A book such as this is not put together by one person, in spite of the byline. In this case, the persons involved and the sources of information were scattered around the world-and in some instances, were on the high seas, days and even weeks from the nearest communications.
Tracking down individuals under the circumstances, at times became a frustrating chore, involving hundreds of letters to all parts of the globe to check facts or obtain additional information; many letters required the inclusion of International Reply Coupons for encouragement. Since these are negotiable in many exotic hideaways, and since small boat voyagers as a rule dislike writing letters when wine is cheap and companionship warm, some of the replies no doubt got lost between the anchorage and the local poste marque office. If this is the case, they have my heartiest good wishes and no hard feelings.
But the replies that did come in, and the enthusiastic and spontaneous cooperation encountered among real bluewater sailors, was astonishing, and I am deeply indebted to all these individuals and organizations. Among these, I would especially like to thank:
Neal T. Walker, secretary of The Slocum Society, Hilo, Hawaii, which is a gold mine of unpublished information in a most idyllic place for research, and which Neal put completely at my disposal. Similarly of great help was The Slocum Society Sailing Club, of which Jean-Charles Taupin is Commodore.
Thanks go, in addition, to Marjorie Petersen of Stornoway, somewhere in the Mediterranean; Dr. Hamisb Campbell at Durban, South Africa; Miles Smeeton,Cockrane, Alberta; Dr. Robert Griffith of Awahnee; Tim Campbell of Cray's Publishing Ltd., Sidney, B.C.; Eleanor Boxden, Spindrift Point, Sausalito, California; Kenneth E. Slack, Toongabbie, N.S.W., Australia; Warwick M. Tomkins, Sausalito, California; the late L. Francis Herreshoff, Marblehead, Massachusetts; Howard I. Chapelle, Smithsonian Institution; Thomas E. Colvin, Miles Post Office, Virginia; Steve Doherty, Seven Seas Press; Peter H. Comstock, secretary, The Cruising Club of America; William A. Robinson, Papeete, Tahiti; Louis and Annie Van de Wicle, Chateau de Madaillan, France; Commander Erroll Bruce RN (Ret.); Eric Hiscock aboard Wanderer IV somewhere in New Zealand; John Guzzwell on Treasure at Honolulu; Ray Kauffman of Hurricane fame; Dwight Long of Idle Hour, and his brother, Philip; and Richard Zantzinger, Jr.of the Molly Brown; and Marcel Bardiaux, Algarve, Portugal.
Without the enthusiasm and leadership of Dennis Fawcett of Prentice-Hall, this book certainly would not have been created; and without the meticulous and conscientious copy editing by Barbara Palumbo, I doubt if I could have coped with the high standards of production at Prentice-Hall. After twenty-five years of professional writing, I was astonished at how much I had to learn.
Thanks also go to Charles E. Mason III of Sail magazine; James E. Liston of
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Popular Mechanics magazine; Maury Gwynne, editor of The Victorian, Victoria, British Columbia; Albert F. Smith, Jr., Allied Boat Company, Inc.; H. B. Fowler,Ocean Cruising Club, Burnham-On-Crouch, Essex, England; Vern Griffin, San Diego Union-Tribune; Miles Ottenheimer, American Boating; David Pardon, Sea Spray magazine, Auckland, New Zealand; John C. de Graff, Tuckahoe, New York; Frank Bowers, Editor-in-Chief, Fawcett Publications, special interest books and magazines; Peter R. Smyth, Motor Boating and Sailing magazine; David R.Getchell, The National Fisherman; artist E. Bruce Dauner, Lake Oswego,Oregon; the John G. Alden Co., Greenwich, Connecticut; Robert Hitchman,Seattle, Washington.
I would also like to acknowledge such invaluable sources as Rudder magazine,Boating magazine, <>Yachting magazine, all in New York; Pacific Yachting, Vancouver, British Columbia; Financial Times, London Daily Express, the Sunday Times, London Daily Telegraph, Manchester Guardian, Yachts and Yachting, Sunday Mirror, English Yachting Monthly,. Daily Observer, Sunday Express,Yachting and Boating, all in England; South African Yachting, Cape Town; Neptune Nautique, Neptune Nautiome, Voile et Voiliers, L'Aurore, Le Yacht, Paris Match in France; Nichi Bei Times, San Francisco; Examiner-Express, Tasmania; Seacraft Magazine, Australia; Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Advertiser; Hawaii Tribune-Herald; Cork Examiner, Ireland; Los Angeles Times; Washington Post; The New York Times; Vancouver, B.C. Sun; Miami Herald, Chicago Daily News; The Oregonian, Portland; Seattle Times; Seattle Post-Intelligencer; the Cruising Club News, National Geographic magazine; Nor'Westing magazine,Edmonds, Washington; San Francisco Chronicle; Chicago Tribune; Minneapolis Tribune; Sea magazine, Die Yacht; Oceans; and Sea Frontiers. Special thanks also go to the following publishers for permissions: Rutgers' University Press; Westover Publishing Company; W. W. Norton &Company, Inc.; Oxford University Press; William Morrow & Co., Inc.; E. P.Dutton & Co., Inc.; Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.; Macmillan Publishing Co.,Inc.; Rupert Hart-Davis; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; William Heinemann, Ltd.; Edward Arnold & Co.; Allard Coles, Ltd.; Van Nostrand (Litton Educational Publications); Flammarion, Paris; Stein and Day; David McKay Co., Inc., Coward McCann, Inc.; Nautical Publishing Co., Ltd.; William Morrow & Co.; Samson Marine Designs Enterprises; Victor Gollancz, Ltd., Grenada Publishing Ltd.;A. M. Heath & Co.; and the clip files of the old Seattle Star newspaper. Finally, I should also credit my bride, Myrtle, for channeling my time and energies into the path of voluntary servitude, to get the job done, even when the midsummer temperatures soared to 100, F., and our 42-foot sloop Wild Rose rocked invitingly at her moorage.
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( Introduction follows )