Solo Sail Across The Atlantic

This is an inspirational story of a man who sailed his Hans Christian 33 foot sailboat solo across the Atlantic from Bermuda to the Azores and into the Mediterranean.

I liked this story because the author made this journey seem attainable for anyone the desire and will to see it through. I also liked the way he describes how he fits his adventure in with his professional life.

This is not a harrowing tale of terror at sea, more like a happy adventure with some fear and a reasonable level of risk. He did not gloss over the seriousness of a solo ocean crossing in a small
sailboat though. There are some candid descriptions of storms and potentially serious broken parts on the boat.

At one point, he tries to use the international distress channel on his radio to report a large floating steel container. A clear hazard to mariners. One, two, three tries....no response to the emergency broadcast. That is pretty sobering.

He sails in tandem with a partner boat who he keeps contact with via vhf radio. They provide moral support and repair advice to each other. The other boat holds an English family and they seem to have a rougher time than the author. All of the family members get seasick during a storm except the father. He has a rough time maintaining all watches for several days and is exhausted from lack of sleep.

This is a well written story of a man who had a great adventure and realized a lifelong dream. The only downside is that I would like to read more of his stories, but he only has this one on the website.

Check it out at: http://www.jeanmichelcoulon.com