Becoming a Sailor: A Singlehand Sailing Adventure

by Paul Trammell

From the author of Journey to the Ragged Islands, The Gold Box, Chasing the Nomadic Dream, and Sailing to NewfoundlandA story of overcoming adversity and chasing a dreamA blueprint for making the change from landlubber to ocean sailor The story is told beginning with the vision and desire to sail on the ocean, through the training and education, buying a boat, gaining experience, and finally embarking on a 1000-nautical-mile journey to bring the boat home, singlehanded. An immersive nonfiction adventure story, Becoming a Sailor captures the scene as one would experience it.Becoming a Sailor also goes into technical detail about the repairs and additions to Sobrius, a 1972 Dufour Arpege, as well as the techniques the author had to learn in order to sail singlehanded on multi-day passages. The narrative moves back and forth in time, from the author's adventures leading up to the purchase of Sobrius to the final journey, singlehanded, from Tampa Bay to The Dry Tortugas, then Miami, and finally to St Augustine.All the unknowns of the author's first singlehanded voyage lead to a fascinating experience which is shared with vivid description of both scene and mind in this gripping tale of adventure at sea.This is the second edition, with minor edits and corrections, and includes a new epilogue.

333 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 25, 2017

Reviews

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book

All the inspiration you need to go on an adventure yourself. If your in to sailing then this is a book for you.

[John Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Inspiration

First of all - Thanks Paul for sharing your journey with us. May your adventure level always be high!

The book is simply inspiring. I've always wanted to learn to sail. I started looking around the internet for books to read and someone recommended this book. You feel like you're there with Paul. The joy he feels is earnest and brings a smile to your face as he recounts his tales. It's not an instructional manual for sailing, but it should be an instructional manual on how to enjoy Nature and all her glory.

[Kent Gomez · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are a sailor do invest your time in this book. The story is tedious and flows like ice cubes. The overriding moral of the story (I think) is do not go sailing with a recovering alcoholic. The reader is, however, free to enjoy some of the Author’s philosophy with respect to the cleansing qualities of nature. We are indeed fortunate the author is not religious. That would have been an even more painful embellishment to the storyline.

[Mark Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sailing adventure described well

Pauls initial adventures in honing his skills as solo sailor are all too intriguing to a reader embarking on similar adventures. Having shared some of the same books and ports it is exciting to learn what has and has not worked for him. While I am not as interested in freediving, Paul’s description has raised curiosity in myself.

[Erik Marjamaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must read for all of us dreamers

Inspirational a must-read tons of information very entertaining and down to earth view.
A start to finish triumphant story that with determination your dream can come true also.

[Billye Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring

This book is very well written. I find it
to be interesting, captivating, and picturesque via words alone. I can feel the wind and waves and smell the salt air. Well done Paul Trammell. I look forward to the next one!

[Sharlene Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the trip

Wow! Great inspiration! Learned many lessons about sailing solo from St Pete to St Augustine. An enjoyable read about an incredible adventure.

[Brett Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a fan of Paul’s tone. It’s matter of fact, and his adventures are fun to read. I especially enjoyed the boat work before the voyage even started.

[Karin Kratina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trammell details the day-to-day life of buying a sailboat, fixing it up and sailing it home. If you're not into it, you might find it tedious. If you are a sailor, or want to be, this is a fun book. He shares his successes, but also his failures, fears and other concerns. I'm not sure how he made is descriptions of diving on the reefs, which were all so similar, sound so different. A few typos, but thankfully, not near as many as books seem to have these days.

I just finished sailing through the Bahamas, so really enjoyed his adventures sailing in the same places aboard Monkey's Uncle.