesome.
Rit

[Wolfhound]

Per Stan Grayson's recent book, Slocum's fly was inadvertently left unbuttoned, and the 13-year-old was offended by what she saw. Slocum was absent-minded, but there's no evidence that he was a pedophile. The book -- A Man for All Oceans -- is well worth reading.

[Centix]

Originally Posted by Wolfhound

Per Stan Grayson's recent book, Slocum's fly was inadvertently left unbuttoned, and the 13-year-old was offended by what she saw. Slocum was absent-minded, but there's no evidence that he was a pedophile. The book -- A Man for All Oceans -- is well worth reading.

The premise is intriguing! Thank you for the recommendation )

[skipperpete]

I immensely enjoyed Slocums ripping yarn about the "Do'er upper" and his round the world epic....... so much so that I bought a set of plans from "Roberts" , 11 tons of steel,a Gardner diesel engine with a Hündested propeller and a heap of other stuff and built a Spray as my first boat.
After launching it and getting a few miles on the log I realized that Joshua might have either overstated the abilities of his original boat or I missed something in my reading or my construction.
My Spray....... I avoid the word "replica" ...was pretty damned slow and I never was able to crack the self steering nut despite long hours of trying. After many years and a lot of miles l came to the conclusion that Slocum was one helluva good sailor with a boat that could fly a lot of canvas AND he had a lifetime of experience and skill to really use all that sail ( his main alone was the size of my entire non roller furling slab reefed wardrobe)
I had Slocum sized anchors and chain , manual windlass,no autopilot,a beautiful Sestrel Moore compass, a sextant with almanac and tables and the only electronic navaid was a startlingly accurate Furuno FE600 depth sounder ,and for many years never wanted or needed more.
I had my share of Slocum type hallucinatory events and blackouts but mine were likely alcohol related rather than supernatural events and compared to Slocum.... or anybody really ,my navigational skills were not good.
I owe a great deal to Joshua Slocum for the knowledge and sense of adventure that his writing gave to me. Oh, and the Hiscocks, Irving Johnson and a host of others.