The Long Way

“The extent to which you find solitude on a boat is almost unique, liking finding yourself in space. Moitessier’s account is a meditative experience in which he talks with porpoises and is guided by a seagull. He has a lot of wonderful realisations on the way. Hence him not reaching or finalising his journey in Plymouth, where he was about to get lots of money and become world famous. He thought: No, I don’t want to do it, because I want to ‘save my soul.’ In the book he talks about how we have become our own slaves to society, and how we need to live in a more simple way. It’s a wonderful, meditative account of a mad, mad journey which is about the journey not the goal.” Read more...

The best books on Long-Distance Journeys

Louis Hall, Travel Writer