Top critical review
2 people found this helpful
3.0 out of 5 starsA personal journey not a sailing voyage
ByAlameda Martinon October 8, 2017
I found the sailing parts of the story both the most interesting and the most frustrating and disappointing. Matt Rutherford's claim to fame is that he sailed non-stop around the Americas, a truly amazing and marvellous feat of determination, skill and endurance and courage. Anyone doing that feat would deserve to be celebrated, and we would want to know how he or she did it, what were the preparation, the logistics, the navigation. That he also came from a troubled childhood and adolescence was remarkable as well.
Like some others, my initial interest in the video was in how it was done and especially in the combination of the boat and the man to perform it. I found out about the video through the website of the American Vega Association. There are not many small sailboats that can be handled by one person that could make the voyage. Amazing that it did it. As Matt said in the video, by the end of the voyage almost all the equipment on the boat was damaged, destroyed or useless. That seems in part due not just to the strain of the voyage but to Matt's lack of preparation of the boat--there was no shakedown cruise, no testing of equipment, no familiarization! So only when the first wave washed over the boat did he find out that the deck fittings leaked! Matt's impulsive character enabled him to undertake the voyage. His strength and skill and determination enabled him to survive it. I would have liked to see much more about just how he did it.
