Around the World in a Dugout Canoe Illustrated Talk and Book Signing - Salt Spring

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Wednesday, November 6th, 2019
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Join author and marine historian John M. MacFarlane for an illustrated talk and book signing at the Salt Spring Island Historical Society at Central Hall! Around the World in a Dugout Canoe tells the real story of a little-understood character—Captain John Voss—and his cedar canoe. In 1901 Voss sought to claim the world record for the smallest vessel ever to circumnavigate the globe. It is an enduring story of courage, adventure, and at times, sheer luck. Everyone is welcome! Books will be available for purchase. Book description: For three years Voss and the Tilikum, aided by a rotating cast of characters, visited Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil and finally England, weathering heavy gales at sea and attracting large crowds of spectators on shore. The austere on-board conditions and simple navigational equipment Voss used throughout the voyage are a testimony to his skill and to the solid construction of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth vessel. Both Voss and his original mate, newspaperman N.K. Luxton, later wrote about their journey in accounts compromised by poor memories, brazen egos and outright lies. Stories of murder, cannibalism and high-seas terror have been repeated elsewhere without any regard to the truth. Now, over a century later, a full and fair account of the voyage—and the magnitude of Voss’s accomplishment—is at last fully detailed. In this groundbreaking work, marine historians John MacFarlane and Lynn Salmon sift fact from fiction, critically examining the claims of Voss’s and Luxton’s manuscripts against research from libraries, archives, museums and primary sources around the world. Including unpublished photographs, letters and ephemera from the voyage, Around the World in a Dugout Canoe tells the real story of a little-understood character and his cedar canoe. It is an enduring story of courage, adventure, and at times, sheer luck.