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The Accidental Sailor
The Accidental Sailor
In 1976 Rod Heikell set off in Roulette, a 20 foot boat that should probably have never left the sheltered waters of the Solent, for the Mediterranean. Via the French Canals and Biscay he somehow got to the Mediterranean and sailed to Corsica, Italy and onto Greece. It records the near disasters and highs and lows of a voyage which shaped his life in ways he never imagined. He became the accidental sailor and has led to a life-long love of sailing and exploring the seas. In 1987 he took a Mirror Offshore 18 down the Danube behind the Iron Curtain to the Black Sea and Aegean, probably the longest voyage one these tubby little craft has made.
These were simple voyages on small yachts with minimal equipment and not a huge amount of experience that shaped what he was to do in ways he never thought would happen. It's a mystery, an accident, he is fond of saying when asked how it all started. He has gone on to write yachting guides to many of the Mediterranean countries, on the Indian Ocean and on routes and landfalls around the world. His latest book is on food, The Trade Wind Foodie, a subject dear to his stomach.
In 1976 Rod Heikell set off in Roulette, a 20 foot boat that should probably have never left the sheltered waters of the Solent, for the Mediterranean. Via the French Canals and Biscay he somehow got to the Mediterranean and sailed to Corsica, Italy and onto Greece. It records the near disasters and highs and lows of a voyage which shaped his life in ways he never imagined. He became the accidental sailor and has led to a life-long love of sailing and exploring the seas. In 1987 he took a Mirror Offshore 18 down the Danube behind the Iron Curtain to the Black Sea and Aegean, probably the longest voyage one these tubby little craft has made.
These were simple voyages on small yachts with minimal equipment and not a huge amount of experience that shaped what he was to do in ways he never thought would happen. It's a mystery, an accident, he is fond of saying when asked how it all started. He has gone on to write yachting guides to many of the Mediterranean countries, on the Indian Ocean and on routes and landfalls around the world. His latest book is on food, The Trade Wind Foodie, a subject dear to his stomach.
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First published March 26, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 26, 2019
Anyone who sails the Mediterranean knows Rod Heikell. His pilot books are invaluable. He gives excellent information about where to go and how to get there, from a sailing point-of-view, but also a 'touristic' one. He feels almost like an old friend, on whom you can unquestioningly rely.
One cannot help wondering how he achieved this status, how he sailed around to learn all this stuff, so I was glad to pick up this volume of autobiography.
This edition, in fact, contains two books: 'Roulette' and 'Rozinante'. He had to start from somewhere, and he is quite modest (refer to the title!) in admitting in the first book that he was quite novice when he first sailed to the Med, in the small, 20-foot Roulette. He has clearly learned a lot, the hard way, since then and it is good that he has distilled much of this into his pilot books, making it less hard for the rest of us. The second book is an account of a trip in a Mirror 18 (19?) Offshore, down the Danube, into the Mediterranean and on to Turkey and Greece. He mentions that many people asked him 'Why?', and I have to say I wonder too, as much as I love sailing. This trip was undertaken before the Berlin Wall came down and passed through several Iron Curtain countries. No doubt the sailing and surroundings were stimulating, but I can only surmise that Rod also enjoyed the challenge of dealing with the bureaucracies, the inevitable friction and hassle that will occur if you pass from one communist state to another – in a boat.
I was reading the e-book, kindle edition, so I can allow for the fact that information can get lost in the scanning process. Thus, I am prepared to believe that the missing apostrophes were there in the print edition. I wonder, though, whether other, important typesetting information was lost? I found it somewhat frustrating that there was frequent switching of tenses, from past to present, but then it occurred to me that perhaps the present-tense sections were extracts from his logs. Was it that they were originally marked out some way – italics or narrow margins?
That does not account for all the stylistic annoyances though (and, call me what you will, I did find them annoying). For one thing, there was at least one sentence containing both present and past tense (the so-called 'present-historic'?). Also, I cannot believe that the fact that direct speech was never enclosed in speech marks was due to their being missed in the scanning. To me that detracted from the experience: start reading; that doesn't make sense, oh, it's someone speaking - start reading again.
