Synopses & Reviews
In 1968, nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. It was a feat that had never been accomplished and one that would forever change the face of sailing. 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.
In this extraordinary book, Peter Nichols chronicles a 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 in the Southern Ocean, and of those riveting moments when a split-second decision means the difference between life and death.
Synopsis
Nichols chronicles a contest of nine individuals against the sea, waged at a time before cell phones, satellite dishes, and electronic positioning systems. A Voyage for Madmen is a tale of those riveting moments when a decision means the difference between life and death. 16-page photo insert. 6 maps.
About the Author
Peter Nichols spent ten years at sea working as a professional yacht captain, living and cruising aboard his own small wooden sailboat, before turning to writing full time. He is the author of two critically acclaimed books: a memoir of those years,
Sea Change: Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden Boat; and a novel,
Voyage to the North Star. He has taught creative writing at Georgetown University and lives in northern California and France.