A week of stories and extracts from novels that take the sea and the sailor's never-ending battle with the elements as their theme.


EpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast
RepeatedDescription
01The Far Side Of The World2004091320050828By Patrick O'Brian
This extract finds Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in the balmy South Pacific relaxing as the ship slips easily along
Read by Benedict Cumberbatch.
02The Voyage2004091420050904By Washington Irving.
In the 19th century an American traveller reflects on space and time as he makes the long voyage from the New World to the Old.
Read by Julian Wadham 
03Youth2004091520050911By Joseph ConradA voyage to the exotic east promises much to Joseph Conrad's young hero in this extract from one of his celebrated stories of the sea.
If the ship manages to leave harbour that is.
Read by Jonathan Firth 
04I Have Been Drowned2004091620050918By Tom Hopkinson
A quirky story of a sailor's attempt to cheat his fate by daring it to take him if it will.
Read by Jonathan Firth 
05 LASTThe Cruel Sea2004091720050925By Nicholas Monsarrat
HMS Compass Rose stops engines to make repairs and wallows undefended on an ocean alive with U-boats in this extract from the classic novel of war at sea.
Read by Julian Wadham 

Advertising