Imagine restoring an old and derelict wooden oyster sloop that has been propped up in a field for seven years (the neighbors declared it had been built in the year 1), cut down a nearby oak tree for a new keel, and thirteen months of refitting later you have the Spray. Now imagine you leave the GPS, satellite telephone, weather fax, and watermaker at home. You're starting your voyage in 1895 and you circumnavigate the globe, logging over 46,000 miles in a little over three years before returning home.
Joshua Slocum narrates his journey in an interesting self-effacing way. Along the way he experienced nearly every kind of weather, pirates, loneliness and shipwreck. Arthur Ransome, an English author of children's books suggested "Boys who do not like this book ought to be drowned at once." It's a great read for adults, too. Sailing Alone Around the World is out of copyright and in the public domain. You may download it free here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6317
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