Desperate Voyage

It's the end of WWII, the author is stranded in the United States, and he wants to return to his wife in Australia. So he buys a 27 foot cutter and sets sail across the Pacific. He survives 8,500 miles of variable seas, reefs, tropic islands, crossing the equator, languishing in the doldrums, and thrashing through hurricane seas - all single-handed. A charming (and terrifying) book.