Comments on: Jessica, Jesse, Joshua and the Cruel Sea

By: peter dedman

peter dedman — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:19:20 +0000

I have a spray 40 in my back yard is there any adventurer to fit her out ????I need to sell ,,, of course these boats wont sail into the wind but off the wind they will self steer ,,,,I also hav e a building site as where she is in perth weas australia …………tel no is 08 94100520

By: David Morgan

David Morgan — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:56:26 +0000

‘traditionally known as the “Antipodes”’? Only in England.

And do we really have a relaxed attitude to danger? Teenagers everywhere think they’re immortal. But live in the bush – even on the outskirts of the cities – and the risk of bushfire is always at the back of your mind. Then go for a swim at the beach and just try and forget about sharks, jellyfish and undertows. And then there’s the risk of skin cancer…

I wouldn’t let this girl go if she was my daughter. And yes, showbiz is playing a big role in this voyage. But she has spent much of her life on the water. If anyone of her age is prepared enough for such a voyage, it seems she is.

I too have read and enjoyed ‘Sailing Alone Around the World’. But it needs to be said that Slocum became a celebrity, not after the voyage, but during. Thanks to the telegraph, news of what he was attempting preceded him. He was feted in Sydney, met Henry Stanley in Durban and President Kruger in Pretoria:

‘His Excellency received me cordially enough; but my friend Judge Beyers, the gentleman who presented me, by mentioning that I was on a voyage around the world, unwittingly gave great offense to the venerable statesman, which we both regretted deeply. Mr. Krüger corrected the judge rather sharply, reminding him that the world is flat. “You don’t mean round the world,” said the president; “it is impossible! You mean in the world. Impossible!” he said, “impossible!” and not another word did he utter either to the judge or to me…Only unthinking people call President Krüger dull.’

By: Wendy

Wendy — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:16:20 +0000

These days I paddle outrigger canoes rather than sail oceans, but the temptation to keep paddling beyond “the line ‘tween sea and sky” is overpowering. The content I’ve read here its the closest I’ve found to the sort of people and real boats that I want to sail oceans with. I too am reminded of Thoreau, Muir and Emerson when I think of Slocum – an ocean version of philosophers and natural adventurers.

Hopefully you don’t have to be a teenager to dream… Joshua and Thoreau weren’t.

Mahalo nui loa!

By: Dale

Dale — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:53:05 +0000

It’s not how she handles the sea that worries me, it’s how she will be handled when she lands. Anywhere.
There are far too many men in the world who see a little unprotected teenage girl as a victim in waiting.

By: Ian Oldham

Ian Oldham — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:58:07 +0000

Hi Roger
Your essay does sound a little dispirited. As I was reading it, I recalled that Australia won the Americas Cup closely followed by New Zealand (twice); apparently they did not realise that it was an impossible dream – after all, Britain had tried, and failed, many times. Perhaps the prevailing non-antipodal part of the world has become totally risk averse and tries to justify it by describing ‘the risks’ from the perspective of a comfortable armchair. You may also recall that a bee keeper was the first person to climb Everest.
Many people, after doing ‘the impossible” have said that they would not have attempted the challenge had they known what it involved.
I suspect that you have missed the point. Try reading the intro. to ‘An Unexpected Light’.
Best wishes
Ian Oldham

By: Twitted by bradpiercephd

Twitted by bradpiercephd — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:12:28 +0000

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By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:43:19 +0000

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By: Chuck Lanigan

Chuck Lanigan — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:30:10 +0000

Roger: Nice reflection on the risks and benefits of pursuing and being present to authentic experience in our lives, vs. pursuing it a priori as a marketing gimmick purely for promoting ourselves. We are driven to do this in our celebrity-obsessed, YouTube, Facebook culture. I live in Andy Warhol’s home town of Pittsburgh in the US. Don’t get me starting on the ridiculous fawning that still goes on over the post-modern influence re. commodification of the self of a man who’s been dead 20-odd years; and a weird, disaffected one at that.) . See also Kenneth Gergen’s ‘The Self in the Age of Information’.

I was thinking before you mentioned it as I read Slocum’s account of his career and re-building of ‘The Spray’ that his writing reminds me of Thoreau’s. Good call. I have visited Walden and swam in HDT’s cove. It was a significant experience in my life.

Best. — Chuck Lanigan

By: Tracy W

Tracy W — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:20:03 +0000

As an Antipodean myself, this analysis of Antipodean character does not ring any bells as a generalisation. I go tramping (hiking, for non-Antipodeans) and most trampers are well aware of the dangers (and any who aren’t eventually get a sharp reminder, or killed). As for Asians’ greater awareness of danger, I find this hard to believe. Take this story of nine Indonesia climbers lifted from Mt Cook, NZ, who were attempting to climb this mountain after having trained on sand dunes in Indonesia. There are of course Antipodeans who are bloody stupid about the great outdoors, but there also are Asians who are bloody stupid.

As for Pacific Islands, they are relatively safe places to visit. How many people get blown up compared with the numbers who get hit by cars? The Bali bombings killed 202 people, but in Indonesia an estimated 15,000 road fatalities occurred in 1995 (see http://www.factbook.net/EGRF_Introduction.htm). in NZ 350 people died in road accidents in 2009, not an exceptional year. http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/research/toll.html

By: FrankLepave

FrankLepave — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:11:23 +0000

I have a copy of Slocum bought secondhand in the 60s it is a marvellous book. One can only marvel at his seamanship. So many “adventures” are now packaged up showbiz events organised for huge profit. However, hundreds of boats now circumnavigate the globe annually with no fuss and very often at low cost. Most avoid Drake Strait and go through Panama or like Slocum work their way through Magellan. There’s nothing that can be done about the naivety that describes the long cold rounding of the Horn as less dangerous than crossing the road. Doubtless when one of these naifs gets drowned there will be an outcry at the lack of safety warnings.