Product Description

The true story of Charles Darwin's voyage aboard the Beagle and the most ironic and melancholy fate of its Captain Robert FitzRoy The early nineteenth century was a heroic age for British maritime exploits. Small naval vessels were sent around the world to make charts, plot the oceans and ease the way for empire. One such vessel was the Beagle. The Admiralty despatched it to Tierra del Fuego - some of the wildest and most dangerous seas in the world - to chart the waters. The first captain, Stokes, committed suicide, dying slowly and painfully from his gunshot wounds. The second, Robert FitzRoy was little happier. He was a sailor in the heroic mould, but his plan to take four 'savages' hostage when one of the Beagle's dinghies was stolen went drastically wrong. York Minster, Jemmy Button, and two others were taken to Britain to be educated as Christian gentlefolk. And then to be returned to their native lands on the next expedition - the one made famous by the presence on the boat of Charles Darwin. Like all the best made plans, it did not work out like that. This true story is intriguing history, reveals great science in the making and reads like the best historical fiction. A quite exceptional story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13458 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Rich with excitement, accomplished, gripping and authoritative, A Voyage for Madmen is the story of the yachting tournament from hell written by a man who is himself a gifted sailor as well as writer.

Peter Nichols' previous book, Sea Change, was the telling account of his own crossing of the Atlantic in a ridiculously small wooden boat. Now he's taken the skills he employed in that much-praised slice of autobiography to relay another quixotic tale. The subject this time is the infamous Golden Globe yacht race of 1968, when nine men, some French, some English, all bonkers (hence the title), undertook the most challenging adventure of their lives. The goal was to sail around the world solo, a feat no one had yet achieved; to make matters just that extra bit tricky some of the sailors were total novices.

The book analyses the fate of each sailor in turn. Using polished, craftsman-like, clear and sometimes moving prose, Nichols describes how the nine fought through storms and collisions, through the roaring 40s and the furious 50s, and how each man experienced those moments of solitary despair, lonely disappointment and occasional mystical elation that are unique to long-haul solo sailing. One of the most commendable features of the book is the way Nichols discusses the technical side of yachtsmanship with verve and passion without ever turning into an anorak. This is a fine and absorbing true-life tragicomedy, suitable for landlubbers and sea dogs alike. --Sean Thomas

Review
'A must for would be sailing adventurers.' Chay Blyth 'Told with verve and riddled with the drama of being overwhelmed by the sheer bloody-mindedness of the sea itself. Delivering shiploads of tension, Nichols makes sure we feel the loneliness, pain and struggle. You can smell the salty air and feel the spray on every page' Sunday Times 'What a tormented-looking hunk! But more to the point, Nichols is a very good writer' Daily Mail

About the Author
Peter Nichols has been a professional sailor, a yachtie, and a Hollywood scriptwriter.

Customer Reviews

A superb journey into the oceans of the mind
This is "can't put down" read, about the rather disjointed Golden Globe circumnavigation race of 1968-9 in which 7 sailors risked everything for themselves rather than for fame and fortune. You do not have to be a "Yachty" to read this! the book is about the drive and determination of men to reach inner goals. Peter Nichols writes in an easy to read and at time quite light hearted way. One suspects that he himself has had brushes with madness on his various trans-ocean treks, Libby Purves comment that Nichols has a distain for Robin Knox-Johnson is in my opinion something that was not obvious. I would recommend this book as a 5 star plus read ideal for the beach !!!

Brilliant insight into public ocean racing. Must read story.
More like fiction, but its accurate. The author has captured the spirit of ocean racing and the reason why men put to sea. I knew most of the yachtsmen he writes of, and for me it was a journey back in time. I too sailed some of the oceans and his descriptions are vividly real.

It's a must read for sailors, and for anyone interested in the sea and yachting. I was sorry to finish the book which read more like a fiction than fact, but its real though and as the nautical descriptions have been simplified for landlubbers its an easy and capturing read for anyone.

It's a good literary piece.

Madmen? Certainly - but noble and courageous too...
This is an amazing book about an amazing venture. In various points of the globe, a few rather odd people looked at Francis Chichester's circumnavigation - he returned to a certain amoung of fame and fortune, but he didn't do it non-stop. Just imagine taking it to the next stage, they thought...

All you needed then was for a UK national newspaper to decide that it was about time it sponsored a major sailing event, and the stage was set. Enter the players - here are just a few:

Robin Knox-Johnston, the Merchant Navy Chief Officer who had wanted to be in the RN and had a yacht he'd had built in India from plans he'd received by mistake.

Chay Blyth, the Parachute Regiment NCO who had rowed across the Atlantic and was looking for his next feat of endurance. The fact that he had never been on a yacht didn't put him off in the slightest. It did rather put him at the mercy of his boat supplier, and his trust there turned out to be misplaced.

Bernard Moitessier, the mystical Frenchman at one with the sea, never happier than when perched naked and alone at sea in the lotus position, to the consternation of his wife and family.

Donald Crowhurst, brilliant engineer, not-so-brilliant businessman, but with a sense of self-belief that caused everyone he met to get caught up in his enthusiasm for the race and his determination to win. In his pioneering multi-hull he could have been the fastest competitor - if his luck held and his dreams could be turned into working equipment.

This book reads like a thriller. Although it's very accessible to the non-sailor, it's also a rewarding read for those whose own experiences might help to understand a little better the psychology of those involved and the effects upon them of their experiences. The author pulls no punches in his descriptions of the personalities involved, and no-one named can have read this book without wincing in places. That said, everyone comes out of the story demonstrating extraordinary courage, even those whose lives were ultimately claimed by the event.