One cannot help wondering how he achieved this status, how he sailed around to learn all this stuff, so I was glad to pick up this volume of autobiography.
This edition, in fact, contains two books: 'Roulette' and 'Rozinante'. He had to start from somewhere, and he is quite modest (refer to the title!) in admitting in the first book that he was quite novice when he first sailed to the Med, in the small, 20-foot Roulette. He has clearly learned a lot, the hard way, since then and it is good that he has distilled much of this into his pilot books, making it less hard for the rest of us. The second book is an account of a trip in a Mirror 18 (19?) Offshore, down the Danube, into the Mediterranean and on to Turkey and Greece. He mentions that many people asked him 'Why?', and I have to say I wonder too, as much as I love sailing. This trip was undertaken before the Berlin Wall came down and passed through several Iron Curtain countries. No doubt the sailing and surroundings were stimulating, but I can only surmise that Rod also enjoyed the challenge of dealing with the bureaucracies, the inevitable friction and hassle that will occur if you pass from one communist state to another – in a boat.
I was reading the e-book, kindle edition, so I can allow for the fact that information can get lost in the scanning process. Thus, I am prepared to believe that the missing apostrophes were there in the print edition. I wonder, though, whether other, important typesetting information was lost? I found it somewhat frustrating that there was frequent switching of tenses, from past to present, but then it occurred to me that perhaps the present-tense sections were extracts from his logs. Was it that they were originally marked out some way – italics or narrow margins?
That does not account for all the stylistic annoyances though (and, call me what you will, I did find them annoying). For one thing, there was at least one sentence containing both present and past tense (the so-called 'present-historic'?). Also, I cannot believe that the fact that direct speech was never enclosed in speech marks was due to their being missed in the scanning. To me that detracted from the experience: start reading; that doesn't make sense, oh, it's someone speaking - start reading again.
July 22, 2018
A great book from the master of the Mediterranean Pilot Books, several of which adorn my bookshelves. This autobiographical journey was a fascinating insight into how it all started for Rod. Mind you I couldn't believe how relaxed they were, he was recording speeds of just 2 knots on occasion. I wouldn't have had the patience for that. I loved it!
Duncan Wells
Author of Stress Free Sailing, Stress Free Motorboating and soon to be published Stress Free Navigation
Duncan Wells
Author of Stress Free Sailing, Stress Free Motorboating and soon to be published Stress Free Navigation
August 6, 2018
I really enjoyed the book. An insight to how it all started for Rod who is now at the forfront of Pilots for the Med.
Lots if interesting activity.
A must for all ken cruising sailors
Lots if interesting activity.
A must for all ken cruising sailors
April 13, 2016
Like most of Heikell's numerous pilots this is well written and laden with fact and historical information.
Heikell tells his tales of taking very small sailing vessels across Europe's greatest waterways with aplomb. Nautical info, descriptions of the challenges of small boats, dealing with mafiosi in eastern Europe before the rise of the Iron Curtain and the simple logistic challenges to doing such journeys are all captured in this fun book.
It's travel writing with a nautical slant. It does read a little like a jazzed up diary at times, but then that is pretty much what it is. Impressive sailing and also story telling - a break from the concise fact telling in his pilots, and reads much more like the sections within the med pilots on local history and mythology.
Heikell tells his tales of taking very small sailing vessels across Europe's greatest waterways with aplomb. Nautical info, descriptions of the challenges of small boats, dealing with mafiosi in eastern Europe before the rise of the Iron Curtain and the simple logistic challenges to doing such journeys are all captured in this fun book.
It's travel writing with a nautical slant. It does read a little like a jazzed up diary at times, but then that is pretty much what it is. Impressive sailing and also story telling - a break from the concise fact telling in his pilots, and reads much more like the sections within the med pilots on local history and mythology.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews