'Alone' is the account of what has to be the world's most exacting contest--the incredibly gruellng 3,000-mile transatlantic singlehanded sailboat race. Not even someone who has often been to sea on small boats can truly imagine the problems and privations of a weeks-long singlehanded race. The contestant must at once be helmsperson, sail changer, winch grinder, navigator, ship's doctor, bosun, and cook. If equipment breaks, there's no one to help repair it; if serious personal injury is sustained, no one can take over. There is no rest for the weary, no shelter from the storm. And all else being equal, it is the interminable loneliness at sea that is most wearing. With a mixture of technical knowledge and exciting narrative, Daniel Giles has vividly recreated the stories of five of the races. - from Amzon