News: Without Rival Atlantic-crossing Nonsuch memoir re-issued online for a new Generation

[Leslie Hetherington]

Hi everyone,

In 1987, my father, Brian H. Shelley, set sail on SACI IV, a Nonsuch 30, for a multi-year voyage across the Atlantic and through the European waterways but plans went horribly off-course. This was followed by a heart-breaking loss and surprise discoveries that are a testament to a Nonsuch's resilience. 

He wrote about his adventures in a book called Without Rival, which was published in 1995 and cited online even in recent years as a good primer for such ocean crossings. For latter generations of Nonsuch owners and other sailors, we've re-issued Without Rival online at Amazon.ca, for $16.95 (Cdn), plus shipping & handing, in Canada and the U.S. (Note: There are expensive collectors copies on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com from other sources, who I don't know.)

I wanted to tell you about this because I thought it might be of interest to this forum.

For reference, the news release outlining this re-issue is below.

Best wishes,
Leslie Hetherington

News Release

A New Generation of Nonsuch Sailors Can Enjoy Without Rival

Cross-Atlantic sailing memoir re-released online

TORONTO, Ontario – December 2, 2013 – This holiday season, a new generation of sailors can re-live the perils of a Nonsuch sailor’s Atlantic crossing, heart-breaking loss and surprise discoveries chronicled in Without Rival. This paperback saga has been re-issued online at Amazon.ca, some 18 years after its initial release, long before e-commerce.

After retiring from Canadian newspaper publisher Southam Inc., 67-year-old Brian H. Shelley, a past RCYC Vice-Commodore, set sail on SACI IV, a Nonsuch 30, for a multi-year voyage across the Atlantic and through the European waterways but plans went horribly off-course. Shelley prevailed and wrote about his adventure.

Although its author has since passed, the book has remained buoyant in online dialogue on sailing forums, where it’s recommended to sailors, particularly Nonsuch skippers contemplating an ocean crossing. Thanks to its host of characters, from truculent rogues to thoughtful strangers, Without Rival also holds appeal beyond the nautical world.

Online reviewers describe Without Rival as:

"As a sailor and sailboat owner, I sympathized right from the beginning with the author and enjoyed his narration. As an office worker, reading through the first five chapters of the book, just helps you daydream about the blue water and ...having the courage ...to start the big journey. In chapter six, the real, unique, unbelievable story starts to unfold." Gabriel, November 19, 2013, Amazon.ca

"Most pleasure sailors only dream of extended off-shore adventures. Not only is there an expense involved, but a realization the ocean will challenge all your nautical knowledge and survival skills.  ....anyone who dreams of such journeys should read "Without Rival" - it's as close to the real thing you will get. A great read for anyone who loves to sail." Old Salt, September, 28, 2013, Amazon.ca.

“…a superb story for all readers interested in sailing. It should be in the library of every Nonsuch sailor, both for its appreciation of those marvelous boats and the fine tale that it is.” Charlie Stephens, September, 23, 2013, Amazon.ca

 

Without Rival was written by Brian H. Shelley and Mary Beacock Fryer, and published by Wishbone Publishing in 1995, in Toronto, Ontario. It's available in Canada and the U.S. on Amazon.ca for $16.95 (CDN), plus shipping and handling. 

 

For more information, please contact:

Leslie Hetherington, les...@lesliehetherington.com, 416-948-7160 

[Capt. Mike]

Leslie:

I have just recently reread the book earlier. this year. Wonderful read and I am grateful to have a personally autographed copy by your dad that I cherish. Glad to hear it is being reissued. It should be on every Nonsuch's bookshelf.

Mike
BIANKA
1986 30U

Sent from on board BIANKA
http://biankablog.blogspot.com

---

From: Leslie Hetherington <leslie.he...@gmail.com>

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Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 16:17:53 -0800 (PST)

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Subject: News: Without Rival Atlantic-crossing Nonsuch memoir re-issued online for a new Generation

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[Leslie Hetherington]

Thanks Mike. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed and still have dad's book. It was hard to find people who read it in the first round for Amazon reviews, as so much time has past. So I really appreciate hearing from you. I'm not sure if you knew my mom (Pauline) but she'll be pleased to hear your feedback.  

