Dove

At the age of sixteen, Robin Lee Graham climbed aboard a 24-foot sloop named Dove and set off on one of the greatest adventures of all time: to sail around the world alone.

But his dream of freedom quickly met the harsh reality of the open ocean. For five years and 30,000 miles, he battled monstrous storms, demastings, and the crushing, ever-present loneliness of being a boy isolated on an endless sea.

From the sun-drenched islands of the South Pacific to the stormy coasts of Africa and the enchanted isles of the Galápagos, this is the unforgettable true story of his journey. It is a tale of courage and survival against the odds. But it is also an unexpected love story that begins with a chance meeting in Fiji and a discovery that the hardest part of sailing around the world isn't leaving home—it's leaving behind the person who becomes your home.

His five-year, 30,000-mile voyage was more than a test of seamanship—it was a journey of discovery.

• A True Story of Adventure: At only sixteen years old, Robin Lee Graham set out from California in a 24-foot sloop to sail around the world, facing monstrous storms, demastings, and the vast, unforgiving sea.
• The Youngest Circumnavigator: Follow the incredible journey that made a teenager a legend, as he navigates the globe's most beautiful and dangerous waters single-handedly, from the South Pacific to the shores of Africa.
• An Unexpected Love Story: In the Fiji islands, a chance meeting with a young woman named Patti changes the course of his voyage and his life, proving that the greatest discoveries aren't always on a map.
• The Battle with Solitude: Experience the crushing loneliness of being a boy alone for a thousand days and nights at sea, an enemy more constant than any storm, and the resilience it took to keep sailing toward the next horizon.

In 1965, 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham began a solo around-the-world voyage from San Pedro, California, in a 24-foot sloop. Five years and 33,000 miles later, he returned to home port with a wife and daughter and enough extraordinary experiences to fill this bestselling book, Dove.