Books On sailing

Over the years I have read various personal accounts of individuals sailing adventures, people basically messing about on boats and enjoy being on the water.

I read intrepid voyages of individuals such as Joshua Slocum and Spray, Harry Pidgeon and Islander, Vito Dumas and Legh 11, Robin Knox Johnston and Suhali, Bernard Moitessier and Josua. Roald Amundsen and Gjoa. Miles & Beryl Smeeton and Tzu Hang and John Guzzwell on Trekker.

I have started to read more obscure older rare sailing books of stories written back in the 30’s,40 and 50”s. My latest two books are the Golden Lotus of some young guys sailing from Hong Kong to New Zealand in a Chinese junk, one I’m reading now is the Last Voyage by Ann Davidson who was the first lady who went on to sail solo across the Atlantic in 1952 in 24ft boat.  

The Last Voyage is sad story of a sailing ship disaster and fatality of her husband. There always seems to be thread that runs through all these early sailing books, of lack of finances and a make do and self reliance.

Here is a brief précis from Maritime Museum of Liverpool of Ann Davidson’s Book “The Last Voyage”

I want to share the story of Ann Davison (1914-1992), a amazing woman who was the embodiment of strength, courage and determination. She was a skilled pilot, a gifted author, an intrepid adventurer, and the first woman to sail the Atlantic single-handed.

“It wasn’t courage that sent me scurrying across the ocean. It was a little curiosity and a lot of desperation that went into the making of that particular dream…”

Last October I was lucky enough to attend an event at Mere Brook House, Wirral, to unveil of a blue plaque commemorating Ann. Until then I admit that I didn’t really have any knowledge of her, but when I started reading about her I was immediately drawn to her audacious nature and fearlessness. 

She was born Margaret Ann Longstaffe on 5 June 1914 in Surrey. She had an adventurous spirit from a young age, as she remarked later in her autobiography,

“…I was the sort of person who liked riding horses, flying aeroplanes, and driving fast cars…”

She travelled in her early years and, to mark her 21st birthday, voyaged to Buenos Aires on holiday where she flew a plane for the first time. Flying became a passion and she qualified as a pilot in the 1930s, at a time when few women flew. In 1937 she applied for a job at commercial airfield in Hooton, Wirral. It was managed by pilot Frank Davison, and as they worked together they found in each other a kindred spirit. They fell in love and were married in 1939.

When war broke out their aerodrome was requisitioned by the RAF and so they were forced to leaving flying behind them. They moved to Mere Brook House, Wirral, where they lived for several years and threw themselves in to subsistence farming.

Ann and Frank were never content staying still for long, and the desire for a new chapter took hold so in 1943 they moved to the tiny Scottish island of Inchmurrin, and later Inchfad, on Loch Lomond. Here they endured some very difficult conditions, and harsh winters pushed them to their limits but it was in their nature to keep going.

After overcoming all the obstacles and hardships of remote island life, they felt the familiar pull towards new adventures so in November 1947 they packed up and set off in search of a boat, with a desire to travel the world.

“…for some people the call of adventure, excitement, wanderlust – what you will – is absolutely irresistible; it supersedes everything else.”

They purchased a 70 foot ketch (2-masted sailing vessel) ‘Reliance’, moored at Fleetwood, Lancashire. Ann and Frank poured everything in to making the vessel seaworthy, but found themselves in a desperate situation with the boat under threat of being repossessed. They felt their only choice was to set sail, despite Reliance being far from ready! Frank had sailing experience but Ann was very much a novice.

They were unlucky from the start and were caught in rough weather in the Irish Sea. Storm conditions overpowered them in the English Channel and Reliance was wrecked on rocks off Portland Bill. They launched their life raft but they were washed off it again and again, and tragically Frank lost his life. Against all the odds Ann survived, and this awful event imbued her with ever more determination to help make sense of her loss. She discovered that she had a natural gift for writing and she wrote her book ‘Last Voyage’, describing their life together culminating in the shipwreck which claimed Frank’s life.

She set herself the challenge of a lifetime. She bought a small wooden-hulled sloop ‘Felicity Ann’ (which she referred to as ‘FA’) and spent two years preparing the boat and teaching herself to sail. She departed from Plymouth on 18 May 1952. She was still relatively inexperienced but she made up for that with sheer nerve. She learned as she went along, and taught herself to navigate with a sextant as she sailed!

She was met with many challenges and her lack of experience showed, but all the while her towering resolve and strength of character helped her overcome the many hurdles she faced. Ann and ‘FA’ endured storms and difficult situations, but for Ann the hardest part was isolation. After a number of stop-overs, she finally set off across the Atlantic on 20 November 1952. Storms pushed her off course, but she eventually made land in Dominica on 23 January 1953. She spent time recuperating before sailing up to Florida and finally arriving in New York on 23 November 1953. Ann and ‘FA’ were the featured guests at the 1954 New York Boat Show to celebrate her historic achievement.

She went on to write a book about her Atlantic crossing entitled ‘My Ship is so Small’. She stayed in America, married again, and continued to sail and write. In her later years she settled in Florida; she died in 1992.

