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by Peter Firstbrook (Author)
"Daredevils of the Atlantic Ocean" chronicles the exploits of a relatively new breed of adventurers and fortune-seekers who sometimes succeed and sometimes fail at crossing the Atlantic Ocean in all sorts of unlikely vessels and contraptions, including a few who even tried to swim across. Some were powered by motors, some by sails, currents, or just raw human power and athletic stamina. Many were outlandish attempts that only a madman could have conceived. These are their stories.
The Atlantic Ocean separates two great continents, and men (and it has usually been the male species) have always sought new ways to cross 'the pond'-and not all of them in boats. This book is about these people: some wise and thoughtful, others reckless and frankly crazy; some well-prepared, others impetuous and disorganized; some skilled and proficient who understood the risks, while others were hot-headed, inexperienced, and impulsive; some voyages were carefully planned, while others seemed to be cooked up on little more than a whim. In the world of trans-Atlantic sailing, as in life, it takes all sorts...
What all these adventurers have in common, however, is that they launched themselves on a voyage of personal challenge and discovery, during which they put their lives on the line. For that reason alone, we should take our (sailing) hats off to them.
