Before the Wind

Overview

Words of wisdom, humor, practical advice, and ripping yarns.

Twenty-five selections from some of the world's most famous authors and sailors.

Read about:

• Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail around the world alone
• Richard Henry Dana's extraordinary account of beginning a sailor's life
• Ted Turner's racing strategy
• Clare Francis on her transatlantic solo race
• Robert Louis Stevenson's emigrant passage of North America
• Jack London sailing in Polynesia

Plus portraits of:

• Dennis Conner
• Thomas Lipton
• Jacques Cousteau
• Ernest Shackleton
• The great schooner Bluenose
• and more

Table of contents

DAVID GOWDEY: Introduction
1. CASTING OFF
ANN DAVISON: Working on a Dream
BUCKMINSTER FULLER: Naming a Sloop
JOSHUA SLOCUM: Slocum Sets Sail for the Azores
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON: Steerage Scenes
MICHAEL STADLER: The Psychological Situation at Sea
RICHARD HENRY DANA: Rounding the Cape
ERNEST K. GANN: Song of the Sirens
RAYMOND CARVER: My Boat
ARTHUR HOPPE: Mutiny on La Boat
FRANK MULVILLE: Girl Stella's Going
2. CATCHING THE WIND
PHILIP & BRIAN BACKMAN: Bluenose
ALEC WAUGH: Lipton's Last Challenge
WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS: The Yachts
TED TURNER & GARY JOBSON: The Racing Edge
DENNIS CONNER & PETER ISLER: Preparing to Win
CRAIG NEFF: A Sea Dog Primes His Guns
DUNCAN BRANTLEY: A Beauty's Second Launching
3. COMING ABOUT
RICHARD MUNSON: Cousteau, the Poet
ROBERT GOULD: How to Prepare for an Ocean Voyage
CLARE FRANCIS: Woman Alone
ALFRED LANSING: Endurance
JACK LONDON: The High Seat of Abundance
STEPHEN THOMAS: Ancient Navigators of the South Seas
BERNARD MOITESSIER: Suicide Tack

Review quote

``It would take many hours of intense research to find better true stories than those Gowdey has chosen.''

Review quote

``Even if you're not a sailor, you'll love these classic sea tales. I couldn't put this book down.''

Biographical note

David Gowdey, a native of London, Ontario, now lives in San Rafael, California, with his wife and two children. His first collection, Riding on the Roar of the Crowd, was hailed as "an absolute feast" by hockey fans, critics, and sportswriters.