With section headings like Survival, Calm, Storm, Human Error, Tragedy and Deliverance this is a book which promises an element of instruction within its overall remit to entertain. And it does not disappoint. From the first short chapter it’s a bit of a rollicking read! That is called Voyage of Desperation and introduces us to the lovelorn merchant seaman John Caldwell who, in 1946, buys a 29ft yacht to sail to Australia to be with his new wife. Afrer a hurricane things get bad and he ends up running out of food, frying the fish he catches in hair oil and vaseline before eating his army boats after soaking them in seawater and frying them in the macassar as well.
It’s a cracking read… as are the other 59 stories which cover the gamut of sailing experiences from history through to the present day.
Fleet street trained, Dick tells his stories with a terse spartan style that ensures you never get bored or find your eyes wandering off the page. DH
£12.99, 264pp, 2016, fernhurstbooks.com