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Sailing Alone: A Surprising History of Isolation and Survival at Sea
A story as vast and exhilarating as the open ocean itself, SAILING ALONE chronicles the daring, disastrous, and often absurd history of those who chose to sail across the ocean, in very small boats, alone.
“ Sailing Alone is a beacon, a lighthouse of luminance for the experienced and inexperienced alike. Richard King’s insightful reflections on the stories of lone voyagers make this required reading for all who dream fervently of such voyages. A nuanced study in aspiration, endurance, terror, and triumph, it’s a treasure.”—Jon Wilson, Founder, WoodenBoat
"Richard King is a superb and gifted writer, and Sailing Alone is an exceptional book. A real achievement that will provide inexhaustible re-reading, Sailing Alone belongs on the very small shelf of the true classics of the sea."—Peter Nichols, author of Sea Change and A Voyage for Madmen
Sailing by yourself, out of sight of land, can be invigorating or terrifying, compelling or tedious - and sometimes all in one morning. But it is also a remarkable place on which to think. Sailing Alone tells the story of some of the remarkable people who, over the last four centuries, have spent weeks and months, moving slowly over the world's largest a capricious and startling place in which to observe oneself, the weather, the stars and countless sea creatures, from the tiniest to the most massive and threatening.
Richard J. King, a sailor himself, introduces characters famous and obscure, from Joshua Slocum of 1844 to modern teenagers daring to take the challenge . They experience strange hallucinations, lie to us (and themselves) on their travel logs, encounter sharks, befriend birds, and think they have ESP, all part of the unnerving reality of extended isolation. And some disappear altogether . Sailing Alone also recounts the author's own nearly catastrophic solo crossing of the Atlantic, and the mystery of his inexplicable survival one sunny afternoon.
An enormously engaging new book for skippers and armchair voyagers alike.
“ Sailing Alone is a beacon, a lighthouse of luminance for the experienced and inexperienced alike. Richard King’s insightful reflections on the stories of lone voyagers make this required reading for all who dream fervently of such voyages. A nuanced study in aspiration, endurance, terror, and triumph, it’s a treasure.”—Jon Wilson, Founder, WoodenBoat
"Richard King is a superb and gifted writer, and Sailing Alone is an exceptional book. A real achievement that will provide inexhaustible re-reading, Sailing Alone belongs on the very small shelf of the true classics of the sea."—Peter Nichols, author of Sea Change and A Voyage for Madmen
Sailing by yourself, out of sight of land, can be invigorating or terrifying, compelling or tedious - and sometimes all in one morning. But it is also a remarkable place on which to think. Sailing Alone tells the story of some of the remarkable people who, over the last four centuries, have spent weeks and months, moving slowly over the world's largest a capricious and startling place in which to observe oneself, the weather, the stars and countless sea creatures, from the tiniest to the most massive and threatening.
Richard J. King, a sailor himself, introduces characters famous and obscure, from Joshua Slocum of 1844 to modern teenagers daring to take the challenge . They experience strange hallucinations, lie to us (and themselves) on their travel logs, encounter sharks, befriend birds, and think they have ESP, all part of the unnerving reality of extended isolation. And some disappear altogether . Sailing Alone also recounts the author's own nearly catastrophic solo crossing of the Atlantic, and the mystery of his inexplicable survival one sunny afternoon.
An enormously engaging new book for skippers and armchair voyagers alike.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2023
72 people are currently reading
3892 people want to read
About the author
Richard J. King
9 books33 followersRichard J. King is the author most recently of Sailing Alone: a History and Ocean Bestiary: Meeting Marine Life from Abalone to Orca to Zooplankton. He is also the author Ahab's Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick, Lobster, The Devil's Cormorant: A Natural History, and Meeting Tom Brady. King has published widely on maritime topics in scholarly and popular magazines. Read more at http://richardjking.info.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 10, 2024
I am a terribly practical person. I blame my parents, but digging any further into that is for therapy not a blog. What does this have to do with my review of Sailing Alone by Richard King? Simply, people who would choose to sail alone in the ocean seem ridiculous to me. They put their own lives in danger. They put potential rescuers in danger. And for what?
