"A gripping compendium of noteworthy small-boat voyages made over the centuries."

--John Harland, author of Seamanship in the Age of Sail

A Speck on the Sea chronicles the greatest ocean voyages attempted in the littlest boats. These feats include:

• Diego Mendezs voyage to rescue Columbus

• William Okeley's escape from slavery in a folding rowboat

• Ernest Shackleton's death-cheating journeys

• And more

In A Speck on the Sea, William Longyard reaches back through five centuries to gather a collection of sea adventures in which the smallest, unlikeliest craft--and the daring individuals aboard them--completed extraordinary voyages against great odds.

From canoes and small sailboats to a pair of strap-to-your-feet pontoons, the watercraft in these true stories make nearly as varied a collection as the mariners who piloted them. The intrepid seafarers and their feats of seamanship include:

*Ed Gillet's kite-powered transpacific kayak voyage
*Gladys Gradely's 1902 quest to become the first woman to solo the Atlantic
*Ben Lecomte's swim across an ocean for love
*Hugo Vihlen's 1968 ocean crossing in the 6-foot sailboat April Fool
*Peter Bird's tragic attempt to row across the Pacific
*And scores more

Whether driven by desperation, adventure, or a desire for fame and fortune, the risktakers in these stories show what vast oceans can be crossed in tiny contrivances by those who dare.