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Sailing into Oblivion: The Solo Non-stop Voyage of the Mighty Sparrow
- Narrated by: Jerome Rand
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Adventurers, Explorers & Survival
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Fascinating True Adventure Narrated by the Author
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Publisher's Summary
The true account of the 2017-2018 solo nonstop circumnavigation by Jerome Rand aboard the Westsail 32 Mighty Sparrow. A testament to endurance and adventure, this memoir recounts what life is like aboard a small sailboat during a 271-day voyage around the globe, alone, and without stopping. One of the greatest challenges of both body and mind, the author will take you onboard during the good times and the bad. As one of only a handful of people to have ever succeed in such a small boat, this story is truly the adventure of a lifetime.
What listeners say about Sailing into Oblivion: The Solo Non-stop Voyage of the Mighty Sparrow
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- j daly
- 09-30-21
What not to do!
This is a story of what not to do. Do not go blindly to sea for the simple reason of saying you did it. The sea is a fragile environment and the author did it for all the wrong reasons. I had to stop listening after he spoke about killing an Albatross by hooking it with a fishing lure and drowning it by dragging it behind his boat. He said he can be ok with killing one but not more. That Albatross not only lost his life but meant his mate likely was waiting weeks for him during mating season and thus no offspring from him ever again and a heartbroken mate left alone; breaking a limb from his family tree. Firing shotgun shells into the ocean to scare off birds is outrageous. Learn about the ocean and be an observer if you want to sail. Don't add to its destruction like the author of this book.
2 people found this helpful
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- John G.
- 04-14-21
I enjoyed every second of this book.
The pace was good and subject intresting, Narriators voice reflections kept ones revitited. stopped several times to take notes on items I need to address prior to my next departure.
2 people found this helpful
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- anonymous
- 02-24-21
terrific book and terrific narrator
what an Incredible Book an absolute must read for anyone who likes sailing and adventure, this book was extremely engaging and a real page-turner I strongly recommend.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-11-21
Felt like I was on the boat.
Loved every minute. Excellent narration and an amazing adventure. I could easily relate to him.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-05-21
An adventure like few...
I truly enjoyed listening to this book, the recording & voice is clear and engaging.
A true story, and a story very very close to our family. The story in this book really grabbed me and made me follow the world map to check the locations and just imagine a bit how close or far away the 5 capes look from a tiny boat cruising around the world, enduring many hard situations but at the same time providing marvelous and unique moments that maybe Jerome The Captain will only have them for his own memories. Welcome back!!
Remember that this is not a novel or a made-up story, this sailing voyage is as real as it gets, maybe you like it or don't, but the fact of the matter is the narration of the events happened without hiding or sugar coding anything. It's easy to criticize when you are not the main character in the story navigating in the middle of the ocean sailing "solo" for over 270 days". I applaud this man for accomplishing something that not many had accomplished.
2 people found this helpful
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- Bd
- 01-26-22
excellent
great great great. only thing I didn't like the jumping around that much but otherwise a really good audio book
1 person found this helpful
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- Edan Oestreich
- 01-07-22
Epic Adventure
Well done Jerome! Your bravery and sense of adventure comes through with flying colors. Mighty Sparrow held together amazingly well and I’m so glad she brought you through it all safely. Your persistence and perseverance is an inspiration. Cheers
1 person found this helpful
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- Chris
- 11-24-21
good story.
really easy listen. don't think one reviewers critique about the death of the albatross was fair.
1 person found this helpful
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- T. Adams
- 08-31-21
Great Adventure
I really enjoyed this as a casual lesson. I would love a follow up book with more technical aspects of his sailing experience and personal motivations. Certainly a great story and a good lesson, definitely recommend.
1 person found this helpful
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- Timothy Wilson
- 07-18-21
If you don’t sail, don’t bother
The author’s performance is great and the story is engaging, but the use of sailing jargon made it impossible to understand what was happening. I don’t know what a sail block is, so it’s hard for me to care when one breaks. I don’t know what a reef in a sail is, so the author telling me he added a reef means nothing.
The author doesn’t explain what the sailing terms mean and the book suffers as a result. If you are a sailor and understand the terms, you will probably really like this book. If you’re just a layman looking for adventure or travel stories, keep looking.
1 person found this helpful
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- william r
- 05-12-21
Frustrating
I found this story quite frustrating and timeline hard to follow as the author jumped back and forth throughout the book. The naration was very American and over the top which made it hard to take him seriously. That said he did complete a solo voyage around the world which is very impressive.
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- Anonymous User
- 11-30-21
short and sweet
not a bad tale. very descriptive writing. definitely worth a read or listen? I liked hearing about his troubleshooting