Guess who was ready for a practical skeptic (cynic?) like me? Richard King! King also tells a parallel story of his own solo sailing venture while looking at a few hundred years of other trips like his. If you are expecting to read about shipwrecks, this is not that book although a few bad things happen. This is instead about people who intend to sail across an ocean, if not the world, completely alone.
My skepticism about this book dissipated almost immediately when King plainly stated that he will try and answer the question of "why go?" for each single-handed sailor. Most importantly, King is not afraid to point out the things I thought throughout the book. Some of these sailors are heroic, determined, and take their journeys for unselfish reasons. Others are egomaniacs, mentally ill, or trying to be on a reality show (though I blame the parents of that one). King intersperses these stories with his own solo trip as well as chapters on various aspects of these voyages like birds, sharks, and near death experiences.
I would caution readers to know what you are getting into. King's writing is excellent from beginning to end. However, the book started to drag for me in the second half. Some of the stories seem to cover a lot of the same ground. This is absolutely a question of personal preference. If you are interested in sailing and the art of it, then you must read this book. If you are vaguely interested, this may drag as you reach the end. It's a great book for the right audience.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Penguin Group Viking.)
Guess who was ready for a practical skeptic (cynic?) like me? Richard King! King also tells a parallel story of his own solo sailing venture while looking at a few hundred years of other trips like his. If you are expecting to read about shipwrecks, this is not that book although a few bad things happen. This is instead about people who intend to sail across an ocean, if not the world, completely alone.
My skepticism about this book dissipated almost immediately when King plainly stated that he will try and answer the question of "why go?" for each single-handed sailor. Most importantly, King is not afraid to point out the things I thought throughout the book. Some of these sailors are heroic, determined, and take their journeys for unselfish reasons. Others are egomaniacs, mentally ill, or trying to be on a reality show (though I blame the parents of that one). King intersperses these stories with his own solo trip as well as chapters on various aspects of these voyages like birds, sharks, and near death experiences.
I would caution readers to know what you are getting into. King's writing is excellent from beginning to end. However, the book started to drag for me in the second half. Some of the stories seem to cover a lot of the same ground. This is absolutely a question of personal preference. If you are interested in sailing and the art of it, then you must read this book. If you are vaguely interested, this may drag as you reach the end. It's a great book for the right audience.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Penguin Group Viking.)
January 12, 2024
"After the long night to be still awake by the grace of something or someone, watching the grey dawn breaking, the sunrise brushing pink the back of the sail as you ponder for the eight-billionth time: how am I to live this life?"
A week ago, I wandered into a bookstore and this book spoke to me - kept speaking to me - until here I am, feeling stirred and shifted (?) after rereading the last paragraph five times. Can a non-fiction about singlehanded sailors even do that? I was not aware.
The book gives a beautiful narrative about sailors who decided to brave the oceans by themselves: why they did it, what they saw, and how it changed them. It is not a dry history textbook, but a reflection on adventurism, selfishness, and courage, challenge, and perseverance, and the beauty of our planet. And, on ever-changing human values, of course.
Throughout the book, the stories of daring men and women are interwoven with the author's own account of crossing the Atlantic Ocean; which, above all else, makes it real - proves, that these have always been real people. Mindblowing (!).
If you are even remotely interested in sailing, I recommend getting the book. I won't even start listing all the things I've learned about the oceans (I kept thinking how my school geography failed me miserably), and my curiosity is awake. I will surely grab another book by this author (and a book or two from the extensive bibliography list), and reread my Sailing Alone one day.
September 17, 2024
I’m not an obvious reader for this book. I don’t sail, don’t even travel unless I’m forced.
But it doesn’t really matter, because the book isn’t just about sailing. It’s about the people who have sailed alone across oceans, what it meant to them, and what their experiences were like, alone with that vast expanse and exposed to the dangers of weather, sharks, mechanical breakdowns, and shipping lanes.
Just to get it out of the way, I’m a friend of the author, so take that how you want. I don’t like all the books my friends write, but I liked this one very much.
