"Sir Francis Drake, a murderous pirate working for the Queen of England in the 16th century, was the second person in the world known to sail around the globe. On a quest to steal treasures, hunt for spices, and annoy the King of Spain as much as possible, Francis and his crew aboard the Golden Hind might not have been the first, but they were certainly the wackiest. Follow his travels full of perils, pongs, and penguins, and learn a little history along the way."--

“An extraordinary story of bravery and insanity on the high seas. . . . One of the most gripping sea stories I have ever read.” — Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm In the tradition of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm, comes a breathtaking oceanic adventure about an obsessive desire to test the limits of human endurance. In 1968 nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held and never before completed: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. Ten months later, only one of the nine men would cross the finish line and earn fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the reward was madness, failure, and death. Gorgeously written and meticulously researched by author Peter Nichols, this extraordinary book chronicles the 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, and of those riveting moments when a decision means the difference between life and death.

The great American sailor Joshua Slocum may have had little else to do when he began rebuilding the small sloop Spray. He could, however, look back at a lifetime on the ocean as preparation for his remarkable circumnavigation. Beth Leonard attended college and collected a master's degree in business. She could point to a successful international management consulting career, but there was no blue-water sailing on her resume. Like so many of us, Beth felt an itch of discontent inside the corporate suit she put on every day. Unlike most us, though, Beth couldn't resist scratching that itch. Following Seas recounts the story of Beth's transformation from business analyst to expert in the sea, the wind, the sky, the stars and Silk, the boat on which she learns to depend for her life. Over the course of three years, Beth grows into someone to whom Joshua Slocum could tip his hat in sailing fellowship. The dramatic shake-down cruise recounted in the prologue of Following Seas became the first leg of a sometimes tumultuous and sometimes serene circumnavigation. Sailing west-abound, Beth and companion Evans Starzinger pilot silk from the Azores, through the Panama Canal, and into the South Pacific, where the peoples of remote islands play a vital part in the story. How does one decide to leave a career and adopt a new way of life? What will you discover about the new places you see, the people you meet? Most important, what might you discover about yourself? Following Seas tells the story of Beth Leonard's journey of discovery. Why not weigh anchor, sail west-around, and share this journey of exploration yourself?

A guide to nearly 1,000 sailing routes covering all the oceans of the world, geared specifically to the needs of cruising sailors. It advises on the winds, currents, regional and seasonal weather, and optimum times for individual routes, plus over 6,000 waypoints.

Joshua Slocum's epic solo voyage around the world in 1895 in the 37 foot sloop Spray stands as one of the greatest sea adventures of all time. This work offers Slocum's account of his epic voyage. It is intended for admirers of his legendary achievement.

In early 1968, desperate entrepreneur Donald Crowhurst was trying to sell a nautical navigation device he had developed when he saw that the Sunday Times would be sponsoring the Golden Globe Race, the first ever solo, round-the-world sailing competition. An avid amateur sailor, Crowhurst sensed a marketing opportunity and shocked the world by entering the competition using an untested trimaran of his own design. Shock soon turned to amazement when he quickly took the lead, checking in by radio message from locations far ahead of his seasoned competitors. But on July 10, 1969, roughly eight months after he had sailed from England--and less than two weeks from his expected triumphant return--his wife was informed that his boat, the Teignmouth Electron, had been discovered drifting quietly, abandoned in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Crowhurst was missing, assumed drowned. How did he come to such an end when his race had begun with such incredible promise? In this masterpiece of investigative journalism, Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall reconstruct one of the greatest modern stories of one man's descent into self-delusion, public deception, and madness. Based on in-depth interviews with Crowhurst's family and friends, combined with gripping excerpts from his logbooks that revealed (among other things) he had been falsifying his locations all along, Tomalin and Hall paint an unforgettable, haunting portrait of a complex, deeply troubled man and his final fateful journey.

“A first-rate historical page turner.” —New York Times Book Review The acclaimed and bestselling account of Ferdinand Magellan’s historic 60,000-mile ocean voyage. Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey filled with sex, violence, and amazing adventure. Now in Over the Edge of the World, prize-winning biographer and journalist Laurence Bergreen entwines a variety of candid, firsthand accounts, bringing to life this groundbreaking and majestic tale of discovery that changed both the way explorers would henceforth navigate the oceans and history itself. Now updated to include a new introduction commemorating the 500th anniversary of Magellan’s voyage.

Championship racers and professional adventurers disclose their favorite destinations in an inspiring volume of stories, travel tips, and photos. Featuring some of the best-known men and women in the sport—Tom Whidden and Gary Jobson (members of the winning 1987 America’s Cup crew), Jeff Johnstone (of J-Boats), award-winning sailing writer Lin Pardey, and many others—this is a unique full-color celebration for sailors to relive their greatest memories or plan their next big adventure. The amazingly diverse places they’ve selected include: Australia: Fremantle and Sydney Bermuda: St. George’s Harbor Brazil: Bay of Ilha Grande California: Channel Islands and San Francisco Bay Chile: Cape Horn Italy: Costa Smeralda, Sardinia Maine: Boothbay Harbor, Penobscot Bay, Southwest Harbor Florida: Biscayne Bay and Key West Scotland: Firth of Clyde South Africa: Cape Town…and dozens more For each place, the sailor recommending the venue spins an entertaining yarn about their experience there, and each description is accompanied by a “make you want to go there now” photograph. From the relative indolence of cruising the Dodecanese or the British Virgin Islands, to the white-knuckle adventure of rounding Cape Horn, to the thrill of partaking in the regatta off Newport, Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die captures the rich and varied world of recreational sailing—and may just inspire you to set sail on some new adventures of your own.

Harboring a dream to sail across the world's widest ocean, a seasick unicorn gathers his friends and casts off to sea to vomit rainbows and battle self-doubt in a quest to reach the sandy shoreline of beach bonfires and success.

When Ellen finished the Vendee Globe, yachting's toughest race aged just 24 the nation took her to it's heart. The depth of the affection for Ellen is extraordinary - she makes people feel like they can do anything! This is her story, written intrue Ellen style, in her own words, without the help of a ghost writer. Passionate, dramatic and and deeply affecting, her story will move and inspire all who read it.