Marsden Hordern

Blue Water Warriors tells the story of the early Sydney to Hobart yacht races. Drawing on log books and memories of the navigator on a legendary competing yacht, a living part of Australia's maritime history. The Mistral II's crew encountered dangers and hazards not generally faced by today's competitors, without life rafts, radios and no propeller that was deliberately removed. At one point there were death-defying moments where Mistral II came terrifying close to being smashed against the tremendous cliffs of Tasman Island. Blue Water Warriors chronicles the fierce rivalry between Mistral II and Morna, at that time the most famous yachts in Australia, and tells of more relaxed times on the return voyages to Sydney.

Blue Water Warriors tells the story of the early Sydney to Hobart yacht races. Drawing on log books and memories of the navigator on a legendary competing yacht, a living part of Australia's maritime history. The Mistral II's crew encountered dangers and hazards not generally faced by today's competitors, without life rafts, radios and no propeller that was deliberately removed. At one point there were death-defying moments where Mistral II came terrifying close to being smashed against the tremendous cliffs of Tasman Island. Blue Water Warriors chronicles the fierce rivalry between Mistral II and Morna, at that time the most famous yachts in Australia, and tells of more relaxed times on the return voyages to Sydney.

In ""A Merciful Journey"", Marsden Hordern presents a vivid and compelling account of his full and happy childhood growing up in Sydney through his years serving in the Royal Australian Navy from 1942 to 1947. He details his rise from a young and callow sublieutenant to a lieutenant in command of his own ship, as he patrolled the shores of Japanese-held territory, assisted beleaguered commandos in Timor, and was finally caught up in the drama of collecting Japanese prisoners of war from the islands. ""A Merciful Journey"" is a delightful memoir of a young man's coming of age in wartime.