Tweet
No doubt most of you have read the story of Joshua Slocum, the first to circumnavigate the world solo. The book he wrote of his journey, "Sailing Alone Around the World" (a classic tale of adventure, hardship, ingenuity and humor), has been a favorite of many shipboard libraries for well over a century. It certainly influenced my childhood fantasies of small boats and the sea.
So a tip of my cap to another age and a man who epitomizes the spirit of adventure and salty individualism!
From his book:
"I had resolved on a voyage around the world, and as the wind on the morning of April 24, 1895 was fair, at noon I weighed anchor, set sail, and filled away from Boston, where the Spray had been moored snugly all winter. The twelve o'clock whistles were blowing just as the sloop shot ahead under full sail. A short board was made up the harbor on the port tack, then coming about she stood to seaward, with her boom well off to port, and swung past the ferries with lively heels. A photographer on the outer pier of East Boston got a picture of her as she swept by, her flag at the peak throwing her folds clear. A thrilling pulse beat high in me. My step was light on deck in the crisp air. I felt there could be no turning back, and that I was engaging in an adventure the meaning of which I thoroughly understood."
An online copy of his book hosted by Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6317
So a tip of my cap to another age and a man who epitomizes the spirit of adventure and salty individualism!
From his book:
"I had resolved on a voyage around the world, and as the wind on the morning of April 24, 1895 was fair, at noon I weighed anchor, set sail, and filled away from Boston, where the Spray had been moored snugly all winter. The twelve o'clock whistles were blowing just as the sloop shot ahead under full sail. A short board was made up the harbor on the port tack, then coming about she stood to seaward, with her boom well off to port, and swung past the ferries with lively heels. A photographer on the outer pier of East Boston got a picture of her as she swept by, her flag at the peak throwing her folds clear. A thrilling pulse beat high in me. My step was light on deck in the crisp air. I felt there could be no turning back, and that I was engaging in an adventure the meaning of which I thoroughly understood."
An online copy of his book hosted by Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6317
Comment