Rough Passage

By Commander RD Graham

Sailing, February 2007:

“Tales of cruising adventures share much in common. The storyteller sets off in a boat to far-off lands, faces the challenges of the sea, meets interesting people and sees new places. Yet some of these stories stand apart because of the unique perspective of the writer, and such is the case with Robert Douglas Graham’s Rough Passage.

“Published in 1936 and reissued in 2005, the book chronicles the author’s voyage from Falmouth, England, to Newfoundland and Labrador, then on to Bermuda and back home via the Azores. Although there are plenty of scenes filled with action, the main attraction for readers is the opportunity to glimpse what it was like to cruise long before the pursuit attained its present popularity and technological advances made passagemaking more comfortable, easier and safer. Turning the pages imparts a real sense of just how tough it was to cruise in the 1930s and the amount of sheer pluck and skill required of anyone intent upon trying it.

“Graham owned a fruit farm and was in financial trouble. He simply wanted to escape for a while. As he says, he couldn’t afford a cruise on a luxury liner. Instead, he chose to sail solo on EMANUEL, his 30-foot gaff-rigged cutter. She was a stout craft, but quite confined with a beam of just over 8 feet, freeboard of only 2 feet, and headroom in the main cabin a scant 5 feet, 4 inches.

“As the story progresses, Graham’s stiff-upper-lip attitude when confronted with hardship and fear becomes plain. He writes in a straightforward, candid style rife with understatement. After running aground entering a rock-infested harbor in Newfoundland, he got the boat off, anchored, and went to sleep only to find water sloshing over the cabin sole when he awoke. ‘Rather alarming,’ he writes.

“He spent much of the summer cruising Newfoundland and Labrador. His descriptions of the coast provide a view into the past when yachts were a novelty and sailors drew crowds of curious onlookers. He also reveals the difficulties he faced in navigating when he couldn’t obtain accurate fixes with his sextant. His dead reckoning was often off. With no engine, calms posed a problem, as did contrary winds when making port.

“In the fall, Graham fell ill due to a rare form of blood poisoning. He recovered, but it was late October and had to make a decision. He couldn’t afford to lay the boat up and take a steamer home, nor did he want to. Instead, he set off from Newfoundland in early November bound for Bermuda. It is this section of the narrative that led to the title of the book, and rightfully so. Certain passages are hair-raising and reveal in stark detail just how risky taking a small boat to sea at that time of year can be.

“It would spoil the narrative to say too much about what happened to Graham as he struggled to reach Bermuda, but it is worth noting that a good number of modern sailors probably would have activated their EPIRBs and waited for rescue. Graham, of course, didn’t have that option.

“In spite of some slow going in places, such as the slow going in places, such as the tacked on sections highlighting a sail to the Faeroe Islands and the restoration of EMANUEL, Rough Passage is a fine read and worthy of a look. Fans of classic cruising yarns won’t be disappointed.”

Sailing, December 2006:

“Rough Passage is the story of one man, Royal Navy Commander Robert Graham, his boat, a seven ton, 30ft cutter named EMANUEL, and their epic return transatlantic crossing.

“The year was 1934, and Commander Graham’s single-handed route took him from Falmouth to Labrador, then on to Bermuda for the Winter, before returning to England via the Azores. All this was without the advantage of the electronic navigation systems of today, or any of the many modern high-tech sailing aids. Throw in the roughest of passages at times, and his own health fears, and you have quite a tale. Rough Passage was first published in 1936.

“But there is more to this book than his solo transatlantic crossing. Five years earlier, his daughter Helen, then aged 17, accompanied him on EMANUEL, as they sailed up the Irish Sea through the Sound of Mull to Stornoway. She tells the story in the second part of this book, entitled ‘The Adventure of the Faroe Islands.’

“And we’re not done yet, for lastly, there is the account of the recent restoration of EMANUEL, which was designed in 1922 but commenced building only in 1926, when Commander Graham first set his eyes on her. After Graham, there were many owners, and EMANUEL eventually looked very much the worse for wear and neglect. Then Robert Holden found her. It took him eight years to bring her ‘into the twenty-first century’ and allow the ‘little yacht’ to take her place in Britain’s maritime heritage.”

White Ensign Association, 2005/06:

A new edition of the seafaring classic book on the voyages of Commander Graham in the 30 foot yacht EMANUEL. He sailed alone in 1934 to Newfoundland, cruised the coast of Labrador then down to Bermuda before crossing the Atlantic to Poole Harbour. This edition includes an account of the recent restoration of the yacht EMANUEL. An exciting voyage and all well told.

"Commander Graham set sail in 1934 on a single voyage from Falmouth, England to Labrador aboard his 30ft. cutter, EMANUEL. On his return passage via Bermuda he was confronted with heavy gales which tested his, and the boat's, limits. This is the story of that voyage, plus more, including the restoration of EMANUEL to her original state."

From Classic Boat, November 2005:

"Many readers will know this extraordinary book, first published in 1936, of an early single-handed Atlantic crossing in the 30ft (9.1m) gaff cutter EMANUEL. Cdr Robert Douglas Graham was already an accomplished cruising sailor when he bought EMANUEL in 1928, having served in the Royal Navy since 1902.

"The writing by Robert Graham is straightforward, disarmingly so, and practical, and this remains a great book for anyone planning such a cruise (by the northern route to Labrador). While the factual stuff, "I purchased an oil bag and a supply of oil for pouring on the water during storms and replaced the defective parts of the patent log" is still quite handy, it is his overcoming of adversity that inspires. At one point during a particularly rough passage, he finds the yacht filling with water and refers to her "jesting motto": England is an overcrowded country anyway. It's a sanguine account of some very difficult offshore sailing."

• For more information, see Rough Passage in our catalog.