A Speck on the Sea (Paperback)

~ William Longyard (Author) "IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY WHO MADE THE FIRST GREAT LONG journey in a small boat..." (more)
Key Phrases: capsule boat, sea anchor line, riding sail, New York, United States, World War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bill Longyard has put together a gripping compendium of noteworthy small-boat voyages made over the centuries. This is destined to remain the definitive study of this topic for years. A great read!" - John Harland, maritime historian and author of Seamanship in the Age of Sail"

Product Description

More than Seventy Accounts of Big Adventures in Small Boats

In A Speck on the Sea, William Longyard reaches back through five centuries to gather a collection of sea adventures in which the smallest, unlikeliest craft--and the daring individuals aboard them--completed extraordinary voyages against great odds.

From canoes and small sailboats to a pair of strap-to-your-feet pontoons, the watercraft in these true stories make nearly as varied a collection as the mariners who piloted them. The intrepid seafarers and their feats of seamanship include:

*Ed Gillet's kite-powered transpacific kayak voyage
*Gladys Gradely's 1902 quest to become the first woman to solo the Atlantic
*Ben Lecomte's swim across an ocean for love
*Hugo Vihlen's 1968 ocean crossing in the 6-foot sailboat April Fool
*Peter Bird's tragic attempt to row across the Pacific
*And scores more

Whether driven by desperation, adventure, or a desire for fame and fortune, the risktakers in these stories show what vast oceans can be crossed in tiny contrivances by those who dare.

William H. Longyard has spent twenty-five years paddling, rowing, and sailing small boats of all kinds. He has published several books and written numerous articles for boating journals.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (July 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071440291
• ISBN-13: 978-0071440295
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #395,559 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #93 in

  Books > Outdoors & Nature > Outdoor Recreation > Sailing > Narratives

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a book for small boat sailors!, August 28, 2003

By	O.V.P. - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Speck on the Sea : Epic Voyages in the Most Improbable Vessels (Hardcover)

If you sail in a small boat or paddle a kayak you MUST read this fascinating book. Although it is about the history of small boat voyaging there is a ton of practical information for small boaters that will make them better, safer, sailors. I've read through this book several times and each time I learn more that I can apply to my own sailing skills. I have read many maritime travelogues before and thought I knew most of the great small boat skippers, but I was surprised at how many voyagers I hadn't heard about before and how detailed the author was in his research about even the ones I thought I knew. This is a fun book that reads quickly, but leaves you wanting more. The voyages described are told with expertise, humor, and in such a way that one story leads into the next. You find yourself turning the pages to find out 'what happened next'. I liked the story about the Latvian sailor who sailed from Sydney to Los Angeles during the Depression using a homemade sextant he built out of old hacksaw blades. His boat had a leak in it when he started but somehow he managed to cross the Pacific Ocean in it anyway. I also like how the author corrected some long standing misconceptions about some famous sailors like John Voss, Franz Romer, and Robert Manry. I heartily recommend this book to new or old sailors.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Boats, Floats and Bars of Soap on the High Seas, May 31, 2006

By	James J. Bloom (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Okay, so there are no stories of trans-oceanic voyages on soap bars in this book; just needed a catchy rhyme for the title. But this fascinating seaman's yarn covers just about every other buoyant contrivance that went to sea, at least those twenty feet long or less. This limitation is my only slight quibble about the book. Although in the beginning some boats are covered which exceed the twenty-foot benchmark established by the author, it does seem a bit arbitrary. Why not include Josh Slocum's marvelous circumnavigation in a 37-footer that was
already a century old when he obtained her? It should be noted that solo circumnavigations are covered by the 1974 book by Tod Holms (unfortunately long out of print and hard to obtain). That said, Longyard has provided a delightful compendium of
seamanship in Lillipution craft. Many might be written off as
publicity stunts and gimmicks, which they were. None could be duplicated by anyone other than the most intrepid and hardy sailor. Even then, the voyager turned up half dead, if he survived at all.

This is not a dry technical manual on small boat seamanship, although there are a lot of nuggets for the sailor in the tales. Human interest predominates. There are tales of cruelty and chicanery as in the story of Voss's seagoing canoe, and those invoking great sympathy as in how Andrews enticed an advernturesome young New Jersey farm girl to join him in a transatlantic stunt which ended in the disappearance of both somewhere beneath the tempestuous waves. All in all, brisk and
delightful reading cover to cover.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, fun, inspiring, frightening - A great read, October 25, 2005

By	Marine Girl (Home on my boat) - See all my reviews

A great collection of tales of amazing small boat adventures and adventurers. I bought this book thinking I would be able to read a story at a time ad set the book aside inbetween - but it was too good to set aside. From way back in history and white slave escapes - to modern record setters. This book constantly made my jaw drop in awe and amazement.