By Captain Joshua Slocum

The voyage - which started in one ship and ended in another - began when Slocum was hauling freight along the east coast of South America in 1886-1887. His vessel - the Aquidneck - ran aground, stranding Slocum, his wife and two sons, and a crew of ten. Using hand tools and what he could salvage from the wreckage, the determined seafarer built another craft, the Liberdade. He described the 35-foot-long boat as "half Cape Ann Dory and half Japanese sampan." Once at sea, the ship's passengers and crew faced terrifying obstacles: swift currents, hurricane-force winds, surging seas, and marauding sharks. The terrors and triumph of the voyage are brought to vivid life in this extraordinary first-hand account of a "brave little craft," and its courageous crew.