The Brendan Voyage: Across the Atlantic in a Leather Boat [Paperback]

Tim Severin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2005

In an extraordinary attempt to recreate St. Brendan's journey from Ireland to America, Tim Severin and his crew embarked on an epic voyage across the vast North Atlantic. This is a new edition of the brilliant story of their adventure in a small, open boat in the North Atlantic, being visited by inquisitive whales, reaching mist-shrouded landfalls, and receiving a welcome from seafaring folk wherever the crew touched land. Tim Severin and his companions built a boat using only techniques and materials available in the sixth-century A.D., when St. Brendan was supposed to have sailed to America. In the boat made of ox hides only a quarter inch thick stretched over a wooden frame, they sailed from Brandon Creek in Dingle to Newfoundland, surviving storms and a puncture from pack ice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Enthralling!"--The Guardian

"An extraordinary explorer." --The Independent

From the Inside Flap

Could an Irish monk in the sixth century really have sailed all the way across the Atlantic in a small open boat, thus beating Columbus to the New World by almost a thousand years? Relying on the medieval text of St. Brendan, award-winning adventure writer Tim Severin painstakingly researched and built a boat identical to the leather curragh that carried Brendan on his epic voyage. He found a centuries-old, family-run tannery to prepare the ox hides in the medieval way; he undertook an exhaustive search for skilled harness makers (the only people who would know how to stitch the three-quarter-inch-thick hides together); he located one of the last pieces of Irish-grown timber tall enough to make the mainmast. But his courage and resourcefulness were truly tested on the open seas, including one heart-pounding episode when he and his crew repaired a dangerous tear in the leather hull by hanging over the side--their heads sometimes submerged under the freezing waves--to restitch the leather. A modern classic in the tradition of Kon-Tiki, The Brendan Voyage seamlessly blends high adventure and historical relevance. It has been translated into twenty-seven languages since its original publication in 1978.

With a new Introduction by Malachy McCourt, author of A Monk Swimming --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Gill & Macmillan (May 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0717139271
• ISBN-13: 978-0717139279
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,195,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars whoa...what an achievement!, November 9, 2000

By 

J. K. Kelley "literary mercenary" (Eastern WA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Brendan Voyage (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

Tim Severin, joined by a small crew of hardy men, set out to test the plausibility of the legend of St. Brendan's voyage from Ireland to Newfoundland. They built and sailed their own leather curragh (a type of Irish boat design), and this is the story of both the construction and the voyage.

The unique value of this book is in its equal appeal to a wide variety of readers. If you enjoy the intricacies of craftsmanship using leather, wood and grease; if you like great adventure travel; if you tire of hearing ancient legends cavalierly dismissed and would like to see one defended; if you love seafaring tales; if you love and/or trace lineage to Ireland; this book is for you. Severin is a self-effacingly enjoyable storyteller one can't help but like--and, apparently, one heck of a captain.

Based upon this book I now plan to read my way through Severin's complete works. This is that rare book in which tremendous accomplishment and great storytelling have the wind on their quarter.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crossing the Atlantic on a Ox?, June 20, 2000

By 

Scott Paul - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brendan Voyage (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

Here is a book about a group of adventurers who recreate an infamous journey, just to see if it is possible. St. Brendan is, in legend and myth, thought to have crossed the atlantic ocean centuries before the Vikings and Columbus. He did this in a boat made of oxen hide or LEATHER. A leather boat crossing the atlantic ocean, most researchers (and sailors) would say it is impossible and could not be done. These men recreate the voyage using technology that was available at the time. The builders of the modern-day-ship Brendan, are true to their craft. They build their craft using medival techniques and materials. In the Traditon of "Kon-tiki" and "Dove", this book tells the story of how they built it and sailed it across the atlantic. If you like History and those who re-enact it this is the book for you.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cold, wet and wonderful, August 4, 2000

By 

Michael J. Muller "Adirondack Reader" (Queensbury, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Brendan Voyage (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

Tim Severin had meticulously worked to make sure that the leather skinned boat was made for all intents and purposes identical to the 'mythological' boat in which St. Brendan and the Irish monks crossed the North Atlantic centuries before the Vikings. He proved it could be done. This book however is not about what was accomplished but how and why. As Homer so aptly proved in his Iliad "...it's not the destination but rather the story of the journey." Adventure readers will not be disappointed by this book. A very rewarding reading experience.