DOWN DENMARK STRAIT

by E. Newbold Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 29, 1980

The beautifully illustrated, history-stuffed recital of Smith's 1976 cruise in his 43-foot sloop Reindeer from Chesapeake Bay to the dangerous northern seas within 600 miles of the North Pole and across the Atlantic to Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Norway and Spitzbergen--a jaunt which prompted him to ask himself, ""Yes, Admiral, are you out of your focking mind?"" To test his new ship, Smith joins a race from Newport to Bermuda, in which he comes in first in his class; then it's heavy planning for the northern route and various crew switches at ports of call along the way. The trip begins in pleasant weather which quickly turns to gales and stays that way for almost ten days. At an early stopover Smith is questioned keenly by one Shurbitov, whom the captain takes for a KGB spy (he later turns out to be an American naval commander); in the Faeroes, the dismal news is that the islands are officially dry (although there's a widespread alcohol problem among the young). On the jog from Norway to the Spitzbergen Islands many social occasions arise, and then come the glories of the fjords, with narrow waterways and whistling winds. But the cream of the tour is the vastly hazardous return journey through the Denmark Strait, whose bergs and floes and jams are a sailor's nightmare. The photographs, though, far outshine the writing--lots of it interesting filler from the great Arctic explorers and sailors.

Pub Date: May 29, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION