Sailing alone across the Atlantic in a wooden boat gives plenty of chance to look back on your life and wonder how you got to the point where sailing alone across the Atlantic in a wooden boat becomes an attractive option. Nichols ruminates upon his love of sailing and how it has dominated his life above all else, taking him to idyllic places where money is way down the list of priorities as long as you can keep literally afloat. He recounts life with his ex and reflects on why it might have gone wrong but offers no blinding insights. As the voyage nears its end, the boat begins to sink and the end of a journey approaches. Eventually Nichols needs to be rescued from his boat as the water comes in faster than he can pump it out, sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic with just about all of his worldly possessions. He returns to the States realising his life needs to start again but recognising that this new start will still lead him inevitably back to the sea. ( )