The Unlikely Voyage of Jack De Crow: A Mirror Odyssey from North Wales to the Black Sea

For anyone who loves travel tales told in the whimsical, wry manner of the English with their subtle humour and knack for underplaying events.

Great Read. Exactly on point in this genre of travelogue. It was a light joyful journey that avoided despite trials and tribulations the Zen of Motorcycle Maintenance or Conrad-esque journeys up the dark reaches of the mind. The item though had poor reproduction of illustrations - the whole book has been scanned on a reduced gray scale then reproduced rendering some of the illustrations especially the maps unintelligible. Maps in a travelogue are critical. Also the typeface would reduce in point size briefly 4/5 of the way down the page, which though did not stop me enjoying the content of the words did irk me, jolting me out of the revery that any good book casts. Surely after hundreds of years of printing we can still get the basics right?

I loved this book! I would have given it five stars and a tiger except it rushes through the eastern European, final part of the author's amazing trek by paddle, oar and quant from Wales to the Black Sea. I rushed through that part too so I could learn how the author got away from the hoodla (plural of hoodlum) who kidnapped him. I think both of us, the author and I, were in a hurry by then to complete the experience. Or maybe he was pushed along by the mighty Danube at a speed too fast to allow for reflection. Clearly the trek was grueling and I think the author's magnificent narrative powers made me feel something of his exhaustion. The author is funny, insightful and helpful to those who would learn how to row through Europe. I suppose I never will do so, but I have benefited by reading this splendid account by this brilliant writer. My thanks go out to him for his having written this wonderful narrative and my recommendation goes out to all who might read this book to do so

I've read this book, The Unlikely Voyage of Jack De Crow. It was recommended to me by an Australian friend. The man who wrote it went on an excellent and unlikely adventure. It took me a while to read the book, as it goes into quite a bit of detail at times. Still it was worth reading. The particular copy I bought seemed like a "print on demand" title (the formatting and margins were a little odd), and cost a bit more than I really wanted to spend. If it wasn't for those two things, I would have given the book 5 stars.

This very readable travellers' book is an absolute gem. It is the story of an Australian schoolteacher who finished a stint in an English private school and decided to travel by boat through some of the inland waterway systems of England. The trip was meant to take just a couple of weeks but the author, Sandy Mackinnon, was enjoying the challenges and successes so much that he just continued rowing and sailing in a small 11 foot Mirror class dingy. Weeks turned into months as he kept extending his trip. After navigating down to the River Severn he found his way down the Thames to London and, after a break, on to Dover, then, remarkably, across the English Channel in an amazing and risky solo effort and on into the canals and waterways of Europe.McKinnon is a teacher of English literature and drama and so was well-equipped to tell the story and illustrate it with delightfully chosen literary references. He also does a nice line in sketching and is the author of the book's more-than-capable illustrations.I read it with UK and Europe maps beside me, which added to the fun. Next time I will try Google Earth.It is so easy to get swept along with the narrative and the helpful characters he meets that you could find yourself finishing this book very quickly. It made me want to go out and have adventures of my own.

This is a fabulous book, and one of my all-time favorite sailing nonfictions.

Sandy Mackinnon, an Australian prep school master, tells the story of his epic solo voyage in a 10 1/2 foot Mirror Dinghy from Shropshire to the Black Sea and it is quite delightful. He sets off intending to spent just two weeks sailing and rowing this very small boat, named "Jack de Crow", down the Severn River - the second longest in England - but by the time he reaches the river's mouth near Bristol, he realizes that his journey is not destined to end there. Hence, onward by canal to the Thames River, down the Thames estuary around Kent to Dover, across the English Channel to France and across Europe, via the Mosel, the Rhine and the Danube, plus dozens of canals, to the Black Sea. Along the way, Sandy sporting a pithe helmet to protect his head from swinging booms, low hanging branches and various other protudenances, meets all sorts of people most of whom are kindness in itself. Sandy writes in a very personal way that allows the reader to live through the various, sometimes hair-raising, experiences that he goes through along the way. I could not put this book down.

Mackinnon's odyssey, traveling in an 11 foot sailing dinghy from Wales through rivers, streams, locks, canals, across the English Channel, and ultimately all the way to the Black Sea, is an unforgettable read. He's a very funny guy, and I laughed frequently as I read the book. His story is full of misadventures and mishaps, courage and determination, flexibility and improvisation, challenges and overcoming of obstacles. The author has wonderful encounters with people all along the way, most of them incredibly helpful, a few of them extraordinarily the opposite. It's a page turner, and I stayed up several nights till 2 or 3 in the morning, unable to put the book down. As soon as I finished it, my wife started it, with the same reaction. We bought 4 copies to give to friends on the next suitable occasion, and are contemplating buying more. I've read a lot of travel adventures, and this book is one of the best. The author has also illustrated the book with a number of hand drawn maps and illustrations of his boat and various events and scenes. Totally delightful!

I'm a dinghy sailor and cruiser and I know that this book is widely regarded as a "must read" for anyone who loves small boats. I found it excellent in parts, but the writer loves the sound of his own authorial voice. His dated writing style, overblown imagery and exaggeration for effect, and his clumsy caricatures of "foreigners" all grate a bit.It is never clear which bits are literally true and which bits are stretching the facts to make a good story. I think most sailors would conclude either that he is an irresponsible idiot or that he is a much better sailor than he lets on.However, the book improves as the story goes on. It moves from a comical "one man in a boat" tale of an eccentric Englishman into something meatier as he gets farther from home. There are some genuine laugh out loud moments, occasional passages of pure poetry as he describes sensations that any dinghy sailor will recognise, and a few poignant encounters as he gets closer to his destination. On the whole, I'm glad I've read it, but there were moments when I nearly threw in the towel.

Very disappointed with the condition of this. The severe water damage had buckled the cover and the back pages. I left it under a heavy book for a couple of months and it straightened it out a lot but the black pages don’t look good. I know it is used but there was no mention of this damage. Describing its condition as ‘very good’ was a bit of a stretch.

I found this book to be laugh out lout funny in places and touching in others. I think the author was nuts to cross the channel in the boat he did with what appeared to be a lack of preparation and seamanship. I think, as the author admits in the forward, there may have been some exaggeration. Nonetheless, a hugely entertaining read.

The Author has crafted a gem of a story based on his mishaps and adventures on his way to the Black sea. As one reviewer put it, just like the story, you think, 'I'll just read this bit and stop for now', but you find that you just can't stop, you have to keep going on. The book is written in a nice easy style and is not filled with technical jargon or makes you feel somehow less of a person for not being a nautical cove.Whether you enjoy sailing or rowing or not, this is an excellent book. It's inspirational and shows that anyone can have adventures and you don't have to spend big bucks to do it. The only word of caution is if you take up sailing, you'll find you're hooked for life and this book will be to blame!I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It's worth every penny!

At first glance, this seemed to be an expensive paperback but considering the pleasure, thrill and entertainment it provided, it was superb value. The improbable concept of taking a Mirror Dinghy to the Black Sea hooked me from the outset, and I hung on to every word as the adventure unfurled. Being the owner of an old 'Gull' dinghy - just six inches longer than Jack - I have been encouraged to see beyond my percieved limitations. I may never end up at the Black Sea - I'm not so intrepid as Sandy (or foolhardy!) - but this book has given me an idea of the possibilities open to the sailor of a small dinghy who won't to take 'no' for an answer.