"It was Fury Island I had sighted and steered for, and what a panorama was before me now and all
around! ... This was the greatest sea adventure of my life. God knows how my vessel escaped." in the fie rce squalls cul my flesh until the blood trickled over my face; but what ofthat? It was daylight, and the sloop was in the midst of th e Milky Way of the sea, which is northwest of Cape Horn , and it was th e white breakers of a huge sea over sunken rocks which threatened to engulf her through th e night. It was Fury Island I had sighted and steered f or, and what a panorama was before me now and all around! . . . This was th e greatest sea adventure of my life. God knows how my vessel escaped. Even though it is ev id ~ nt through Slocum 's writings that he had an idea li stic and even a romantic fee ling toward the voy age, hi s practical side was also instrumental in deciding to ve nture off and do what no one had done before. Prior to leav ing Boston, Slocum had arranged with a syndicate of ne wspapers to submit travel letters to help support the expe nses of the voyage. Travel letters by Samuel C lemens (ali as Mark Twain) and others were popul ar with readers of the day and thi s fact influenced Slocum to try thi s method to " make her pay." The only problem was that after a lifetime of being the mas te r of hi s many voyages he could not or would not accommodate a desire from the publi shers to make a speedy and well defined circumnavigation. The travel letters ended shortl y afte r arri val in South America and S locum ac tuall y seemed somewhat relieved that the voyage was fin all y unencumbered by schedules and requirements from outsiders and preconce ived notions. The voyage was altogether hi s own now. A lways an entrepreneur, Slocum was very resourceful and, at times, very fortunate as he worked hi s way around the world . For instance, while transiting the Straits of Magellan for the second time Slocum came upon a wreck full of tallow . After sa lving the tallow he was able to sell much of it for antique and odd coins of all denomination s on Juan Fernandez island . He made a decent profit by selling the coin s later to antiquaria ns. Another way that Slocum was able to finance hi s voyage was givi ng talks to crowds of interested people wherever he came to port. And then there was the large shark that Slocum killed in Melbourne, Australia, that he put on di splay for those who paid the admi ss ion fee. It was ironic and somewhat sad th at Slocum 's voyage was followed more c lose ly and with more enthusiasm by other countries than it was by the US . Everyw here he went, espe-
c iall y in Australia and South Africa, he was received as an important celebrity and many of the port fees and refitting ex penses were offered free of charge. The Spray shed her Joseph's coat, the Fuego mainsail , in Sydney, and wearing a new suit , the handsome present of Commodore Foy , she was the fla gship of the Johnstone' s Bay Flying Squadron when the circumnavigators ofSydney harbor sailed in their annual regatta. They "recognized" th e Spray as belonging to "a club of her own," and with more Australian sentiment than fast idiousness gave her credit for her record. A lifetime of adventu re, perseverance, and stri ving again st all odds gave Slocum an ability to remain calm under pressure. Thi s calmness and matter-of-factness pervaded hi s who le persona and allowed him to thoroughl y enjoy the adventures , the quiet of a calm sea, as we ll as the many new fri ends and scenes he saw while touring the world. Through hi s unfretful eye Slocum could see the practical and the poetic and thi s gave hi s writing a quality all hi s own. Seals playing about the Spray all day , before th e breeze came, looked with large eyes when , at evening, she sat no longer like a lazy bird with fo lded wings . They parted company now, and the Spray soon sailed the highest peaks of the mountains out of sight , and the world changed from a mere panoramic view to th e light of a homeward-bound voyage .... The wind was from th e southeast; this suited the Spray well , and she ran along steadily at her best speed, while I dipped into the new books given me at the cape, reading day and night . March 30 was for me a fast-day in honor of them. I read on , oblivious of hunger or wind or sea , thinking that all was going well , when suddenly a comber rolled over the stern and slopped saucily into the cabin , wetting th e very book I was reading. Evidently it was time to put in a reef, that she might not wallow on her course . Even though Slocum was not totall y at ease with shore life, he was content as long as he was building something that wo uld take him to sea. Severa l times during his career he purposefull y set about to practice another trade that he as pired to master: shipbuilding. Shortl y after getting hi s citizenship in San Francisco, Slocum we nt into business building sa lmon
1,001 Sprays:
A new book on Spray replicas by R. Bruce Roberts-Goodson, a designer of boats for amateur builders, will be released this spring. Roberts-Goodson estimates that over 1,000 known replicas and Spray types have been built worldwide since 1902 , and he has had a hand in the design of a good many of them. For 25 years he has been designing Spray replicas. Spray- The Ultimate Crui sing Boat is a history of these boats and a chronicle of design changes. The most common change ? "To increase the vessel' s draft," says Roberts-Goodson. Th e original Spray had good stability and a minimum of inside ballast, but her windward pe1formance was somewhat restricted by her shallow draji. According to Roberts-Goodson, many builders An artist's rendering of the original Spray ,from Spray-The Ultimate Cru ising Boat, available from Bruce Roberts Ltd. , PO Box 1086 , Severna Park MD 2 11 46. have elected to add 12 inches or so to the draft to improve windward ability.
22
SEA HISTORY 73, SPRING 1995