ABSTRACT
When, on his return in 1898, Captain Joshua Slocum entitled the account of his solo circumnavigation Sailing Alone around the World, he referred explicitly to the experience of venturing out as a single-handed sailor. From today’s point of view the title also implies that when Slocum set off with his 36-foot “Spray,” both captain and craft were the first and only of their kind. Since then the number of yachts circling the globe has increased dramatically. Especially over the last 30 years, thanks to technological developments like GPS, cruising has become more feasible for less experienced sailors and thus increasingly popular. None of today’s cruisers could or would claim to be sailing alone any longer, even those who cruise single-handed. However, contemporary circumnavigators do still sail in Slocum’s wake. His book has become one of the classics of the cruising literature and key reading for long-distance cruisers. Moreover, there has not been much change in the chosen course. In the following chapter I will discuss the causes and consequences of the fact that often today’s cruisers still visit many of the islands and harbors which Slocum did in his days.