The book is a history of the people who have done these voyages, starting with Ann Davison in 1951, the first documented solo ocean crossing by a woman, and then going back to the eighteenth century, to Josiah Shackford, the first documented solo ocean crossing by anyone.
The qualifier “documented” is critical, as the author no doubt rightly notes that there were crossings by non-documented, in many or most cases non-Western, sailors who pioneered ocean sailing and boat design.
For every soloist, there are, as King calls them, a “why-go” and a “what-they-saw”. The why-go can vary — these could be people simply challenging themselves, they could be people in need of an escape or a fleeing-from, they (especially in later voyages) could be racers in search of competitive victories and glories, they could be environmentalists seeking support for their cause, or they could be record-seekers. And just about everything else you can imagine.
Especially striking are the stories of three teenaged women seeking to not just cross an ocean but to circumnavigate the globe alone. Their stories are infused with the mostly healthy self-assertions of coming of age and claiming independence and self-reliance.
All the stories are stories of self-reliance and confidence in the face of unknowable challenges. No one knows exactly what they’ll face — storms, collisions, mechanical difficulties are all out there but you have no way of knowing which will hit you, how hard they’ll hit you, and what’s going to be at your disposal to help you meet their challenges. Solo sailors have to be engineers, meteorologists, observational astronomers, cooks, handymen and handywomen, and more just to pull out the right skills at the right times.
The what-they-saw has a different, spiritual tone. The sheer expanse of sea, the exposure to a world of life that goes pretty much unnoticed, the rhythms of weather, waves, and the stars. There’s the experience of “nature”, an ecstatic appreciation for its immensity and often its indifference to our presence or welfare.
And there is its opposite, the experience of the mark we (humans) leave on nature, remarkable for its glaring presence in the most remote places. It’s pollution or the effects of global warming, but it’s also the background of technology that both causes that damage and desecration and that gives us the tools we need to meet natural challenges, here the satellite and gps systems, the radar, the other onboard electronics. There’s irony there.
The history that King presents is framed by his own experience as a cross-Atlantic soloist. His experience is told as almost a framing story around the history — introducing topics and themes like loneliness, sea life, threats of different sorts, . . . The combination of history and personal story may be what makes the whole so engaging.
It works for someone like me, and, like I said, that wasn’t obvious when I started reading it.
But it doesn’t really matter, because the book isn’t just about sailing. It’s about the people who have sailed alone across oceans, what it meant to them, and what their experiences were like, alone with that vast expanse and exposed to the dangers of weather, sharks, mechanical breakdowns, and shipping lanes.
Just to get it out of the way, I’m a friend of the author, so take that how you want. I don’t like all the books my friends write, but I liked this one very much.
The book is a history of the people who have done these voyages, starting with Ann Davison in 1951, the first documented solo ocean crossing by a woman, and then going back to the eighteenth century, to Josiah Shackford, the first documented solo ocean crossing by anyone.
The qualifier “documented” is critical, as the author no doubt rightly notes that there were crossings by non-documented, in many or most cases non-Western, sailors who pioneered ocean sailing and boat design.
For every soloist, there are, as King calls them, a “why-go” and a “what-they-saw”. The why-go can vary — these could be people simply challenging themselves, they could be people in need of an escape or a fleeing-from, they (especially in later voyages) could be racers in search of competitive victories and glories, they could be environmentalists seeking support for their cause, or they could be record-seekers. And just about everything else you can imagine.
Especially striking are the stories of three teenaged women seeking to not just cross an ocean but to circumnavigate the globe alone. Their stories are infused with the mostly healthy self-assertions of coming of age and claiming independence and self-reliance.
All the stories are stories of self-reliance and confidence in the face of unknowable challenges. No one knows exactly what they’ll face — storms, collisions, mechanical difficulties are all out there but you have no way of knowing which will hit you, how hard they’ll hit you, and what’s going to be at your disposal to help you meet their challenges. Solo sailors have to be engineers, meteorologists, observational astronomers, cooks, handymen and handywomen, and more just to pull out the right skills at the right times.
