A story of college-dropout John Kretschmer's quixotic voyage to retrace the route of the clipper ships, from New York to San Francisco by way of Cape Horn. This 'doubling the Horn', as it was called, was a formidable challenge to ships exceeding two hundred feet in length, as they routinely battled headwinds of fifty knots and mountainous seas.
John Kretschmer is sailing’s practical philosopher – as much a doer as a thinker. And that is the overarching theme of this chronicle of a sailing life. Often amusing, sometimes poignant, occasionally terrifying but always inspiring, his deeply personal account is a welcome reminder of the good life waiting at sea. With hundreds of thousands of nautical miles under his keel, John’s adventures have taken him several times around the world, with challenging crossings of the Atlantic and the Pacific, a narrow escape from a coup in Yemen, an unlikely deliverance from a coral reef off Belize as well as more serene, introspective passages where trade winds are blowing and stories are flowing. His crew has included CEOs, actors, writers, teachers, kids – in essence, everyone. John’s narrative is interwoven with practical tips and advice in seamanship, but also, and just as importantly, his hard-won insights about making the most of our lives. He truly believes we find out who we really are, and what we are capable of, far from the shackles of land, when we find a place where time changes shape – days may merge into one another, but minutes are memorable. To live adventurously is to live more fully, and that is the life John Kretschmer continues to live. In this book he shares his simple profundities that will inspire those who live to sail, and those seeking something more rewarding from life.
The True Story of Three Sailors in a Caribbean Hurricane
"The tale of Carl Wake and the hurricane that was waiting for him goes straight to the heart of the greatest sea stories: they are not about man against the sea, but man against himself. John Kretschmer's book is as perfectly shaped and flawlessly written as such a story can be. In addition to being the best depiction I have ever read of what it is like to be inside a hurricane at sea, At the Mercy of the Sea is as moving a story of a man's failure and redemption as can be found anywhere in the literature of the sea. This book is surely destined to become a classic."--Peter Nichols, author of Sea Change and A Voyage for Madmen "John Kretschmer has transformed this story of three men on a collision course with a hurricane into a modern seafaring classic."--Peter Nielsen, editor of SAIL magazine "With expert analysis and taut writing, he draws readers into that mad storm. You can't turn away. You keep reading until it breaks your heart."--Fred Grimm, columnist for the Miami Herald "Once begun, his vivid and powerful narrative is impossible to put down."--Derek Lundy, author of Godforsaken Sea and The Way of a Ship "I felt I knew Carl Wake, because John Kretschmer found in him an archetype--an aging sailor with an age-old dream."--Jim Carrier, transatlantic sailor and author of The Ship and the Storm: Hurricane Mitch and the Loss of the Fantome "A remarkable book, impossible to put down."--Herb McCormick, sailing journalist