Book summary

Peter Nichols restores a rundown wooden boat with his wife and sails across the Atlantic with her. Then, his marriage on the rocks, he sails home alone, which gives him plenty of time to think about what went wrong, to reminisce about the boat's restoration, and to experience a profound loneliness. He writes about all these things, and more, in this memoir of the experience.

Media reviews

"Nichols...is a real sailor whose affinity for his boat seems to have been absolute....As he sails Toad toward his destination in Maine, as he discovers the joys and fears of sailing alone and as the boat responds doughtily to the ocean's challenges, he conveys with real acuity what wooden boats and those who sail them are all about. His story ends in a surprising but apt way....Peter Nichols takes a darker, less certain turn. In that respect as in others, his book comes closer to human experience and truth."