Wow! eBook
Rowing After the White Whale: A Crossing of the Indian Ocean by Hand
Author(s): James Adair (Author)
- Publisher: Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited
- Publication Date: 4 April 2013
- Language: English
- Print length: 224 pages
- ISBN-10: 1846972507
- ISBN-13: 9781846972508
Book Description
‘Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut’ – Ernest Hemingway Over a boozy Sunday lunch, flatmates James Adair and Ben Stenning made a promise to row across the ocean. At first they considered the Pacific, then the Atlantic, but once James Cracknell and Ben Fogle completed the high-profile Atlantic Rowing Race, their thoughts turned to the Indian Ocean, longer and tougher than the Atlantic and having seen fewer people row across its waters than have walked on the Moon. After years of planning and fund raising, they are ready to launch in Spring 2011. Neither James nor Ben had any rowing or sailing experience. To add to this, James had contracted Guillain-Barre syndrome at the age of 14, which had locked his body into total paralysis for three months (while his mind had remained completely active) and which had left him with paralysed feet. This was a challenge that neither man should have ever considered –
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘A challenge like few others — one that requires total commitment and perseverance in the face of Mother Nature often at her most terrifying. I have huge respect for this brave duo. They knew that the blisters and pain wouldn’t last forever! An epic achievement’ –Bear Grylls
‘Funny and terrifying’ –Hattie Morahan,
Independent‘A rousing tale of an adventure that most of us could scarcely dream about’ —
The Canberra Times‘An heroic journey’ —
Daily Mail‘a most readable account of real adventure by brave men’ — John Blashford-Snell
‘This is a truly splendid book, reminiscent, in its celebration of the triumph of cheerful resolve over incompetence, of Eric Newby’s A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. It is a book without artifice of any kind, very funny and with the ring of many appalling truths’ — Sam Llewellyn
‘an excellent read: spirited and funny but also thoughtful, touching and well written’ — Stephen Taylor
‘This is an outstanding book brilliantly written and I very highly recommend it’ — Shipping Magazine
About the Author
James Adair read Modern History at the University of St Andrews. He worked for two years as the editor of the Alderney Journal, perhaps the world’s smallest paid-for newspaper, wrote a column in the Guernsey Press and wrote freelance articles for The Times’ Books and News sections. To finance his dream of rowing an ocean he took a job as a shipbroker with HSBC in London. In the aftermath of his and Ben’s incredible journey, he has returned to shipbrokerage and is currently based in Ghana.
