In order to vividly feel all the audacity of the human spirit, one must be on the high seas, when one thin plank separates us from blissful death.
On the morning of November 17, 1993, it became known that in the Bay of Biscay, approximately at the latitude of La Rochelle, the boat "MAX-4" was found on the shore, but Evgeny Smurgis, who made an unparalleled round-the-world voyage on it, was not on board. No matter how much everyone would like to keep the hope of his salvation, with every hour the belief in a miracle became more and more unrealistic. And so - on November 21, about the same place, on the beach near the resort town of La Tranblade, a body was found ...
For more than twenty-five years he has been a true friend of the editorial staff, our regular contributor, freelance correspondent. Now he has long been buried in his native land - in Lipetsk, next to his father's grave. His famous boat became an exhibit of the Maritime Museum in the French town of La Tranblade, far from Lipetsk. In Lipetsk, a street is named after him. A part of the diary preserved in the boat and comments on it, written by V. Galenko, were published in the magazine "Vokrug Sveta" (see No. 8 and No. 9, 1994). Nevertheless, the interest in this unique person is so great that readers still turn to us with a request to tell us about his last voyage, to try to answer the question, what happened in the Bay of Biscay?
More than two and a half years have passed since the tragic death of Smurgis. It so happened that all this time we did not have the opportunity to communicate with readers. Only now, with a great delay, can we print the few materials at our disposal that give some idea of the nineteenth in a row, the last great voyage of Yevgeny Pavlovich.
We consider it our duty to thank the editorial staff of the Vokrug Sveta magazine for their help in preparing the publication, as well as Evgeny Pavlovich's friend and like-minded person - the coordinator of the rowing around the world, professional sailor, yacht captain Vasily Ivanovich Galenko.
Interview before the start
Before going to sea, Smurgis Sr. gave an interview to the correspondent of the newspaper "Soviet Murman" - a young journalist Angela Kovaleva.We publish the text of their conversation with some minor cuts.
А.К.: Isn't it scary - into the ocean on a simple wooden boat?
It's scary to sit in such a boat for the first time. And when you have 42,000 difficult kilometers covered by oars, it becomes a familiar home, your fortress, you begin to feel like a part of it. When you know what to do in an extreme situation, anxiety and uncertainty become dull and disappear. But in general, as long as a person appreciates his life, he cannot get rid of the feeling of fear. It is inherent in everyone, they just need to learn how to manage. And for this, the will and reason are given. For this, self-confidence is also needed - faith in yourself, in your star. Without them, it is impossible to succeed either on land or in the ocean.
A.K .: I imagine: a huge ocean - and a small, small dot - a boat. Probably, feeling like a grain in a vast and vast world, willy-nilly, you believe in the existence of the Almighty?
Despite the fact that I grew up in a family of atheists and do not believe in God, sometimes situations arose when I called on God. I remember two cases when there was nothing left but to ask the Lord: "Help!"
А.К.: It must be very difficult to be cut off from the big world for a year and a half? How did you deal with loneliness?
Boat travel is a 24-hour watch. After all, this is work on the oars, and entries in the diary, and cooking. There is a goal, an idea - and everything is subordinated only to it. And so there is no time to pay attention to loneliness. But when it does come - the weather deteriorates for a long time, something breaks, does not stick, and there is nowhere to wait for help, indeed, you begin to feel somehow abandoned, cut off from the whole. You try to drive away this feeling, you say: "It's all temporary, everything will be fine soon." You remember something good and - loneliness recedes. On earth, in everyday life, we are all so enslaved by communication, duties, inconsistencies that sometimes we stop understanding ourselves. At sea, it's the other way around. There is time to calmly think about everything, to sort everything out. You become wiser.
A.K .: You are not going around the world alone - with your 22-year-old son. Are you afraid for him? But you're not so young, are you?
We tested our strength - we walked 9,000 kilometers together. When we went from Dikson to Murmansk, we twice fell into a cyclone, out of 43 days it stormed 37. There was a very great danger of capsizing, and in northern waters this is a sure and quick death from hypothermia. Sasha survived. Now we are going to race. Every 1.5-2 thousand kilometers we plan parking specifically for recuperation. In London, for example, we will be idle for two or three weeks, at the same time we will be understaffing, preparing the boat for the passage through Biscay. And everything that comes before that, we consider simply as another test of strength - a test voyage before throwing across the ocean, for which we will already be preparing in Spain.
A few words about the start and route
The start was given a little later than the date planned by the schedule: Yevgeny Pavlovich's father died, there were organizational problems, and finally, they were just waiting for the weather. In fact, only on June 4, Evgeny Smurgis and his son Alexander left Murmansk for the Kola Bay. Now an 8-meter wooden boat became their home for a long 16 months (according to calculation), incessant and dangerous work awaited ahead in the seas of three oceans.Two words about the start. A heavy northwest with rain could not extinguish the joyful relief - finally, the torment with the design of the exit in the "best traditions" of the times of stagnation ended. Now I was a witness, and to some extent a participant in an event of no small importance for all sailors and travelers - the beginning of the Atlantic stage of the first purely rowing round-the-world voyage.
The sailor from the Deviator tugboat assigned for wires calmly followed our actions, which meant farewell to people on a small boat, and somehow casually asked: "Where are they?" “Around the world,” I answered simply. And then the sailor assessed what was happening in a completely different way. And in particular - strange scenes at the pier with the arrival of an armed detachment, with the removal of customs seals on the doors of the "kubricks" of "MAX-4" ...
And I don’t want to remember about the official farewell a little earlier - on June 2, which, as the newspaper Sovetsky Murman wrote, “turned into a scandal”. But we have to. So that in the future there will be no such shameful relapses of the past with anyone.
Just before going out to sea, it was necessary to appear at the checkpoint - to put the stamp "departure" on the documents of the only ocean rowing vessel of its kind. This word "ship" was unexpected and became a stumbling block. Three days ago, no one objected to the ship's documents - we were only waiting for the weather to improve. But it was during these three days that the guards of the maritime border discovered a secret instruction, according to which "rowing boats do not belong to the class of ships." This was not an innocent refinement of the term. From the fact that "MAX-4" was not recognized as a ship, it followed that it was necessary to re-register the exit ...
We referred to the unrepealed "Code of Merchant Shipping", which considers a ship "any self-propelled or non-self-propelled floating structure", used including "for sports", presented a "Ship's ticket" giving the right to hoist the State flag with seals and signatures. However, they could not convince the border guards. Began an emergency with calls and faxes. I do not know at what level, in the bowels of which system the issue was resolved, but two days later it was nevertheless resolved. Two weeks later, Eugene called from the Norwegian port of Tromso. He said that everything was in order, and only casually mentioned that beyond the Rybachy Peninsula, a strong storm had thrown the "MAX-4" back to their native shores, and here they were ... arrested as border violators. It took two whole days for the border guards to re-solve the issue that had just been resolved!
