A Speck on the Sea - Epic Voyages in the Most Improbable Vessels

This book is about remarkable waterborne voyages made in surprisingly small boats, generally, but not always, boats under twenty feet in length.ContentsINTRODUCTION: WHY WOULD ANYONE CROSS AN OCEAN IN A SMALL BOAT?1. THE FOGBOUND PAST: 63 AD–16th CENTURY2. TWO DESPERATE ESCAPES: THE 17th and 18th CENTURIES3. VICTORIAN VENTURERS: 1865–18764. THE PATHS OF GLORY: 1876–19005. A WORLD TO CONQUER: 1900–19206. LOVERS AND OTHER LOSERS: 1920–1930s7. BIG FEAT, LITTLE NOTICE: THE 1940s8. GOOFY AND GALLANT: THE 1950s9. DOING YOUR OWN THING: THE 1960s10. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS: THE 1970s11. THE GOLDEN DECADE: THE 1980s12. RECORDS AND REDUX: THE 1990s13. NEW FACES AND OLD: THE NEW MILLENNIUMCONCLUSION: TO SEA, OR NOT TO SEA: THAT IS THE QUESTIONFile: page numbering 1-385

more Than Seventy Accounts Of Big Adventures In Small Boats

in a Speck On The Sea, William Longyard Reaches Back Through Five Centuries To Gather A Collection Of Sea Adventures In Which The Smallest, Unlikeliest Craft—and The Daring Individuals Aboard Them—completed Extraordinary Voyages Against Great Odds.

from Canoes And Small Sailboats To A Pair Of Strap-to-your-feet Pontoons, The Watercraft In These True Stories Make Nearly As Varied A Collection As The Mariners Who Piloted Them. The Intrepid Seafarers And Their Feats Of Seamanship Include:

• ed Gillet's Kite-powered Transpacific Kayak Voyage
• gladys Gradely's 1902 Quest To Become The First Woman To Solo The Atlantic
• ben Lecomte's Swim Across An Ocean For Love
• hugo Vihlen's 1968 Ocean Crossing In The 6-foot Sailboat april Fool
• peter Bird's Tragic Attempt To Row Across The Pacific
• and Scores More

whether Driven By Desperation, Adventure, Or A Desire For Fame And Fortune, The Risktakers In These Stories Show What Vast Oceans Can Be Crossed In Tiny Contrivances By Those Who Dare.

great Fun To Read.—cruising World

very Few Reference Books Make For Such Riveting Reading.—good Old Boat

re-creates These Awe-inspiring Adventures In Fascinating Detail.—nw Yachting

seagoing Heroes And Scalawags Come Alive With Rich Detail In Longyard's Volume Of Salty Tales.—judy Blumhorst, Commodore Emeritus, Northern California Association Of West Wight Potter Owners And Webmaster, Www.trailersailer.com

william H. Longyard Has Spent Twenty-five Years Paddling, Rowing, And Sailing Small Boats Of All Kinds. He Has Published Several Books And Written Numerous Articles For Boating Journals.

william H. Longyard (winston-salem, Nc) Has Paddled, Rowed, And Sailed Small Boats For 25 Years. A High School English Teacher, He Has Published Several Books And Written Articles For Boating Journals.

