They made a shrewd guess that I could give them some useful information, and they were the first to meet me. Some one said they came to arrest me, and - well, let it go at that.

However the owner strapped for cash sold the vessel out from under Slocum and he and Virginia found themselves stranded in the Philippines without a ship. On April 24 1895 he set sail from Boston Massachusetts. Slocum normally sailed the Spray without touching the helm.

In 1900 he wrote a book about his journey Sailing Alone Around the World which became an international best-seller. Joshua Slocum (February 20 1844 – on or shortly after November 14 1909) was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian born naturalised American seaman and adventurer and a noted writer.