Tristan Jones was a mariner, adventurer and author of 13 marine adventure books, a text on single handed sailing, numerous articles and short stories and two novels. As one of the most prolific and best-loved authors of sailing stories, Tristan sparked a zeal for adventure in us that most of us will only dream.

Tristan tells us he was born at sea on May 8, 1924, off the island of Tristan da Cunha aboard his father’s tramp steamer. A self-described Welshman, in his books he tells a now known fabricated story of how he left school at age 14 to work on sailing barges and spent almost all of his 71 years at sea - in the Royal Navy, as a delivery skipper, and as a daring adventurer in search of new seagoing challenges.

Captain Jones has clamed to have logged 450,000 nautical miles - probably more than any other living person. Mostly aboard small sailboats and mostly alone. He said he sailed the Atlantic at least 20 times, 9 were single-handed and he has circumnavigated the globe 3 1/2 times. We now know he sailed about 75,000 miles, equal to three times the circumference of the earth.

He described how he spent a winter frozen into the Arctic ice. He told us he sailed Sea Dart on the highest navigable water in the world and then sailed, pushed and dragged that sturdy boat across 6,000 miles of South America to set another record.

Recently the truth of Tristan Jones "lives" has been published in a detailed biography by Anthony Dalton. Here we learn that most of his life was a fabrication with many stories being total fiction. Some of us who love his stories would have liked to believe every word. However, the fact remains that many of Tristan's true exploits would have made marvelous reading without any embellishments.

I have to agree with Brice Keller who left this message in this sites original guestbook "Tris was a great sailor and storyteller. I don't care if he never left his flat and dreamt up every one of his books. They have provided countless hours of enjoyment for myself and many others." (page 309 of Anthony Dalton's biography)

The 'truth' in the end is that Tristan Jones tells a story with words that roll and crash with the waves. You actually feel the triumph, pain, and full range of emotion as though you were there or sometimes as if he was speaking just to you over a pint in a local pub. A unique ability to touch your soul and through words alone, see with his eyes.

About a month before his death, Tristan became aware of the Internet and said "I literally 'bust a gut' to get on it. It was worthwhile. I am berthed again next to my buddies... What changes there have been in the world! Imagine if we'd had anything like this thing I'm tapping on sixty years ago! What good luck the young lads and lasses have today! And so they should, too..." Tristan left us before he could use the Internet to share his story. It is left to us to meet this challenge.

If you have not read his extraordinary adventure stories, do yourself a favor and pick up one of his books... any one of his books. An extraordinary adventure is only a page turn away.

At his end, Tristan was a double leg amputee, poor and alone in Thailand far from his roots although not far from home, because the world was his home. He then dedicated his efforts to handicapped children. Wanting the world, and those children to know that although physically challenged they are of great value when the sprit is strong. He was still planning his next voyage, his next accomplishment, his next challenge. Always with purpose and treating every setback as a new test to be passed and proven insignificant.

Amazingly, few of today's sailors even know about Tristan Jones. This is both sad and truly unfortunate as he fought hard to preserve the love of sail for all of us. But his ember still burns bright and with our help it can be brought again to flame. Spread the word!

Tristan died June 21, 1995.