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Gregory Newell Smith draws on his 50,000 miles of blue water sailing, and a lifetime of world travels, to describe what it's really like to be out there--on your own, far away from family, friends, and the societal safety nets we have come to depend on.
From a terrifying storm in the Tasman Sea, to the befuddlement of a Fijian kava ceremony, to the intimate relationship with the stars for sextant navigation, Smith tells would-be-adventurers how it feels to experience the pleasures and trials of extended travel.
These days, with the Internet, sailing blogs, and GPS, cruising may seem less daunting, but the ocean--the Open Sea--still remains the greatest challenge of all.
About the author
GREGORY NEWELL SMITH, from the Pacific Northwest, is a seasoned ocean sailor and delivery captain with over 50,000 miles of blue-water experience, ranging from the coast of Alaska to the Cape of Good Hope, including a fifty-three-day, 6000-mile solo passage from Panama to Hawaii. In The Solitude of the Open Sea, he draws upon his three-plus years of offshore sailing aboard his thirty-nine foot Fast Passage cutter, Atlantean, to explore the importance of broadening our horizons beyond the known and commonplace, freeing ourselves from cultural self-centeredness, and achieving self-discovery through perseverance, hardship, and solitude. The themes of the book's seventeen narrative essays are not unique to sailing but rather are intended for a general audience of reflective readers who value travel and the insights it provides in helping us understand our place in the world around us.
