The Unlikely Voyage of Jack De Crow

The international bestseller, updated with a charming new afterword and illustrations ‘A couple of quiet weeks sailing the River Severn was the intention. Somehow things got out of hand – a year later I had reached Romania and was still going . . .’ Truly hilarious books are rare. Even rarer are those based on real events. Join A.J. ‘Sandy’ Mackinnon, your charming and eccentric guide, on an amazing voyage in a boat called Jack de Crow. Equipped with his cheerful optimism and a pith helmet, this Australian Odysseus in a dinghy travels from the borders of North Wales to the Black Sea – 4,900 kilometres over salt and fresh water, under sail, at the oars, or at the end of a tow-rope – through twelve countries, 282 locks and numerous trials and adventures, including an encounter with Balkan pirates. Along the way he experiences the kindness of strangers, gets very lost, and perfects the art of slow travel.

A.J. Mackinnon was born in Australia in 1963 and travelled as a boy on P&O liners between Australia and England, developing a love of slow travel. He has worked in various schools around the world, sharing his passion for English Literature, mathematics, drama, art and philosophy with countless students over the years. He now lives in the Victorian High Country of Australia, where he continues to love his teaching, his garden and various other creative projects. He is the author of The Ongoing Odyssey of Jack de Crow, as well as The Well at the World’s End and Quaint Deeds.

List of Illustrations Part One: Bumping into Places The Teacher's Thief The Dinghy and the Dreamer Departure and Dismay Sails and Stained-Glass Rapids and Repairs Steam Trains and Smooth Sailing High Tide to Bristol Wi' a Hundred Locks an' A' an' A' Death and the Dreaming Spires Return to Reading Capsizes and Colleges London and the Law Part Two: My Purpose Holds Dooms and Delays Tide on the Thames Of Shallows and Shipwreck Cake and Carpentry Dashing to Dover Crossing to Calais Dead Dogs and Englishmen Et in Arcadia Ego A Jollyboat in Germany Part Three: Into the East Contrary Currents and Kindness The Kaiser's Canal Pigeons and Palaces Wilderland and War Proud Hearts and Empty Pockets Bad Times in Bulgaria The Wings of the Morning Afterword Acknowledgments Notes