In Bangkok of 1964, successful English businessman Tony Buxton is enjoying the best the city has to offer, visiting exclusive nightclubs, sampling the exquisite local cuisine, and dallying with gorgeous women. Still, he yearns for the freedom of his simpler days as an underwater spearfishing guide. When a friend offers him the chance to leave his job and join the inexperienced crew of a Chinese junk as it sets sail across the South Pacific, Buxton jumps at the opportunity, anticipating adventure in the unspoiled island paradise of Tahiti. However, the young men soon learn their vessel is ill-equipped for a saltwater journey when both engines fail on the open ocean, and they must decide whether to abandon their dreams or press on.In The Voyage of the One Step, Buxton recalls the voyage and paints a vivid picture of a bygone era in the South Pacific.
Table des matières
Foreword…………………………………………………….. vii
Introduction…………………………………………………….. x
Leaving Home………………………………………………… 1
A Meeting That Changed My Life………………………. 5
SYDNEY: MEETING THE CREW……………………. 10
VIEWING THE JUNK…………………………………….. 13
PREPARING TO LEAVE………………………………… 16
DEPARTURE FROM SYDNEY……………………….. 27
LORD HOWE ISLAND…………………………………… 31
THREATENED WITH IMPRISONMENT…………… 34
INTO A STORM AND LOST…………………………… 36
THE VOYAGE BECOMES A NIGHTMARE .. 40
ARRIVAL AT NOUMEA………………………………….. 42
BAD AND GOOD NEWS………………………………… 45
A PROFITABLE CHARTER……………………………. 53
JOURNEY UP THE EAST
COAST OF NEW CALEDONIA……………………….. 56
THE LOYALTY ISLANDS……………………………….. 61
SEA SNAKES……………………………………………….. 64
THE ISLE OF PINES REVISITED……………………. 66
RETURN TO NOUMEA
AND THE ART SALE…………………………………….. 71
SHARK ENCOUNTER…………………………………… 75
MISTAKEN IDENTITY……………………………………. 78
A LEISURELY LIFE WITH
THE LAST FOUR CREW……………………………….. 82
THE CHIMPANZEE SHOW……………………………. 84
THE END OF A DREAM………………………………… 89
THE AFTERMATH………………………………………… 96
EPILOGUE…………………………………………………. 105
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…………………………………. 111
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