Kijana (The Real Story)

At age 18, Jesse Martin became the youngest person ever to sail unassisted and nonstop around the world. To top that, he and four friends decided to realize another dream: a three-year fantastic voyage full of adventure, interesting people, and exotic places, limited only by their imaginations and documented on camera. In this travelogue, Martin explains where they went, what they found, and what they learned, good and bad, about themselves and each other. Readers follow the five friends over the entire trip, from planning and purchasing to on-board tales and life after their early return. There are beautiful moments and there are moments when the sailors' resolves are tested, as they weather storms both within and without. The ship becomes a microcosm in which the needs, feelings, failings, fears, and weaknesses of five people crash into each other, sometimes resolving and sometimes not, and Jesse's recounting pulls no punches. Adventure log readers, memoir fans, and anyone interested in being taken to another place will enjoy this warts-and-all recounting of the friends' journey.