Willis became a sailor at 15, leaving his home in Hamburg, Germany, to sail around Cape Horn.[1]
A few days after New Years, 1938 (Page 5, "Damned and Damned Again") Willis rented a room in New York City from a French immigrant named Madame Carnot. Her son, Bernard Carnot, had been sent to Devil's Island in 1922 for a murder that he did not commit. Out of compassion and a sense of adventure, Willis set out to the penal colony to effect Bernard Carnot's escape, which he eventually accomplished.
During his first solo expedition in 1954 from South America to American Samoa, he sailed 6,700 miles – 2,200 miles farther than did Thor Heyerdahl on Kon-Tiki. His raft was named "Seven Little Sisters" and was crewed by himself, his parrot, and cat. Willis was age 61 at the time of this voyage. He selected the seven great balsa tree trunks which were used in the raft (hence the name Seven Little Sisters) himself at a balsa forest on a great inland estate. His (American) wife saw him off at the dockside in Callao, Peru. In an incident with the raft in the docks the day before sailing, Willis ruptured himself (suffered a hernia),[2] but nonetheless set sail as planned.
In a second great voyage ten years later, at the age of 71, he sailed 10,000 miles from South America to Australia single-handing a 34-foot (10.4 m) raft named Age Unlimited. He left Callao on 5 July 1963, made a lengthy stop in Apia, and after a total of 204 days at sea, arrived near Tully Heads, Queensland, completing his voyage on 9 September 1964.[3][4]
Death and legacy
At age 74, Willis made his third attempt at a solo crossing of the North Atlantic in a small sailboat. Willis left Montauk Point, Long Island on May 2, 1968, in his boat Little One. On September 24, 1968, the crew of the Soviet Latvian trawler Yantarny sighted his half-submerged boat nearly four hundred miles west of the Irish coast. No one was found on board. Willis' log was found on the boat, with its last entry dated July 21, 1968.
Novelist T. R. Pearson wrote the book Seaworthy: Adrift with William Willis in the Golden Age of Rafting (2006), summarizing Willis's adventures.
In 2014 russian rock group Orgia Pravednikov (lit. 'Orgy of The Righteous') released a single Vdal po siney vode (lit. 'Far on blue water') about Willis's final adventure.
Bibliography
Willis, William (1967). The Hundred Lives of an Ancient Mariner: An Autobiography. London: The Adventurers Club.
Willis, William (1966). Whom the Sea Has Taken. New York: Meredith Press.
Willis, William (1959). Damned and Damned Again: The True Story of the Last Escape from Devil's Island. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Willis, William (1955). The Epic Voyage of the Seven Little Sisters: A 6700 Mile Voyage Alone Across the Pacific. London: Hutchinson. (Previous title: The Gods Were Kind)
Willis, William (1966). An Angel on Each Shoulder. England: Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
Willis, William (1967). Whom the Sea Has Taken (First US ed.). New York: Meredith Press. (Previous title: An Angel on Each Shoulder)
william, willis, sailor, william, willis, september, 1893, july, 1968, american, sailor, writer, famous, solo, rafting, expeditions, across, oceans, william, willisborn, 1893, september, 1893hamburg, germanydiedjuly, 1968north, atlantic, oceannationalityameric. William Willis September 8 1893 July 1968 was an American sailor and writer who is famous due to his solo rafting expeditions across oceans William WillisBorn 1893 09 08 September 8 1893Hamburg GermanyDiedJuly 1968North Atlantic OceanNationalityAmericanCitizenshipUnited StatesOccupation s Writer sailor Contents 1 Early years 2 Death and legacy 3 Bibliography 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEarly years EditWillis became a sailor at 15 leaving his home in Hamburg Germany to sail around Cape Horn 1 A few days after New Years 1938 Page 5 Damned and Damned Again Willis rented a room in New York City from a French immigrant named Madame Carnot Her son Bernard Carnot had been sent to Devil s Island in 1922 for a murder that he did not commit Out of compassion and a sense of adventure Willis set out to the penal colony to effect Bernard Carnot s escape which he eventually accomplished During his first solo expedition in 1954 from South America to American Samoa he sailed 6 700 miles 2 200 miles farther than did Thor Heyerdahl on Kon Tiki His raft was named Seven Little Sisters and was crewed by himself his parrot and cat Willis was age 61 at the time of this voyage He selected the seven great balsa tree trunks which were used in the raft hence the name Seven Little Sisters himself at a balsa forest on a great inland estate His American wife saw him off at the dockside in Callao Peru In an incident with the raft in the docks the day before sailing Willis ruptured himself suffered a hernia 2 but nonetheless set sail as planned In a second great voyage ten years later at the age of 71 he sailed 10 000 miles from South America to Australia single handing a 34 foot 10 4 m raft named Age Unlimited He left Callao on 5 July 1963 made a lengthy stop in Apia and after a total of 204 days at sea arrived near Tully Heads Queensland completing his voyage on 9 September 1964 3 4 Death and legacy EditAt age 74 Willis made his third attempt at a solo crossing of the North Atlantic in a small sailboat Willis left Montauk Point Long Island on May 2 1968 in his boat Little One On September 24 1968 the crew of the Soviet Latvian trawler Yantarny sighted his half submerged boat nearly four hundred miles west of the Irish coast No one was found on board Willis log was found on the boat with its last entry dated July 21 1968 Novelist T R Pearson wrote the book Seaworthy Adrift with William Willis in the Golden Age of Rafting 2006 summarizing Willis s adventures Willis s adventure on Devil s Island was featured in the Season 4 premiere of Drunk History on Comedy Central 5 In 2014 russian rock group Orgia Pravednikov lit Orgy of The Righteous released a single Vdal po siney vode lit Far on blue water about Willis s final adventure Bibliography EditWillis William 1967 The Hundred Lives of an Ancient Mariner An Autobiography London The Adventurers Club Willis William 1966 Whom the Sea Has Taken New York Meredith Press Willis William 1959 Damned and Damned Again The True Story of the Last Escape from Devil s Island New York St Martin s Press Willis William 1955 The Epic Voyage of the Seven Little Sisters A 6700 Mile Voyage Alone Across the Pacific London Hutchinson Previous title The Gods Were Kind Willis William 1966 An Angel on Each Shoulder England Hutchinson amp Co Publishers Ltd Willis William 1967 Whom the Sea Has Taken First US ed New York Meredith Press Previous title An Angel on Each Shoulder See also EditAdventurers Club of New York Pre Columbian raftsReferences Edit Pearson T R 2006 Seaworthy Adrift with William Willis in the Golden Age of Rafting Crown Publishers New York ISBN 0 307 33594 1 Pearson T R June 26 2007 Seaworthy Adrift with William Willis in the Golden Age of Rafting ISBN 978 0307335951 USATODAY com Seaworthy adrift with a free spirit usatoday30 usatoday com Retrieved July 21 2022 U S Raftsman 71 Reaches Australia The New York Times September 10 1964 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved July 21 2022 Great Escapes retrieved September 30 2016External links EditRafting the Pacific Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Willis sailor amp oldid 1111782917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
