It’s 1973. Nick and Julie Grainger have nervously set sail in their 6.55m Shetland-style boat from Scourie in NW Scotland towards Madeira off the West Coast of Africa. Aged 23 and 19 respectively, the pair have little offshore sailing experience but hope their passion, enthusiasm and careful planning will compensate.
Thus begins the voyage of The Aegre.
The Graingers had bought The Aegre in Scotland while they were working at John Ridgway’s Adventure School. The double-ended traditional Shetland-style open boat is not dissimilar to a whaleboat and is very seaworthy. The Graingers convert The Aegre into a budget ocean cruiser by building a flush deck, a small cockpit and twin buoyancy compartments.
The book details the Graingers’ adventures in sailing south to Madeira, across the Atlantic to Barbados and Grenada, traversing the Panama Canal, and then onto Tahiti via the Marquesas. Despite The Aegre’s small size, she copes surprisingly well in the open ocean, and the couple have no real problems reaching Tahiti.
This changes on their next leg to Raratonga when a storm three days out capsizes The Aegre. With The Aegre’s interior completely flooded and kept afloat solely by her buoyancy compartments, the couple survives the night by frantic bailing. The cold light of day reveals the damage: besides The Aegre’s rig and sails, the Graingers have lost their inflatable dinghy, most of their food and water, nearly all their navigation equipment and much else.
After erecting a jury rig, in an amazing feat of seamanship and navigation, the couple reached safety in Pago Pago in Samoa 31 days later.
The book’s very well-written and, once started, hard to put down. The Voyage of The Aegre will make a truly excellent Christmas gift for the sailor in the house. Highly recommended.
– Reviewed by John Macfarlane
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Full Synopsis
This is a dramatic true story of how a plan to sail a little fishing boat from the Highlands of Scotland down the coast to England turned into a trans-oceanic odyssey for Nick and Julie Grainger.
It was the 1970s and their simple wooden sailing boat was equipped with none of the aids modern yachts enjoy. Navigation was by sextant and compass, food cooked on a Primus, and weather forecasting by guesswork.
Diligent preparation before they set sail eventually saved their lives in the violent storms and dangers they encountered, vividly described in this absorbing narrative.
Their capsize at night in a fierce storm south of Tahiti and subsequent survival makes a gripping climax to the story.
A born storyteller, the author has produced a stirring tale that ranks among classic sea adventures.
‘From a simpler age of sailing when you were led across oceans by the sun and the stars, this book deserves to join the classics. It is simply a top class read’ Paul Heiney – Royal Cruising Club
‘This has to be one of the greatest sailing stories I have ever read’ – John Quirk, Afloat magazine.
‘The owner of any small boat who plans to sail, one day. beyond the far horizon, must wonder what they would do if the GPS fails and they don’t have a sextant, or a mast. The answer lies in the story of the Voyage of The Aegre. A terrific adventure’ – John Ridgway, 1966 North Atlantic rower, Round the World sailor, Adventurer, Author.
The Voyage of The Aegre is a story of courage and adventure we don’t often see equaled. Every page takes us deeply into the nitty-gritty of the whole venture, including the self-doubt and interpersonal challenges. As I devoured the work, I remembered my own youth and the hope, strength and sheer energy that kept me going in the hard times. Yet all my experience pales when compared with what happened to them 150 miles out from Tahiti. Their boat is capsized, swept clean and could easily have been left derelict. With no radio or life raft, survival depends on resources, initiative and the refusal to give in. Tom Cunliffe, Yachting World, August 2023
An extraordinary story of experience, drama and skill. Tristan Gooley. Sept. 2023 www.naturalnavigator.com
Completely transfixed by this new book, the story of an almost inconceivable sea journey from Scotland to the South Seas by Nick Grainger and his then-wife Julie aboard a tiny ‘Shetland Model’, 50 years ago. The Aegre was built in Wick by Tom Edwardson of Unst, and decked in by Bob Macinnes of Scourie. A capsize off Tahiti ended an extraordinary voyage. But the Aegre saw them safely ashore in Samoa. Nick will be in Shetland for the Tall Ships Race and to launch the book at the Lerwick Library. I highly recommend it if, like me, you’ve been addicted to sea survival stories since childhood. Tom Morton, Lerwick, Shetland
The Voyage of The Aegre deserves to become a classic in seafaring literature as it has all the key ingredients – adventurous excitement, serious danger, exemplary planning and self-reliance, but most importantly a completely authentic, honest and heart-warmingly humble voice of a man who has seen and overcome much in his life but takes nothing for granted. Nick acknowledges his mistakes and limitations with clear-eyed frankness and also understands the huge debt he owes to Julie for her incredible strength of character, patience, and devotion in adversity. Nick’s frequent use of extracts from Julie’s diary makes for powerful reading. The Voyage of The Aegre is not only an account of a journey but also a moving tale of two young people growing up together, forging a relationship in extraordinary circumstances, and facing down unimaginably difficult challenges with inspirational courage. Matthew Sullivan, Librarian, Dinghy Cruising Association. October 2023. See full review here.
