Down Channel (The Mariner's Library #7) by R. T. McMullen

McMullen was a pioneer among amateur small-boat sailors, whose voyages off the coast of England in the 19th century are the subject of this sailing classic. In his honest and forthright style he logs both successes and early difficulties: his first boat, Leo, sank on the day it was launched; a nasty accident with a flapping sail nearly cost him his sight; two idle and grumbling crew members, Henry and George, had to be sent home from France in disgrace. These initial setbacks, however, served only to strengthen his determination, and to confirm his belief that to go to sea in a merely playful spirit was to assume (foolishly) that the sea intended to be merely playful too.

McMullen was a thoroughly professional amateur, asking nothing of his crew that he was not prepared to do himself; thrilled by his solo achievements; a perfectionist in all aspects of sailing from navigation to correct sea behaviour. Arthur Ransome, in his Foreword to the book, sums up McMullen's inimitable approach: 'While he set an example of first-rate practical seamanship and tireless attention to detail, no man who has written of sailing has more infectiously expressed the pleasure that he found in it.'

Richard Turrell McMullen was born about 1830 and became a member of the Stock Exchange in 1853. He was a forceful and energetic character who wrote pamphlets on a great variety of subjects: he was a Conservative, a devout Protestant and a firm believer in individual responsibility. He died, appropriately, in mid-Channel, sitting in the cockpit of the Perseus, his face towards the sky.

Genres: Nonfiction - Memoir - Sailing
Condition: Very good
Published: First published 1869. This edition published 1986 by Grafton Books
Pages: 323
ISBN: 0246130407 
Weight: 415g