Joshua Slocum, one of the most famous of American sea captains, really was "The First" to single-handedly circumnavigate the world. The epitome of Yankee independence, he had been captain of his own single-decker, the Aquidneck, and built the Liberdade but he was at loose-ends at fifty-one.

An old friend offered him the old oyster boat which he rebuilt into the 37' Spray and in 1895 he took off from Boston for the Straits of Gibraltar, sailed back across the Atlantic and around South America to the South Seas. Slocum is a captivating writer, observant, humorous, and evocative. And he had a way of dealing with adversity that was at times distinctly theatrical -- here he outwits determined pirates in Tierra del Fuego: I was not for letting on that I was alone, and so I stepped into the cabin, and, passing through the hold, came out at the fore-scuttle, changing my clothes as I went along. That made two men. Then the piece of bowsprit which I had sawed off at Buenos Aires, and which I had still on board, I arranged forward on the lookout, dressed as a seaman, attaching a line by which I could pull it into motion. That made three of us...

Discover for yourself why Slocum's book is called a sailor's Walden -- Jack London sailed the Pacific using it (The Cruise of the Snark, also available from The Narrative Press). Even if you're not planning a solo sailing trip, it's a wonderful adventure.