BOATS
- 270 p., [8] leaves of plates : ill. ; 24 cm. #311023 First Edition
- (Very Good+ in edge worn dustjacket)
- Gau, Jean, 1902-
- Atom (Ketch)
- Jean Gau was a French navigator , born in Sérignan ( Hérault ) and died onin Pézenas ( Hérault ) 1 .At the age of 25, this winegrower’s son having had some run-ins with the law 2 left everything for New York , took American nationality and became a cook in great restaurants. In 1931, after two years of saving money, he bought a 12-meter schooner: the Onda II . He waited four years 3 before sailing long-distance, running aground in Spain , at the entrance to Cadiz, after his first crossing of the Atlantic in 1937 .
In 1945, he bought an 11 meter Tahiti Ketch which he named Atom , his trips were not quiet cruises and he was confronted with all sorts of incidents which were sometimes serious.
He, who initially knew nothing about navigation, gradually became a specialist, which did not prevent him during his first world tour ( 1953-1957) from almost crashing into an island 4 , to be carried away by a wave and to flirt with the reefs of Warriors , during his 2nd world tour (1962-1968), he drifted for 3 days in the Pacific , capsized near the Cape of Good Hope and fails on the rocks of Warriors. “ Being alone at sea for weeks, months, doesn’t bother me at all. He explains 2 . Far from the constraints of civilization, I feel like another man. Besides, I am not alone, to tell the truth and consider my ship as a living, intelligent and sensitive being. This assembly of wood, iron and canvas becomes a living thing under the action of the wind. I love him like a good servant, like a rider loves his horse, in a word, like a friend .”
During his stops, he will meet 5 among others Moitessier , Errol Flynn and Winston Churchill . In total he will have crossed the Atlantic ten times.
Characteristics of its boats
Onda II (1931-1937)
- length: 12.00 m
- width: 2.50 m
- draft: 2.00 m
- sail area: 65 square meters
- Material: mahogany
Atom (1945-1973) length: 8.98 m
- width: 3.05 m
- draft: 1.22 m
- weight: 8.5 t
- sail area: 82.50 square meters
- type of sailboat: Tahiti Ketch
- Architect: John Hannah
- Boatbuilder: Bjorn Egeli [Bjorn Egeli]