First Voyage

A Circumnavigation in the 1970s

By: Bruce MacDonald

Narrated by: Bruce MacDonald

Forty years ago, Bruce and Liz MacDonald along with their young son, Jeff, set off in a 31-foot boat on what would become a three-year circumnavigation of the world. The idea for the voyage was born in 1971 when they had no jobs, very little money, and had never even sailed. Against all reason, they laid out a five-year plan that would, they hoped, put them in a position to make their dream a reality. Incredibly, it all worked out almost exactly as they'd scripted it.

It wasn't simple though. Circumstances allowed them only a few months to find a boat and prepare it for the voyage, and although the boat they found was essentially seaworthy, much of the gear that came with it was not. A harrowing first offshore passage nearly scuttled the whole enterprise.

No mere travelogue or sanitized logbook, the book—mostly written during the voyage—chronicles their frustrations and uncertainties as they deal with the inevitable problems involved in preparing the boat; it also gives a surprisingly candid and realistic look at what it's like at sea in a small boat with a small crew, as they confront their fears and doubts and struggle to adapt to life in an incredibly demanding environment. For them, the experience is as much a mental trip as a physical journey, an aspect of voyaging that's seldom explored in any depth in published accounts.

The personal struggle is central, but MacDonald also offers insightful—and sometimes humorous—glimpses into the cultures and societies they visit, many of which at that time were teetering on the edge of the modern world. From an impromptu evening of Polynesian dancing in the Marquesas, to drinking yangona with the firewalkers in Fiji, to speaking Pidgin with villagers in the New Hebrides, to the hectic confusion of Indonesia in places like Kupang and Bali, to South Africa before the end of apartheid, it offers glimpses of a passing world.

Follow along as they gradually pull the boat and themselves together and bring the voyage to a successful conclusion. It was 40 years ago, but it's still a heck of an adventure.

©2016 Bruce MacDonald (P)2022 Bruce MacDonald