MEMORIES OF THE OPEN SEA
Éric Tabarly
Translated by Robert Pralle
Éric Tabarly (1931-98) became a legend in international sailing from the moment he won the second single-handed Transatlantic, vanquishing the 1960 winner, Sir Francis Chichester. The legend was secured by a 'comeback' victory in the race's 1976 edition. It is this heroic twelve year period of success (and failure) aboard the revolutionary designs, Pen Duick(s) II – VI that lies at the heart of his engagingly direct autobiography.
Decorated and fêted in France, he was 'Éric the Silent', the single-handed sailor and captain who led by example.
His death came one year after the publication of Mémoires du large (Éditions de Fallois), when he was swept overboard en route to the centenary celebrations of Pen Duick's construction in Fairlie, Scotland. The gaff-rigged cutter always remained close to the retired naval officer's heart; it is his book too...