STBSP, Ep 182, Predicting Wind with Jon Bilger

“Sailing Alone” Author and Sailor, Richard J. King

This episode we have a grand old chat with Author and Sailor Richard J. King, whose new book “Sailing Alone: A Surprising History of Isolation and Survival at Sea,” which has recently been released.

The book is a mix of his personal story of voyaging across the Atlantic by himself, aboard a Pearson Triton 28 back in 2007, and a fairly comprehensive history of men and women throughout history that have sailed alone all over the world, for varying reasons and with varying levels of comfort and success.

He delves into the reasons why they go in the first place, and what they see when they get “Out there.”

His reason to go is both simplistic and complex at the same time, depending on how you look at it. He isn’t, by his own admission, any sort of Master Yachtsman, nor would he win any races by his skill or drive to win, he isn’t even really an extreme adventurer looking for the thrill, yet his appetite for sailing was whet during teaching English to wayward college students on tall ships in far flung locales, where he delved into the history books on sailing, including the ones who went against the norms by going it alone.

Intrigued, he began to ponder why someone would go about doing such a thing, and came down to a handful of common reasons for them leaving the dock initially, but more interestingly, how they each dealt with what they saw and how it transformed their lives in a mix of Spirituality, Oneness with Nature, Reflecting upon and interpreting the world around us from an entirely different perspective, in the way an artist would look at the world, while doing something that tests the mettle and determination of accomplishing a goal.

Thus his own voyage Sailing Alone was born as he contemplated crossing the Atlantic Ocean back in 2007. He didn’t make a fuss about it, barley even told anyone he was doing it beyond the few he cared to share it with, wasn’t even sure he was going to go through with it until he was “Out There” after his shakedown cruise with friends up to Maine. He was prepared, his ship was ready, he just wasn’t sure he was. He decided to go for it, and now he’s got a great story to tell, but after sitting on it for 15 years, he decided to compare his experience with those throughout history, some of whom you may never have heard about.

You can listen to Episode 181 of the STBSP, by right clicking and downloading here,

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Intro Music by yours truly and Greg Young, of The Incoherents, a band I managed in college. The song is called Never Tell and is available via email. Find the other songs they did at The Incoherents. The Lean Years Volume 2, on Itunes.

Break music, “Wild Winds of Misfortune” by Leo Disanto of The Vinegar Creek Constituency, and “The Wild Rover” as performed by The Ogham Stones
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