The what-they-saw has a different, spiritual tone. The sheer expanse of sea, the exposure to a world of life that goes pretty much unnoticed, the rhythms of weather, waves, and the stars. There’s the experience of “nature”, an ecstatic appreciation for its immensity and often its indifference to our presence or welfare.
And there is its opposite, the experience of the mark we (humans) leave on nature, remarkable for its glaring presence in the most remote places. It’s pollution or the effects of global warming, but it’s also the background of technology that both causes that damage and desecration and that gives us the tools we need to meet natural challenges, here the satellite and gps systems, the radar, the other onboard electronics. There’s irony there.
The history that King presents is framed by his own experience as a cross-Atlantic soloist. His experience is told as almost a framing story around the history — introducing topics and themes like loneliness, sea life, threats of different sorts, . . . The combination of history and personal story may be what makes the whole so engaging.
It works for someone like me, and, like I said, that wasn’t obvious when I started reading it.
October 13, 2023
It is not a history of those who sailed alone. It is a mix between the author's ocean crossing and a selection of some famous singlehanded sailors.
July 10, 2024
Full disclosure: I was a student of Rich’s in 2002 and also really enjoyed his book about Moby Dick, so I’m very predisposed to like this one. My star rating is probably lower than it might be otherwise because of those two things; I had high expectations and in the end it didn’t work quite as well for me as that earlier work. While the organization is roughly chronological and roughly grouped by topic (like animals at sea, navigation, technological advances, etc) it all hangs together pretty loosely. In the end, it’s a collection of summaries of singlehanded voyages and some exploration of what made those sailors tick. Perhaps the shortfall for me is less a flaw in the book and more a failure in me to find these folks compelling enough. As he notes when discussing the racer turned environmentalist, most of these sailors are pretty selfishly motivated: their whygo is motivated by personal challenge or exploration or fame and not because solo sailing contributes virtuously to the world (with notable exceptions). To end by noting that solo sailing has largely evolved to peak capitalism is just the depressing cherry on top.
January 19, 2025
Fantastic book. It would be a 3 since I don’t plan on reading it again—I would rather read some of the singlehanded stories he references—but the story is fantastic!
June 9, 2024
For several years I crewed on a Wave Length 24 as the bowman. We raced in San Francisco's olympic circle and in a couple of races to Vallejo and even one to Stockton. We also raced in Folsom Lake and in Tahoe. One of the years when I raced I read the harrowing tale of the Whitebread which is a race from down under to England - with a very distressing telling of the perils of the Southern Crossing. All that led me to want to read King's book which is a catalogue of various single handed ocean sailing including his own trip to England on a small boat called the Fox. At one point one writer said sailing is a dichotomous existence which moves from boredom to terror. And in at least three races that is exactly what we experienced. King has some great stories about attempts and successful single handed voyages.
But this book is seriously flawed. In the middle of the book he begins to overlay a politically correct narrative which argues that a) sailing in many ways is racist and b) that it has become incumbent for sailers of all kind to buy the nonsense of sustainability as a civil religion. Let me respond to both assertions.
King argues that sailing, at least in the modern era after the nineteenth century is predominantly a sport pursued by white males. It is true that many regattas and large ocean races are dominated by whites. That is in part a function of the cost of sailing - the old joke that a sailboat is a hole in the water that you put money in - is mostly correct. In racing having sails which are relatives taught can increase performance significantly - and for the Wave Length a new set of "rags" was about $5000. But his narrative then goes on to present the stories of two prominent single handers who were black (Bill Pickney and Teddy Seymour)- their stories are compelling for their courage but not only because of their race. But then he goes on to claim that as a demonstration of racism in society the children's story (Where the Wild Things Are- Maurice Sendak) is somehow a racist tale because the misbehaving main character is sent to his room and then taken off to the place of the wild things are (which if you look at the wonderful illustrations are cartoon like figures indeed the front cover of the Wild Thing kingdom has something like a rhinoceros) where he misbehaves for a while and then returns to the safety of his home. What could have been better said is that sailing in regattas has a preponderance of white participants (I believe based on cost) but that there are significant examples of a rich diversity of sailors including the legendary Polynesian sailors.