A few years ago, Ann’s boat ‘Felicity Ann’ was donated to the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, Washington where major restoration work was undertaken. Last summer she was presented to the Community Boat Project, Washington – a charitable organisation working with schools and communities, providing opportunities for maritime education. Their vision is to use ‘Felicity Ann‘ and the story of Ann Davison to inspire people, especially women and girls – helping to empower more women to take to the water.

Each and everyone of these above sailors had little or no money but they all had big dreams.  In all cases even with many tremendous set backs they went on to achieve their overall dreams.

I remember when I was thinking about sailing across the Atlantic back in the early 2000’s how I could go about it on a tight financial budget. I picked up  a copy of Anne Hammick book Ocean Cruising on a Budget.

Based upon Anne’s lifetime of practical experience yes the book gave me sound advice of the size and cost of the boat to achieve an ocean passage with safety. In her book she covered all aspects of how to kit out a boat, the type of sails requried for down wind sailing self steering gear and so on.

I followed Anne’s advice and bought Barada my Camper & Nicholson 32 feet sailing boat really for bargain £ 15,000 pounds back in 2004. Over the years she’s proved to be a fine sea boat.

Yes I’ve upgraded her lots since buying her; such things as the new Beta 30hp engine, electronics and instruments, rigging and so on.

But when I go into most modern day marinas I’m amazed at the size of some the sailing boats, in most cases they all seem huge. Occasionally I do see smaller boats but they tend to be a rarity.

Back in the 1950’s after the war most people didn’t have much money so they had be resourceful and learn how to do things with their own labour. Self learn even how to sail and navigate through trail and error.

What’s my point?  I know Tom Cunliff  the sailing guru says don’t spend a fortune on a boat or spend too much time building one, get out there sailing as soon as you can. 

Where I am in Walton on the Naze at the Pond most boats hardly move from their moorings the year through. Suddenly life has a tendency to pass one by and suddenly you get too old to sail. Scary thought!

You can pick up second hand smaller boats for a song, maybe they need some cosmetic work to get them looking nice, but it’s about getting out sailing,  that’s the essence of it really.

That said I’ve watch Tom Cunliff’s YouTube Videos when he was cruising in Sweden recently I noticed all the latest electronic gear he had onboard, nice to have but not essential.

Good hand held GPS is all you need with paper charts.

Back in the 50’s they had no electronics many didn’t even have engines so they had to sail everywhere. Take sextant sight and use dead reckoning and in the process be more connected with their sea environment.

Joshua Slocum couldn’t even afford a proper chronometer for taking exact time. He could only afford a beat up old tin clock. He didn’t stop navigating around the world with out an engine or a marine chronometer.

Les Powles and Solitaire he didnt know anything about sailing or how to take a proper sextant sights. He learnt on route and sailed aroung the world 3 times in his own fibre glass 34 foot boat.

Beryl and Miles Smeeton were rolled over twice in the southern ocean and had go back to Valparaiso in Chile to get the mast repaired twice over. 

Bernard Moitessier read their book and realised he had to be much more active when sailing down wind and negotiating steep sided waves to stop his boat broaching. He got that from reading Vito Dumas book on his circumnavigation of the southern oceans in his 32 feet boat Legh 11 during WW2.

Clear and simple thread to all their stories is keep it simple and inexpensive and smaller boats can take you any where you want to go. But you have to have big dreams the bigger the better.

Life too short really  it only seems like yesterday that I was aged 20 now I’m 68 and I keep thinking that I must do something really special with my sailing adventures.

I tried selling Barada last year to no avail, well no sensible offers, however, maybe Barada will be the boat for me to do something special with after all?

Unfortuantely Loic Lepage triggered the EPIRB on his Nicholson 32 yacht Laaland on 20 October, after being dismasted 600 miles south west of Perth, Australia during the Golden Globe Race. Loïc had been sailing in 25-knot winds and 10ft (3m) seas when the incident occurred.

After cutting away the rigging, the 62-year-old sailor from Vannes, Brittany, discovered the boat was leaking at 30 litres an hour, from hull damage caused by a section of the broken mast. This was unfortunate but he was racing and had time constraints. 

Barada has always been my pride and joy and  it would break my heart to lose her, so I would do anything and everything in my power to save her from  Neptune’s grasp.

Larry and Lin Pardey have sailed over 200,000 nm in small wooded boats and have written extensively about sailing and favourite of mine is Champagne Cruising on a Beer Budget Cost Conscious Cruiser.

https://youtu.be/yvYW4kB_sv0https://youtu.be/iPyyqvFvbMYhttps://youtu.be/Glrkw_4-GhQhttps://youtu.be/R95f_KaHePwhttps://youtu.be/tLDxWRDArQUhttps://youtu.be/R4nZMW6KmJY

Finally, all it really takes is a big dream and good preparation and good little boat and faith in yourself and the universe. 

Universe works in powerful ways it will help those who have faith and courage to sail beyond and over the next blue horizon