Sailing Alone around the World

Get out your world atlas to accompany Joshua Slocum on an incredible journey in his sloop, "Spray," circumnavigating the globe in 1895-98. No better voice than that of Bernard Mayes could have been picked for this voyage filled with adventures ranging from the total loneliness of the solo voyage to the tense fear of attack by Tierra del Fuego pirates. Although the adventure took place almost a hundred years ago, Bernard makes on-shore encounters in the Canaries, Spain, Africa, Mauritius and the Pacific Isles as exciting as they must have been to Slocum; his voice is the voice of a sailing gentleman. J.E.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


When Joshua Slocum sailed alone around the world, he traveled in good company. He found himself particularly well suited to the adventure. While Slocum relished the companionship he found in port, he was equally at peace when alone on the face of the deep. The secret to his successful voyage? "I made companions with what was around me." Alan Sklar's warm, unhurried reading conveys the author's genial practicality and the good humor with which he approached the wonders and challenges of three years and forty thousand miles. Sklar's precision and ease with nautical terms add authenticity to his performance. T.J.W. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine