UK Holidays - A Speck on the Sea

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Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 797
EAN: 9780071440295
ISBN: 0071440291
Label: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2004-07-27
Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Studio: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press

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Editorial Reviews:

"A gripping compendium of noteworthy small-boat voyages made over the centuries."

--John Harland, author of Seamanship in the Age of Sail

A Speck on the Sea chronicles the greatest ocean voyages attempted in the littlest boats. These feats include:

Diego Mendez's voyage to rescue Columbus
William Okeley's escape from slavery in a folding rowboat
Ernest Shackleton's death-cheating journeys
And more

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Astounding stories well told.
Comment: Astounding stories well told. Stories of delusional, niave, and competent sailors taking small (very small) craft to sea. Covers mostly those who survive these undertakings.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Smooth Sailing
Comment: I was tickled to discover a couple of weeks ago that our 1980's voyage from Miami to Australia with 18' "Pere Peinard" made mention in Longyard's excellent compendium. I was suprised and grateful for the "1/15th second of fame" since it's mainly remarkable for being unremarkable! Nothing broke at all except the wallet and a world record (26 days, under 25' LOA) for the Galapagos-Marquesas crossing in 26 days, 1983. Is this still standing? (Ok, after 6 great years, the marriage broke up too, but hey. Not the friendship! No regrets!) We made every intended destination (except Sydney, had to settle for Brisbane. At 3 knots bare-pole:) Our 5 yrs under sail were remarkably easy and beautiful, thanks to a really solid boat, careful work, and the grace of god/dess. In oceanic terms, even the Titanic is but a Speck on the Sea. So, I very much appreciate the respect Longyard has conveyed towards the WHOLE spectrum of small boat sailors! Isn't that what we all are, really? On this planet? In this universe?

Customer Rating:

Summary: Boats, Floats and Bars of Soap on the High Seas
Comment: Okay, so there are no stories of trans-oceanic voyages on soap bars in this book; just needed a catchy rhyme for the title. But this fascinating seaman's yarn covers just about every other buoyant contrivance that went to sea, at least those twenty feet long or less. This limitation is my only slight quibble about the book. Although in the beginning some boats are covered which exceed the twenty-foot benchmark established by the author, it does seem a bit arbitrary. Why not include Josh Slocum's marvelous circumnavigation in a 37-footer that was
already a century old when he obtained her? It should be noted that solo circumnavigations are covered by the 1974 book by Tod Holms (unfortunately long out of print and hard to obtain). That said, Longyard has provided a delightful compendium of
seamanship in Lillipution craft. Many might be written off as
publicity stunts and gimmicks, which they were. None could be duplicated by anyone other than the most intrepid and hardy sailor. Even then, the voyager turned up half dead, if he survived at all.

This is not a dry technical manual on small boat seamanship, although there are a lot of nuggets for the sailor in the tales. Human interest predominates. There are tales of cruelty and chicanery as in the story of Voss's seagoing canoe, and those invoking great sympathy as in how Andrews enticed an advernturesome young New Jersey farm girl to join him in a transatlantic stunt which ended in the disappearance of both somewhere beneath the tempestuous waves. All in all, brisk and
delightful reading cover to cover.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Well written, fun, inspiring, frightening - A great read
Comment: A great collection of tales of amazing small boat adventures and adventurers. I bought this book thinking I would be able to read a story at a time ad set the book aside inbetween - but it was too good to set aside. From way back in history and white slave escapes - to modern record setters. This book constantly made my jaw drop in awe and amazement.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Speck on the Sea Review
Comment: If you love the sea, you will love this book. But if you are looking for a page turner that will excite lubbers, this is not for you. You have to be one who has "gone down to the sea" in order to appreciate all of the detail on all of the voyages, and in order to understand just what these guys were up against. If you fall in that category, this is for you!

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