PODCAST · history

Track of the Typhoon

by William Washburn Nutting

In 1920, William Nutting, editor of Motor Boat Magazine and an avid sailor, commissioned his friend, the renowned naval architect William Atkin, to craft a boat for an ambitious Atlantic crossing. While the official aim of the voyage was to participate in the yacht races off Cowes, England, Nutting and Atkin had a deeper purpose to demonstrate that crossing vast oceans was possible in what was then deemed a small vessel. The outcome was Typhoon, a 45-foot ketch that carried Nutting and his companions on a remarkable three-week journey across the North Atlantic. Their adventure included racing and cruising in Europe before returning to New York via the southern route. This book captures the entirety of their thrilling expedition. Tragically, four years later, Nutting was lost at sea on a different voyage. (Summary by Alan Dove)