On the second point, I understand that all sailors have become more environmentally sensitive - that parallels the general population. But the concept of sustainability is one of those shibboleths that is not held up in the data. He quotes Ellen McArthur who says " We have what we have and there is no more.", deep sounding but not proven by experience A good example of "sustainability" has been the calls beginning several decades ago that we would reach "peak oil". Tons of "experts" predicted that petroleum resources would end in (pick your year). From the initial projections the ultimate proven resources in oil have consistently increase significantly as new methods of exploration have produced more spots to find oil. The problem I have with the use of the term sustainability is that the reliance on zero sum games is not demonstrated and there is no correlation between sensitivity to legitimate environmental concerns and whether you believe in zero sum games.
There is a third issue where I think the book falls down. Long distance sailing, whether single handed or not, takes time. Single handed sailing books are always about courage and overcoming challenges. But I wonder how much of the quests that these individuals undertake is courage and how much is ego. I think King could have explored that issue a bit more.
OK, so I ranted just like King. But this book deserves a lower rating because of the injection of political correctness when the story of the role of single handed sailors is good enough on its own.
But this book is seriously flawed. In the middle of the book he begins to overlay a politically correct narrative which argues that a) sailing in many ways is racist and b) that it has become incumbent for sailers of all kind to buy the nonsense of sustainability as a civil religion. Let me respond to both assertions.
King argues that sailing, at least in the modern era after the nineteenth century is predominantly a sport pursued by white males. It is true that many regattas and large ocean races are dominated by whites. That is in part a function of the cost of sailing - the old joke that a sailboat is a hole in the water that you put money in - is mostly correct. In racing having sails which are relatives taught can increase performance significantly - and for the Wave Length a new set of "rags" was about $5000. But his narrative then goes on to present the stories of two prominent single handers who were black (Bill Pickney and Teddy Seymour)- their stories are compelling for their courage but not only because of their race. But then he goes on to claim that as a demonstration of racism in society the children's story (Where the Wild Things Are- Maurice Sendak) is somehow a racist tale because the misbehaving main character is sent to his room and then taken off to the place of the wild things are (which if you look at the wonderful illustrations are cartoon like figures indeed the front cover of the Wild Thing kingdom has something like a rhinoceros) where he misbehaves for a while and then returns to the safety of his home. What could have been better said is that sailing in regattas has a preponderance of white participants (I believe based on cost) but that there are significant examples of a rich diversity of sailors including the legendary Polynesian sailors.
On the second point, I understand that all sailors have become more environmentally sensitive - that parallels the general population. But the concept of sustainability is one of those shibboleths that is not held up in the data. He quotes Ellen McArthur who says " We have what we have and there is no more.", deep sounding but not proven by experience A good example of "sustainability" has been the calls beginning several decades ago that we would reach "peak oil". Tons of "experts" predicted that petroleum resources would end in (pick your year). From the initial projections the ultimate proven resources in oil have consistently increase significantly as new methods of exploration have produced more spots to find oil. The problem I have with the use of the term sustainability is that the reliance on zero sum games is not demonstrated and there is no correlation between sensitivity to legitimate environmental concerns and whether you believe in zero sum games.
There is a third issue where I think the book falls down. Long distance sailing, whether single handed or not, takes time. Single handed sailing books are always about courage and overcoming challenges. But I wonder how much of the quests that these individuals undertake is courage and how much is ego. I think King could have explored that issue a bit more.
OK, so I ranted just like King. But this book deserves a lower rating because of the injection of political correctness when the story of the role of single handed sailors is good enough on its own.
June 9, 2025
Well written, and no stone left unturned. The author includes many points of view that aren't generally included in any of the many memoirs written by solo sailors. For example, "Look what I did! You can too, just follow your dream!", provided of course that you have had a privileged upbringing and can afford to buy a yacht, have indulgent parents, usually confined to wealthy white males. (But not ALWAYS of course. )
I appreciated that a number of solo circumnavigations had been included, with just enough detail, and lists of books that THEY have written for more insight if that's what you want.
If you've never sailed, then this isn't for you, but if you've had just a little taste of being out in open waters, then I recommend this book to you. I loved it!
