Joshua Slocum was the fifth of eleven children born as descendants of a Quaker family in Nova Scotia. From a very early age, he yearned to run away from his large family, headed by his disciplinarian father.
Slocum's Family Background
Slocum’s pacifist ancestors had objected to the violence of the American War of Independence and had left the USA in response. The Quaker was defined as a Loyalist and therefore entitled to a piece of farmland. Slocum’s family moved to the Bay of Fundy where is maternal grandfather was the lighthouse keeper.
Slocum’s demanding father made leather boots for the locals and as a child he was expected to help in the shop. He made several attempts to run away from his chaotic home. Finally, after his mother died giving birth to his eleventh sibling, he left home at the age of sixteen. Slocum had boarded a ship as an ordinary seaman which was sailing for Ireland.
Slocum Prepares For Circumnavigation
Slocum spent the next two years travelling extensively as a seaman including Chine, Cape Horn, Dutch East Indies, Moluccas, Manila, Hong Kong, Saigon, Singapore and San Francisco. During this time he successfully completed his Board of Trade examination and qualified as a Second Mate. Slocum developed his sea career quickly rising to chief mate and master on a number of voyages.
Slocum met and married his wife, Virginia Albertina Walker, in Australia. She joined Slocum on his travels and over thirteen years bore seven children. Three of the children died in childhood.
Slocum set sail for his solo circumnavigation in April of 1895. He navigated without a chronometer, preferring the traditional method of ‘dead reckoning’ which only needs a cheap tin clock for time and a Noon Sun sights for longitude. He returned in June 1898, over three years later, having travelled a distance in excess of 46,000 miles and sailed around the world unaccompanied. However, his success was hardly noticed due to the Spanish American War which dominated the news.
Literary Career
Slocum had harboured an ambition for writing during his early sea life. He temporarily became correspondent of the San Francisco Bee.
Following his solo circumnavigation he wrote and published Sailing Around the World describing his incredible voyage around the world. It was serialised in The Century Magazine and then published in several editions.
The book is now considered a classic piece of travel literature. He would also be asked to deliver public lectures and the income from this and book revenues compensated him well for a while. He bought a farm on Martha’s Vineyard with an intention to settle on the land.
Slocum's Life at Sea
His land life did not last for long. Slocum did not adapt well and soon began sailing, preferring life on his boat. The revenue from his books began to reduce and he started to make plans for another adventure, for which he was quite prepared to sell his farm. In November 1909 he set off for the West Indies to spend the winter there. He was never heard of again and his wife believed him to be lost at sea. It wasn’t until 1924 that he would be declared dead.
Joshua Slocum’s memory lives on today in a number of ways. The name of his boat The Spray is a popular name for cruising vessels and many attempts have been made to construct the original. A bit ironic considering that many believe the unstable nature of this vessel caused his death.
Slocum is also remembered in museums and memorials within America and Canada and even has a river named after him in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
References:
The International Joshua Slocum Society
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