Wayward Sailor

The Life of Sailing's Best-Known Storyteller is the Most Incredible Tristan Jones Story of All No one really knew Tristan Jones. He was larger than life, perhaps the most successful sailing writer of the twentieth century, and by his own account the greatest sailor. But he was not who he said he was. He told us what he wanted us to believe, and he told the tales so well that we either believed or suspended disbelief. As Anthony Dalton reveals in this uncompromising yet admiring biography, the real Tristan Jones was both a lesser and a greater man than his invention. Self-educated, self-taught, enormously creative, he was himself his most creative act. "A thoroughly researched and absorbing account of Tristan Jones's lives--the one he created for himself, and the one he actually lived. This is a necessary book for anyone who has read Tristan Jones's stories with enjoyment or suspicion, or both."--Derek Lundy, author, Godforsaken Sea and The Way of a Ship "I was enchanted from start to finish by Anthony Dalton's biography, in which he proves that Tristan Jones's most brilliant creation was his own fascinating life story."--John Rousmaniere, author, After the Storm; Fastnet, Force 10; and The Annapolis Book of Seamanship "[An] arresting study. ..Dalton achieves stark poignancy...Jones's story as related here should appeal to all those who love adventure, as well as to those who enjoy analyzing the wreckage of damaged, enigmatic and fascinating personalities."--Publishers Weekly Anthony Dalton has been a professional expedition leader and adventure guide. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Fellow of the Explorers Club, his articles have been published in Classic Boat, MotorBoats Monthly, Ocean Navigator, SAIL, Sailing, Sea, and Yachting.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Early Years 2. Tristan's Navy 3. With Cresswell and Banjo 4. Barbara's Long Cruise 5. Israel and Hostile Shores 6. Indian Ocean Saga 7. The Amazon and a New Banjo 8. Tristan Meets Sea Dart 9. Cruising to Peru 10. Reaching for the Stars 11. A New Life 12. Cold Facts, Arctic Fiction 13. Blending Fiction with Fact 14. Down but Not Out 15. Once More, Down to the Sea 16. A Heart of Oak 17. Cold Rivers, Warm Seas 18. Exploring Thailand 19. The Strange Death of Thomas Ettenhuber 20. Another Devastating Blow 21. Wounded Pride 22. The Saga of Gabriel 23. The Sound of a Different Drum 24. The End of a Long Voyage 25. Afterword Notes Selected Bibliography Annotated Tristan Jones Bibliography Index Photographs appear following page 206

About the Author :
A native of Gravesend, England (b. 1940) who holds dual British/Canadian citizenship, Anthony Dalton is a photojournalist, expedition organizer, and adventurer. Between 1969 and 1979 he organized and led long-range expeditions in the Sahara, West Africa, and the deserts of the Middle East (including Afghanistan), including camel treks in Mauritania, Algeria, and Mali. In 1980 he organized, led, and filmed (for a Canadian Broadcasting documentary) an expedition to view the salt mines of Taoudenit and the camel caravans that transport the salt to Timbuktu. He has conducted a near-fatal solo voyage by small boat around the west and north coasts of Arctic Alaska, made river expeditions in conjunction with Bangladeshi naturalists into the Sundarbans jungle in search of the Royal Bengal tiger, and paddled across the rivers of Arctic Canada, a journey part of which was filmed for the Discovery Channel. He has appeared as a guest on television and radio in Canada and New Zealand and has lectured in these countries as well as in England. His work has been published in Choice, Geographical, Global Adventurer, Saga, Wanderlust, and other magazines in Great Britain; in Sail, Sailing, WoodenBoat, Yachting, Hemispheres, and other North American magazines; and in magazines in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society (UK) and the Explorers Club (USA). HOMETOWN: Delta, British Columbia

Review :
"An arresting study of a sailor who invented himself as a modern hero and kept embellishing the legend until truth and fiction were impossible to pinpoint...Should appeal to all those who love adventure..." - Publishers Weekly "Valuable, compelling, and sobering." - Sailing "I was enchanted from start to finish by Wayward Sailor." - John Rousmaniere, author, After the Storm and Fastnet, Force 10"