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This tale is not ancient. It is just twenty-five years old, in fact. However, as part of the tradition of sailors whom it hopes to honor, its years number in the hundreds. And the legacy of the human spirit of which it strives to be worthy is timeless. Nonetheless, in the end, this is just my story. I have written as complete an account as possible of a time long ago. There are many problems inherent in undertaking such an endeavor, and they give rise to questions that warrant answers. I’ve constructed the book primarily around the journal entries I made during a nearly four-year voyage aboard the schooner Sofia. This journal comprised the bulk of my communication with my family. My mailings often consisted of great hunks of paper ripped from my notebook and sent in a bundle from some remote harbor; a single package could contain several pages detailing the events covering weeks or months, a succession of ports and hundreds of nautical miles. Other letters home were hurried notes scribbled on such random swatches of paper as antiquated charts and the backs of produce box labels. Many were not dated. Some records were lost or destroyed. Consequently, it was at times a challenge to establish specific dates and locations. I’ve made every effort, however, to ensure that the chronology is generally accurate, if not absolutely precise. And any errors are mine, results of the limitations of human memory. Introduction 3 I have not recreated the journal verbatim; instead I have gone back into the entries and reworked them for the sake of the narrative. And although I haven’t falsified any event, some episodes have gone the way of sea stories , told and retold until they became what I remember. I’ve selectively expanded and carefully crafted other bits to ensure their significance. I have simplified the nautical terminology to avoid sinking the story in a sea of technical detail. And, in reflection, I embellish upon vignettes merely alluded to in letters. This narrative emerges as a memoir of intimate perception and sentimental retrospection; I do not apologize for this, nor do I consider it anyone’s truth but my own. The writing was as much an act of catharsis at the time of the voyage as it became again a quarter century later, when I transformed the adventure into a book. My hope is that the reader will empathize with the teller and gain personal insight from the tale. To sail an old tall ship across vast oceans and beyond is fundamentally an irrational act in which idealism conquers sensibility. Can such a journey be portrayed honestly in any other light? Should it be? Why did I choose to write the book? In twenty-five years no one else has taken on the task. I must assume no one else will; so the responsibility fell to me by default. To never transmit the events of the final days of the schooner Sofia would be a betrayal of all she has meant to so many. And why now? In dealing openly with this last question, I come close to exposing a part of myself that I’d prefer to keep private. I did not choose the moment when the book would be written; the moment chose me. When personal tragedy struck, I discovered I was able to overcome a desperate sense of powerlessness by recalling my Sofia days. I could feel the strength of that fearless explorer again—the girl with the bright spirit and the indomitable life force. She resurfaced as I wrote and this book spilled out of me like a dance of redemption. It has been said that through writing we discover what we believe, and so I ride the Sofia’s wake one last time. 4 Introduction Sofia 1. Jib boom 21. Raffee 2. Bobstay 22. Fore gaff topsail 3. Bowsprit 23. Fore gaffsail 4. Bow 24. Main gaff topsail 5. Samson post 25. Main topmast 6. Bow net 26. Main gaffsail 7. Fisherman anchor 27. Mainmast 8. Stem 28. Topsides 9. Waterline 29. Cap rail 10. Flying jib 30. Ratlines 11. Outer jib 31. Baggywrinkles 12. Inner jib 32. Mizzen gaff topsail 13. Fore staysail 33. Mizzen topmast 14. Forestay 34. Mizzen gaffsail 15. Foremast 35. Mizzenmast 16. Fore topmast 36. Mizzen gaff 17. Course squaresail 37. Mizzen boom 18. Course square topsail...

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