Chichester’s account of his preparation and participation in his first solo ocean race from Plymouth to New York in 1960 aboard Gypsy Moth III. The Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, later referred to as OSTAR marked the beginning of a quadrennial event which grew from 5 entries in 1960 to 40 entries by 1972. Although an accomplished sailor in his late 50’s, Chichester shares his foibles as well as triumphs as he prepares for this historical race. His writing assumes that the reader is relatively well versed in sailing terminology when describing the design and testing of his beloved self-steering invention that he refers to as “Miranda”. He somewhat nonchalantly records the 30 day race itself with frequent naps and “chatter” breaks with his favorite whiskey. Perhaps most interesting to modern sailors are the descriptions of the seemingly ancient navigation & communication equipment used less than 50 years ago. The event marked the beginning of a brave new world in sailboat racing from privately funded sportsmanship to corporate sponsored high stakes competition. I found it a pleasure to read and a window into the sometimes forgotten formative years of solo sailing competition. ( )