A.J. Mackinnon in conversation with Peter Ironmonger

A.J. Mackinnon in conversation with Peter Ironmonger

Six seas, eight countries, 3000 kilometres, all in a tiny dinghy ... What could go wrong?

When A.J. ‘Sandy’ Mackinnon sailed a tiny dinghy through twelve countries from North Wales to the Black Sea, he survived pirates, the English Channel, international incidents and all the disasters, big and small, that can befall a little boat on a long voyage. Those adventures became his beloved bestseller The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow.

Decades later, that trip is a happy memory and Sandy is firmly back on land – until a message from a stranger presents an opportunity too good to refuse. Sandy picks up where his first voyage left off, sailing and rowing single handedly around the coast from Romania to Venice. From Istanbul to Ithaca, Mount Olympus to the ruins of Troy, he finds himself immersed in the legends of antiquity, plays chicken with mercurial border police, and is saved more than once by the kindness of strangers. He recounts it all with his unbreakable enthusiasm and self-deprecating humour, taking the reader on a hilarious and unforgettable adventure.


A.J. Mackinnon was born in Australia in 1963 and travelled as a boy on P&O liners between Australia and England, developing a love of slow travel. He has taught in schools around the world, sharing his passion for English literature, mathematics, drama, art and philosophy with countless students. He now lives in the Victorian High Country of Australia. He is the author of the international bestseller The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow, as well as The Well at the World’s End and Quaint Deeds. His forthcoming book is Realms of Gold.

A linguist and lifelong sailing enthusiast, Peter Ironmonger has been involved in sailing since learning with his father at Beaumaris Yacht Club on Port Phillip Bay in the early 1970s. He is currently building an 18-foot plywood trailer sailer, a Norwalk Islands Sharpie designed by Bruce Kirby, in his workshop. He spent 30 years with the Australian Trade Commission, including a posting as Trade Commissioner to Shanghai in the 2000s.