Abstract
In Taming the Atlantic, Dag Pike, a maritime journalist who has raced across the Atlantic, evaluated RNLI lifeboats and written widely on navigation, weather forecasting and cruising recounts the long history of man’s perilous relationship with an ocean he describes as the toughest in the world.
Although he may not have intended it, Pike presents us with one book in two parts. In the first he sweeps across millennia of Atlantic history beginning with the mythical tales of early Egyptians, Irish and others venturing out on the ocean and then brings us to the Viking arrival in North America, European exploration, colonial expansion, packet ships, steam, the floating palaces of the Edwardian era, concluding with the appearance of the commercial jet which doomed the transatlantic ocean liner.
Devoting nearly half of his book to retelling Atlantic history was not the best use of Pike’s extraordinary talent and experience. Few people are better able than Pike to describe the ‘heart-stopping, knuckle-whitening moments’ (p. 1) involved in Atlantic crossings, and so it is in the second part of the book, when he turns to these topics, that he finds a better course.
Finally getting a handle on his subject, Pike describes the magnificent nineteenth century yachts crossing to compete for the America’s Cup. After the yachts came eccentrics such as Donovan and Spencer, two Americans who in 1864 left New York in Vision, a 14 foot boat, with their dog Toby. They have not been heard from since. After Vision, Nonpareil, the first inflatable, made a successful crossing. On and on in a continuous parade, crafts of nearly every description including rowing boats, rafts and other unconventional vessels ventured across. Some adventurers were well prepared, but unfortunately, others, mainly publicity seekers, left unprepared. Of those who cast off a few succeeded, some turned back, and many were lost. Nonetheless, these were, as Pike correctly, notes remarkable feats of seamanship and endurance.
In more recent times a variety of historically minded sailor/historians have undertaken Atlantic crossings sailing in replicas of ancient vessels attempting to prove who was the first to reach America. Among them are Thor Heyerdahl who crossed in Ra II, a papyrus raft, to assert a claim for an Egyptian crossing, and Tim Severin sailing in the currach Brendan to give evidence for an Irish landing in North America. Beyond providing material for books and movies, however, such recreated voyages proved very little.
Survival was the goal for those who sailed or rowed small boats across the Atlantic. No matter how long it took, by relying on muscle and canvas the mere act of arriving was a singular triumph. Modern Atlantic adventurers see things differently. Employing exotic building material and aided by complex instruments monitoring weather and assisting navigation, these Argonauts risk great danger not simply to cross but to make the passage in record time. Pike is among this small group. Spurred by the challenge of speed, he crewed on the 80-foot catamaran Chaffeteaux Challenger and later Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Challenger, a high-powered aluminium catamaran. Pike describes how both vessels encountered the Atlantic in one of its foul moods. Both vessels were lost, but the crew survived. Pike went on to complete fast crossings on Virgin Atlantic Challenger II and later on the Italian yacht Destriero, which despite heavy weather averaged 53 knots New York to Bishop Rock Lighthouse. ‘Records’, however, as Pike points out, ‘are made to be broken’ (p. 161).
As a personal history, Taming the Atlantic has much to offer. Pike’s own adventures make exciting reading and his views on current issues are important. Unfortunately, there are shortcomings in the earlier part of the book that detract. Several errors went unnoticed during editing. Names and titles in the bibliography are misspelled. The American Civil War did not halt immigration (p. 41). Teutonic was not a Cunard ship (p. 69) Nonetheless, Pike’s message is clear that despite the title of the book, no one ‘tames’ the Atlantic. Modern technology has reduced the risks of seafaring but hardly eliminated them.