Having again gone to sea only on June 9, our sailors once again crossed the border, under the cover of the islands, despite the action of the Gulf Stream, they noticeably increased their speed and tried to enter a severely disrupted schedule, dreaming of the first big stop in London. Only later, from their diary, I learned that the northernmost tip of Europe - Cape Nordkin (71 ° 08 "north latitude) - they went around (in the rain) late in the evening of June 15. On the approaches to Nordkin there were first meetings with people: when they heard that two people were sailing to London on a boat, everyone laughed ...
Now I will answer questions related to the choice of an unusual route for circumnavigating the world. All the highest achievements of rowers so far have been limited to crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean separately. For the implementation of the idea put forward for the first time, if I am not mistaken, by the Englishman Derek King in 1974, the idea of circumnavigation by rowing had to cross the Indian Ocean, located between the Pacific and Atlantic. But no one has yet tried to conquer it on a rowboat. And it is no coincidence - this is not an easy nut to crack.
It seems to me that Smurgis found a way out by proposing an alternative option - the path of the Arctic Ocean, which is much closer to Russians, completely overlapping the expanses of the Indian "in longitude" and no less difficult. Thus, the idea arose to start a round-the-world trip from the Arctic section of the global route and, since it is not possible to pass the Northern Sea Route by boat in one short navigation, to overcome this section in parts.
Successful overcoming of the greater western part of this Arctic route in three stages - from Tiksi to Murmansk - convinced both Evgeny Smurgis himself and all his associates of the reality of the idea of a round-the-world trip as a whole.
The route "MAX-4" did not provide for the crossing of the equator, traditionally mandatory for the "classic" circumnavigation of the world, but after all, the voyage was conceived unconventional. The incredible difficulty of navigation in the Arctic zone deserves, in our opinion, more respect than an unnecessary throw to the south, beyond the equator.
The main milestones of the started path were designated as follows: Tiksi, Dikson, Murmansk, Norway, Holland, London, Brest, San Sebastian, Lisbon, Cadiz, Canary Islands, Barbados, Panama Canal, San Francisco, Vancouver, Nome, Bering Strait, Pevek and finally Tiksi again.
So, a significant northern part of the path has already been passed, "MAX-4" safely rounded Norway and crossed the North Sea ("We hang out all day, rising to 4-5-meter waves and rapidly falling from them"). An exhausting heavy navigation began along the shallow coast of Denmark, Germany, Holland - in the crush of waves, against strong winds. On these shallows, our sailors lost the most in weight. I didn't sleep more than two hours in a row. There was so much water in the boat that a 15-liter bucket was used four times in an hour; the average daily crossings for 19 days amounted to only 23 km, while earlier Evgeny had never had less than 70 ...
All hope now was for a holiday in London.
Path to Biscay
88 days after the release - on August 30 - Smurgisa's father and son, after three days of uninterrupted rowing, reached the shores of England. The boat got to London fairly battered - "the frames were loosened, putty spilled out, a leak appeared." The Atlantic severely dealt with the crew: the sea "penal servitude" was worth the loss of 9 kg of weight to the eldest and 6 kg to the youngest. Much of the food stock went bad and had to be thrown away. With such a harsh transition and a heavy load, the multi-day absence of vitamins was especially difficult to endure.The parking lot in London - V. Galenko told about it in more or less detail on the pages of "Around the World" - was mainly occupied with repairs, which the "team" coped with on its own. They received guests - sailors and yachtsmen, compatriots and foreigners. They enjoyed special attention from both Russian and local journalists. On Saturday, September 25, among 196 boats "MAX-4" participated in the traditional rowing regatta on the Thames. This was the first time in the history of the Great River Cruise that a boat from Russia was involved. To compete in the category of fours, the crew had to be supplemented with two more rowers - these were Peter King and Dominic Kaprech. Came somewhere in the fourth ten - finished at the "Cutty Sark". Our boat was warmly greeted by those gathered (these shots were shown on Russian television).
However, there was still not enough money to continue the heroic voyage. Saved on everything, even on food. (It was not for nothing that when the voyage ended tragically, one of the newspaper publications was called “The cheapest circumnavigation of the world”.) Gifts helped to some extent. So a good fishing suit appeared on the boat. Andrew Thorne brought in a superb diaphragm desalination pump (providing 4.5 liters of fresh water per hour). The small-sized Magellan satellite navigation system was also a gift, which later turned out to be either faulty or simply not very necessary ...
The next major port of call after London was San Sebastian, a Spanish port on the border with France. Then, after a rest, we had to go around the Iberian Peninsula and in Cadiz we were already thoroughly preparing for going out into the open ocean, to the Canaries. In the south of Europe, the Smurgis were expecting a mild autumn. Theoretically, it seemed that the repaired boat, a fresh supply of provisions, purchased equipment, and, most importantly, the rest and experience gained, promised to make the forthcoming part of the route relatively easy. But all this is only theoretical.
The most unpleasant thing is that the question of the psychological incompatibility of the MAX-4 crew members suddenly arose. Speaking on the radio in the BBC program, Yevgeny Pavlovich expressed himself cautiously on this subject, mentioning that the problem of fathers and children exists always and everywhere, even in a boat, that disputes over everyday trifles are inevitable. However, it was apparently not a matter of trifles. It is not for us to judge what happened when father and son were left alone in a London hotel room. One thing is clear. In the end, Sasha (according to the ship's role - "navigator") left his father and returned from England to his homeland, Evgeny Pavlovich was left alone and this was an irreparable blow ...
It is no coincidence that the following entries appeared in the diary of Yevgeny Pavlovich immediately after entering the English Channel:
- "We went to England with great hopes, but left - alone, with a huge loss of time, without rest, without salty slurping" (10/21/93);
- "The boat is leaking, products for 10 days, the compartments are depressurized" (10/22/93);
- "Everything is damp. I haven't undressed for the third day" (10/23/93)...
Alas, things turned out differently. Formidable at any time of the year, Biscay became doubly formidable now, when, due to the ever-increasing delay, it was necessary to cross it at the most unfavorable time - the season of autumn storms had already begun, when I had to row alone and did not get a good rest.