Until I saw your blog, I didn't know there was electric-powered Nonsuchs. They certainly have an interesting history and it's interesting to see that they're still around today.

Best regards,

Leslie

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[ed]

Regretfully, Leslie, Mr . Robert Redford failed to avail himself of either Without Rival, or the lessons your father wrote of.  I have not read Without Rival, but will do so soon.

 

botts

 

From: Leslie Hetherington

Sent: Friday, November 29, 2013 7:17 PM

To: INA-Nonsuch-Di...@googlegroups.com

Subject: News: Without Rival Atlantic-crossing Nonsuch memoir re-issued online for a new Generation

 

Hi everyone,

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[Leslie Hetherington]

Thanks Ed (botts). Yes, sounds like Robert Redford in “All is Lost” would have been better off if he had followed some of the lessons learned. (At least I hope you’re referring to the film and actor - not a tragedy by one of the same name. Although, there are sad stories out there.)  Hope you enjoy the book and avoid any misfortune yourself.

Leslie

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[John Phillips]

Thanks for posting this, I've ordered the book and look forward to reading it.

[Leslie Hetherington]

Thanks John for your post and hope you enjoy the book.

Best wishes for the holiday season.

Regards,

Leslie

[Al Maclatchy]

We have a copy of "Without Rival" it was given to us by a member of the Nepean Sailing Club NSC who was your fathers crew on the first leg of the journey. It's a fascinating book and shows how tough Nonsuches really are.

Regarda

Allan and Judy

NC26 Swale

NSC Ottawa Canada.

--

[michae...@frontier.com]

and their owners!!! Mike Schiff ,TAYVA N30U 407,Pultneyville NY

From: Al Maclatchy <almac...@gmail.com>
To: INA-Nonsuch-Di...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 7:18 PM
Subject: Re: News: Without Rival Atlantic-crossing Nonsuch memoir re-issued online for a new Generation

We have a copy of "Without Rival" it was given to us by a member of the Nepean Sailing Club NSC who was your fathers crew on the first leg of the journey. It's a fascinating book and shows how tough Nonsuches really are.

Regarda

Allan and Judy

NC26 Swale

NSC Ottawa Canada.

On Sun, Dec 8, 2013 at 2:38 PM, Leslie Hetherington <leslie.he...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks John for your post and hope you enjoy the book.

Best wishes for the holiday season.

Regards,

Leslie

On Thursday, 5 December 2013 22:11:53 UTC-5, John Phillips wrote:

Thanks for posting this, I've ordered the book and look forward to reading it.

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[Leslie Hetherington]

Thanks Allan and Judy for your post. I'm glad you enjoyed the book and yes, it really does show how resilient Nonsuches are, as well as their owners (as Mike added). And it is great to see Nonsuches are still around and thriving some 18 years after the book was first written.

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[Bob Cornell]

Hi Leslie,

I too am proud to have a signed copy with a nice inscription from your father. Your post reminded me that it is now time to re-read it. Also, I have added the press release to the front page of the nonsuch.org website, so that others may learn of this great book.

Thank you,
Bob Cornell
HALCYON, 30c #199
Westbrook, CT

[Leslie Hetherington]

Hi Bob,

Thanks so much for your post and sorry for my delayed response.  (Toronto had a big storm shortly after you posted and we lost power for several days; then we were in the crazy holiday season.)

It's great to hear that you still have one of the original copies and that you may have met Dad. Thank-you also so much for taking the time to post the press release and book image on your website. Your efforts are much appreciated.

Dad would be so pleased to know that people are still sailing Nonsuch sailboats and reading his book.

Best wishes for a healthy & happy 2014.

Leslie

[John Newell]

I can vouch for Leslie.  Toronto was to be avoided, if you could get here, and no way to escape by plane if you were here. 

