VOYAGE ALONE

by Edward Allcard ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

The Sea Wanderer was built in 1911 with a circumnavigation of the globe in mind. But no such voyage occured until Allcard bought the yacht as a derelict in 1950 and transformed it into a 36-foot short-rigged Bermudan ketch. Intending to see the planet, he set out with no fixed schedule. He sailed from England to the South Atlantic by way of the Mediterranean and then the West Indies. In Tangier he ran into explosive trouble: two ships in port nearby him were blown to bits. His attempts at chartering the boat to help pay the way were farcically upset. Perhaps the most fetching part of Allcard's adventure is a race he had with another lone voyager, from the Canary Islands to the West Indies; he lost the race, but happily, for he made the transatlantic crossing of 3000 miles in 32 days. Much of the fun is in comparing the log books of the two participants, how one is becalmed and fuming while the other is even more so, or one is going hell-bent and gloating only to find that the other has done better. Mr. Allcard's British humor sometimes snaps like a pendant.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION