I came upon a reference to this book at the Cruising Association’s marine library in London’s Limehouse. It was in a pilot for the Red Sea and it has taken me until now to find a copy. It was worth the wait.

Tintin and Malto Cortes were influenced by Henry de Monfried, an adventurer sailor and later a prolific writer. It was great to discover one of their original sources.

This is a fantastic adventure yarn with descriptions of natural occurrences that are often as beautiful as they are wild.

Monfried was an elegant and entertaining writer and possessed of a wisdom that is Oriental, even while he is a very modern man.

You learn much about the Arabian Red Sea from Djibouti, Aden, and then on past Eritrea, and Yemen to Egypt. He writes of a time before World War II that is accessible and human, full of conceit and treachery but also of courage and nobleness where disaster is never far off.

A warm story teller, illuminating a reality of — as yet! — not fully exploited potential, which he strode in the best tradition of Sinbad the Sailor; utterly captivating.

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