Book Description

The Fifinella Log tells my true story of sailing around the world in a thirty-foot boat for four-and-a-half years. It describes terrible storms and three hurricanes encountered during the voyage, one of which in the Bay of Plenty off the north coast of New Zealand, damaged our boat Fifinella. During that two-day battle, Fifi lost three foresails, two mainsails, the self-steering vane, reefing pawl, a forestay, and other pieces of equipment, besides broken cupboards, destroyed books, charts, and food stocks. But it was not all like that. Weeks were spent drifting in the doldrums in energy-sapping heat, where you burnt above deck and baked below: where you gritted your teeth to cut off sharp retorts, trying to subjugate your anger and frustration to funnel it into positive action. The good times far outweighed the bad. We experienced the incredible charm of the English south coast, met many wonderful people, and visited exotic places, where we could pick breadfruit, bananas, and coconuts. We traded with islanders and made biltong from horsemeat, and dived and spear-fished our way up the Great Barrier Reef, enjoying the beauty of the Australian coast. Sailing on my own from Darwin to Durban via Christmas Island, Cocos Keeling, Seychelles, and the Comoros gave me time for introspection; I hope I am a better man for it. We had no fancy equipment, no satellite navigation aids. Our radio was basic and our funds minimal. We had a compass and a plastic sextant, navigation tables, charts, and a star chart. The sea is unforgiving and does not tolerate carelessness or mistakes. Be well prepared.