A Voyage for Madmen
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Product Description
In 1968, nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. It was a feat that had never been accomplished and one that would forever change the face of sailing. Ten months later, only one of the nine men would cross the end line and earn fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the reward was madness, failure, and death.
In this extraordinary book, Peter Nichols chronicles a contest of the individual against the sea, waged at a time before cell phones, satellite dishes, and electronic positioning systems. A Voyage for Madmen is a tale of sailors driven by their own dreams and demons, of horrific storms in the Southern Ocean, and of persons riveting moments when a split-second choice means the difference between life and death.
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I despise to be a sour puss (in light of the glowing praises for this book), but I have to admit that this book really didn’t do it for me. The writing is brilliant . . . there’s no doubt about that. But, the tale wasn’t very gripping or compelling. I just didn’t feel the need to pick it up every time I saw it on the coffee table.
When I read the inside take in, I was left with the impression that all but one sailor survived. I thought this would be an entralling tale about the peril of each lost sailor and the triump of the sole survivor. That’s not the case. Only one *finished* . . . which is more then I can say about how I did with this book. I stopped reading it 2/3 of the way through. There aren’t many books where I’ll make a 2/3 investment in time only to skip the end.
There are plenty of additional fantastic sailing books about racing. “Close to the Wind” and “The Proving Grounds” were both brilliant.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
Make no mistake — this book is not just a jolly excellent sea tale, although it is all of that. No, it is much more — this is a work of literature, of the same all-purpose calibre as Moby Dick and Ancient Man of the Sea — that is to say, a voyage of discovery, not just through the stormy ocean, but through the stormy heart and soul of the human being. By its conclusion, this book had brought tears to my eyes both for sorrow and for joy. If you want to be transported on an unforgettable adventure from the comfort of your home, read this book.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
I first saw a thrilling documentary Deep Water on Donald Crowhurst ill fated participation in the first solo yacht race around the World in 1968. As, I wanted to read more about all nine participants, I chose to read Nichols superb book as a replacement for of The Weird Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst. Nichols is a very proficient sailor (attempted a solo across the Atlantic) and very cultured. Thus, his combined skill set was perfect for this book.
Early in the book, Nichols refers to Anderson’s “The Ulysses Factor” that Nichols describes as: “… the lone hero figure in society… who by his exploits stimulates powerful mass excitement… [This drive towards solo heroic feat] is a genetic instinct in all of us, but dormant in most. Yet, we respond vicariously to the evidence of in the few whom this instinct drives to unusual endeavors.” But, after reading about these sailors, I felt the significant Greek figure was Icarus. Ulysses is a competent hero, while Icarus is a delusional nut. And, the majority of the nine sailors were closer to the latter. Nichols referring to their surprising lack of experience stated: “They were not sportsmen or racing yachtsmen… They were hardcase egomaniacs driven by complex desires…[towards]… life-threatening endeavors.”
Two among the nine had credible solo experience (Moitessier, Carozzo); another was a master mariner but not a solo yachtsman (Knox-Johnston); and, the remainders were surprisingly inexperienced. These included Crowhurst, a mediocre weekend sailor, who entered the race for the publicity it would bring his radio navigation contrivance and his failing company. Crowhurst had never sailed on a trimaran before (his boat for the race). Meanwhile, Chay Blyth did not really know how to sail. When starting the race, he was lead by a friend in another boat who just told him to follow and imitate him for the first few miles to get the hang of it. Granted, earlier Blyth had crossed the Atlantic rowing with his friend Ridgway. In his first storm, Blyth lost perfect control of his boat and states: “I turned to one of my sailing manuals to see what advice it contained for me. It was like being in hell with instructions.”
The Icarus complex carries over to the participants’ boats. You would expect them to have the best boats, far from it. Robin Knox-Johnston deemed his boat “Suhaili” all incorrect for this race. It was too tiny and too heavy. Moitessier thought his boat “Joshua” may be disastrous in the rough waters around Cape Horn. Tefley stated about his trimaran “Victress”: “I can reflect of nothing that was right about that boat for that race.” But, all three men were stuck with their boats because of lack of sponsorship. Ridgway and Blyth identical boats were too fleeting. And, Crowhurst who did raise the funds to renovate a quick boat hackneyed Tetley’s “Victress” flawed trimaran design.
