"In June 1942, Vito Dumas set off from Buenos Aires for a trip around the world unlike any previous circumnavigation - eastward over the "impossible route," the Roaring Forties of the Southern Ocean: south of the Cape of Good Hope, south of Australia, and south of Cape Horn. His craft, the Lehg II, a 31-foot ketch named from the initials of his mistress, carried only the most makeshift gear and provisions; he refused to carry a sea anchor, a bilge pump, or more than one screwdriver, and he had so few clothes that he had to stuff them with newspaper to keep warm. He also sailed without a radio, as carrying one during wartime would have labeled him a spy." "He was the first to complete the 20,000-mile voyage single-handed, the first solo sailor to round Cape Horn and survive, and the first to sail around the world with only three landfalls (in South Africa, New Zealand, and Chile). But what sets this story apart is Dumas's prose, relating elation and depression, hardship and relaxation, and, above all, his unrelenting determination in the face of adversity. The terror of sailing through massive storms without respite from the helm alternates with periods of relative clam when he reflects on the peaceful, enchanting nature of the sea. His trio of landfalls - sojourns he called "calm waters where my spirit could rest" - add yet another dimension to this beautiful tale. Alone through the Roaring Forties is also a tribute to Lehg II, Dumas's beloved boat. He called her his "shipmate" and "faithful companion," "an ideal floating house of extraordinary strength and endurance," and had complete faith in her abilities and performance."--Book Jacket.