Racundra's Third Cruise

Publisher: Fernhurst Books, 2002 1 898660 89 1

Arthur Ransome was a man of many parts –political journalist, author, keen fisherman and accomplished sailor. Much of his career has been well- documented but that period when he had his first sea-going boat built in the Baltic and the following three years when he cruised her have been the subject of recent close research. The editor and compiler of this latest work is ideally equipped to be the authority on this part of Ransome’s life. Brian Hammett, ‘master and owner’ of Avola, a gaff-rigged vessel of similar dimensions to Racundra, which he has cruised in the Baltic, is a member of the Arthur Ransome Society (TARS) and a former Flag Officer of the Cruising Association, an organisation to which AR himself was proud to belong.

The book reviews Racundra’s first and second cruises and describes in Ransome’s own words the third cruise during the summer of 1924. The text is drawn from a diary, the deck log and notes kept for the purpose of a future book which was never written. The style is typically Ransome – detailed in description, amusing and imaginative, providing keen insights into life in post-First World War Latvia. The hitherto unpublished material is very fully supported by black and white photographs – contemporary and recent – and maps of the inland waterways from Riga to Mitau (Jelgrava) which Ransome and his new wife, Evgenia, sailed in that 1924 season.

This is a book that will be enjoyed by Ransome-lovers, sailors and landlubbers alike! - CH

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