In connection with this, the option of changing the route was considered. It was possible to safely cross France by inland waterways (as advised by the famous Gerard d'Aboville) and, once in the Mediterranean, go to the Atlantic already in the subtropical zone through Gibraltar, having rested and prepared for a throw in Spain. However, Smurgis would not be Smurgis if he agreed to retreat. He said, "I won't wet the boat with fresh water."
So, on September 29, "MAX-4" after a month's parking left London and a few days later found itself standing in Dover - next to the "Comrade" stuck here due to storms. Due to bad weather, it was possible to go to sea only on the third attempt and only on October 8th.
There was a seemingly easy 125-mile passage to Southampton, but the current and headwind were so strong that they had to take cover behind the coastal spit and give up anchor. And at dawn the next day, during an 8-point storm, the boat, standing in shallow water, was flooded and then turned over by ferocious waves. As Smurgis said by phone, he hardly brought the "MAX-4" back to normal, threw himself ashore with the boat, lit a fire and again began to wait for the weather to improve. The bottom of the boat was damaged. Now the call to Southampton has become necessary already for repairs.
For several days of parking in the Rowing Club of Lydda, Evgeny Pavlovich managed to somehow bring his ship to a more or less "normal condition", however, even after that, as, indeed, after a "thorough" repair in Southampton, the flow began to flow along the grooves constant.
Late in the evening of October 21, Smurgis entered the English Channel. The weather was still windy and cold. To keep the right course, struggling with both the opposite current and the east wind that threatened to carry the boat into the ocean, it was necessary to work most of the time with one right oar. It was exhausting and, most importantly, reduced speed. (A short note appeared in the diary for the future: while parking in Spain, it is imperative to make a rudder and a keel fin). There was no way to rest. There was an unexpected loneliness. Involuntarily, the mood was gloomy.
Here is an entry made on the evening of October 25: “Gloomy thoughts are wandering in my head. According to the ideal plan, Vasily should already be roasting his belly in the Canary Islands, and he hasn’t even set foot on the coast of France ... In the morning the spirit plays, and with the onset of darkness and cold, the mood drops ".
However, Smurgis would not have been Smurgis if this recording, far from Superman's optimism, had not ended on a completely different note: "No, the greatest work of life must be done to the end!" And on the same day when this record was made, three points appeared on the horizon - the Channel Islands, and then the root coast - the coveted coast of France. The next morning he landed and chose a white stone typical of the French coast to make an anchor.
As V. Galenko noted in his commentary, incomplete 6 days to overcome the English Channel in far from the easiest conditions is quite a decent time, daily crossings amounted to 50-60 km.
When rounding the Brittany Peninsula and on the approaches to Brest, there are no entries in the diary. Let's quote V. Galenko again: "This is a dangerous area for any slow-moving vessel: with an inept maneuver, it can be carried into the ocean or thrown onto the rocks in a couple of hours."
At this "French" stage of the voyage, there was no contact with Smurgis, he was forced to save money on the phone. According to press reports, it is known that on October 30 "MAX-4" arrived in Brest - a major port and the main base of the French Navy. The captain of the "MAX-4" posed for TV and newspapers, stocked up on food and immediately, on the very next day, went to the Bay of Biscay (Gascony).
The further path passed along the coast, which has long enjoyed the most gloomy fame of "ship-eaters". It is very difficult to lay a course over rocks and reefs with large tidal fluctuations in the water level, on complex changing currents, among steep waves and whirlpools. Walking in poor visibility is not an option. It is not always possible to approach the rocky shores; it was not always possible to choose a more or less calm place for parking. So, the newspaper "Telegram" placed a curious picture: "MAX-4" hangs on the stones, exposed with the ebb, although when the anchor was released in the evening it was "a patch of clean water."
One way or another, Smurgis passed the L "Irua Bay without any special incidents and entered the Odiern Bay through the Strait of Ras de Seine. Following along the coast, he reached its southern part and before going around the far from hospitable Cape Penmark surrounded by rocks , decided to spend the night near the small fishing port of Saint-Genole.
It was here that Alexander Larchikov, a young French teacher from the city of Vyborg, met him.
Last interview
A chance brought me to Evgeny Smurgis. I was visiting friends in Brittany. On the morning of November 2, when I opened the local Telegram, I found an article about a Russian traveler making a round-the-world voyage on oars and making a stop in Brest. Since the navigator spoke only Russian, the journalists could not interview him, they learned something thanks to the documents on board, and, in particular, a folding book - a prospectus with an English text.The message about this extraordinary event aroused great interest among local residents - mainly fishermen who know a lot about maritime affairs. Therefore, when it became known that Smurgis had called at the port of Saint-Genole, my friend Olivier Melennec, an employee of West France (the largest newspaper in France), asked me to go there and help with the translation of a conversation with a navigator from Russia. Naturally, I agreed. The interview was entrusted to the paper's staff correspondent Bernard Dilocer. He picked me up at Treffiagate, where I lived, and we went to Saint-Genole.
When we arrived at the port, it began to get dark, it was raining lightly. Having strayed along the shore in search of Smurgis's boat, we came across a group of local fishermen, who were talking animatedly just on the topic of interest to us. Various opinions were expressed. Some spoke of Smurgis as the Russian Gerard d'Aboville, who became a national hero of France. Others advised calling the police - you can't let a person commit suicide, the port captain should forbid him to go to sea! Someone told about what was in front of his eyes sent to the "psychiatric hospital of a rower who sailed on the same boat from England.
They helped to find "MAX-4". Indeed, against the backdrop of trawlers, the boat looked rather frivolous. It seemed incredible that it was possible to make a journey from Dixon to Brittany on it. The boat was anchored thirty meters from the shore. I shouted several times in Russian: “Is there anyone on board?” Smurgis was apparently resting, so he got out from under the tent and did not answer right away. He answered with a question:
What are the fates of the Russian in these parts?
It would be necessary to talk, - I said, - if you don't mind.
Where can you dock here? My keel is damaged, and there are stones all around ...
I transferred the question to the local sailors, they immediately pointed to a small beach about a hundred meters from the MAX-4 parking lot. Yevgeny Smurgis sat down at the oars, quickly paddled to the shore, got out of the boat, and introduced himself. He was dressed in high waders, rubberized trousers and a jacket, another pair of the same trousers was thrown over his shoulders. Short, lean, with a coffee-colored face from sunburn. He seemed to me very tired, one might say haggard.
So what are the fates here? was his first question.
Visiting friends, - I answered, - and now I'll try to interview you for a French newspaper.
