On February 15, 1999, a capsized sailboat drifts in the remote reaches of the Southern Ocean. The yacht's captain, Isabelle Autissier, had been leading a prestigious race around the world for single-handed sailors. Now she is about as far away from rescue as can be, almost midway between Australia and the coast of Chile.

Her only hope lies with her fellow race competitors. One of them, Giovanni Soldini, immediately turns his 60' sailboat and begins a search for a "small speck of grey" in this enormous ocean. As he proceeds back to Autissier's last reported site, "Born to Sail" starts to tell a story of friendship and loss at sea. The backstory of these two extraordinary sailors is interwoven with the reality of battling fatigue and huge waves in life-threatening situations.

To sail around the world is a captivating, romantic notion, but one difficult to accomplish. To race a sailboat, solo, around the world is awe-inspiring and infinitely more challenging. "Born to Sail" weaves the adventure of both the rescue and the racing into a brisk, easy-to-read style that both sailors and non-sailors can enjoy.

This book is illustrated with photos, charts and sketches.