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Chapter 



7UST FOR THE HELL OF IT" 



OOME years ago, in an. Atlantic port, I met a young Ameri- 

 can who had built himself a "tabloid" cruiser. The word tabloid was 

 then used to describe a vessel so small and compact that an active 

 man could sail it anywhere single-handed. This little cruiser was 

 about twenty-five feet on the water line, and he was starting off alone 

 for the Panama Canal and beyond that for some vague destination 

 in the South Seas. I asked him why, and his reply was, "Just for the 

 hell of it." 



This seems a good title under which to consider the adventures 

 of some of the men and women who have sailed the Atlantic in 

 small vessels. Both the tide and the account are informal as befits 

 the character of the people and their ships. The stories of the little 

 vessels, their cruises, and their "captains" that make up this section 

 have been selected for a variety of reasons. Some are here because 

 their stories have already been told in books that can be recom- 

 mended as good reading; others because their stories never have been 

 told; others because the events are so extraordinary that they should 

 never be forgotten. 



All the stories show that the ocean can be both tough and tender 

 in its handling of the "little fellows" that, year by year, put to sea 

 with a kind of contemptuous daring. No doubt there are omitted 

 here some accounts that should be included and vice versa. It would 

 indeed require special and lengthy research to list all the small ships 



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