Knocking on Heaven's Door.

Melbourne: The Friends of the Earth, 1979.. 1979. Softcover. 8vo. softcover. 286pp. b/w illus. maps. very good. In 1974 the French military conducted their last atmospheric nuclear test. The Australian ketch La Flor, owned and skippered by the author, was the last protest yacht to sail into the testing area near Moru-roa atoll. It arrived too late for a critical confrontation. Out of touch with her supporters — and out of money — La Flor continued on her 15,000-mile odyssey, dropping anchor at dozens of islands between Pitcairn and Australia. Against the warp and woof of a sea-dog''s life the author presents a colourful embroidery of events and characters. Capsized. Grounded. A collision. Finally even arrest and imprisonment. The naval-gazings of a single-handed sailor. Encounters with kings and criminals, Prime Ministers and prostitutes, hermits, drug-runners, irate lovers, soldiers, sharks, storms. .