Tristan Jones facts for kids
Arthur Jones, known by his pen name Tristan Jones, was a British sailor and writer. He was born in 1929 and lived until 1995. Tristan spent most of his life at sea, first in the British Royal Navy. Later, he sailed small yachts on many adventures. Starting in 1977, he wrote sixteen books and many articles about his sailing trips. His stories were very entertaining, but he often mixed real events with made-up ones. In his books about his own life, he even created a different childhood for himself.
Contents
Early Life and Adventures
Tristan Jones, whose real name was Arthur Jones, was born in 1929 in Liverpool, England. He grew up mostly in orphanages and did not get much schooling. In 1946, after World War II, he joined the Royal Navy and served for 14 years.
After leaving the Navy, he bought a sailboat. He found ways to make a living by sailing around the Mediterranean Sea. He taught himself how to write and sold articles to sailing magazines.
The Incredible Voyage
In the early 1970s, Tristan had a big idea. He wanted to set a "sailing altitude record." This meant sailing on both the lowest open water in the world, the Dead Sea, and one of the highest, Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is 3,812 meters (12,507 feet) high in the Andes Mountains.
He sailed his boat to Israel and then had it moved by truck to the Dead Sea. He couldn't launch his own boat there, but he did get to sail a short distance on the sea in another officer's boat.
Next, he sailed his boat from Israel all the way around Africa to the Caribbean. There, he traded his boat for a smaller one. He sailed this new boat to Peru. From Peru, he had it trucked up to Lake Titicaca. He successfully sailed on the lake, completing his "record."
After that, he moved his sailboat across Bolivia to Brazil. He sailed down the Paraguay River through the Mato Grosso area to Paraguay and Argentina.
His exciting story about this adventure was published in 1977. It was his first book, called The Incredible Voyage.
Writing and Storytelling
Tristan Jones wrote The Incredible Voyage while living in Greenwich Village in New York City. The book was very popular, and he soon wrote many more.
Tristan loved to tell exciting tales. He sometimes made up parts of his past to make his stories even more interesting. For example, in his books, he claimed he was born at sea in 1924. He said he left school at 14 to work on sailing barges. He also wrote that he served as a young sailor in the Royal Navy during World War II.
While his war stories were fun to read, they were not always true. Besides his books about his own life, he wrote five other entertaining sailing adventure books. These included Ice! (1978), Saga of a Wayward Sailor (1979), and Adrift (1980).
Tristan Jones became a well-known person in the sailing world. In 1982, he published a helpful book called One Hand for Yourself, One for the Ship. This book shared tips for sailing a boat by yourself.
Later Life and More Voyages
In 1982, Tristan had health problems and accidents. Because of this, his left leg had to be removed. Even so, he started sailing again! He wanted to inspire other people with disabilities.
He sailed a special boat called a trimaran named Outward Leg. He sailed it from San Diego to London, going through Colombia, Panama, and New York City. He wrote about this journey in his book Outward Leg.
After that, he continued his journey across central Europe by river and canal to the Black Sea. This trip was told in his book The Improbable Voyage. Then he sailed around southern Asia to Thailand, which he wrote about in Somewheres East of Suez.
In 1991, he also lost his right leg. This made him feel very sad for a while, but he did go back to sea briefly.
He eventually settled in Phuket, Thailand. He took on a new name, 'Ali'. He signed his letters as 'Ali' to some friends.
Films About Tristan Jones
- Tristan Jones: the Psychology of Adventure (1990)
- The Incredible Tristan Jones (1990)
A few years after his long voyage to Thailand, Tristan Jones visited New York. He gave a talk about his travels, which was recorded. This recording became a video and DVD called Tristan Jones: the Psychology of Adventure. Later, the people who made that film interviewed Tristan at a pub. This interview became another video called The Incredible Tristan Jones.
Books by Tristan Jones
- The Incredible Voyage (1977)
- Ice! (1978)
- Saga of a Wayward Sailor (1979)
- Dutch Treat (1979)
- Adrift (1980)
- Aka (1981)
- A Steady Trade: A Boyhood at Sea (1982)
- One Hand for Yourself, One for the Ship: The Essentials of Single Handed Sailing (1982)
- Yarns (1983)
- Heart of Oak (1984)
- Outward Leg (1985)
- The Improbable Voyage (1986)
- Somewheres East of Suez (1988)
- Seagulls In My Soup (1991)
- To Venture Further (1991)
- Encounters of a Wayward Sailor (1995)
