A True Sailing Memoir of Circumnavigation, Ocean Adventure, Survival at Sea, and Global Travel

by Heyward Coleman

From the forbidden waters of Guantanamo to 800 miles up the Amazon River, The Next Port is a high-stakes circumnavigation where technical expertise meets raw adventure.

Written by a former U.S. Nuclear Submarine Officer, this is not a typical sailing memoir—it’s a story of ingenuity, risk, and discovery across some of the most challenging waters on earth.

Includes access to an extensive private digital archive of over 500 original voyage photos. Experience the journey beyond the printed page through full-color images, charts, and moments captured along the way.

Trade the boardroom for the helm.

What follows is a global voyage that spans remote atolls, pirate-prone shipping lanes, and inland waterways few circumnavigators attempt. Instead of taking the fast route, the crew of Skimmer dives deep—into local cultures, mechanical challenges, and the realities of life at sea.

What you’ll experience:

Engineering Under Pressure

When systems fail thousands of miles from land, solutions aren’t optional. From building a makeshift autopilot mid-ocean to repairing critical systems in restricted waters, every mile demands ingenuity.

The Amazon Detour

Venture 800 miles up the Amazon River—into shifting currents, remote villages, and a world far removed from traditional sailing routes.

A Complete Transformation

Watch as an ocean-going sailboat becomes a canal vessel, navigating the historic waterways of France in one of the journey’s most unexpected transitions.

Written with the technical eye of a physicist and the perspective of a traveler, this memoir avoids romanticizing the journey. Instead, it delivers an honest, often humorous account of what it takes to navigate both open oceans and everyday life aboard a 42-foot sailboat.

Voyage highlights include:

Panama Canal • French Polynesia • Great Barrier Reef • Indonesia • Strait of Malacca • Red Sea • Mediterranean • French Canals • Brazil and the Amazon

Whether you are a seasoned sailor or an armchair adventurer, The Next Port is an invitation to leave the safe harbor behind—and experience the world as few ever do.

Genres: Travel

332 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 17, 2007

About the author

Heyward Coleman is a former submarine officer in the U.S. Nuclear Navy with a Master’s in Nuclear Physics from Duke University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Throughout a career spanning the oil shipping industry, the founding of an environmental radiochemistry laboratory, and the development of cutting-edge cancer therapies, he has remained driven by a dual passion for technical innovation and maritime adventure.

He is the author of the two-part series, The Voyages of Skimmer. The first volume, Where the Wind Blows, recounts the 1989 family sabbatical that transformed a career-driven executive and his family into a seasoned crew in the Mediterranean. The sequel, The Next Port, follows his subsequent five-year circumnavigation—a journey defined by technical resilience and the invention of the "Caliban" autopilot, a Rule bilge-pump-powered system engineered mid-Pacific by his son, Alex.

To bridge the gap between the technical grit of the written word and the reality of life at sea, Heyward has created an exclusive Digital Vault for his readers. This private online gallery contains hundreds of high-resolution photographs documenting the "Caliban" in action, the Turkish and Charleston refits, and the remote horizons of the French Canals and the Amazon River. Access to this visual archive is a reward provided exclusively to readers within the pages of his books.

Today, Heyward lives in Charleston, South Carolina. While his ocean-crossing days are behind him, he spends several months each year navigating the inland waterways of Europe aboard his canalboat, Magnolia—proving that for a true explorer, the journey never truly ends.

Reviews

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all this was a great book for anyone with an interest in sailing, travel, memoirs, or stories of personal journeys. The book is the journal of a couple who spent a number of years sailing around the world, and is well more than merely a travelogue or a story of the sea. Not the fastest of reads, especially if you're not familiar with sailing and the language that goes along with it. That said most everything becomes clear from context, so I wouldn't let a lack of familiarity with the subject matter stop you from reading. The Next Port remains a moving story about a trip around the world, and reminds us all that no matter how seemingly far-fetched dreams and long-planned fantasies can be made to come true when you work towards them and attack them in smaller chunks. Overall a great book and well worth a read.

[Becky Lyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very different to Where The Wind Blows. It started very abruptly and also ended that way too and true to form, each small section was the same. Still, I found it very enjoyable, although quite a long book. The section about "sailing" the French canals in the Kindle edition was duplicated within the chapter on French Polynesia where the photographs did not appear either, just a file name instead. Skip through this as you will read it later on in the book (with the actual photographs!) I did get a little confused at times as to who was on the yacht, mostly you were told about any arrivals but departures were very rarely mentioned, people generally just disappeared!

[Monica Puccetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I waffled between two and three stars for this review as at times the editing was egregiously bad, but there were interesting stories as well. Due to a lack of narrative structure of any kind I would have given up on the book if I hadn’t been specifically interested in the details of a circumnavigation twenty years ago, as I am interested in the sailing specifically I kept on and semi-enjoyed it. It reads like a typed up sailing journal, with little to no linkage between stories beyond order in the route. He could have had something very interesting here if he’d worked on his structure and editing more, as it is, read it if you’re interested in the specifics of the voyage, avoid it if you just want an enjoyable read.

[Marjorie Gottsegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it.The author not only writes exceptionly well,he gives wonderful details about his 5 years sailing around the world.Fortunately,he has the money to see it all in style.He includes the history and geography of all the ports of call.He also" sails" the canals in Europe.He sees it first class and it really is a delight for the reader who dreams of these places.Even if you aren't a sailor his decriptions are easy to discern.

[Ronald Dow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Excellent book! Well written and a great account of a wonderful expedition on the seas of the world but also on the land. Much to learn from this book on sailing, people, culture and life in general. Filled with excitement and ups and downs of life aboard a boat at sea!

