When I decided to start to write a blog for Sail Anejo, I wondered if I would have enough information to talk about all year long, when our charter season is only 5 months long. But when I thought about it there is so much to write about.
One thought came to my head while we were away in the USVIs, one idea I had was to talk about some great sailing books and maybe get other sailing books to read, and share with you. We were sitting on the beach talking to a fellow sailor and he gave the names of a few books to read, those review will come later. Today I would like to talk about the book that encouraged me to read sailing books entitled "Sailing into Oblivion" by Jerome Rand.
This story caught my attention way before the book was even written. Back in 2017 & 2018 I caught wind of a sailor who left from Gloucester Harbor, and was sailing nonstop around the world. Yes solo around the world in a Westsail 32. I started to follow the journey on Facebook called Sailing into Oblivion, I see a theme here.
Come to find out the Captain Jerome Rand, is someone who we have actually crossed paths with many years before. He was the head of water sports at the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda, BVI. Captain Birch and I have sailed into this beautiful Yacht Club many times, and every time we are there we tend to spend a bit longer there than other Islands in the BVIs. And one thing we always do is rent some kind of water sport from Jerome, weather it be a kayak, a wind surf board, or a Hobiecat. He is the guy who we always spoke to. So when we started to connect the dots we knew we had to follow his adventure around the globe.
The Pics above are Jerome's sailboat the Mighty Sparrow, and Jerome when he made it back to Gloucester Harbor after his solo circumnavigation
We came to learn that Jerome's family lived in Gloucester, and that is where his journey started and ended. We were not there for the start but we sure were there when he stepped on land again after 271 days at sea. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and the Mighty Sparrow was fire boat escorted into the harbor with all his family, friends, and locals excited to see him arrive safely.
About a year later his book came out Sailing into Oblivion and it is all about his journey around the globe. The one thing to remember about this journey is he wanted to circumnavigate nonstop, and he DID IT. For someone like myself who has aspirations of sailing south, this book was a good read. He spoke of good days, bad days, ripped sails, and flying fish, if you sail, have sailed on a charter boat or just love the idea of an adventure, read this book.
If you know any good books about the sea, please let us know. We are always on the quest for a good read.