To Challenge a Distant Sea: The Life and Voyages of Jean Gau, who sailed alone more than any man.

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 February 17, 1902in Sérignan ( Hérault ) and died onFebruary 14, 1979in 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]