Synopses & Reviews
On April 22, 1969 three months before Neil Armstrong's walk on
the Moon the world watched as a small sailboat came ashore at
Falmouth, England, completing a voyage of astonishing courage
and endurance that would forever alter our ongoing adventure with
the sea. Ten months earlier, nine very different men had set off in
small and ill-equipped boats, determined to do the impossible: sail
around the world alone and without stopping, to win the race
dubbed the Golden Globe. Only one of the nine would cross the
finish line to fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the rewards
would be despair, madness, and death.
The men were inspired by Sir Francis Chichester, who had
become a national hero in Britain for stopping only once (in
Australia) while sailing alone around the world. Suddenly what had
seemed impossible-to circumnavigate the world alone and nonstop
now appeared within reach. For nine driven men among them
Robin Knox-Johnston, a young Merchant Marine captain; Bernard
Moitessier, a French mystic; Donald Crowhurst, a brilliant, troubled
electrical engineer; and Chay Blyth, an Army sergeant who had
rowed across the Atlantic in 1966 but did not know how to saila
gauntlet had been thrown down, a challenge they found themselves
overwhelmingly and inexplicably compelled to accept.
Though the Golden Globe race was the progenitor of (and
inspiration for) the Vendee Globe and the Race of the Millennium,
its participants had more in common with Captain Cook and
Ferdinand Magellan than with today's high-tech sailor. There was
no satellite navigational system, no onboard computer, no cell
phone or fax line connecting them to the world beyond or to
possible rescuers. They survived on their wits and ingenuity,
navigating by sextant, sun, and stars. Their most sophisticated
technology when it worked was a radio.
A Voyage for Madmen is a remarkable story of individuals against
the sea, of men driven by their dreams and demons to live for
months on end in a cabin roughly the size of a Volkswagen. To
succeed they must endure the harshest of weather; stave off
unimaginable loneliness in the forbidding Southern Ocean; navigate
unassisted through the world's most treacherous waters off the
Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn; and, time and again, face
alone those fateful moments when a single decision could mean
the difference between life and death.
With a novelist's eye for detail and a seaman's knowledge of the
joys and perils of blue water, Peter Nichols has crafted a classic
tale of endurance and adventure a fitting chronicle of how these
obsessed sailors, "in their puny and inadequate boats, undertook
the last great maritime feat...and how, one by one, the sea cut them
down."
Review
"Peter Nichols has written a compulsively readable
book that has everything a sea story should have. A
Voyage For Madmen evokes the uniquely terrifying
hazards and demands of the sea and, with a novelist's
skill for character and detail, shows how nine
single-handed sailors in their puny and inadequate
boats undertook the last great maritime feat the
longest, loneliest sea voyage in history and how, one
by one, the sea cut them down. A marvelous book."
Derek Lundy, author of Godforsaken Sea
Review
A great book that combines the amazing stories of
nine lone adventurers into a narrative so seamless that
it made me want to drop everything to do what these
men did: sail around the world alone. A Voyage For
Madmen is a thoroughly exciting account of a historical
event that changed how we perceive our world."
Daniel Hays, author of My Old Man and The Sea
Review
“A riveting account of the triumphant human spirit.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“Extraordinary ...One of the most gripping sea stories I have ever read.” Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm
Review
“Reads like a suspense novel.” Booklist
Review
“Spellbinding.” Wall Street Journal
Review
“A haunting story...[that] succeeds on the grandest scale.” The Oregonian
Review
“Fascinating...A great story...an excellent examination of the worlds first nonstop, solo race around the world.” San Diego Union Tribune
Synopsis
In the tradition of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm, comes a breathtaking oceanic adventure about an obsessive desire to test the limits of human endurance.
In 1968 nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held and never before completed: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. 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.
Gorgeously written and meticulously researched by author Peter Nichols, this extraordinary book chronicles the 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, and of those riveting moments when a decision means the difference between life and death.
Synopsis
"An extraordinary story of bravery and insanity on the high seas. . . . One of the most gripping sea stories I have ever read." -- Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm
In the tradition of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm, comes a breathtaking oceanic adventure about an obsessive desire to test the limits of human endurance.
In 1968 nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held and never before completed: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. 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.
Gorgeously written and meticulously researched by author Peter Nichols, this extraordinary book chronicles the 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, and of those riveting moments when a 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.
Synopsis
On April 22, 1969 -- three months before Neil Armstrong's walk on the Moon -- the world watched as a small sailboat came ashore at Falmouth, England, completing a voyage of astonishing courage and endurance that would forever alter our ongoing adventure with the sea. Ten months earlier, nine very different men had set off in small and ill-equipped boats, determined to do the impossible: sail around the world alone and without stopping, to win the race dubbed the Golden Globe. Only one of the nine would cross the finish line -- to fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the rewards would be despair, madness, and death.
The men were inspired by Sir Francis Chichester, who had become a national hero in Britain for stopping only once (in Australia) while sailing alone around the world. Suddenly what had seemed impossible-to circumnavigate the world alone and nonstop -- now appeared within reach. For nine driven men -- among them Robin Knox-Johnston, a young Merchant Marine captain; Bernard Moitessier, a French mystic; Donald Crowhurst, a brilliant, troubled electrical engineer; and Chay Blyth, an Army sergeant who had rowed across the Atlantic in 1966 but did not know how to saila gauntlet had been thrown down, a challenge they found themselves overwhelmingly and inexplicably compelled to accept.
Though the Golden Globe race was the progenitor of (and inspiration for) the Vendee Globe and the Race of the Millennium, its participants had more in common with Captain Cook and Ferdinand Magellan than with today's high-tech sailor. There was no satellite navigational system, no onboard computer, no cell phone or fax line connecting them to the world beyond -- or to possible rescuers. They survived on their wits and ingenuity, navigating by sextant, sun, and stars. Their most sophisticated technology -- when it worked -- was a radio.
A Voyage for Madmen is a remarkable story of individuals against the sea, of men driven by their dreams and demons to live for months on end in a cabin roughly the size of a Volkswagen. To succeed they must endure the harshest of weather; stave off unimaginable loneliness in the forbidding Southern Ocean; navigate unassisted through the world's most treacherous waters off the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn; and, time and again, face -- alone -- those fateful moments when a single decision could mean the difference between life and death.
With a novelist's eye for detail and a seaman's knowledge of the joys and perils of blue water, Peter Nichols has crafted a classic tale of endurance and adventure -- a fitting chronicle of how these obsessed sailors, "in their puny and inadequate boats, undertook the last great maritime feat...and how, one by one, the sea cut them down."
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.