Perspective

The perspective of the book is that of Bernard, an adventurous and lone sailor. As Bernard states in the appendix, sailors often write books about their adventures in order to support their ability to continue to have boats and sea voyages. The book "The Long Way" tracks the day-to-day adventures of Bernard and the ship Joshua. Bernard has to make sure that the boat is steered in the proper direction though most of this is done through a self-steering mechanism. He wants to go as fast as possible without excessively endangering Joshua by capsizing. Bernard has many practical things to worry about such as whether he catches enough rain to keep up his water supply and whether the boat is properly maintained.

Bernard is clear that the solo sailor must be constantly on his guard. In a vivid incident, a sextant is used and not put away properly...