Pictured above is a 1942 GPW (General Purpose Willy's) amphibious Jeep built by Ford for the US army. I have just read a book about Ben Carlin, an Australian, who circumnavigated the globe in that strange vehicle. It is a cross between a row boat and a 4x4 Jeep. They were useless as an all terrain vehicle in WWII and were quickly abandoned by the army. But Ben thought it would be high adventure to travel the 5 continents and the 7 seas all in one vehicle, and to this day, he is the only person to ever do so.
The book is titled "Half-Safe" written by James Nestor. That is the name that Ben gave to his strange means of transportation and it was, really, less than half-safe. It is a crazy and dangerous journey that spanned many decades, but was finally completed in Canada where it began in 1951.
Ben was a strange character, rather dysfunctional to say the least, and there is not a whole lot of detail given as there was not much to work with after much research by the author. But it really did happen and what is told in the story is risky, dangerous, and sad, all at the same time.
Although well written, it is too short and missing large pieces of the journey. I do know one thing and that is that one had to be crazy and fearless to even attempt such a feat. Ben was both.
3 stars
2 comments:
Sounds like Burt Munro who bought an Indian Scout in the 19 40's, (or maybe 20's) I believe and spent the rest of his life modifying so that he ended up setting a land speed record when he was 63. Amazing story and if the movie is half accurate, the man was eccentric.
Mark said:
Your post reminded me that I drove one of these in Cairns Australia years back. I was on a Rainforest Tour and our guide told me that she was quiting that day and offered me the wheel. I didn`t hesitate to grab the wheel and push the gas petal to the floor. It doesn`t go that fast, but sure is fun driving in and out of streams and mud puddles.
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