Close to the Wind: An Extraordinary Story of Triumph Over Adversity

On November 3, 1996, former Royal Marine Pete Goss embarked on the most grueling competition in his sailing career: the Vendée Globe, a nonstop, single-handed round-the-world yacht race. For the next seven weeks he met every challenge in his stormy path, from combating waves the height of six-story buildings to grappling with his spinnaker in high winds. Then everything began going wrong: His sails were destroyed, his navigation equipment proved useless. And on Christmas Day his radio picked up a Mayday that a French competitor was sinking 160 miles away. Turning into the hurricane-force winds, Goss set out to rescue a near-dead man on a life raft somewhere in the vast wilderness of the merciless southern ocean. How he did it makes this extraordinary tale as amazing as it is thrilling.

Pete Goss was born in 1961 and as a child traveled around the world with his parents. He served in the Royal Marines for nine years prior to competing in the VendéGlobe Challenge. Goss has been awarded the Léon d'Honneur, France's highest award for gallantry, and the MBE and has been named Yachtsman of the Year. He lives in Cornwall with his family.