There won't be a long conversation. The tide begins to ebb, the boat runs the risk of being left on the sand. I have to leave early in the morning, I'm in a hurry and I can't waste another day. When will you be in Leningrad? In two weeks? Go to the editorial office of the magazine "Boats and Yachts", pass the photos, if, of course, you get it - it's dark, it's raining. Tell them the boat capsized at Dover. The keel is damaged, there is a leak.
So how do you swim?
The leak is small, about a bucket of water in about eight hours. I'm scooping out. Dampness torments me the most, I just can’t get wet anymore. After all, there is no dryer. I cook on a gas stove, but you can’t dry clothes on it.
The fishermen said that there is a workshop nearby in the port where the boat can be lifted for repairs.
Repair will be in Spain. I'm way off schedule...
They write that you also participated in some kind of race?
Yes, I thought that participation in the race on the Thames would help solve financial problems, but, alas, hopes did not materialize.
Listening to the little that I translated into French for Bernard, the fishermen standing nearby tried to intervene all the time - they gave advice and were offended that I did not translate them. The words of Yevgeny Pavlovich that he has been rowing for twenty-seven years, twice mentioned in the Guinness Book and that he had to sail in a storm in the polar Barents Sea, aroused admiration and an even greater desire to help a sailor from Russia.
The Gulf of Gascony is very dangerous in autumn, it is better to repair here right away, they insistently repeated.
I know, but my boat is made of wood and plastic. Before closing the crack, you need to dry the body for a long time, and I can no longer wait until the tree dries. I'll get to Spain, I'll repair it there.
God bless you, the fishermen replied.
Indeed, we did not have time to talk plainly: the water subsided, Yevgeny Pavlovich began to say goodbye. He returned to his former parking place, and Bernard and I went to the bureau to write the text of the interview. (There is nothing interesting in the text itself for the readers of "KiYa"; it is intended for French readers.)
Our meeting lasted no more than 15 minutes, but I will remember it for a long time. For the first time in my life I met such a strong person. Strong in spirit and body. A real man. At the age of 54, going to sea on oars and being so far from the Motherland, going from Murmansk to Saint-Genole - this cannot but arouse admiration!
Two weeks later, when I was already at home, Olivier Melennek called me and told me the tragic news: - "MAX-4" was found empty!
Recording cut off in mid-sentence
One thing can be said for sure - Alexander Larchikov was the last one who spoke with Yevgeny Pavlovich in his native language.We can only judge what happened after the interview, how Smurgis felt during the last kilometers of this 48,000-kilometer rowing marathon, which began many, many years ago, from brief notes in the diary preserved in the boat found on the beach of La - Tremblade...
Bo-time of a two-day stop at the Croix-de-Vie (November 9-10) he summed up the ten days. Passed in a straight line from Brest along the coast - 300 km, in fact - no less than 400! San Sebastian is about 500 km away. If you count in nautical miles, this is quite a bit. Only 270 miles. But already passed in this incredible circumnavigation of the world, at least 6100 miles from Tiksi (to the west) - 220 times more! However, the power is no more. Apparently, we will have to arrange a holiday in Royan, at the mouth of the Gironde.
November 12th. La Rochelle. This is the last time he went ashore. Yevgeny Pavlovich is in a hurry. In the yacht harbor "finished" at 14.00; a quick excursion to the city, bought some small things in the nearest marina (I made sure that the "French gas" did not fit the existing cylinder and stove), and at dusk I went out to sea again.
In the evening he wrote: "I worked for two hours - I let go of the anchor. The accumulated fatigue somehow fell on my soul and body at once. The sixth month without a single day off, without rest. I would rather have a warm rest and at least a week to rest fully, to restore my strength and spirit a little."
The next day, the entry is even gloomier: "There is no one to blame: he himself deliberately went to the exit of an unprepared expedition." However, even now there is not even a thought about at least a temporary cessation of navigation - about "winter holidays", the possibility of which, in principle, was not rejected, although there was three lines later, the mood is better: "There is money - no money, cold, hungry - it's hard, but the cause for which we came out is moving forward, although not as fast as we would like. And with great losses." This refers, of course, to parting with his son, which seriously disrupted the traffic schedule and affected his well-being.
The night of November 13-14, Yevgeny Pavlovich spent "cling" to a fishing buoy at the three-story wall of Fort Bayard (now well known from French television broadcasts), "in anxiety - the boat was galloping on breakers", shaking "like on a vibration stand."
And the next "working day" went well - three forces carried the boat at once: a fair wind, a current and a rower. Finally, it was possible to "overfulfill the norm"! By 16.00 Smurgis was at the southern tip of Oleron Island.
"Went to the mark and dropped anchor. Settle until the next high tide."
This last entry ends literally in mid-sentence. I ate, sat down at the diary, heard the noise of a helicopter, then the red helicopter descended, hovered, so as not to disturb, at a venerable distance (“not like ours”) ...
Later, Galenko talked with these same helicopter pilots. They said that this was their usual flyby of the coast before the oncoming storm. There were no other ships in the strait. They flew up to Smurgis's boat, which they had seen standing at the fort the day before. The megaphone warned of the upcoming increase in wind, pointed to the nearest shelter. From the boat, he showed that "everything is OK."
Let's not speculate about what happened on that stormy night of November 15, while standing in the open winds and shallow water waves. Why did Yevgeny Pavlovich end up in the water without a life jacket, but in heavy boots? Why was the safety belt not fastened? Why did he get out of the cabin? What threw him overboard? There are many questions. And we will never get an answer. A wonderful person who was not used to turning off the chosen path died ...
If crossing the ocean in a boat seems to you a dubious and very risky undertaking, then you are probably a slightly more reasonable person than the ten captains from our selection - they made sea trips around the world and found themselves in the most dangerous conditions for life.
1. Tahiti Nui I (1956)
In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl began to study the theory of human migration and decided to test it for himself: his most famous trip was the Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed across the Pacific Ocean on a raft in the image and likeness of the ancient Polynesians to prove that it is possible.
But the French navigator Eric de Bishop did not have a very high opinion of Thor Heyerdahl's ideas and did not agree that the Peruvians crossed the Pacific Ocean and settled in Polynesia. Instead, de Bishop believed in a major Polynesian civilization that existed thousands of years before Christ and extended as far east as Chile.
So de Bishop built a boat out of bamboo, intending to cross the Pacific Ocean and prove his theory: to achieve his goal, he first sailed south of the 40th parallel, better known as the "roaring fortieth" because of the almost constantly raging hurricanes in this region. winds. Experts delicately described this route as "suicidal", but to everyone's surprise, the boat survived the fierce storms of the southern seas and performed well in harsh conditions.
