• A Speck on the Sea

  • Epic Voyages in the Most Improbable Vessels
  • By: William Longyard
  • Narrated by: Jon Repp
  • Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (11 ratings)

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A Speck on the Sea  By  cover art

A Speck on the Sea

By: William Longyard
Narrated by: Jon Repp
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Publisher's summary

A Speck on the Sea chronicles the greatest ocean voyages attempted in the littlest boats. These feats include:

  • Diego Mendez's voyage to rescue Columbus
  • William Okeley's escape from slavery in a folding rowboat
  • Ernest Shackleton's death-cheating journeys and more.

©2003, 2005 International Marine (P)2014 New Street Communications, LLC
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"A gripping compendium of noteworthy small-boat voyages made over the centuries." (John Harland, author of Seamanship in the Age of Sail)

What listeners say about A Speck on the Sea

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A decent story of small boat adventures

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Depends on the friend. If he/she is interested in this type of sailing I would recommend it but not highly. I would not recommend it to all of my sailing friends.

If you’ve listened to books by William Longyard before, how does this one compare?

My first book by Longyard

What aspect of Jon Repp’s performance would you have changed?

He pronounced some words wrong like bow, pronouncing it like the thing a girl wears in her hair rather than the bow of the ship. Also Fallmuth instead of Falmouth. Just bugged me.

Did A Speck on the Sea inspire you to do anything?

Not really.

Any additional comments?

The stories seemed to run into each other and if you are listening off an on during your commutes they all seem to sound the same. The thing I disliked the most was that they called Sven Yrvind, Sven London. Not sure why this was but it was a pretty big mistake in my book.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A race to the end.

A race to the end. Told far too fast. I couldn't keep up with the various stories.
What more ? Nothing.

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