A Voyage For Madmen

I just re-read "A Voyage for Madmen" by Peter Nichols. It tells the story about the first single-handed round the world race, from England and back non-stop. It's basically the story of four men: Robin Knox Johnston, an unknown former merchant seaman in his heavy teak boat, Suhaili; the mystical, celebrated and heavily favored Bernard Moitessier, in his fast, steel boat, Johua;  a British naval officer Nigel Tetley and the hapless but fascinating Donald Crowhurst. There were others in the race but the story is about these four racing against each other but more importantly, racing against themselves. It's a tale of endurance, dealing with personal demons, self-discovery and self-deception. Peter Nichols combines two rare talents, he is both a good writer and an accomplished sailor. As much as I love Tristan Jones' body of work, he really was a lot better sailor than writer. If you only read one book this year and you like sailing read this.