Halfway to South America, de Bishop's crew noticed that their raft was literally falling apart due to a shellfish infestation called teredos. On the 199th day of the journey, the raft began to sink, and de Bishop finally used the walkie-talkie to rescue - this happened 240 km from the coast of South America.
2. Seven sisters (1954)
Unlike de Bishop, William Willis didn't have any complex academic theories - he just wanted to test his 61-year-old body at sea. He planned to sail alone on a corkwood raft from Peru to American Samoa, but almost at the very beginning of the journey he encountered a terrible setback.
All the fresh water that Willis took with him turned out to be contaminated, and he had to swim another 10.8 thousand km across the Pacific Ocean - Willis survived on rainwater, raw flour, condensed milk and small cups of sea water. During one particularly nasty storm, a large wave carried a 2.7-meter shark onto his Seven Sisters raft. Willis fought the shark and ended up throwing it back into the ocean, but it severed an artery in his forearm, which the sailor somehow managed to sew right on himself.
But nothing could compare (at least for Willis) to the fear of losing his companion cat: which is why every time a rough sea threw a cat overboard, a gray-haired old sailor rushed after him and fought the Pacific Ocean to save his friend .
Miraculously, Willis, his cat and a raft the size of a living room reached American Samoa in excellent condition: they swam 3.2 thousand km more than Thor Heyerdahl. For an encore, at the age of 70, Willis sailed on a raft from South America to Australia and this time managed to swim 17.7 thousand km.
3. Ra II (1970)
The Kon-Tiki was not Thor Heyerdahl's only voyage: after crossing the Pacific to test his Peruvian theory of migration, the Norwegian set his sights on the Atlantic Ocean to test perhaps even older maritime traditions.
It is believed that the ancient Egyptian papyrus vessels were adapted only for traveling along rivers, because such a fragile vessel would certainly perish in a stormy sea. The tour proved these criticisms to be true by making the Ra I's first voyage from Africa to the Americas, which ended with the boat taking on water and breaking apart.
But this did not stop Heyerdahl and his team: they built a second papyrus boat, this time with the participation of Bolivian shipbuilders who make similar boats for sailing on Lake Titicaca.
On the Ra II, Heyerdahl successfully sailed from Morocco to Barbados (6450 km) in 57 days: the journey is especially impressive when you consider that the ship lasted four times longer than scientists expected.
4. Akali (1973)
"11 Strangers Who Survived Together on a Raft" - You may have heard of this experiment by Santiago Genoves. He had worked with Thor Heyerdahl's expeditions and had the idea that a small raft would be an ideal testing ground for the study of human behavior - the subjects of the study cannot hide their behavior on a piece of land measuring 12x7 m.
Genoves, more of an anthropologist than a sailor, selected five male and six female volunteers from different cultures for a 101-day voyage from the Canary Islands to Mexico. Genoves compiled a questionnaire of 8,000 questions and answers based on the experiences of the subjects in his study.
The members of the Akali Expedition endured incredible hardships - suicide attempt, serious illnesses, hurricanes and shark attacks: it is not surprising that the young volunteers became bronzed from sunburn during this trip and significantly improved their physical condition. In addition, the volunteers eliminated the boredom during the journey through various sexual orgies, concluding agreements among themselves regarding their sexual activities.
5. Excalibur (1981)
Curtis and Kathleen Saville loved the risk, so they decided to take a rowboat trip across the Atlantic Ocean. The Savilles set off for Morocco, but encountered a storm that forced them to sail through the war zone off the coast of the Spanish Sahara. But once the Savilles got to the open ocean, the small size of the Excalibur made it easy for them to collect samples of small ocean life.
Excalibur was only 7.6 m long, which is why sea water easily fell on the deck, and this gave the couple the opportunity to see many luminous tiny creatures: the spouses described many more specimens of this type than the researchers of that time who remained on land could describe .
The Savilles arrived safely in Antigua after 83 days of almost constant rowing.
6. Phoenicia (2007)
In 600 B.C. e. Greek historian Herodotus wrote about a group of Phoenicians (Phoenicia is a region in modern Syria and Lebanon) who sailed around Africa in three years. Scholars have been debating the possibility of such a trip ever since, using as an argument that travel around Africa was not undertaken until 1488. The source of doubt is simple: in order to move at least a step, all the Phoenician galleys needed a wind that constantly filled the sails throughout the journey.
In 2007, Philip Beale, an adventurer, historian and anthropologist, decided to confirm Herodotus' story: Beale used a ship similar to the Phoenician, built on the model of a wrecked Phoenician galley. The only modern contrivance on board was a tiny engine to avoid being towed out of the harbor, but otherwise Beale got a ship that sailed just like his ancient predecessor - bad: without ideally favorable winds, the ship simply drifted in the open ocean.
There were many problems: trying to steer the ship, Beale broke nine rudders, and once storms tore the sail of the ship in two - a crew of 11 people in full force jumped out of the ship taking on water, so that something remained afloat. And since Beal hadn't fitted the ship with anything like a modern winch or pulley, the crew would repair the yard and set the sail again by hand.
Two years later, with more than 27,000 miles behind them, Beel and his crew managed to complete their trip by sailing through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden and narrowly avoiding the modern equivalent of scurvy, which was probably the scourge of that ancient Phoenician voyage.
7. Cork raft (2002)
John Pollack had an absurd idea: President Clinton's former speechwriter decided to build a boat out of wine corks—165,321 individual wine corks, to be exact.
It took two years of planning, testing and labor, but he finally sealed thousands of plugs together with an ingenious system. What is the result? The result was a longboat like an ancient Viking boat, and although the boat looked quite pretty, it was almost unmanageable - this made the journey of a cork raft through Portugal difficult and unforgettable. Interestingly, Portugal is the largest supplier of cork in the world.
Pollack and a few volunteers spent more than two weeks rowing down the River Dor to the sea: with the help of a tugboat that happened to pass by, the crew were able to overcome the turns in the river, and the cork raft completed its journey almost intact.
8 The Starkell Canoe (1980-1982)
Don Starkell claimed he could row more miles than any other man, and we tend to believe him: in one trip, Starkell added 19,999 to the rest of his miles. Starkell and his two sons carried their 6.4-meter canoe out of their Winnipeg home in 1980.
They sailed through the Red River in Mississippi, through the Gulf of Mexico, through the Orinoco, and finally through the Rio Negro. The two Starkells sailed in an open canoe all the way to the mouth of the Amazon: one of Starkell's sons, Jeff, left the canoe in Mexico after suffering too many fatal injuries - they encountered a huge number of obstacles along the way.
