Sailing Alone Around the World
Joshua Slocum (1901)

THE A5 BOOK REVIEW

Sailing Alone Around the World is the story of Joshua Slocum’s solo voyage in 1895 in the 37 foot sailboat Spray.  His story ranks as one of the best seafaring books of all time and an inspiration for solo travelers all across the world.  Slocum was an experienced navigator and ship owner, and he spent over a year preparing his sloop for a long voyage before departing from Boston, Massachusetts.  By the time he returned back into Newport, Rhode Island three years later, he had sailed almost 46,000 miles entirely by sail and entirely by himself – the first person ever to sail around the world alone.  Slocum very honestly shares the ups and downs of his experience:  his loneliness, fatigue, and constant fears, balanced with moments of wonder, serenity and pride.  It is a very compelling read, and a true classic in sailing and adventure travel literature.
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OTHER A5 RECOMMENDATIONS ON THOSE WHO SAILED AROUND THE WORLD

While Joshua Slocum might have been the first to create the youth-who-sailed-around-the-world genre, there are several other great books.  Each has its own appeal, and it is also interesting to see how these sailors were affected by those who went before them.  Here is a list of the our other recommendations.

GREAT QUOTES:

“I grasped her gunwale and held on as she turned bottom up, for I suddenly remembered that I could not swim. Then I tried to right her, but with too much eagerness, for she rolled clean over, and left me as before, clinging to her gunwale, while my body was still in the water. Giving me a moment to cool reflection, I found that although the wind was blowing moderately toward the land, the current was carrying me to sea, and that something would have to be done. Three times I had been under water, in trying to right the dory, and I was just saying, “Now I lay me,” when I was seized by a determination to try yet once more, so that no one of the prophets of evil I had left behind me could say, “I told you so.” Whatever the danger may have been, much or little, I can truly say that the moment was the most serene of my life.” 
- Joshua Slocum, Sailing Alone Around the World

INTERESTING LINKS:

  • The Columbia Review has a nice review on Sailing Alone Around the World from Avraham Azrieli.  
  • Those who want more information on Joshua Slocum might want to read his biography, The Hard Way Around, written by Geoffrey Wolff. 

THE VOYAGE, MAPPED IN GOOGLE EARTH