Chapter Two is mostly about…

For five summers, a cliff-top idyll at Woods Hole, at the south-western corner of Cape Cod, MA, was where young Whitney spent his summers, grappling with the currents ripping through the Elizabeth Islands as he learned to sail in Buzzards Bay.

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My direction of travel

Whitney Straight road sign

On the door of my study is an old American road sign, directing drivers to a small town down the road named Whitney. Insert a comma, and ‘WHITNEY STRAIGHT, AHEAD’ is my direction of travel.

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My cockpit

Paul Kenny - Clemenceau's desk

This isn’t where I write – though I wish it were. It’s the place Georges Clemenceau retired to after losing the French presidential elections of 1919. It’s in St-Vincent-sur-Jard, about 30km down the Atlantic coast from Les Sables d’Olonne.

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