Wild animals like snakes and sharks were, of course, dangerous, but in the end they became the least of Don Starkell's concerns - Nicaraguan rebels, drug couriers and Honduran robbers gave the rowers much more problems. 13 countries, 45 holes and at least 15 rollovers later, the Starkells arrived at the mouth of the mighty Amazon River.
But officials believed in the heartbreaking story of the Canadians with great difficulty: the Starkells were barely able to collect the necessary documents, withstood a series of interviews in Venezuela and letters from various embassies, but their voyage entered the Guinness Book of Records as the longest canoe trip.
9. Lehi IV (1958)
In the 1950s, anthropological theories about rafting across the ocean weren't the only lazy ones to make: theories about pre-Columbian colonization of the Americas were a dime a dozen, as were eccentrics willing to engage in dubious maritime ventures to support various theories.
Dever Baker was one such eccentric: after reading the Book of Mormon (the sacred text of the Latter Day Saint or Mormon movement), Baker set out to prove that the Israelites had sailed from the Red Sea to Central America and colonized the New World.
Lacking any archaeological evidence, Baker began building rafts to test his theories. Pay attention to the number "IV" after the word "Lehi" - Baker's first three boats were unsuccessful, but on the fourth attempt, Baker finally created a wooden platform, which, however, was almost impossible to control.
Despite a bunch of flaws in his ship, Baker sailed from Redondo Beach in Hawaii. The obvious question is: “What does this have to do with Israel and Central America?” Answer: none.
The futility of this trip is undeniable, and it was incredible luck that the winds constantly favored the traveler, he did not survive a single serious storm, and a small crew of students helped make this Hawaiian trip a reality. The other main source of assistance was a Coast Guard boat, which helped complete the trip by towing the Lehi IV to shore.
The Lehi IV did nothing at all to advance anthropological theories, but of course Baker gained notoriety when his wife wrote a travel book from the point of view of a dog that swam with him.
10. Tahiti Nui II–III (1958)
Eric de Bishop did not give up after the failure of the Tahiti Nui I: no, he built a new boat out of cypress, which he launched in Chile, intending to sail to Polynesia.
At first glance, things were going quite well for a team of five people: by June, after two months of travel, the Tahiti Nui II had settled only 20 cm, but by the end of June the boat had already gone a meter under water, and the crew was forced to take shelter on the roof of the boat. There was still another 650 km to sail before landing on the Marquesas Islands, when the crew found that the teredos mollusks had again stuck around the boat, having made countless holes in the wood.
The dissatisfaction of the crew members, some of whom managed to leave the expedition, the reduction in supplies and the fever did not benefit de Bishop: by August the boat had covered only 240 km and barely kept afloat, but de Bishop recovered, and he had a plan - “Tahiti Nui III".
He and the people who remained with him built a new raft, smaller, using relatively intact logs and barrels of water: for a week, the crew tried to build a new boat, while trying to make the old one somehow sail. They succeeded: the deck of the Tahiti Nui III was only 1.5 × 1.8 m, but the miserable craft, nevertheless, could swim, and the crew members desperately clung to it as it was thrown through rough sea waves - to shore to safety.
The Tahiti Nui III washed up in the Cook Islands, but, unfortunately, de Bishop did not survive the impact of the boat with the reefs. However, thanks to their amazing ingenuity, his team made it to the ground and, in the end, escaped.
Sailing across the ocean is considered an extremely difficult event, almost the pinnacle of yachting skills and even, almost a feat. God, we're being fooled again! And their own. Well, okay, hang noodles on the young ladies' ears, but among our own, maybe we will already reveal this terrible secret, kept by so many generations of sailors?
The secret is that crossing the ocean in the right season, in the right direction and on a reliable, well-equipped boat is simple and, in general, quite monotonous, if not boring. Walking on the open ocean is much calmer, safer and more comfortable than spinning in the archipelago or in the sea, not to mention coastal swimming, or, God forbid, rivers or suburban reservoirs.
What fears arise before your eyes when you imagine crossing the ocean?
Let's try to look them in the face.
Weather disasters - a storm with huge waves or a dead calm ...
Is it possible to die from Russian frosts? Can. This was experienced more than once by foreigners who decided to go to war with us. Since then, everyone around knows for sure that there are terrible frosts in Russia. Fine. But you and I know that it is impossible to freeze here in the summer. It's impossible. With all your will. But we also “know” that a storm or calm can happen in the ocean! My friends, for the ocean we are the same foreigners, and in the same way we are mistaken. I will tell you the most important secret of all sailors - in the right season, and with an understanding of the routes of transition, it is impossible to get into the ocean in a severe storm or in calm. No way. With all your will. Well, at least as long as our planet's climate remains stable.
After realizing this fact, everything becomes quite simple.
Look closely!
Even more carefully!!
This is what a trans-ocean crossing looks like.
In the right season, and when moving in the right direction in tropical latitudes, across a desert surface that stretches to the horizon, you, around the clock, will be carried by an even tailwind trade wind or monsoon with a force of 15-20, rarely 25 knots, with a wave of 3-4 , rarely 5 points. The speed (cruise) of the boat will be within 5-7 knots, you will cover a little more than a hundred miles per day. The wind will increase slightly by dawn, walking within ten degrees during the day. Once you set the sails and adjust the autopilot, you can go weeks without touching anything at all. Make sure that the sheets, autopilot drives and sails do not fray at the points of contact with the rigging, and try not to lie to yourself. I was mainly worried about the ear crawling around the clock on the pillow. The way out was a pillow from an airplane with a hole in the middle.
About the seasons and directions of transitions will be discussed separately for each ocean, but there is one general and very important rule. The seasons in the ocean change very dramatically. This is very unusual for residents of middle latitudes - there are no long off-season periods in the ocean when you can still slip through, but with less comfort. It won't work in the ocean. If it is said that the southern seas of the Pacifica are closed from December to March, this means that on the fifth of December such things can fly that even the Saints can endure. Don't pull the devil's mustache - if it says on our website that the season is over or hasn't started yet, then you don't have to go out into the ocean. If you go in a favorable season, then (in tropical latitudes) it is IMPOSSIBLE to get into a weather anomaly.
Is it still scary? It is clear that it is scary - this is a psychological barrier in front of the grandiosity of the Ocean, and no matter how much they say and reassure the experienced, from one figure in two with something thousand miles of the upcoming transition it becomes uncomfortable.
What else can happen to you?
If you choose and equip a boat in accordance with the recommendations that will be given on this site, then even watches are not particularly needed in the open ocean. Don't believe? Let's think about what kind of mess can happen to a yacht, at least theoretically.
Danger of collision with the vessel.
