Encounters of a Wayward Sailor

By Tristan Jones

Fishing Boat World, December 1996:

“Jones was an absolutely full-time mariner who lived aboard various boats virtually from the age of fourteen. He was a prolific author, who wrote at length and entertainingly about his many adventures.

“This book is a collection of his articles and short stories that, in this reviewer’s view, makes for even more than normally interesting Jones’ reading.

SAIL, June 1996:

"Much of Tristan Jones's writing was about Tristan Jones, adventurer. So it seems only fitting that his sixteenth book, Encounters of a Wayward Sailor, published just months after his death, should be about Tristan Jones, philosopher.

"Reflecting on his 56 years at sea, Jones recalled ports and passages, gales and calms, heroes and 'people I would sail 10,000 miles off-course to avoid.'

"What did he learn? For one thing, 'To trust — not the sea, but the boat.' For another, 'Self-pity never helped anyone beat off a lee shore.' This from a man who eventually had both legs amputated. And perhaps the most useful lesson of all: 'What's anyone's life worth if you don't do what you were created to do?'

Jones was created to tell yarns — some lovable, some laughable, many not quite believable. Yet he communicated what it means to be a sailor. Recognizing that electronics have vastly improved navigation — 'using a sextant was never an easy task, and neither was the result often accurate' — he was nevertheless able to express how that age-old symbol of the navigator's art can affect one's view of the world. 'It's not merely a method of finding one's way,' he said. 'It is an extension of our minds into the heavens, and an extension of our minds into the past, so that for a while we are contemporaries of the long-dead.' He said, too, that it is always painful to watch the life we are departing. Especially painful, perhaps, for one who lived as colorful a life as Jones. For those left behind, there is the consolation of this final volume from one who was truly a wayward sailor."

Yachting World, May 1996:

"To open a book by Tristan Jones is to enter a world of deep and unalloyed satisfaction. Breathtaking descriptions of the sea, whether mountainous waves or calm tropical anchorages, an encyclopedic knowledge gained from a career which began at age 14 aboard sailing barges, friendships with other true seafarers like Moitessier and Tilman, indomitable courage — it's all here. This is a marvelous collection of episodes gathered together, in affectionate memory, by his literary agent, Richard Curtis.

"For people who have never read Tristan Jones (who died in Thailand in 1995) this book is an excellent and gripping introduction. For cruising folk it is an essential bedside/bunkside book."

Excerpted from Sailing Inland and Offshore, April 1996:

“Tristan Jones was one of the most prolific and best-loved authors of sailing stories. A Welshman, he left school at the age of 14 to work on sailing barges and spent the rest of his life at sea – in the Royal Navy, as a delivery skipper, and as a daring adventurer in search of seagoing challenges. The author of 16 books, Jones lived in Phuket, Thailand for ten years until his death in June 1995.

“Encounters of a Wayward Sailor is a new collection of yarns, reminiscences and adventures never before published in book form. Drawing on experiences from a lifetime at sea, Jones uses his acute powers of observation and his gift with the written word to transport us aboard boats struggling through savage gales, sweltering through parched calms, and sliding down the trade winds through beautiful phosphorescent seas.

“In this book, readers meet famous mountain climber and sailing adventurer Bill Tillman, long-distance voyager and writer Bernard Moitessier, and pioneering woman sailor Clare Francis, as well as a panoply of memorable characters who inevitably crossed Jones’ path.”

Cruising World, April 1996:

“Encounters of a Wayward Sailor, a new collection of sailing yarns by the late Tristan Jones. With humor and pathos Jones relates stories of sailing adventurers Bernard Moitessier, Clare Francis and Bill Tilman, and presents an interesting array of boats, people, paces and voyages that helped shape the indomitable sailor’s life.”

Lloyd's List, February 1996:

"Tristan Jones, who died in June 1995, has an international following for his 16 books and numerous shorter writings. His fans appreciate his indomitable spirit, his Celtic flair for vivid narrative and his subtle imagination. It was typical of the warm humanist he was that he spent the last 10 years of his life helping handicapped children in Thailand.

"This collection of his writings spans all his sailing life since he left school at 14. After naval service he acquired his own boat and began a series of nautical adventures that took him to the Arctic, Lake Titicaca, the tropics and everywhere in between.

"On the way he met many fascinating people, some notable, some notorious and many more who were admirable though unknown human beings. These were the kind he warmed to and understood.

"Here we meet some of these worthy humans, like Clare Francis, Bernard Moitessier and Bill Tilman. We share with him some of the remarkable and beautiful places he has visited, the places he liked best and those he loathed, his adventures scary and inspiring. We are instructed by his sea-lore and the wisdom he gained from his experience of life. This is one of those books to pick up any time and be engrossed in."