“Around ten years ago, the world’s most famous sailor, Sir Peter Blake, took over leadership of the Cousteau Society and was murdered by pirates on the Amazon River close to where I was captured many years before.
Reid Stowe sails and sails and sails
He’s holding the World Record for Longest Solo At Sea.
“This very atmospheric old photo… In 1974, the Amazon River… captured by pirates.
“We were tied up for three nights and two days while the pirates stripped the boat and argued amongst themselves. They let us live… We untied ourselves and sailed out…
“Four months after my pirate experience at the age of 22, I went back to the Amazon and stole my catamaran out of the pirate’s den. I sailed up to Martinique where I rejoined my French sailing friends. That was when they took this photo of me on my catamaran.
“Imagine sailing to four continents on this 1,400 pound, 27 ft boat navigating with an old brass sextant and having no motor, no electricity, no radio, or life raft.
“Those were the days!
“Those years of sailing set the stage for me to conceive of accomplishing the longest sea voyage in history.
Reid
William Reid Stowe, born 1952, is an American artist and mariner [wiki]. Silly brave clearly romantic wonderful man and tremendous new family, unheralded gift, tells a story, you can write his screenplay, pirates and a’that, so unnewsy vogue, so merely gloriously our family.