I appreciated that a number of solo circumnavigations had been included, with just enough detail, and lists of books that THEY have written for more insight if that's what you want.
If you've never sailed, then this isn't for you, but if you've had just a little taste of being out in open waters, then I recommend this book to you. I loved it!
July 17, 2024
King has clearly thought hard about how to write a book about a solo expedition at sea. Indeed, this book intersperses accounts of the published works of several crossers of oceans and global circumnavigators with an account of his own Atlantic crossing. And so Sailing Alone contributes to its own theme, having an author who had the clever idea of placing his own literary offering alongside those of similar adventurers. His seafaring experience gives weight to his technical descriptions, but because of his emphasis on the literary products of going to sea, the reader can feel a little removed from the raw experience of the thing.
April 4, 2025
Most of the books I've read so far on sailing were focused on the very personal experience. Richard King is the exception, he combines the experience of the ocean passage he's done himself, the range of emotions he faced and the aftermath with solid research.
The considerable research is revealing both elements missing from autobiographies but also names that are no longer in print today.
As a result I've considerable extended my understanding of the formative years in sailing and the way the narrative surrounding solo sailing was shaped.
The considerable research is revealing both elements missing from autobiographies but also names that are no longer in print today.
As a result I've considerable extended my understanding of the formative years in sailing and the way the narrative surrounding solo sailing was shaped.
October 15, 2025
Beyond reading accounts of Shackleton's voyage to Antarctica and his amazing return, or reading accounts of those who climb Earth's tallest peaks, I had not read any books about sailors. I have dabbled at sailing, just as I've dabbled at mountain climbing and backpacking alone. King captures the things that I think motivate the solo sailors and others who would tackle these activities that most hardly think about. Sailing Alone offers a picture into their motivations, their struggles, and their lessons learned. A good book for those whose wanderlust often envisions similar trips.
August 24, 2024
I expected an account of one man's solo transatlantic trip. I got that and much more. This is a history of long-distance solo navigation by sail. It introduced me to sailors of whom I'd never heard, as well as to some I knew only from brief news accounts. King weaves together many written accounts left by these explorers and enriches them with his own experience and nautical knowledge. "A Surprising History" indeed.
June 23, 2024
Weaves one person’s journey together with the experience of many others. Very relatable author makes you feel like if you did this, you would have an experience like his. He successfully contrasts this with many others from across time. I really enjoyed it and also feel like I learned a lot in the process.
June 27, 2024
A book about books about solo sailing, and as such a good book. But as a book about solo sailing - which it is too, but too a latter extent - it is just OK. A tad academical in that the method comes across through the writing - "The why? The what did they see?, etc." All in all, happy to have read this!
July 3, 2024
A good compendium of the well known single handed sailing tales and yarns. It’s also a good motivator to read more of the individual tales own books, Joshua Slocum, Bernard Moitissier and the younger more contemporary sailors like Watson and Dekker.
September 14, 2024
King weaves his own story sailing across the Atlantic among the stories of the great solo sailors through time. Despite the similar nature of of many of the stories, he keeps the narrative enticing and leaves the reader wondering if they have it in them to complete such a journey.
October 12, 2023
Nebloga solo buriavimo aplink pasaulį literatūros ir istorijų apžvalga.
November 6, 2023
Makes you want to embark on something ambitious. It blends his own journey with the historic recounting of other ventures quite well. Informative, interesting, would recommend.
August 12, 2024
An interesting picture of the history of solo ocean sailing - interspersed with the author's cross Atlantic trip in a small boat.
December 20, 2024
Although I am not a sailor by any stretch of the imagination I enjoyed Kings stories and could envision being on a sailboat in the middle of the ocean! I liked it!
January 29, 2025
The book starts off slowly, but is an interesting compilation of solo sailors over hundreds of years.
June 16, 2025
I really enjoyed this :)
November 19, 2025
this was great! however I still think anyone who would do this is batshit mental
December 5, 2025
Fascinating
March 9, 2025
Loads of information on sailing and some great insights to stories of solo sailors. In particular one story of youth sailers.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews