Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... allow me to recommend in the strongest terms to you an excellent book which I have just finished.
The Last Time around Cape Horn by William F. Stark.
It is the very well-written story of the author's journey on the very last commercial sailing vessel to deliver cargo from Australia to England. I confess to smiling broadly at his description of climbing to the top of the Pamir's 168 foot mainmast, high above nearly an acre of sail area - and coming close to tears at the end of the book (for a variety of reasons which I will leave for you to figure out for yourselves.)
It's not often that I recommend a book to others but this one is hard to put down and I guarantee it'll be worth your while.
