On Equal Terms: The First Disabled Crew to Sail Round the World - Racing in the BT Global Challenge.[Skipper+15 assorted crew members SIGNED copy.]

UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,SIGNED,1st edn.FINE+/FINE+.No owner inscrptn but an assortment of 15 crew members' signatures to front free endpaper and the yacht's skipper, James Hatfield's inscrptn: 'To Martin Groves from the skipper and crew of Time and Tide' to top edge of half-title page along with his signature and MBE notation and Skipper,below the title of the half-title page and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour photographic illustrated dw/dj, with yellow+white lettering; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, original plain dark blue cloth boards with bright,crisp, blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain pale grey endpapers - front free endpaper signatures excepted.UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn,5-223pp [paginated] includes contents list/table with skipper's (James Hatfield) dedication to its verso,a foreword by Sir Chay Blyth, acknowledgements,a glossary,a preface,8 chapters,profuse, contemporary b/w+colour (the majority) auto+ biographical and scenic photographs throughout the text and the book; plus [unpaginated] colour photographic part illustrated skipper dedicated+SIGNED half-title page, and title page.
Departed from Southampton,29/09/1996. Calls at Rio de Janeiro,Wellington (NZ), Sydney,Capetown,Boston (USA). Returned Southampton,17/07/1997 taking a total of 176 days 18 hours and 10 minutes.
Many claim it is the toughest race in the world.Organised by master yachtsman Sir Chay Blyth,the 30,000 mile BT Global Challenge forces its competitors the wrong way round the world,against prevailing winds and currents.The ten month race is not for the faint hearted,which is why the Time and Tide crew are so perfectly suited for the tough conditions.Each member has already fought far fiercer battles just to survive and lead normal lives following serious illness,disability or injury.
The skipper,James Hatfield,was born with a hole in the heart and underwent 8 major operations before the age of twenty-one.But his passion for sailing was born during those difficult times and he went on to become one of Britain's best-known single-handed yachtsmen.His crew, some of whom had virtually no sailing experience before their ten month marathon,are equally fearless.Four are amputees,two are deaf,two are partially sighted and two have cerebral palsy.Yet they seldom dwell on their disabilities,sharing a mutual determination to compete on equal terms with the other boats.It is the first time that a disabled crew has ever competed in such a race.
This is the account,told from the crew's perspective,of their achievements,frustrations,disasters and triumphs as they compete under intense pressure - and in the full glare of the world's media,which could be both supportive and patronizing. 'ON EQUAL TERMS' tells of the early struggles of Time and Tide to enrol in the race and be taken seriously as a competitor,of raising sponsorship against all the odds,of the loss of several crew members while the race was in progress, some to illness, some with grievances,and of the calamities and dangers they endured to pass the finishing line,including the drama of one amputee breaking his good leg and needing to be strapped to his bunk for three weeks while on the high seas. . . .
It is a story of challenge and struggle,but above all of the resilience of the human spirit in conditions which can be lonely, frustrating and dangerous.It is the ultimate tale of overcoming enormous odds to conquer both the stormiest of oceans and the prejudices of the able bodied.
Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. **N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **