THE PACIFIC ALONE chronicles Ed Gillet's historic 1987 kayak voyage to Hawaii. No person before or since has paddled across the Pacific from the Americas to the Hawaiian Islands.
Outdoor: Literature WINNER of the 2019 National Outdoor Book Awards
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Falcon Guides is proud to announce the release of The Pacific Alone (978-1-4930-2681-4, October 1, 2018, hardback) by Dave Shively
In the summer of 1987 Ed Gillet achieved what no person has accomplished before or since, a solo crossing from California to Hawaii by kayak. Gillet, at the age of 36 an accomplished sailor and paddler, navigated by sextant and always knew his position within a few miles. Still, Gillet underestimated the abuse his body would take from the relentless, pounding swells of the Pacific, and early into his voyage he was covered with saltwater sores and found that he could find no comfort sleeping inside the stock tandem kayak he used. Along the way he endured a broken rudder, among other calamities, but at last reached Maui on his 64th day at sea, four days after his food had run out. Dave Shively brings Gillet’s remarkable story to life in this gripping narrative, based on exclusive access to Gillet’s logs as well as interviews with the legendary paddler himself.
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PRAISE FOR The Pacific Alone :
"I have been waiting 30 years for this book. When I first heard of Ed Gillet's heroic paddle to Hawaii I was thrilled and inspired in my own traveling. But this is much more than a book about a kayak journey. It is that great thing in travel - a brave quest, the solitary traveler turning his back on the cynics, and heading into a turbulent sea in a small boat, and finding landfall. It is a great metaphor for human endeavor. 'Never before, never since' indeed. But Ed Gillet is that rare creature - a modest man and also a hero. Dave Shively has told his story well.""
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Paul Theroux, award-winning novelist and travel writer of The Old Patagonian Express and The Happy Isles of Oceania
"A refreshing on-the-edge account of Gillet’s outstanding crossing, The Pacific Alone is great read for those who prefer more secure ways to explore life’s questions, and an inspiration to adventurers. This classic tale will stand the test of time."
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Nigel Foster, Falcon author of The Art of Kayaking, Paddling Southern Florida, Encounters from a Kayak, and On Polar Tides
“Awe. That’s the only word I can think that not only describes my reaction to reading about Ed Gillet’s incredible feat of ingenuity, endurance and sheer audacity, but of Shively’s accomplishment in the recounting of it. The author’s palpable, authentic feel for big water, for the paddle and for the scope of the saga comes through on every page, providing perspective without sounding, if you’ll pardon the term, pedestrian. By the time I finished the book I was exhausted, but felt like doing nothing more than jumping in my own boat and paddling a little bit further than the day before. You can’t ask more from a book than that."
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Sam George, surf editor, director and writer of Riding Giants and Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau
"In 1987 Ed Gillet crossed from California to Hawaii in an ordinary sea kayak, and barely spoke of it for 30 years. Now Gillet has opened his heart and journals to Dave Shively, who weaves a gripping portrait of a man as enigmatic and pure as the journey that defined him."
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Jeff Moag, Canoe & Kayak Editor-at-Large
Dave Shively is an award-winning journalist who serves as the Content Director for TEN: The Enthusiast Network’s Paddlesports Group. As the longtime managing editor of Canoe & Kayak and senior editor of SUP magazine, Shively established a respected voice in the sport by grounding unique profiles and travel narratives in paddling experiences documented from Nunavut to New Orleans. The Colorado-bred, California-based writer won a 2017 Folio Eddie Award for ‘Healing Waters’ (Canoe & Kayak, Winter 2016), a series of veteran profiles exploring PTSD and the transformative power of the outdoors.
FALCON® is the premier publisher of outdoor recreation and adventure titles, covering everything we love to do in the outdoors and everything we need to know to do it better. Written by top outdoors experts, with an eye on protecting Mother Nature by emphasizing Leave No Trace principles, FALCON books provide comprehensive information to outdoor enthusiasts of today and tomorrow. Falcon is an imprint of Globe Pequot.
The Pacific Alone: The Untold Story of Kayaking’s Boldest Voyage
978-1-4930-2681-4 • Hardback • October 1, 2018 • 24.95 • Pages: 220 • Size: 6 x 9