In the open ocean, outside the zones of trade routes, a meeting of a ship is a rather rare event. If somewhere in the distance a ship passes, it will be detected by electronics, which we will talk about separately, equipping our dream yacht, and this will not be a danger, but rather an occasion for discussion. When does the "open" ocean begin? One hundred and fifty miles from the nearest coast, where fishermen and theoretically possible pirates do not swim (the cost of fuel at such a distance begins to exceed the cost of the catch), you can already say that you are alone. Well, unless you're part of some stupid rally! And so, you just need to make sure that you do not cross (do not go along) the zones of trade routes. We will talk about these zones separately.
Danger of collision with a floating object or a whale.
Don't save yourself from this. No way. No amount of staring into the darkness, no radar or echo sounder will save you. Thermal imager? Well, perhaps. Only then you need to stare at him without stopping for a second, because those hundred meters, beyond which something flickers on the screen, the yacht will pass in thirty seconds. It's not real. It is much more efficient to initially choose the right boat (we will talk about this in the “Dream Yacht” section), which, in the event of a meeting with a particularly large object, will not lose the rudder or keel, and will be strong enough not to crack like an eggshell. The good news is that the oceans are still quite clean of large man-made debris, and whales, in general, have good hearing. So this scenario is more for films.
Yacht malfunction.
Rigging breaks, autopilot and spar failures, electrical problems, hull problems (especially in tight areas), torn sails… Yes, this can and does happen. This means only one thing - you poorly prepared your vessel, did not follow the recommendations that will be given on this resource, and did not test the boat before going out into the ocean. This is bad. They themselves are to blame - it was better to work on the shore.
Preparing a yacht for a trans-ocean passage should be taken seriously and slowly, by conducting training trips, during which the yacht is hard loaded, testing it for strength. This is especially true if you have just bought a boat and you do not know its diseases! Regrettably, this also applies to newly built yachts - the quality of work at shipyards leaves much to be desired, including well-known manufacturers, where they drive the conveyor, sometimes losing quality.
If you choose, equip and prepare the boat correctly, do not overload the materiel with extra sails, trying to set another stupid record, then most likely nothing will happen to your yacht - you are going full heading in moderate wind, which means that loads for all boat systems are thirty percent of the calculated ones.
Unexpected illness or injury.
Illness is always extremely unpleasant. But, you need to understand that there are no ordinary flu-colds in the ocean - where does the microbe come from? And the number of unexpected (not having early symptoms) diseases is not at all as large as it seems, and we will also talk about them. Let's talk about the first aid kit. But the teeth must be done in advance!
Injuries are a very real danger, especially at the beginning, until the body has gained experience in moving on a swinging platform. Therefore, your every movement on the yacht should be thoughtful, confident, smooth and soft. Do you know how to immediately distinguish an experienced yachtsman from a beginner? A beginner stomps, but the movements of an experienced person around the yacht are not audible. On a boat, a person turns into a primate - you should always have at least three points of support. No running on two legs! You should always fix yourself with your hand, booty, hip, back, and even with your teeth. The surfaces of the yacht must be clean - your life may depend on a smear of slippery slime left on the deck from the caught fish. Although, Annushka can spill oil on the Patriarchs too.
Fall overboard.
May happen. And, almost with absolute certainty, this is a slow and painful death. Finding a person who has fallen overboard in the ocean is almost impossible. And in the dark - absolutely impossible. But, it all depends on you, no one will specifically push you overboard. (Although, there are options - watch the psychological climate in the crew!) In ordinary life, you don’t stand close to the edge of the platform, do you? Do you fasten your seat belts in your car? This is exactly the case when fear is a good adviser. Better let your favorite baseball cap fly overboard, or the fish, the hell with it, will break. We have made it a rule that before dusk, a person on deck should be in a comfortable, fitted vest-harness, equipped with a light, a “man overboard” system, and fastened with a safety belt. We will talk about other rules that must be observed in order not to see your yacht disappearing at dusk.
Fire on the ship.
Despite the abundance of water around, a fire is really scary, especially on a plastic boat. Extinguishing burning plastic is extremely difficult, especially if a hard-to-reach compartment lights up, where they like to live very much, and electric wires rub against each other on the pitching. As on land, a fire is usually caused by a faulty electrical wiring, which is much more likely in a salty environment, or by a stove. We will also talk about this separately. But you can buy a couple of good fire extinguishers right now.
Lightning?- In the open ocean, the probability is small, but we will also talk about protection from God's wrath.
What else? Meteorite? Sea monster? Aliens? Ghost ship? Fuck it, this won't happen to you. The submarine can float, yes. It happened to us in Pacifica. Only we never saw it - just wild radar activity in the middle of the ocean - and there is nobody. What else could it be?
So, a hundred and fifty miles offshore, go fishing, read, write, draw, play the guitar, watch movies or listen to audio books. Think eternal. Love each other. Look at the ocean, admire it, remember these wonderful minutes that turn into hours and days. "With eyes, mouth and skin, drink space." Live! And you will not notice how the transition will flash by, and then you will remember it as one of the most pleasant adventures in your life.
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“In the future, there will be enough skippers in skirts and this will happen for sure, especially if men keep repeating that the ocean is not a place for women.” (Joshua Slocum).
Sixty three!!! years ago, on January 27, 1953, Ann Davison on her yacht Felicity Ann reached the shores of Barbados. She became the first woman who managed to overcome the Atlantic alone.
In 1875, on a fishing sailboat, Alfred Jensen for the first time single-handedly crossed the Atlantic from Canada to England. Thus began the countdown of achievements in solo swimming: the first round-the-world trip, the first rowing crossing, overcoming Cape Horn, a non-stop race ... At the time of Alfred Jensen, no one could have imagined that a woman would ever be able to go to sea alone. No one even believed that a woman would ever be able to become a skipper. But only thirty or forty years passed, and women gradually began to become captains, pilots, tractor drivers, and officers. But before the first women's single swimming was still very far away.
Solo swimming is one of the most difficult hobbies, because you have to fight not only with the ocean, which in itself is only possible for the elite, but also with loneliness and its inevitable consequences - chronic fatigue and depression. Women, for obvious reasons, are much more difficult to fight. It is all the more surprising that at the end of the 20th century, dozens of women became interested in solo swimming. But only recently sailors got used to the fact that a woman on board is, in general, usually and not bad at all. And after all, such women in Russian still have to be defined by the clumsy phrase “woman-yachtsman”, and in English permeated with political correctness, it’s completely empty: yachtswoman has not yet become familiar, and nothing else has been invented.
