Sailing in Stitches
by John Cocker
Category: Travel

Sailing in Stitches relates the story of a circumnavigation in a 74 foot Yawl. Dr. John Cocker, a retired Family Physician and Publisher of STITCHES, the Journal of Medical Humour, decided at age 67 that he still had time for one more adventure. The book relates the planning and purchase of the vessel and then the adventures that happened along the way. A motley crew was assembeld and left Fort Lauderdale in November, 2000. Dr. Cocker, with 20,000 miles of blue water sailing experience, was the only one on board who had sailed out of sight of land before. Heading down the Caribbean to Trinidad and then the Panama Canal, Dr. Cocker relates stories of the sailing, along with anecdotes and incidents that occurred. The vast space of the Pacific, the 3,000 mile leg to the Marquises, when no other boat was seen for three weeks, and the events that occurred on scattered Pacific Islands, together with some natural history, economics and gossip make fascinating reading. From Australia, the voyage headed from Bali through the South China Seas, where they were boarded at night by pirates, then through 'Pirate Alley', the straights of Malacca and to Phucket. Next came the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Mediterreanean, and home across the Atlantic. Dr. Cocker's interest in foreign land, history, geography and people is evident, and his outspoken criticism of regimes and religions make fascinating reading for those of us who choose to stay at home and a guide for those of us who wish to sail.