Captain Fantastic

Having Faced Ferocious Gales And Hurricane Force Winds, It Was A Flat Calm Off New Zealand That Nearly Did For Paul Rodgers And Spirit Of Pentax.

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Despite the title of the book from which this extract is lifted, Paul Rodgers is not a natural single-hander. Loner describes, in prose worthy of the best, an honest try at circumnavigating twice without assistance in the early 1980s. It was not to be, yet his trip – free of electronics and engine – turns into a resounding success. His boat is an unlikely 56ft stay sail schooner with a beam of a mere 9ft 6in. Her official name is Spirit of Pentax, but as he wrestles round the Southern Ocean towards New Zealand and his respect for her balloons, he privately renames her Captain Fantastic. In this passage, Rodgers and The Captain are stranded on Stewart Island south of New Zealand after drifting ashore in a fog with no wind to drive the yacht. The humanity of the man is spelled out in a final sentence which we all would do well to consider.

Paul Rodgers’ new book, Sailing to Purgatory, is now available. If it’s anything like as good as Loner, it’ll be a read to remember.

It was a very dark night and Captain Fantastic was a few hundred yards from a reef and closing quickly. She should have struck, but some guiding hand seemed to push her to one side and she whispered past. The sea was still, so there were no tell-tale breakers. Nothing to be seen, blackness and the mist. I might as well turn in. Beneath the keel, where a few hours ago lay massive depths, was now scarcely 20ft. But I still was aware of nothing, except a growing unease.

The first of a new air stream, north-easterly winds, was catspawing itself down the coast towards us. They breathed gently on the large area of canvas I had set and joined the tide in sealing our fate. I turned in my sleeping bag, excited by the prospect of seeing old friends again, of being with my family.