Small Wonders

In the broad spectrum of human sailing endeavors, few confuse the uninitiated more than the desire to sail around the world in a small boat. By “small” I mean really small—like less than 20ft small—and in some cases much tinier than that, like the 5ft 41/2in , which the redoubtable Tom McNally built from a washing machine and a wardrobe to sail across the Atlantic in 134 days. His record (and possibly his heart) was broken the same year by Hugo Vihlen, who made the journey in 115 days in , just half an inch