[Nick Berberich · Rating 4 out of 5]

A found this book to be a worthwhile read and the author to be very talented writer, excellent at his composition of the story's structure. Right away it is obvious that Hayward Coleman is a highly educated man who has obviously achieved considerable success in both his buisness and his personal endeavors. It seems he and his wife both share passions for the academics, higher learning and self betterment overall. I found many of his brief mentions and footnotes in those realms to often be as intriguing as those of the adventure itself. Hayward also does not disappoint with his brand of good natured, subtle humor sprinkled throughout his story. If you're seeking or expecting some type of "how to" guide on the mechanics of sailing, a sort of exposé on the Financials required to get underway, or descrpit details of the ports themselves beyond the highlights of each, then this is not your book. If you are looking for a well and concise, cleanly written summary of one couples 5 year adventure around the world, to include the inevitable tests of marital fortitude then this book is certainly one worth reading, and the money.

[bill marcom]

Interesting, but what a whiney, nagging wife.!!!

Overlooking the wife that seems to have a melt down once each week, the story is mostly well written. At times the storyline changes abruptly with little linkage from one paragraph to the next, but halfway in I got used to it.
These folks have plenty of $$, but seem to worry about the little expenditures often.
If the wife was a young Hottie, I could understand his putting up with her.... but she's definitely not. Imho

[Steve Bera · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 60 year old and his wife buy a boat and sail around the world to start their retirement. They sail 40,000 miles over 5 years. He writes this book when they finish. He sounds like an accomplished author. Reads a bit like a travel log. Very interesting for anyone interested in this sort of thing.

[K Daynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best around the world sailing book I have ever read ,I love Heywards writing style and so very descriptive of the people and places that they visited without going into too much technical detail .Very easy but enjoyable read ...

[john perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptiona!

A brilliant experience well documented. Simply unbelievable that two no longer young people could cram so much travel,socialising,learning, living, exploring,pushing the boundaries all in a few years . It makes the rest of us wonder what we have been doing with ourselves the last 70 years.
John Perry
Johannesburg
South Africa

[Steven Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stopped reading when he reached Egypt and became much too political for me.

[James C Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read!

Well written! Places we had sailed to or not, I felt like we were there! Brought back many memories! Thank you!

[Paul Little · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't a huge fan. Some typo's found. I found the structure confusing. Seems liked there were sub chapters within chapters.

[Kyla Schneyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may enjoy the Adventure

Five years, a long read, with detailed descriptions of cultures and places, you might enjoy following their travels! Check it out!

[Ric Frawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read, great detail with much variety.

[Graham Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good truly nautical yarn. The narrative is all adventure .I really enjoyed this book.

[Joe Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A interesting read. A bit choppy reading, but fun nevertheless.

[Sidney E. Carlstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing & remarkable journey that most people even if they had the experience, money & time would never think of doing. But the author & his wife pulled it off. Quite the voyage.

[Christopher Worthington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a keen sailor. I have crossed the Atlantic and have sampled a cruisers life. I dream of a circumnavigation aboard a well fitted cutter rigged ketch and this book has done absolutely nothing for my motivation towards my day job.
As with other similar diary accounts, describing vividly the hues of blue, the remote atolls of the Pacific Ocean, the white sandy deserted beaches, lobster fishing for breakfast, falling coconuts and exotic fruits, the cruising community and most of all the sailing.....oh the sailing. This book is a dream for the explorer.
The couple are obviously not short of money and start off as relatively brash Americans, ready to argue their way around the globe by sea.
With every port and customs office they gradually become less nationalised and more 'world human' (an effect on ones sole that any well travelled person will relate to)
I wonder what is left for them now. They have coped with on the spot creativity and lateral thinking after mending a number of essential 'ships systems' at sea. They have hand reeled Spear fish and Tuna from the stern of their ketch, killed, filleted and eaten their catch.
Survived a number of weather situations.
Performed a rescue at sea.
Lived like 'castaways'
Journeyed through the Panama Canal, avoided Pirates through the Red Sea and experienced the French shipping canals.
For me the adventure will be continuous. There is still so much of the world to sea. I just hope we all look after it enough for future generations to enjoy. It will be a great shame when in a century's time an equivalent account is written and instead details the ocean of discarded plastic, dead coral, submerged islands and worldwide economic greed.

[Peter Roach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about a voyage around the world by a couple in their rebuilt sailboat. The descriptions of the places visited was good, just wished they had more on the actual sailing and the problems encountered (other than what you would expect). I really found it funny how the author and his wife started out as what we would imagine an USA crewed boat would be like in character, concerns and their observations. But, as the voyage around the world progresses, and they experience more, you can feel a thickening of their own skin but a loosening in their acceptance and openness to others. The book is very good in the end at telling about the wonders around the world and how not to be afraid to try and see them.

The book really got better towards the end, and I was sorry it had finished.

[Philip Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started well and I hoped there would be lots about the sailing challenges, but these were mentioned less and less as the story unwound.
But, about mid-way through the book the descriptions of the people, the history and politics of the places visited became the main topic.
The author came over as a “self-confessed” authority and his opinions were often just that. (opinions)
I found it got too long-winded and frankly’ rather boring.
I admit to being a pedant about spelling and grammar and this book has so many silly mistakes, using the wrong word and wrong spellings that those became irritating too.
However, they sailed all the way around the World keeping both their boat and their marriage intact and that deserves lavish praise.

[Billy]

really enjoyed this book and the descriptions of life at sea and the ports of call

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed.

[Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much port, not enough sea. A nice travelogue of two amazing people.

[Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aroudn the world in 5 years
The delights of living 5 years in a sailboat seafaring around the world. The account of day to day small joys is moving. Simple - yet heart touching - narrative.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good couch cruiser read

A good read when it concentrated on the sea portion of the voyage. Drags a bit when he talks about the inland portion of the trip.