Peter Hancock tells the story of his voyages in a 26-foot sailboat, "Kylie", and describes the places he has visited and the characters he has met. His travels have taken him round Britain, into the waters of Bulgaria, from one end of the Mediterranean to the other, and across the Atlantic to Antigua. After deciding that his hearing problem had become too great for him to continue as a Merchant Navy officer, Hancock reverted to teaching until the sea beckoned him once more. With the aim of some serious long-distance, single-handed sailing, he bought "Kylie" and sailed ever-increasing distances to gain experience for his life's ambition of cruising alone.
I would like to share some reviews with youI would like to share some reviews of Sailing Out of Silence.
Lloyd's List said: "A lip-reading error and a resulting bridge emergency, as his ship entered Port Louis in 1951, made the fourth mate realise that the deafness he had successfuly concealed all his life was enough now bad enough to end his professional seafaring career. So Peter Hancock came ashore, tried teaching and other jobs and, in April 1977, first saw his dreamboat 'Kylie' (Australian for a pretty girl) sold his house in three days and brought her. A Contessa 28 design, but with a specially strengthened hull, her virtues are 'strength, simplicity and spareness'.
"Then he embarked on the 30,000 miles of adventures and voyages, some of which are described here.
"The main point about his descriptions of the places he went to, the characters he met, and the adventures that invariably overtake even the most experienced of ocean navigators is the quality of the writing and the kind of tough, uncompromising but sensitive character that is revealed. As a result, although this could be dubbed another book by an ocean 'yachtie', it stands out strikingly in the genre.
"This one is different; its pen portraits of people and places have an unusual vividness and realism, with a slant on life and the world that reveals a man of strong individuality and character. Drawings by David Wright match the quality of the writing. A book not easy to put down unfinished."
Yachting Monthly said: "..this quietly compelling book chronicles with perception, poignancy and good humour the sailing adventures of its author round Britain, the Med and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean....
"Hancock was inspired to bluewater singlehanded sailing by two things: the death of his wife Pip, and his own deafness. Unable to navigate his way around conversations, he decided, ' if I couldn't hear what people were saying, then why not live either where people never spoke or, alternatively, where there were just no people?'
"Complete novices have set out with less experience, so Hancock, 'crewless but not clueless', began his personal odyssey to his re-birth into a new world float. He writes with style and with an original perspective on people and places, all of which are vividly recounted. The book is a testament of his determination over hardship."
