 Intimate and original sea story, 2001-07-09
I stumbled across this in a book shop and vaguely remembered it had very positive reviews. As a journalist, I'd just written a piece about sea survival, which required reading five classic non-fiction accounts. I enjoyed all of them and was left wanting more. This very personal tale would not have fitted into my story on subject matter alone but I truly came to relish the times when I could sit down and read it. A low key, honest account of an apparently doomed relationship, set against a number of sea voyages, might not sound compelling. Yet I found myself strongly rooting for the author and his partner (who is 'off-screen' throughout). Nichols writes marvellously about the sea and his small yacht, especially when he goes single-handed. I came to envy the experiences he's had - although he makes no attempt to romanticise them. There's none of the overheated language I've come to expect from authors who actually don't know the sea - such as Junger (The Perfect Storm). It manages to be intimate and real without betraying respect or confidences. His honesty is rewarding for the reader. I guess it's book about dreams not working out quite as one hopes. Nichols' bears his disapointments engagingly. I came to care about all the people and places he writes about. I still conjure up visions of him sitting alone in the cockpit at night, the self-steering mechanism guiding him across a big, empty ocean.
Great mix of emotions - honest and informative, 2003-05-28
Peter Nichols is a superb writer. The first emotion I experienced when reading this book was 'I'm going to enjoy this'. His prose is so crisp and flowing that you're just carried along with the story like a piece of flotsam on the ocean.And what a story. At times heartrendingly open and honest about the break-up of his relationship, he mixes this seamlessly with his feelings about sailing and his trusty boat, Toad. He's sailing her to America to sell her, as the boat is the only thing of value that he and his ex-wife owned together. The best recommendation I can give about this book is that I was reading it at the airport before a particularly nerve-wracking trip, and it inspired me enough to forget my worries and get on with the trip! It's the kind of book that you buy just because. Just because it LOOKS interesting, even though you haven't read the blurb. The difference with this one is that it stays with you long after you finish it. I loved it.
 A sad tale with a hint of hope, 2010-01-13
It's rare that I read a book more than once, but this is one of them.
Peter Nichols has captured his own tale of real human endeavour very well in this accessible and adventurous story.
It is perhaps, at times, a little wet around the edges, but enjoyable nevertheless.
A moving narrative, not just of sailing, but life itself., 2001-02-12
Much more than a narrative of his single-handed attempt to cross the Atlantic, Peter Nichols keeps you engrossed with a fascinating picture of his life and travels. A must read for any sailor who wishes they had the freedom of spirit to attempt such a feat.
An engaging and sensitively written book! Fabulous!, 2000-04-14
I first heard about this book from a short article in one of the broadsheet newspapers. It had just come out and I stopped off at my favorite (yes, I'm American!) London bookshop on my way somewhere or the other. I was disappointed that they hadn't yet received their copies! Flash-forward, a year later. I see the book in the shop, now in paper back. I snap up a copy. I read it, avidly from cover to cover. Now I want to be a sailor. What did I think? For one thing, it is very well-written and full of sailing fact and folklore--it would be a heck of a read if that was all it was. But it was much more than that: the real story is woven into the subtitle: "Alone across the Atlanic in a wooden boat". It is the story of a journey, of love and of a life. A life very much in progress--a man "under construction". This is an uplifting and courageous book about life and all that matters. I thought it was a fabulous book, thoughtful and sensitive without being TOO sentimental. I want a sequel--I want to know how he got on. I want to see him on another boat of his own, equally wonderful and idiocyncratic. I want him to be the captain of his boat and of his life, with another woman whom he loves as much as he loved J.--A woman could do worse!
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