The Biggest Boat I Could Afford

By Lee Hughes

What could make a man want to sail solo 2,500 miles up the east coast of the U.S. in a dinghy not much bigger than a king-size bed? How about a creeping mid-life crisis, the terrifying prospect of commitment, and a redheaded girlfriend's inadvertent dare? All of these things confronted Lee Hughes, and he suddenly found himself starting a most unusual adventure with the intent to conquer his lifelong fear of the sea.. Fate led him to a 16' open Wayfarer dinghy, literally the biggest boat he could afford. Equipped with a 3.3 HP engine and a pair of sails, but lacking a cabin, galley, bunk, head, or electricity, she treated her new skipper to all the joys of a normal camping trip (rain, bugs, cold, solitude, baked beans) but with a vastly improved chance of drowning.

This book tells Lee Hughes' story as he makes his way up the Intracoastal Waterway, learning the ways of the sea by trial and error. He encounters thunderstorms and hail, unpredictable wind and wave conditions, snapping rudders, leaky tents, and tigers in a shopping mall. He is beached, swamped, wrecked, rained on, bitten by insects, and he panics more than once, but is sustained throughout by the kindness of strangers and the friendliness of the American people. By journey's end, not only has he become a sailor, but he has also discovered what's important to him—and conquered more than one fear.

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About the Authors:
Lee Hughes, a Kiwi adventurer and writer, confesses to having been a fair to middling gunner, a paratrooper, a staff officer in the New Zealand army, a bungee-jumping instructor, a cowboy, a surly bartender, and a gas-pump jockey. He started sailing to overcome his "last fear" — the water. This is his third non-fiction book, and the first to be published in the United States. He lives in hiding and on credit.

See our Travel & Adventure Section.

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