Aka

By Tristan Jones

Latitudes & Attitudes, July/August 1999:

“This is a seafaring tale about a middle aged man’s last ditch attempt to win status and success by entering a single-hand around the world race. He falls overboard, and as he fights to stay alive, encounters a pod of migrating dolphin, including one named Aka. A stirring adventure by a true adventurer.”

Midwest Book Review, January 1999:

“In a last-ditch effort to win status and success, middle-aged adventurer Bill Conan enters a 30,000-mile, single-handed race to sail around the world. This ultimate nautical test of skill, strength and endurance leads him across the vast expanse of the treacherous Atlantic Ocean, where a sudden change in wind throws him off balance and sends him overboard. Alone in the still, open sea he fights to keep from drowning, knowing it is a fight that he must eventually lose. But Conan has fallen into the migratory path of a bottle-nosed dolphin named Aka and his tribe. In an exhilarating encounter, they sense Conan's plight, communicate with him, and work to keep him afloat and alive. A stirring adventure tale, Aka is also an unforgettable portrait of the ancient history of dolphins, their extraordinary traits and abilities, and the ancient friendship with humans. Tristan Jones is a very experienced sailor who began his relationship with the sea by working on sailing barges at the age of fourteen.”

WoodenBoat, November/December 1998:

“A novel about a participant in a single-handed race around the world who falls overboard and is saved by a gang of bottle-nosed dolphins.”

• For more information, see Aka in our catalog.