The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float

Legendary adventurer and author Farley Mowat dreamed of setting sail from the shores of Newfoundland to roam the seven seas.

Unfortunately, the boat he found was the worst in the world. The Happy Adventure, despite all that Mowat and his Newfoundland helpers could do, leaked like a sieve. Her engine only worked when she felt like it. Typically, on her maiden voyage, with the engine stuck in reverse, she backed out of the harbor under full sail. And she sank, regularly.

How Mowat, his wife, and a varied crew coaxed the boat from Newfoundland to Lake Ontario (encountering sharks, rum-runners, rum and a host of unforgettable characters along the way) makes for a marvelous, and very funny, story. Perfect reading for anyone who ever loved a boat despite all reason.

“….as engaging a true sailing tale as you will ever read, by the incomparable Farley Mowat, author, environmentalist, activist, sailor of so-so proficiency. You should care because this book is reading entertainment of the highest level." -- Foreword Magazine