Sailing by Starlight
by Rod Scher
In 1982, a hobby sailor and retired geography professor named Marvin Creamer embarked on a very special circumnavigation: On his 36' steel ketch, Globe Star, Creamer and his crew ventured out into the Atlantic a few days before Christmas on the first leg of the voyage, bound for Africa. On board they carried absolutely no navigation instruments of any kind: no LORAN, no GPS or AIS (civilian versions of which did not, in any case, exist in 1982), no sextant or astrolabe, no radar . . . nothing. They didn't even have a clock on board. They had some rudimentary charts and maps of the trade winds and that was it. What they did carry with them was Marv's blue-water sailing experience and his knowledge of the Earth, the stars, and of the winds and waves. Eighteen months later, Creamer returned, having shown the world—or as much of it as was paying any attention—that one could sail around the globe without using any instruments. Creamer's intent was to prove that such a voyage could be successful, showing that ancient peoples—e.g., the Norse, the South Pacific Islanders, and possibly others—could well have traveled the world's oceans using only their brains, their five senses, and the experience of multiple generations of their seafaring ancestors. The trip was ultimately successful, but Creamer was beset by almost-constant problems. That makes for an exciting tale, and provides some exceptional examples of seafaring ingenuity and sheer determination on the part of Creamer. The author was given exclusive access to Creamer's diaries, photos, and other memorabilia by Creamer's family.
Hardcover
English
Brand New
Author Biography
Rod Scher received his M.Ed from the University of Oregon. A longtime boating enthusiast, writer, and former English teacher, he is an editor for Smart Computing Magazine and author of The Annotated Two Years Before the Mast (Sheridan House, 2013). He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Review
A captivating chronicle of an amazing journey, Sailing by Starlight is recommended for sailors and history buffs alike.-- "Windcheck Magazine"
A full and captivating picture of this complex man. . . . Kudos to Scher for writing a book that gives Creamer the voice he deserves in sailing history and that invites all of us to think a bit differently next time we are on the water we love.-- "Sail Magazine"
Sailing by Starlight takes what could have easily become one more nondescript sailing-around-the-world tale and makes it into a thoroughly researched and well-written book that's as much about problem-solving and strength of character as it is about adventure.-- "Sailing"
Scher does a superb job of making ocean sailing and its terminology accessible and easy to understand for those who do not do it themselves, while keeping the story moving for those of us who do. Sailing by Starlight fills a major gap in sailing narrative literature, relating the story of a man and his phenomenal voyage which have been undeservedly little known.-- "Flying Fish: The Journal of the Ocean Cruising Club"
Long Description
Sailing by Starlight is the story of the adventure of a lifetime--in fact, of many lifetimes. In the early 1980s, retired geography professor Marvin Creamer set out to do what hadn't been done for a thousand years--if indeed it had ever been done at all: Marv and his crew boarded a 35' sailboat named Globe Star and set out into the frigid Atlantic, planning to sail around the world without the use of any instruments. There was no sextant aboard. No compass. No chart-plotter. No GPS. No radar. Not even a stopwatch. Creamer wanted to prove to the world that it was possible for ancient mariners to have crossed the largest seas, perhaps even sailed around the world, using only their brains, their experience, their sense, and their courage. In attempting to prove his point, Creamer would push his boat and his crew to the limit--and occasionally beyond.Travel with Creamer as Globe Star sails around the perilous Horn, across the dangerous and tumultuous Tasman Sea, and into an active war zone. Sail around the world with a man who was taken prisoner by an idea, a man obsessed with proving a point, and who would let neither 40-foot waves nor fractious crewmembers deter him.
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