Over the Top

Only one person has ever sailed vertically around the world singlehandedly – Adrian Flanagan.

Sailing horizontally is difficult enough, crossing thousands of miles of ocean only to get near land at the Capes and battle treacherous currents. However, hundreds of sailors have still managed it. Adrian became obsessed with the idea of sailing vertically around the world as a boy, before he even knew whether it was possible. Thirty years later he managed it. This is his own account of his remarkable adventure.

It was an epic challenge, sailing through the perilous waters around Cape Horn and across the remote, hostile stretch of the Russian Arctic. He survived being washed overboard, capsizing, a close encounter with pirates, and also managed to treat not one but two dislocated wrists – all of this alone, a thousand miles or more from anyone who could help him complete his quest. It wasn’t all high drama, however. Adrian experienced moments of awe-inspiring beauty – being accompanied by a pod of whales, and swimming with dolphins.

This is a timeless and unique story, pacily written with a sense of humour, but which captures the zeal and determination required to accomplish something nobody else has ever done before.