Maritime classic communicates across a century

Over 100 years ago, an American adventurer decided to cross the Atlantic in the small yacht Typhoon from New York to Cowes and back, and in doing so pretty much invented the sport of pleasure cruising.

‘We were not trying to demonstrate anything; we were not conducting an advertising campaign; we hadn’t lost a bet. Nor were we subsidized by anybody who had – or was. I had the little vessel built according to Atkin’s and my own ideas of what a seagoing yacht should be and we sailed her across the Atlantic and back again for the fun of the thing.'

These are the words of William Washburn Nutting, who published a book about his 1920 voyage in that has rightfully become a maritime classic. Reissued this year by the Lyons Press imprint, The Track of the Typhoon remains a fresh and vivid account of nautical challenges and thrills.

The warm, informal tone of the writing makes it easy to forget how long ago the words were written, and it comes as a jolt when, for example, the author describes sailing past abandoned vessels that had been used in the First World War only two years previously.

Illustrated with black-and-white photos that somehow share the timeless feel of the narrative, The Track of the Typhoon is as much of a treat for today's readers as for our forebears.

The Track of the Typhoon
By William Washburn Nutting
Lyons Press, £18.99
ISBN: 978 14930 90457