UNCONTROLLED

HELPLESSLY APPROACHING AN UNINHABITED ISLAND IN THE GALAPAGOS WITHOUT ENGINE OR ELECTRONICS, JON VAN TAMELEN FEARED BEING IMMINENTLY SHIPWRECKED

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Not many years ago I was privileged to become involved with the vernacular sloops of the Windward Islands while on the Caribbean island of Carriacou in the Grenadines. These cargo-carrying craft are built on the beach by families who have been doing it for generations. There are no plans, just the eye of the master shipwright to produce sailing boats of surprising performance, well able to withstand the boisterous conditions for which they are built.

The opening pages of Jon van Tamelen's book Ancestor, from the excellent Seaworthy Publications in Florida, describe his purchase of the Carriacou sloop of the same name. The pages hark back to a better, simpler world as he buys her from her local owners with no broker, no advertisement, no paperwork. He saw her and had to have her, so he did.

Van Tamelen goes on to sail her to Hawaii without engine or electronics. He navigates by the stars and his boat delivers what she was born to do - to sail the seas in safety and with good speed. He doesn't make a big deal about his simple arrangements. He just gets on with his voyage which, almost by default, makes the book challenging for the rest of us.

Challenging it may be, but the sheer charm of the writing carries us along as we join him and his shipmate Hilt in the classic horror show of the engineless vessel: no wind, a heavy swell, a strong current, and a rocky shore approaching. There's no calling for help on a non-existent radio set for them. Instead, these guys demonstrate the very essence of great seamanship conversation. From the surface, I watched my new friends leaping out of the water. They made one pass close by, almost touching me, before they turned southward. I was a changed person when I climbed on deck.