“You’d have to be mad to want to go there” is a possible reaction to the complex and dangerous business of high latitude cruising in the Southern hemisphere. Paul Heiney and the RCCPF’s book however is a masterpiece of clear thinking, advance planning (start getting the paperwork for Antarctica nine months ahead), exceptional seamanship and wide ranging interest in the natural world. It’s a composite work, bringing previous publications together and drawing on the observations of many intrepid adventurers as well as Heiney’s personal experience (as described in One Wild Song). The section on Antarctica is limited – one guesses there’ll be more to come from the RCCPF here. Meanwhile this is a must-have book, indispensable for expedition planning but also eye-openingly interesting to those remaining firmly in home waters.
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