Poor memories, brazen egos, and outright lies have characterized the accounts of the three-year, round-the-world journey of Capt. John Voss and his first mate, newspaperman N.K. Luxton.

But thatB次元官网网址檚 a situation author and historian John MacFarlane intends to set right when he comes to the Sooke Region Museum for an illustrated talk on the incredible voyage.

MacFarlane will describe how Voss and Luxton set out from Victoria in a yacht fashioned from dugout canoe and how their story made them the 1901 equivalent of todayB次元官网网址檚 rock stars.

B次元官网网址淭hey would arrive at a port and thousands of people would come out to see the pair,B次元官网网址� MacFarlane said.

B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址papers tracked their progress, and they were very famous around the world.B次元官网网址�

Unfortunately, the books written by the pair after the voyage were full of inaccuracies.

B次元官网网址淰ossB次元官网网址檚 book has been in print for 110 years, and I always took it to be the gospel truth,B次元官网网址� MacFarlane said.

B次元官网网址淚t wasnB次元官网网址檛 until I started researching that I found what had been written wasnB次元官网网址檛 at all accurate.B次元官网网址�

MacFarlane has uncovered evidence Voss, whose English was imperfect, had relied on a ghostwriter for his book and may never have read the manuscript.

So MacFarlane took it upon himself to sift fact from fiction, critically comparing VossB次元官网网址檚 and LuxtonB次元官网网址檚 accounts against library materials, archives, museums and other sources from around the world.

B次元官网网址淢ake no mistake about it, (the journey) was an incredible accomplishment. They set out in what was a pretty poorly designed yacht, without electronic navigation equipment or a motor. It was an amazing feat,B次元官网网址� MacFarlane said.

B次元官网网址淏ut the tales of cannibals and murder probably never happened. The real story of what happened has never really been told.B次元官网网址�

MacFarlane came by his interest in the Voss journey quite honestly.

As the past director of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Maritime Museum, he would see VossB次元官网网址檚 yacht, Tillicum, which was on display in the museum, every day.

B次元官网网址淚t never ceased to amaze me that this little boat carried these men around the globe,B次元官网网址� he recalled.

MacFarlaneB次元官网网址檚 research and work on the project has spanned three decades and now MacFarlane is ready to tell the real story of the voyage of the Tillicum.

HeB次元官网网址檒l be at the Sooke Region Museum on Nov. 17 between 2 and 4 p.m.

His book, Around the World in a Dugout Canoe, will be available for sale and autograph.

ItB次元官网网址檚 all part of the museumB次元官网网址檚 speaker series and itB次元官网网址檚 provided free of charge, although museum donations are welcome.

MacFarlane is also a driving force behind Nauticapedia.ca, a website dedicated to maritime history.

mailto:tim.collins@sookenewsmirror.com
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