A book for those who have ever been young, muddled or wanting adventure.
During 'lockdown', Michel Chapman Pincher received a surprise package - a logbook of a sailing trip he'd made across the Atlantic 47 years ago – one he thought log-lost. Returned by a young love who found it in a keepsake box in her attic, Michael was inspired to tell a tale never told before.
'I'd kept the adventure to myself as I know old sailors become pub bores but rereading the diary entries brought my rite of passage back to life. It was an intense time as I had never sailed before and was on a small boat with an irascible skipper running away from Ireland with his mistress, not to mention the cat.'
Taking the opportunity of lockdown, Michael wrote up the clash of a free-loving, dope-smoking hippy with the class prejudice, racial stereotyping and failed tweedy attitudes of his 'elders and betters' in the confines of a 37' cruising yacht, heading for the Caribbean. It was worth the effort as Lilliput Press, Dublin, is publishing it this April in a handsomely printed gatefold cover.
Long Lost Log: Diary of a Virgin Sailor is witty, charming, and proof that some risks are worth taking. This once-in-a-lifetime adventure is easy to read - the story flows from one event to another. Long Lost Log is a true story, written like a novel – a rollicking page-turner written with verve, keen observations and sparkling with wry humour.
A beautifully crafted book, multi-layered and bravely written, Long Lost Log has many interesting insights into the skills and craft of sailing and the broader history of the day. Chapman Pincher describes the people he meets and the voyage he makes with incredible clarity and of the moment. Set in the 1970s, Long Lost Log is a period book for the nostalgic traveller and the armchair adventurer of any age.
Available in Paperback, eBook and Audiobook format Long Lost Log is available on 28 April.