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Tristan tells us he
was born at sea on May 8, 1924, off the island of Tristan da Cunha aboard
his father’s tramp steamer. A
self-described Welshman, in his books he tells a now known
fabricated story of how he left school at age 14 to work on sailing barges and
spent almost all of his 71 years at sea - in the Royal Navy, as a
delivery skipper, and as a daring adventurer in search of new
seagoing challenges.
Captain
Jones has clamed to have logged 450,000 nautical miles - probably more than any other
living person. Mostly
aboard small sailboats and mostly alone.
He said he sailed the Atlantic at least 20 times, 9 were
single-handed and he has circumnavigated the globe 3 1/2 times.
We now know he sailed about 75,000 miles, equal to three times the
circumference of the earth.
He
described how he spent a winter frozen into the Arctic ice.
He told us he sailed Sea Dart on the highest navigable water in the
world and then sailed, pushed and dragged that sturdy boat across 6,000
miles of South America to set another record.
Recently the truth of Tristan
Jones "lives" has been published in a detailed biography by Anthony Dalton.
Here we learn that most of his life was a fabrication with many
stories being total fiction. Some of us who love his stories
would have liked to believe every word. However, the fact
remains that many of Tristan's
true exploits would have made marvelous reading without any
embellishments.
I have to agree with
Brice Keller who left this message in this sites original guestbook
"Tris was a great sailor and storyteller. I don't care if he
never left his flat and dreamt up every one of his books. They
have provided countless hours of enjoyment for myself and many
others." (page 309 of Anthony Dalton's biography)
The 'truth' in the end is that Tristan
Jones tells a story with words that roll and crash with the
waves. You actually feel the triumph, pain, and full range of emotion
as though you were there or sometimes as if he was speaking just to you over a pint in
a local pub. A unique ability to touch your soul and through words
alone, see with his eyes.
About
a month before his death, Tristan became aware of the Internet and
said "I literally 'bust a gut' to get on it. It was
worthwhile. I am berthed again next to my buddies... What
changes there have been in the world! Imagine if we'd had
anything like this thing I'm tapping on sixty years ago! What
good luck the young lads and lasses have today! And so they
should, too..." Tristan left us before he could use
the Internet to share his story. It is left to us to meet this challenge.
If
you have not read his extraordinary adventure stories, do
yourself a favor and pick up one of his books... any one of his
books. An extraordinary adventure is only a page
turn away.
At
his end, Tristan was a double leg amputee, poor and alone in Thailand
far from his roots although not far from home, because the
world was his home. He then dedicated his efforts to handicapped
children. Wanting the world, and those children to know that
although physically challenged they are of great value when the
sprit is strong. He was still planning his next voyage, his
next accomplishment, his next challenge. Always with purpose
and treating every setback as a new test to be passed and proven insignificant.
Amazingly, few
of today's sailors even know about Tristan Jones. This is both sad
and truly unfortunate as he fought hard to preserve the love of sail
for all of us. But his ember still burns bright and with our help it
can be brought again to flame. Spread the word!
Tristan
died June 21, 1995.
This
site is devoted to his work.
Don
Swartz
The Tristan Jones Web Site
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