# Sailing Alone Around the World — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum.

- [Dedication](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/dedication.md): A brief dedication to an unnamed person who expressed faith in the Spray's return.
- [Sailing Alone Around the World](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/sailing-alone-around-the-world.md): This chapter from 'Sailing Alone Around the World' captures the essence of Captain Joshua Slocum's solo circumnavigation. It highlights his departure from Boston, the rebuilding of the Spray, and his encounters with vari
- [Chapter I: The Rebuilding of the Spray](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/i.md): Captain Joshua Slocum recounts his early life and maritime career, leading to his decision to rebuild the old sloop Spray in Fairhaven. With the help of friends and his own craftsmanship, he transforms the derelict vesse
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/ii.md): Captain Slocum spends time fishing off the coast, then decides to embark on a voyage around the world. He departs Boston on April 24, 1895, sails to Gloucester for supplies, and then to Nova Scotia, where he visits old f
- [Goodbye to the American Coast](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/iii.md): Slocum departs from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on July 2, 1895, beginning his solo Atlantic crossing. He navigates through fog, encounters a full moon that becomes a companion, and battles loneliness. He meets the barkantine
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/iv.md): Captain Slocum departs from Horta in the Azores, facing squally weather and a bout of illness caused by overindulging in plums and cheese. In a delirious state, he imagines the ghostly pilot of Columbus's Pinta guiding t
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/v.md): The Spray departs Gibraltar with the aid of a tug, setting course for the Atlantic and ultimately Cape Horn. Slocum narrowly escapes a Moorish pirate felucca when a squall dismasts the attacker. He sails past the Canary 
- [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/vi.md): After being stranded on the coast of Uruguay, Slocum refloats the Spray with the help of the tide and trades with locals. He sails to Montevideo, where he receives generous assistance, then to Buenos Aires with Captain H
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/vii.md): The Spray departs Buenos Aires, faces a treacherous storm in the River Plate, and a massive wave that nearly swamps her. She then enters the Strait of Magellan, enduring gales and navigating through dangerous waters, wit
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/viii.md): Captain Slocum departs from Port Tamar, aiming for Cape Pillar and the Pacific, but is caught in a violent storm that drives him toward Cape Horn. After days of battling the tempest, he sights land and navigates through 
- [Repairing the Spray's Sails](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/ix.md): After the great gale, Captain Slocum repairs the Spray's sails using his own resources. He encounters hostile Fuegian savages, narrowly escapes an ambush, and receives provisions from the steamship Colombia. He salvages 
- [Chapter X: Juan Fernandez and the Fuegian Arrow](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/x.md): After a harrowing passage through the Strait of Magellan, Slocum sails the Spray to Juan Fernandez, the island of Robinson Crusoe. He encounters a friendly 'king' and learns of a war between Chile and Argentina. Before r
- [Chapter XI: The Voyage Through the Trade-Winds and the Marquesas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xi.md): Captain Slocum describes his solitary voyage through the trade-winds, relying on intuition and celestial navigation. He reflects on the companionship of his books and the natural world, and details his successful lunar o
- [Seventy-two Days Without a Port](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xii.md): Captain Slocum recounts his long, solitary voyage from Juan Fernandez to Samoa, a passage of seventy-two days without touching port. He describes encounters with whales and sharks, his simple diet of potatoes, cod, and f
- [Chapter XIII: Australia and Tasmania](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xiii.md): Captain Slocum arrives in Melbourne, Australia, where he exhibits a shark to pay port charges. He then sails to Tasmania, where he rests and explores while the Spray is cared for by local children. After visiting Sydney,
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xiv.md): Captain Slocum receives a generous gift from an anonymous lady, cruises around Tasmania, delivers his first lecture, and then sails northward along the Australian coast. He encounters a distressed yacht, the Akbar, whose
- [Chapter XV: The Arafura Sea and the Voyage to Keeling Cocos](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xv.md): Captain Slocum departs from Booby Island, crossing the Arafura Sea with its phosphorescent displays, and reflects on his past and the changing times. He stops at Thursday Island for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, witnessin
- [Chapter XVI: Rodriguez and the Keeling Cocos](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xvi.md): Captain Slocum arrives at Rodriguez, where he is initially mistaken for the Antichrist due to a local prophecy. He is warmly received by Governor Roberts and his family, and enjoys hospitality on the island. Later, he vi
- [XVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xvii.md): Captain Slocum arrives at Mauritius, where he is given a clean bill of health and enjoys the hospitality of the island. He gives a talk at the opera-house, meets various officials, and has the Spray refitted. He then sai
- [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xviii.md): The Spray departs from South Africa, reflecting on the voyage and the Cape of Good Hope. After a pleasant stay at Cape Town, including a railway trip to the Transvaal and visits from Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, the Spray s
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xix.md): The Spray arrives at St. Helena, where Captain Slocum is welcomed by Governor Sterndale. He gives lectures, stays in a haunted room at Plantation House, and visits Longwood, Napoleon's exile home. After leaving St. Helen
- [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xx.md): Captain Slocum navigates the Spray through the Caribbean, facing a terrifying false alarm of a coral reef that turns out to be the lighthouse on Trinidad. He visits several islands, including Grenada and Antigua, where h
- [XXI: Clearing for Home](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/xxi.md): Captain Slocum clears from the U.S. consulate and sets sail for home, crossing the calm belt of the horse latitudes and enduring a series of gales. The jibstay breaks in a storm, but he manages to repair it. Off Fire Isl
- [Appendix](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/appendix.md): In this appendix, Captain Joshua Slocum provides detailed technical specifications of the Spray, including her lines, sail-plan, and steering gear. He explains how the vessel was rebuilt from an old sloop, her dimensions
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/endnotes.md): This chapter consists of endnotes providing additional context and corrections to the main narrative. It clarifies historical details, such as the date of Alexander Selkirk's death, and offers supplementary observations 
- [List of Illustrations](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters/list-of-illustrations.md): This chapter is a list of illustrations and charts that document the Spray's circumnavigation, including maps of her course, plans of her cabin and deck, and diagrams of her rigging and steering gear.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sailing_alone_around_the_world_se/chapters