Solo: A Thousand Miles from Anywhere

Dave Clarke is an inveterate adventurer: a man with an incurable desire to test his physical and mental limits against the forces of nature. He has a passionate relationship with rugged country and wild oceans, constantly seeking out new challenges where he is able to commune with the natural world and find solace and freedom from the constraints of a busy working life. One of his favourite environments is the deep ocean; as he puts it, one of the last great wildernesses and one that can never be tamed. From an early age he drew inspiration from the sea and the men who took their living from it. Self-taught in sailing skills, he sailed solo and unsupported from Falmouth to Barbados across the great North Atlantic in one of the smallest boats to ever make the journey; described by Sir Ranulph Fiennes as a story that turned a dream into a life-changing reality. And now Dave has another adventure to relate. In Solo: A Thousand Miles from Anywhere he again hears the siren call of the great oceans and attempts to row single-handed and unsupported the three thousand mile journey across the Atlantic - despite never having rowed a boat in his life. This book is about that adventure. Of the year-long struggle to find the funds, the problems of boat design and construction, the frustrations of bureaucracy, the heartbreak of leaving his family for many months, the pain and joy of ocean rowing and the eventual success that brought its own difficult re-adjustments. Solo is the inspiring story of an ordinary man who refused to let go of his dream. Written with humour, self-deprecation and deep insights that can only come when you’re on your own - a thousand miles from anywhere.