ALONE WITHOUT A HUSBAND
Ann Davison was 38 years old when she decided to cross the Atlantic. But only at first she did not think to do it alone. Ann Davison was a journalist and, together with her husband, also an amateur yachtsman, expected to make a romantic trip across the Atlantic and write a series of essays, and possibly a book. But in the English Channel, during a not very strong storm, they were not lucky. The yacht sank, Ann's husband died, and she herself was saved by a miracle.
On May 18, 1952, she left Plymouth alone. After the loss of a large yacht, she could not afford something like that and went to conquer the ocean that killed her husband on a small sloop Felicity Ann seven meters long. She crossed the Bay of Biscay and, as far as she could, kept close to the coast - first to the Portuguese, then to the Moroccan. But finally, Gran Canaria, further to Barbados only waves. She left Las Palmas on 25 November; the decision to storm the ocean was not so reckless: for six months Ann tested herself, thought, and, after the hurricanes subsided, went out into the ocean.
She saw the land only two months later, because of the calm, the voyage was delayed. On January 27, 1953, she independently brought her yacht to one of the ports of Barbados. This was followed by an equally difficult journey to New York, which took nine months with stops. But the main thing had already been done: the Atlantic for the first time submitted to a woman.
TWICE ONE
About Ann Davison wrote a lot in the gas tah, she processed the diary entries and published a book. Until the end of the 50s, there were several more "female" attempts to overcome the Atlantic alone. Inspired by the example, women went out into the ocean, covered some distance, fought, but withstood a maximum of a week - and turned back or called for help. There were no tragedies, probably because the sense of self-preservation in women is much more developed than in men.
The next woman to conquer the ocean was named Sharon Sites. But it was not Ann Davison's feat that brought her to the idea of taking a perilous journey, but Francis Chichester's book "Overcoming Yourself." Thirty-three-year-old Englishwoman Sharon Sites sailed on the Sea Sharp yacht from a small California town heading for Honolulu. Indirect evidence that the decision was not too thoughtful is the fact that Sharon Sites was familiar with sails for only about a year before her start, and acquired her own yacht two days before the start.
The reason for such a hasty start was failures in his personal life, prolonged depression and a categorical refusal to communicate with relatives and friends. On the trip, Sharon Sites did not take a radio transmitter with her, explaining this by her unwillingness for someone to break her loneliness. Of course, it was a gamble to go 2 thousand miles across the treacherous ocean, and even in the summer, when strong winds and storms are inevitable on the route. And so it happened. After half a month of relatively calm navigation, the Sea Sharp almost sank during a 9-point storm. The Sea Sharp was about the same size as the Felicity Ann, but easier to steer and maneuver. However, two days before the storm, Sharon Sites broke her right arm. She put a splint on herself, smeared it with a disinfectant ointment, changed the bandages that got wet every day, but, of course, she could not do anything with her right hand. It is hard to imagine how she managed the sails with one hand, and even during storms. Butin spite of everything, the 40-day voyage ended successfully.
After returning, Sharon Sites got married and once again made a successful voyage across the Pacific Ocean, but from Yokohama to the shores of California. She did not take her husband with her, but this time she installed a radio station on board the Sea Sharp-2 yacht and did not refuse to communicate. Moreover, now she suffered from loneliness. The new voyage lasted 70 days. The route covered was twice as long as the first (about 4,500 nautical miles), Sharon Sites survived ten storms, but overall the journey was much easier than the first.
FIRST STAR
Another thirty years passed, and there were several more women who conquered the Atlantic, and among them even women finalists of the transatlantic races. Some decided on absolutely desperate ventures: in 1999, the Englishwoman Tori Marden crossed the Atlantic for the first time in a rowboat, rowed almost 3 thousand miles, and then the Frenchwoman Peggy Boucher repeated her success. And in the round-the-world race "Wendy Globe" two participants were announced at once - Catherine Shabu and Ellen MacArthur.
Ellen MacArthur is the most famous woman sailing alone on a yacht. She rose to fame in 1994 when she crossed the Atlantic from the coast of France to Guadeloupe in less than 14 days. Upon learning of this, the yachting world turned upside down. The outstanding result of MacArthur showed that women may well be stronger than men. After her first major success, Ellen competed in two trans-Atlantic races and finally achieved victory in 2000 in the 60-foot Kingfisher; now the Wendy Globe was ahead.
How one can endure a race like the Wendy Globe is not fully understood by many male athletes either. After all, there is practically no time to sleep, and in order to enter the top ten, you must constantly monitor the wind and change the sails - five, ten, fifteen times a day. The modern single race is a test not only for the racer, the yacht and its stuffing, but also for coaches and personal consultants. As in any sport, yacht racing of this level requires long training sessions, a carefully adjusted diet, the ability to psychologically relieve the nervous system, meditate, calm down, instantly fall asleep and sleep no longer than 20-30 minutes.
At the Wendy Globe, Ellen MacArthur took second place and became the first solo star. And it is unlikely that in the near future any of the women will be able to improve her result and achieve the same fame.
***
“In the ringing silence of the mysterious rotten fog, I felt as alone as an ant brought by a rain stream to the middle of a pond and clutching at a straw. On such days, all through me, to the last bone, I was seized by a feeling of trembling and fear of an endless and bottomless ocean, but for some reason on such days I remembered all the other fears that I had ever experienced or even heard about. All the most terrible arose and strangely mixed up in my mind. It seemed to me that if I stopped trembling and being afraid, I would die. Visions arose in front of me, laughing and crying voices retold stories from my life and about what I knew from somewhere or what I had ever read about ”
Ann Davison, 1953
***
“I love independence, and therefore I was able to overcome all the hardships that await me every day on the road. The most serious were the difficulties of a psychological rather than a technical nature. Loneliness was very annoying.
I was saved by conversations addressed to the sun, waves, yacht and stars.
Very often I resorted to a tape recorder, recorded my voice, and then listened to the recording ”
Sharon Sites, 1969
“Soon the time will come when I will return home. Today I tried to read a book to get rid of heavy obsessive thoughts, but I couldn't read, I'm very tired, so I dropped the book to the bottom, and now I'm trying to dry it on the motor box ...
Lately I've seen ships and even plane tracks in the sky, and yesterday a light plane with photographers on board flew by. It was great to see at least someone, they flapped their wings and flew over me again. They must have taken great photos, at that moment I was sailing at a speed of 20 knots ...
Last night the wind died down, and I swam for a while at full speed - the sea is calm, there are almost no waves, so I decided to take a chance ...
I spent two hours looking for a mast, wandering the deck at night with a torch. How do I want to get home…>
Ellen MacArthur, 2002
