Desparate Voyage by John Caldwell

[nickjones]

A tremendous and apparently true story of a solo pacific voyage by a post war returning merchantman with no previous sailing experience but unrivalled courage and determination. An absolute 'must read'.

Difficult to find - particularly in my case since I lent it to my feckless brother.

However, I do have about 8 books of similar pedigree that I shall offer for sale in the appropriate forum asap

 

[Shaddickp]

Desparate Voyage

Yeah, I've got this book, and I must admit it is a brilliant read, and you have to admire what John Caldwell achieved. The funny thing is after finishing it and on reflection you kind of think the guy whilst being intrepid and resourceful was also pretty bloody stupid some of the things he did. Twice he landed large sharks and sustained damage (once pretty extensive) to his boat, for most people once would be enough. After losing his food he was unable to catch enough to live on and nearly starved to death. This is in sharp contrast with the Robinson family who spent over a hundred days in a life raft and the father effectively managed to feed five people for all that time.
Despite this it is still worth getting the book as I like the overall message that if you want to go to sea just go ahead and do it.
Cheers

 

[Searush]

Not that hard to find:

Plenty of copies on Amazon.

Yes, a good read, but the survival lessons are more about what he didn't do than what he did! He was lucky to be found by locals when wrecked on an "uninhabited" island.

 

[nickjones]

Survival and luck

For every lucky tar who lived to tell the tale there are thousands who didn't

 

[gag]

Having to eat your boots and drink motor oil didn't strike me as being that well organised or resourceful !!!!