This text takes readers on a historic journey of the greatest small-boat voyages ever attempted. From the 16th-century Algerian slave who escaped in a folding rowboat to Peter Bird, who in the 1990s, died on his attempt to row across the Pacific, this book details these awe-inspiring adventures. More than Seventy Accounts of Big Adventures in Small Boats In A Speck on the Sea , William Longyard reaches back through five centuries to gather a collection of sea adventures in which the smallest, unlikeliest craft--and the daring individuals aboard them--completed extraordinary voyages against great odds. From canoes and small sailboats to a pair of strap-to-your-feet pontoons, the watercraft in these true stories make nearly as varied a collection as the mariners who piloted them. The intrepid seafarers and their feats of seamanship include: Ed Gillet's kite-powered transpacific kayak voyage Gladys Gradely's 1902 quest to become the first woman to solo the Atlantic Ben Lecomte's swim across an ocean for love Hugo Vihlen's 1968 ocean crossing in the 6-foot sailboat April Fool Peter Bird's tragic attempt to row across the Pacific And scores more Whether driven by desperation, adventure, or a desire for fame and fortune, the risktakers in these stories show what vast oceans can be crossed in tiny contrivances by those who dare. "Great fun to read."-- Cruising World "Very few reference books make for such riveting reading."-- Good Old Boat "Re-creates these awe-inspiring adventures in fascinating detail."-- NW Yachting "Seagoing heroes and scalawags come alive with rich detail in Longyard's volume of salty tales."--Judy Blumhorst, Commodore Emeritus, Northern California Association of West Wight Potter Owners and Webmaster, www.trailersailer.com William H. Longyard has spent twenty-five years paddling, rowing, and sailing small boats of all kinds. He has published several books and written numerous articles for boating journals. Throughout history, the bold, the desperate, and the foolhardy have dared the wide oceans in the tiniest of boats The unique and wonderful A Speck on the Sea looks back half a millennium to chronicle the greatest ocean voyages attempted in the littlest boats--rowboats, canoes, tiny sailboats, even a pair of wooden floats strapped to one adventurer's feet. Driven by desperation, a spirit of adventure, or irrepressible exuberance, these amazing feats include: * Diego Mendez's voyage to rescue Columbus * William Okeley's 1639 escape from slavery in a folding rowboat * Hugo Vihlen's 1968 ocean crossing in the six-foot sailboat April Fool * Ernest Shackleton and William Bligh's death-cheating journeys * The tragic story of Peter Bird's attempt to row across the Pacific * And many more Never have sailors dared the sea in frailer boats. This fascinating history will appeal to sailors and landlubbers alike. ISBN-13: 9780071440295 Terms of Use 5 Want to learn more? 6 Contents 8 Introduction: Why Would Anyone Cross an Ocean in a Small Boat? 11 1 The Fogbound Past: 63 AD–16th Century 17 2 Two Desperate Escapes: The 17th and 18th Centuries 31 3 Victorian Venturers: 1865–1876 52 4 The Paths of Glory: 1876–1900 77 5 A World to Conquer: 1900–1920 132 6 Lovers and Other Losers: 1920–1930s 156 7 Big Feat, Little Notice: The 1940s 183 8 Goofy and Gallant: The 1950s 203 9 Doing Your Own Thing: The 1960s 238 10 The Pursuit of Happiness: The 1970s 274 11 The Golden Decade: The 1980s 289 12 Records and Redux: The 1990s 316 13 New Faces and Old: The New Millennium 334 Conclusion: To Sea, or Not to Sea: That Is the Question 340 Appendix: Rowers and Other Strangers 344 Notes 353 Bibliography 363 Acknowledgments 371 Art Sources 374 Index 376 Publisher:,International,Marine/Ragged,Mountain,Press,Number,Of,Pages:,384 "From canoes and small sailboats to jury-rigged vessels of every description, and even a pair of strap-to-your-feet pontoons, the watercraft in these true stories make nearly as motley a collection as the mariners who piloted them. Meet the five escaped slaves who crossed the Mediterranean in a homemade folding rowboat; the lifeguard who paddled thirty miles through a killer storm in an inflatable rubber suit; and the mysterious two-man crew who crossed the Atlantic, east to west, in a converted lifeboat, bailing all the while." Whether driven by desperation, a spirit of adventure, or a desire for fame and fortune, all the risktakers whose stories are told here displayed uncommon courage, superior nautical skills, and remarkable poise under extreme and perilous conditions. "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 An eclectic collection of great sea adventures in which the smallest, unlikeliest craft imaginable - and the daring individuals aboard them - were pushed to extremes to complete extraordinary voyages against great odds