The Hard Way Around
A cursory overview of Geoffrey Wolff鈥檚 biographies 鈥� 鈥滲lack Sun: The Brief Transit and Violent Eclipse of Harry Crosby,鈥� 鈥淭he Art of Burning Bridges: A Life of John O鈥橦ara,鈥� and 鈥淭he Duke of Deception,鈥� about his unreliable father 鈥� reveals his predilection for writing about fascinating but difficult men. Joshua Slocum, the legendary sailor profiled in The Hard Way Around, fits right into Wolff鈥檚 belligerent lineup.
Slocum is best remembered as the first person to circumnavigate the globe solo. He set sail from Massachusetts in 1895 on the Spray, an unusual, remodeled 37-foot sloop, and returned home three years, two months, two days, and 46,000 miles later. (His route was indirect and punctuated by long stopovers.) It was a feat that wouldn鈥檛 be repeated for another 25 years.
As impressive as Wolff finds Slocum鈥檚 nautical prowess, he is even more bowled over by his literary skills. Slocum documented his solo voyage in his third book, 鈥淪ailing Alone Around the World,鈥� published in 1900. 鈥淭he Hard Way Around鈥� is in large part a tribute to this book. Wolff remembers its profound impact when he first read it 50 years ago: 鈥淗aving meant to read a sea adventure ... I stumbled on this run of language, bearing its load so easily, and the emotional burden it discharges so cunningly. Taking my breath away, it made me feel what I can only describe as love.鈥�
He adds, 鈥淭o read Slocum is to understand why George Plimpton, in a charming personal essay about the most intriguing men and women known to history, wrote that Slocum would be one of the few he鈥檇 bring back from the grave to share a dinner and conversation.鈥�
That鈥檚 high praise, and it鈥檚 a tribute to Wolff鈥檚 own narrative powers that his readers aren鈥檛 tempted to put his book aside for Slocum鈥檚. Good thing, too, because Slocum鈥檚 life was filled with adventures about which, as Wolff points out, 鈥渉e鈥檇 been too busy to write.鈥�
Right after his mother鈥檚 death, 16-year-old Slocum left the harsh life of 鈥渇ull-time Dickensian labor鈥� 鈥� farming and cobbling shoes for his severe father in Nova Scotia 鈥� to become a seaman. The profession he joined, maritime commerce on wooden sailing vessels, was already doomed by steam and iron. But in a world of drunken, conscripted sailors, he rose quickly, commanding his own ship by 25. Wolff likens Slocum鈥檚 rare gift for navigation to perfect pitch in music.
In 1871, after 11 years at sea, Slocum was lucky enough to meet and marry a fellow adventurer and soulmate, Virginia Walker, the daughter of a gold prospector. For the next 13 years, until her death at 34 off the Buenos Aires coast, Virginia traveled with him through tempests, mutinies, and the loss of three of their seven children, turning his ships into 鈥渉en frigates.鈥� 鈥淭he Hard Way Around鈥� celebrates this rare marriage, barely mentioned in Slocum鈥檚 writings.
One of the many pleasures of Wolff鈥檚 book is its rich seafaring terminology. We learn that 鈥渨illiwaws鈥� are 鈥渆xplosive gusts peculiar to mountainous fjords,鈥漚nd 鈥渁 larrikin鈥� is 鈥渁 wise guy and a loafer.鈥� 鈥淧aying homage to Neptune鈥� is a euphemism for vomiting from seasickness, while 鈥渟kipping along with a bone in her teeth鈥� refers to 鈥渢he benign bow wave that announced a vessel traveling near her maximum hull speed.鈥�
Wolff charts Slocum鈥檚 restless, quixotic career, from boat to boat, port to port, and disaster to disaster. At one point he pauses for a recap: 鈥淭he tally thus far for Joshua Slocum at the age of 45: He had lost to death three infant children and his first wife. He had lost to shipwreck two clippers, been charged with cruel imprisonment of one crew member and the murder of another. His second wife, Hettie, in sympathy with that seasick sailor of the Odyssey, wished to flee so far inland that local citizens wouldn鈥檛 recognize the purpose of an oar. He was broke. The age of sail had ended. The captain was, that is, entirely at sea.鈥�
Despite Slocum鈥檚 multiple misfortunes and his notorious stubbornness and hot temper, Wolff remains resolutely admiring of this legend of adventure, who disappeared at sea sometime after 1908. As for the reader, by the time Wolff gets to Slocum鈥檚 solo voyage 鈥� 鈥渢he nautical equivalent of Walden鈥� 鈥� after all the mutinies, assaults, lawsuits, epidemics, and jail time, we鈥檙e relieved that the contentious captain sailed on his own steam, even if he always, as Wolff鈥檚 title suggests, took the hard way around.
Heller McAlpin, a freelance critic in New York, is a frequent Monitor contributor.
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