Godforsaken Sea: Racing the World's Most Dangerous Waters

by Derek Lundy (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1999

  $3.26

  Writing about a building storm, the physics of great waves, the finer points of boat-handling in hurricane force wind, he is always simple, eloquent and sometimes arrestingly vivid. You could follow him and share on the elation and terror, even if you'd never been aboard a sailboat in your life' JONATHAN RABAN The Vendee Globe-a 27, 000 mile single-handed yacht race through the world's most treacherous seas, a journey that takes the competitors to one of the most isolated places on earth. In the four months that it takes to sail the route the racers pit themselves against the sea and cope with all it offers-icebergs, hurricane-force winds, waves the height of six-storey buildings, deafening noise as their boats hit the giant waves-and all this whilst suffering from severe sleep deprivation and sometimes desperate loneliness. On 3 November 1996 sixteen sailors, Tony Bullimore and Pete Goss among them, set out. Only six crossed the finishing line, six others either withdrew or were disqualified for seeking outside help, three were plucked from sinking boats while the world watched and one disappeared without trace.

• Used

  Paperback
  2000

  $6.53

• Used

  Hardcover
  1999

  $14.79

• New

  Paperback
  2000

  $11.55

  Non-fiction it may be, but it contains all the tension of a thriller Stuart Alexander, The Independent The Vendee Globe is a 27,000 mile, single-handed yacht race through the world's most treacherous seas. A four month journey where the sailors pit themselves against icebergs, hurricane-force winds and waves the height of six-storey buildings. On 3 November 1996 sixteen sailors, including Tony Bullimore and Pete Goss set out. Only six crossed the finishing line, six others withdrew or were disqualified for seeking outside help, three were plucked from sinking boats while the world watched and one disappeared without trace. It is a captivating tale. This is a book which vividly transcends its immediate brief as a narrative of the race and those who sailed it, and presents a gripping and poetic evocation of the terrible and seductive power of the sea John Tague, The Independent on Sunday.