Cape Horn to Starboard

by John Kretschmer Author

Legendary account of the author's voyage around Cape Horn in a 32-foot sailboat, sailing east-to-west (thus the Horn is to starboard, or on the right). This is a notoriously difficult and dangerous passage, especially in a boat this size.

Genres: Travel, Memoir, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Nautical, Biography

161 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1986

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been more enjoyable if Kretschmer’s dialogue between him and his old girlfriend wasn’t “baby” every other word.
“Don’t worry baby”, “I love you baby”, “let’s sail around Cape Horn baby”, “I think that the water tank is contaminated with gasoline baby”.

[Ugis Springis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on how one sailing career started

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kretschmer sails Gigi around Cape Horn and tells a pretty good story of his journey. The writing about the sailing is very good, other parts not so much.

[David Wilusz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, short, and (mostly) lighthearted memoir of a very young Mr. Kretschmer as he falls in love with both offshore sailing and his then-girlfriend Molly. It documents his ambitious challenge of sailing from NY to San Francisco via Cape Horn in Gigi, a mere 32-foot Contessa - a journey of 161 sailing days and roughly 16,000 miles (!!). Through many ups and downs, he ultimately triumphs but with characteristic humility and understatement, and takes a huge leap forward in his offshore sailing experience. Along the way, we learn a lot about all the various things that can go wrong on an offshore passage.

[Suzanne Pixley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cape Horn to Starboard

Love Kretschmer's books on sailing!! This is an update about his 80's sailing adventure around the "horn" but with added info about the rebirth of the boat he and Ty used for the sail "Gigi". Kretschmer 's writing
makes you feel like you're in the boat next to him experiencing every change in wind direction, every drop in barometric pressure and every wave of the most forceful gale. You can't help but make this a very hard book to put down before you finish it.

[Brian Aherne · Rating 4 out of 5]

ONE OF THOSE STORIES....

ONE of those stories that end too soon, and leave the reader wanting more. More of the story itself, more similar stories by the author, and more about the people in it. I've read other Kretchner tales, and know some of the answers, but still not enough. Maybe someday I'll have the opportunity to wait with him and ask. Oh, btw, it deserves 4-1/2 stars, but definitely not 5, because we are kept in the dark a bit too much.

[Steve Hostert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick listen for me and probably most readers interested in blue water sailing in one of the most dangerous oceans in the world. The East to West passage requires sailing against the prevailing winds with Cape Horn off the starboard beam.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed listening to John Kretschmer's tales and reflections of his early sailing experiences. It certainly takes courage, perseverance, skills, and confidence to sail in a small boat over thousands of miles of open ocean!

[Tammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the account of how Kretschmer’s sailing career began and his experience sailing a relatively small vessel from east to west around the very treacherous Cape Horn. The “baby” this and that between Kretschmer and his then girlfriend got old quickly. Otherwise an excellent read!

[Toni Kokkonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story. Clearly an earlier book from the author and the book just kind of ends abruptly but not much other bad things to say. An interesting journey of a young man’s search for what to do in life and some of his first journeys in longer distance sailing ups and downs.

[Marc Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

The book was entertaining and has elements of learning for anyone interested in sailing. There’s no reason to give it any less than 5 stars.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It got an extra star because I liked the first third of the book prior to the big trip of just hearing tales of the sailing/beachcombing life.

[Simone Aysan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Great adventure!

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A excellent origin story of one of Sailings greats.

[Dr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quality dream escapism for those in the rat race.

[Bruce Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unremarkable writing about several remarkable ocean voyages.

[Steve Twigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great sailing reads

[Maegan Calcutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guys such an idiot😭😭 listened on audio book

[Irwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting story of perseverance, particularly enjoyable for people who are familiar with all the nautical and boating terminology

[Chris Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sailing is FUCKED. This book does a great job of telling you how fucked it is.

[Brock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because it's written as a long series of events, one after another, without much of a story. That said, it's inspiring nevertheless. But if you're looking for real adventure stories or even true sailing stories, there are better choices.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book is like bellying up to the bar and listening to someone on a barstool who is telling you about what happened to them on the way there. Casually told, but the adventure is real.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A legendary sailor. I enjoy his books and his storytelling. However, he repeats events and anecdotes in other books. Narrative could be better but it's entertaining.