Racing Madness

The biggest body of water I've every raced on was the Chesapeake.  Racing around the British Isles or around the world solo is another mater.   Sport quickly becomes a fight for life.  Two stories of that here.  


1.  Fastnet Force 10, John Rousmaniere (1979),  Force 10 is a mariner's scale to say a violent storm at sea.  In 1979, a force 10 storm ripped though a storm in the Irish Sea during the Fastnet race.  Forty foot waves damaged over half of the 300 boats.  Rousmaniere who was in the race, assembled the stories into a single riveting narrative.  Bought used at the State Department book store with a book plate from "Jane Murdoch."

2.  Godforsaken Sea: Racing the World's Most Dangerous Waters, Derek Lundy (1999).  The world's most dangerous race is the Globe Vendee, a single-handed sailor around the world with no stops.  During the 1996 race, sailor Derek Lundy, a contender for the lead, turned his boat around and sailed hundreds of miles to rescue a fellow racer whose boat was broken and sinking.  Bought new.