Jerome Rand, author of Sailing Into Oblivion, presented an incredible account of his solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe at the Mattapoisett Yacht Club on Friday, July 31. He learned and loved sailing in Northern Michigan at age 18 and has enjoyed teaching and sailing ever since.
The expert sailor said his desire for a more difficult adventure came after hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in 2012. Rand covered 2,200 miles through 14 states in 133 days. He needed a five-year plan to prepare for his amazing endeavor because he had no job, no money and no boat! He also trained himself to be mindful, staying present and being aware of his surroundings.
In addition, he had to learn to take things one day at a time, to help deal with the stress and anxiety he would encounter. For example, when he reached Point Nemo, the farthest point from land, totally empty, he felt overwhelming isolation.
The daring trip began out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, on October 3, 2017, and ended on June 30, 2018. The Mighty Sparrow, a 1975 Westsail 32 like the one depicted in the movie, The Perfect Storm, was ready to become his best friend for the next nine months. These “tanks of the ocean” were built to go anywhere in the world; good thing since Rand went everywhere. There was always the threat of icebergs, fog and gale-force winds at different latitudes (for example, the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties), for which he had to look out.
First, he cruised across the Atlantic. By day nine, Rand hit the “doldrums,” an area just north of the equator with little wind. It took him nine days to go 300 miles. He said it was so calm and beautiful with stars all around, he felt like he was in outer space! On day 79, he had gone through the 100 gallons of water he brought with him, so he had to use a desalination pump to turn seawater into fresh water. Eventually, the pump gave out, forcing him to collect rainwater from a makeshift funnel at the end of his sail. This was where he described his resilience to go on.
Next, he encountered red krill, tiny shrimp-like sea animals that look like ants, all around his boat. Along came a bunch of sperm whales going after the krill (and under the red-painted bottom of his boat). Apparently, when these whales blow their spout in your face, it smells really bad. At this point, he thought of the Essex whaling boat that was sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. Rand had mixed feelings as he was sailing over thousands of sailors’ graves.
On day 150, in the south sea of Tasmania, Rand said there were a lot of currents and the next 24 hours were both “brutal and scary.” He hoped to reach Cape Horn by April 10; he made it on April 7 and got out into the vast Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, he missed seeing the Cape because he went by it in the middle of the night.
A food shortage required him to ration and finally call his dad to reach out to the Falkland Islands for support. The Mighty Sparrow came in close to shore, where the coast guard met him with boxes of supplies, which he tore open. He indulged in chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of scotch!
Like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Rand was so lonely he began talking to himself. He read several books twice. With a Garmin device, he was able to send limited texts. Even if he had communication and anything happened at home, he didn’t want to know so he could keep focused on his goal. With his camera, Rand filmed and narrated parts of the trip to use in presentations like this one.
By this time, Rand had thick calluses all over his hands from pulling the ropes. He noticed he was losing weight from the food rationing. When he left, he was 190 pounds; upon returning, he was about 150.
Then came the “exit from hell”: getting out of the Southern oceans to the tropics, where he watched dolphins, saw wildlife, the moon and stars again. He had crossed the equator. Reaching Bermuda and Cape Ann in late June, he saw lobster boats and planes overhead and knew he was almost home.
After traveling about 29,805 miles, appreciating the enormous size of our planet, and putting things into perspective, Rand found an old slogan about sailing and everyday life to share: “This too shall pass as the winds are going to change!”
By Ann Marie Dunn