Wayward Sailor: The real Tristan Jones is as interesting as the fiction

I read Tristan Jones’ book Incredible Voyage

as a kid. It was a rollicking tale about a yacht voyage from the Dead Sea to Lake Titicaca. This adventure had everything from evading pirates in the Middle East, hauling a yacht into the Andes (chased by customs officers) and a voyage down the Amazon River.

I also remember reading his later book Ice!

(tales of sailing in the Artic) and, more vaguely, Saga of a Wayward Sailor

. His writing was wonderful, his achievements remarkable but it’s been a long time since I last thought of Tristan Jones.

I don’t remember if I stumbled upon this book myself or the, lets face it spookily accurate, Amazon Recommends suggested it. Wayward Sailor starts out as a straight forward biography of a great sailor/writer but becomes revealing insight into the man, the myth, that was Tristan Jones.

I won’t spoil it by revealing more but can recommend Wayward Sailor. Although it doesn’t hold back from revealing the truth of Tristan’s work & life it is not a character assassination. If anything I think more of him, certainly his writing skill, knowing the real story.

If you’ve read Tristan Jones other books you’ll learn a great deal more about the author than they reveal. If you haven’t it’s a great introduction into the strange mix of fact & fiction that is Tristan Jones. Whatever the truth, all  his books are a great read.

Wayward Sailor: In Search of the Real Tristan Jones