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Thanks everybody for bringing this book to my attention I wrote a review I intended to publish on amazon.com but I find they no longer want reviews unless you buy buy something off them first! Grrrrr! Here's what I wrote. -------------------- Nick Ward tells an intensely personal story of the 1979 Fastnet Yacht Race, in the yacht Grimalkin. It was his first Fastnet and his last - so far at any rate, he says. The fleet was hit by a severe storm that lasted over 24 hours. Like other crews, that of Grimalkin found their situation intolerable. Four men out of the six wanted to leave the yacht and get into the liferaft. Nick was in the minority who wanted to "stay with the yacht until it sank" which is an oft-quoted maxim of heavy weather sailing. The yacht capsized a number of times, and eventually a severe one left Nick and another crew-member, Gerry, unconscious and the skipper swept out of reach. The remaining crew took to the liferaft. Nick eventually came to. Gerry soon died. The Booklist review misunderstands Gerry's situation, in my opinion.The book tells how Nick fought for his own survival, drawing on every reserve of character, experience, and amazingly, companionship with his dead shipmate. He vividly recreates the confusing process he followed. They were both finally taken off by a helicopter. The remainder of the book is about how Nick came to terms with his traumatic experience. In an ideal world, survivors would be bonded by what they have gone through. Sadly this is not so. Nick was embittered by what happened, as the title implies. He gave no interviews for many years, until a TV documentary and this book. He says little about any sailing he may have done since 1979, only that he watched out, over the years, for another yacht that came close by at the height of the storm. He did not find it. I soon found a few details using a little work with a search engine on the internet. Along with "The Spirit of Rose-Noelle" by John Glennie , this is one of the best sea survival books. They both depict honestly the negative relationship that can arise between survivors. Nick's story of his survival and recovery is inspiring. -------------------------- To elaborate on the yacht he looked out for - he did not realize that the owner was not a person, but the famous Glenans Sailing Organization, of France. |