Independence
Member
I’d like to recommend Denis Gorman’s book ‘A Voyage to the Sea’.
I first met Denis in 2008 when he was amongst 42 starters in the Jester Azores Challenge of that year. Like many of us rookie ocean sailors he shared the same uncertainties of not knowing whether he had what it took to sail to the Azores in a boat sub 30 feet and quite frankly not knowing whether we would return.
In his book he vividly describes that first site of land after nearly 14 days at sea and those first steps ashore knowing something in life had changed without being sure of what. Denis went on to cross the Atlantic in 2010 whilst I had to wait another 4 years for my opportunity.
A good book should make you stop for a moment, think about who you are, where you are going and from time to time draw a tear. Denis’s book does all of these in spades. This is not just a sailing book. He embodies what it takes to be a true single-handed ocean sailor as he takes you from his happy but troubled childhood as a 1960’s child of the Glasgow tenements to the Royal Navy and the Falklands War, Submariner, Cab driver, Bank Manager, losing all he had won before finally discovering everything he needed.
I had the pleasure of having a quiet cup of tea with Denis and Rory McDougal (probably one of the most unheard of and under rated ocean sailors of our time) on-board Lizzie-G. I saw the much quieter and thoughtful side of the man as motivations and dreams of sailing the Atlantic were discussed and shared.
One of Denis’s great contributions though is to share a post analysis of his fellow competitors, some successful and some not. It acts as a reminder that there is a special breed of sailor out there. There is no easy away across the Atlantic, at your peril think think you can conquer it. It lets us pass but not without testing our resolve.
Denis’s book is available through the Jester Challengers website http://www.jesterinfo.org/
I first met Denis in 2008 when he was amongst 42 starters in the Jester Azores Challenge of that year. Like many of us rookie ocean sailors he shared the same uncertainties of not knowing whether he had what it took to sail to the Azores in a boat sub 30 feet and quite frankly not knowing whether we would return.
In his book he vividly describes that first site of land after nearly 14 days at sea and those first steps ashore knowing something in life had changed without being sure of what. Denis went on to cross the Atlantic in 2010 whilst I had to wait another 4 years for my opportunity.
A good book should make you stop for a moment, think about who you are, where you are going and from time to time draw a tear. Denis’s book does all of these in spades. This is not just a sailing book. He embodies what it takes to be a true single-handed ocean sailor as he takes you from his happy but troubled childhood as a 1960’s child of the Glasgow tenements to the Royal Navy and the Falklands War, Submariner, Cab driver, Bank Manager, losing all he had won before finally discovering everything he needed.
I had the pleasure of having a quiet cup of tea with Denis and Rory McDougal (probably one of the most unheard of and under rated ocean sailors of our time) on-board Lizzie-G. I saw the much quieter and thoughtful side of the man as motivations and dreams of sailing the Atlantic were discussed and shared.
One of Denis’s great contributions though is to share a post analysis of his fellow competitors, some successful and some not. It acts as a reminder that there is a special breed of sailor out there. There is no easy away across the Atlantic, at your peril think think you can conquer it. It lets us pass but not without testing our resolve.
Denis’s book is available through the Jester Challengers website http://www.jesterinfo.org/