 

When it was 23C below plus windchill taking it to -40C, it was an excellent day to hunker down and read or re-read Without Rival.  The book  reinforces the need to be prepared for all eventualities when one attempts blue water sailing no matter how good the boat.  Also one cannot be on a tight time schedule on a long distance voyage.  Pressing on regardless is a recepie for disaster.  One has to be prepared to ride out a storm under bare poles if one has sufficient sea room.

 

Our boats are easily driven so we should heed the advice of one Nonsucher who posts "reef often and reef early" on his e-mails.  It makes sailing much more comfortable and often faster by reducing weather helm and the drag of our barn door rudders.

Cheers,

John Newell

Mascouche 26C1

Toronto  

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From: Leslie Hetherington

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Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 12:53 AM

Subject: Re: News: Without Rival Atlantic-crossing Nonsuch memoir re-issued online for a new Generation

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[Capt. Mike]

John

One thing that struck me reading the book is Shelly and his boat got more beat up just heading to Bermuda than crossing the Atlantic. I've read about other sailors also getting beat up making the same 600 mile run from say NYC to that island. Always been curious about that.

Mike
BIANKA
1986 30U

Sent from on board BIANKA
http://biankablog.blogspot.com

---

From: John Newell <jcne...@sympatico.ca>

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[John Newell]

Mike, 

 

The short answer is yes, that section is notorious for beating people and boats up.  Often there is  a Norther which creates confused seas blowing against the gulf stream making life uncomfortable on board. 

 

The long, answer if you can spare the time. 

 

Because the weather here is frightful and I am not keen to go out, I will give you the long answer based on my experience in those waters and a warning that it may not be the most risky part of a  voyage.  For Laura, it was the east end of Lake Ontario that nearly was her undoing.  After that close call she made several successful voyages to the West Indies and now is retired to a comfortable berth at Amherst Island on Lake Ontario,

 

I had the honour of sailing with Dr. Doug Hood and his son on Laura his wooden CC 37 from Tarrytown to Bermuda.  He went on to the West Indies and I returned to Toronto to work by plane.  He made other voyages to the West Indies and wrote an interesting book worth reading "Stars to Windward". 

 

On his first voyage he nearly lost Laura at the Eastern end of Lake Ontario.  It was early November and blowing like stink.  They arrived off Oswego at night with poor visibility.  They thought they had picked up the navigation buoys, but at the last minute they realised they were traffic lights.  They were on a lee shore in heavy seas that had run the length of the lake. Fortunately he was well prepared and had a small heavy duty storm staysail and had converted Laura to a cutter so it could be flown close to the mast to give her more power.  Other members of his club laughed at the size of that sail. It was no bigger than those flown by International 14s in the 1970's. This sail saved the boat. It enabled him to beat off the the lee shore in atrocious conditions.  The engine was useless because she was pitching so much that the prop cavitated or even came out of the water when she was heading down a wave resulting in the engine racing.  It would have blown up if it had not been shut off.  Laura was a 1950s design built to CCA rules of the day with wide beam amidships, a pinched in stern, long overhangs, a waterline that resembled a saucer and a keel mounted rudder set well forward.   It just goes to show that in heavy weather one should rely on sails to get you out of a jam.  After that close encounter they had a pleasant run down to Tarrytown with time to admire the fall colours and prepare Laura for the first leg of her first ocean voyage.

 

Laura was well prepped.  Doug had made plywood covers to install if any ports or hatches were broken and even a canvas square with lines attached which could be positioned over a puncture or leak.  I was not well prepared.  I had been working around the clock so I could take time off to sail with Doug.  Shortly after leaving New York a Norther set in and boy did we roll and yaw.  The saucer profile and rudder set well inboad did not help on that run.  I was really sick for the first three days which made me feel awful as I was not functioning sufficiently to take my trick at the tiller.  It was the first and last time I have been seasick.  Once we made the gulf stream our world abruptly changed.  It was hard to imagine that we had been cold, soaking and miserable a few hours before. 