Robin Knox-Johnston was genuinely pleased alone at sea. He had an intellectual drive and loaded his boat with tons of reading material such as textbooks in economics and calculus, and large tomes such as “War and Peace.” Also, attaching himself with a line he would frequently swim in the ocean. He felt it kept him fit, clean, and in excellent spirit. This is something additional sailors are frightened to do because of creatures in the ocean. He occasionally saw sharks. But, was not worried and simply waited a while till they were gone to venture swimming again. About his early experience he states at one point: “I can reflect of no one with whom I’d trade my lot at present.” Meanwhile, others were thrown into despair by the loneliness. At one point, Ridgway realized he had cried at some point for each of 27 consecutive days. But, later in the race even the pleased Knox-Johnston became physically and mentally exhausted. The chronic gale storms in the Southern Ocean causing sleep deprivation and having to frequently repair the hull of his boat in 50 degree water used all the reserves he could muster.
Crowhurst was the most delusional. He thought he could circle around the World in only 130 days and record unheard of maximum average speed of 220 miles per day. He was so sure of his winning that he assigned to his main sponsor a second mortgage on his house and signed a guarantee that if he did not end the race, he would reimburse his sponsor for the boat’s fee. Unless Crowhurst at least finished the race, his life would be ruined. Sailing his boat to his starting destination in England took him an amazingly slow 13 days at an average speed of only 23 miles per day. That was only 1/10th of the speed he thought this boat could achieve! On the last permitted day to start the race, his boat is not ready. But, he has no choice and starts anyway. This is a tragedy in the building. Only 15 days into the race, after building small ground going south in the Atlantic, his boat is in disrepair. He already considers quitting. But, agreed his financial bets (his sponsor would own his business and home if he did not end the race) he plows forwards. Later, Crowhurst communicated fake position coordinates to aver a speed record of 243 miles per day. Sir Francis Chichester, who sailed around the world while stopping once, immediately expressed skepticism. Chichester knew that consistency translates into credibility. And, that a sailor just does not sail at less than 60 mpd for weeks and suddenly break speed record. But, the media wanted sensation and ignored Chichester. Meanwhile, Crowhurst nonstop to plot two sets of position logs, the real ones and the fraudulent ones. The discrepancy between the two sets grew to thousands of miles. The maintaining of the fraudulent logs, a demanding algebraic task, contributed to Crowhurst descent into madness. His boat in terrible disrepair, he lands in Brazil to repair it. He even confesses his scam by drawing a map of his real voyage. But, the locals don’t know it.
If Crowhurst was a fraud, Moitessier was the real deal. He showed sailing prouesse with copious days over 182 mpd quicker than anyone at the time. Stripping his heavy boat from superfluous baggage “Moitessier was getting closer … to his idealized state of man and ship flying as one across the sea in a way few had ever approached… Not since Captain Nemo had a man felt so comfortable and self-sufficient at sea.” Even more so than Knox-Johnston, as Moitessier’s spirit never weakened through the entire race. He practiced yoga daily. He had so many sartori like moments including being escorted by a school of porpoises and later seeing the night lights of the aurora australis. Later, when he is sure to end in record time and earn the first prize of 5,000 pounds; he abruptly decides to continue middle around the World ultimately to shore in Tahiti as a replacement for of landing back in England. Moitessier had no tolerance for the expected media frenzy. He describes his spirit fully in his book The Long Way (Sheridan House). He is quoted adage: “I am continuing nonstop because I am pleased at sea, and perhaps because I want to save my soul.” By doing so, Moitessier let Knox-Johnston win the race.
As Tetley suffers a shipwreck only 1,000 miles from completion of the race, Crowhurst finds himself in the weird position of potentially winning the race for the fastest time. Crowhurst is painfully aware that Chichester will scrutinize and uncover his fraudulent logs. He is worried of the ensuing bring shame on. He descends into madness and writes 25,000 words of “passionately insane verbiage” in only 8 days. Eventually, he commits suicide by abandoning his boat. The boat will be recovered with his logs and writings intact. The press will eat that stuff up. And, Crowhurst shameful legacy will live on. Strangely, Tetley never reasonably recovered from the race either. He mounted an unsuccessful effort to raise fund for another go at sailing solo around the world. And, he committed suicide two years later.
Knox-Johnston became one of the most celebrated, legendary, and rich yachtsman. Moitessier remained a very active but low profile sailor. Just two years after the race, Blyth will successfully sail around the world the “incorrect way” handling all the prevailing winds and currents in the more challenging way. By, now he sure learned how to sail.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
Forty two years ago, 9 men set out alone on their yachts in the Sunday Times Golden Globe race around the world. This book tells the human side of that tale.
Perfect for both sailors and non-sailors (land lubbers :p), this book is downright gripping and immersive. The leader has clearly done his homework on the men who competed in this race, as well.
This is a must have book!
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
The men in this book fascinated me, but I establish myself skimming over most of the sailing details to get to the heart of the tale. I’m sure readers who are also sailors loved these details, and I still loved the book, but I did want future readers to have clear picture of what they’re getting.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5