I would like to thank all those helping hands who made it possible for me to go around the world by land and sea, especially Bright, Olivier Chotard, Dave and Kellie Lewis, the Hovington family, Doug Nienhuis, Bob Hornal, Nadya Ladouceur, Leo Learoyd, Jack and Paul Nauss, the team from L’Equipe, the skippers and crews of Milkwood, Tebrinda, Hinano, Millennium and 4 Real Life, and my brother Dave for buying me a pub lunch on a foul day during my final run home.
An early version of this book served as my master’s thesis. I would like to thank the professors in the Department of English at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, especially Mark Jarman, Robert Cockburn, John Ball and Ross Leckie. My thanks also extend to Norah and Harley Robinson-Smith, Maureen and Sean Bilerman, Sue and Peter Britton, Prabha Gulati, Floyd Jackson and Darlene Tompkins and their families, Khuram Khurshid, Michael Lockett, Ken McGoogan, Alan and Christine Moore, and David O’Hara, who offered timely advice and encouragement during the writing of this book. I am also indebted to Goose Lane Editions, in particular to Laurel Boone, my astute editor.