 

Mike, the situation is this.  You do not want to leave New York until the hurrican season is over, but the later you leave it the chances are you are going to encounter Northers.  I believe the consensus is that the best time to leave is late October to early November.   We hit one of the first northers of the season and it was just our luck that a hurrican was over Cuba and tracking to Bermuda while we were trying to head south as much as possible so as to round Bermuda from the safer south side.  The gulf stream was teaming with life and something very large thought the log we were towing was a tasty treat and swallowed it whole making short work of the cable.  This was awkward in the days before GPS.  We had to try to get good sights to plot our positions.   We did not want to be carried too far north by the current and encounter the reefs to the west and north of Bermuda which one would reach long before you sight land. 

 

Adding to our problems was being becalmed for over a day while listening to the weather forecast advising us of the approaching hurrican from Cuba.  We did pick up a breeze eventually and arrived off Bermuda after dark on the 5th day out.  We could see the Southampton light, but not the texas tower positioned about 10 miles to the south of Bermuda.  This really caused Doug to worry as he had me, the father of two small children and his teenage son on board.  He dreaded having to face my wife and his, if he did not return us safe and sound.   When dawn broke, we spotted the tower so we could relax a bit and beat up the coast to St. George.  At noon the Air Canada plane passed overhead bringing my wife to Bermuda.  What took us 5 days from N.Y. she did in a few hours from Toronto! But we did have fun and fresh flying fish for breakfast every day. One had to get used to the thump when they arrived on deck.  The first order of the day was to pick up our breakfast before some bird spotted them first.  It took us the whole day to beat up the coast and arrived at St George around 7pm after dark.  The warm lights of the town greeted  us as we sailed in along with the song of the cicades.  We anchored in the harbour to wait for customs clearance in the morning.  It was before cell phones, so my wife did not know we had arrived safely.  We felt quite chuffed to know we were in safely and there was a hurrican hole nearby if needed.  By the time the hurrican reached Bermuda it had been downgraded to a tropical storm with lots of rain.  Nevertheless, it caused damage to yachts arriving during the next few days.  Some had hatches ripped off.

 

When on shore, we found out that the texas tower was being dismantled resulting in the light on the top being removed.  Nobody had thought to place lights lower down.  It was still a huge structure which would do serious damage to any vessel that ran into it.  I met up with my wife after clearing customs and learned that she had an anxious night due to the weather forecast and not knowing where we were.  Doug had told her that the voyage could take as long as two weeks.  Luckily it did not so we could enjoy a weeks holiday together.  Her only problem was that she had packed some respectable clothes for me in her luggage.  The customs were highly suspicious that she had a blazer which was obviously a man's in her luggage.

 

 The one big sadness for me was to learn that a fine Club yacht was lost in that same storm because she was sailing too close to the shore near Cape Hatteras and hit bottom in a double trough while running at hull speed.  Her garboards were stove in.  She was a well built relatively new 50' centerboard yawl which should have headed out to the safety of open sea in those conditions. 

 

 When my wife and I were young we dreamed that she would become our retirement home.  It was not to be and now I am content to live in a town house and very lucky to have a Nonsuch 26 that I can manage without the help of kids or crew.

 

Hope this has quenched your curiosity.  (I think we covered some 800 miles in the five days giving an average speed of approximately 6.5 knots.  Not to bad considering we spent more than a day flapping about in no wind)

 

Cheers,

John.

[Art Digout]

Regarding sailing to Bermuda, a friend of mine recently lost his boat and almost his life on this passage. Please see this article:

http://www.porthawkesburyreporter.com/2013/12/12/crew-rescues-santa-claus/

Bob is still suffering the aftereffects of the beating he took. He is lucky to be alive. He has written an article which will be published by Cruising World.

Something worth remembering: Cruisers sometimes complain about all the commercial traffic at sea, but most of the rescues we read about involve commercial vessels rescuing recreational sailors.

Art Digout
Weenin 26C #39 1982