The Cruise of the Snark

The Cruise of the Snark Summary

The Cruise of the Snark is Jack London's 1911 memoir chronicling his adventurous voyage across the South Pacific aboard the Snark, a 45-foot ketch he built himself. Accompanied by his wife, Charmian, and a small crew, London set sail from San Francisco in 1907, exploring various islands and immersing himself in diverse cultures. The narrative offers insights into the challenges and exhilarations of sea travel, as well as London's reflections on the societies he encountered.

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The Cruise of the Snark Excerpt

Short Summary: Jack London recounts his 1907 voyage across the South Pacific aboard the Snark, detailing the adventures and challenges faced by him, his wife Charmian, and their small crew as they explore remote islands and encounter diverse cultures.

"It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen. Between swims, it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine. Roscoe was a yachtsman. I had followed the sea a bit. It was inevitable that we should talk about boats. We talked about small boats, and the seaworthiness of small boats. We instanced Captain Slocum and his three years' voyage around the world in the Spray.

We asserted that we were not afraid to go around the world in a small boat, say forty feet long. We asserted furthermore that we would like to do it. We asserted finally that there was nothing in this world we'd like better than a chance to do it.

'Let us do it,' we said... in fun.

Then I asked Charmian privily if she'd really care to do it, and she said that it was too good to be true.

The next time we breathed our skins in the sand by the swimming pool I said to Roscoe, 'Let us do it.'

I was in earnest, and so was he, for he said: 'When shall we start?'

I had a house to build on the ranch, also an orchard, a vineyard, and several hedges to plant, and a number of other things to do. We thought we would start in four or five years. Then the lure of the adventure began to grip us. Why not start at once? We'd never be younger, any of us. Let the orchard, vineyard, and hedges be growing up while we were away. When we came back, they would be ready for us, and we could live in the barn while we built the house.

So the trip was decided upon, and the building of the Snark began. We named her the Snark because we could not think of any other name—this information is given for the benefit of those who otherwise might think there is something occult in the name.

Our friends cannot understand why we make this voyage. They shudder, and moan, and raise their hands. No amount of explanation can make them comprehend that we are moving along the line of least resistance; that it is easier for us to go down to the sea in a small ship than to remain on dry land, just as it is easier for them to remain on dry land than to go down to the sea in the small ship."

This passage from the foreword sets the stage for London's adventurous spirit and the motivations behind embarking on the voyage of the Snark.