Sailing Solo: The Legendary Sailors and the Great Races

For anyone interested in yachting, yacht racing, or extreme sports... this book captures both the glory (loads of action color photographs reminiscent of Life Magazine) and the details (not just a 'cocktail table' photo book), of the many solo offshore ocean races that now occur. In addition to an overview of each event, the book chronicles the evolution of yacht design, the pioneering "rock star" sailors, and some of the agonies of the sport. The six major racing events are covered in dedicated chapters and a final section details four other significant events.Ranging from 21 foot Mini class boats to monster 60 foot trimarans, and from the grueling intensity of Figaro one-design racing to the challenge of Vendee Globe non-stop circumnavigating, the reader will get a sense for the full spectrum of the now highly-evolved sport of solo offshore racing.Here are the events:- Europe 1 New Man Star (now known as The Transat, I believe), solo race across the North Atlantic- Figaro Solitaire, European solo racing in identical 33 foot boats - Mini Transat, solo racing in 21 foot boats across the Atlantic from Europe to South America- Route du Rhum, high powered solo racing including multihulls from France to the Caribbean- Around Alone, solo race around the world with 4 stopovers- Vendee Globe, going solo around the world non-stop!- Other races, including Transpac across the Pacific, Newport to Bermuda 1-2, Azores AZAB, Tran Tasman, and CrossPac