Herman Melville's Moby Dick afloat! 2027

“. . . learning seamanship illuminates the book brilliantly. Toby is inspiring, we never feel unconfident and we feel safe to think aloud. As a field trip, this is genius.”

Horatio Clare, Financial Times (writing about the 2025 Moby Dick Afloat!)

A not-to-be-missed opportunity to complete reading one of the greatest books ever written in English – an extraordinary story of obsession and maritime adventure – over the course of a six-day voyage aboard a traditional sailing ship. Four online meetings will introduce Moby Dick, followed by six study sessions at sea on the Eda Frandsen, a lovingly restored and maintained gaff cutter, originally built in Denmark in 1938. This unique study will allow readers to complement their appreciation of Herman Melville’s text with a practical understanding and experience of the reality of seafaring life under sail.

“I am half way in the work . . . It will be a strange sort of book, tho’, I fear; blubber is blubber you know; tho’ you might get oil out of it, the poetry runs as hard as sap from a frozen maple tree;—and to cool the thing up, one must needs throw in a little fancy, which from the nature of the thing, must be ungainly as the gambols of the whales themselves. Yet I mean to give the truth of the thing, spite of this.”

Herman Melville

First published in 1851, Moby Dick ranks on almost any list as one of the greatest works in the English language. Its three famous opening words ‘Call me Ishmael . . .’ together with the image of the one-legged Captain Ahab in mad pursuit of the great white whale, have become cultural icons. This grand—and occasionally grandiose—adventure tale unites the many voices of Herman Melville in a mongrel mix of epic poetry, Shakespearean tragedy, encyclopaedic cataloguing, biblical oratory, and not a small dose of comedy. Melville presents an insightful study of obsession, madness and charismatic leadership that anticipates many of our contemporary conversations about democracy, cosmopolitanism, capitalism and environmentalism.

In 2019, commemoration of the 200th year since Herman Melville’s birth generated rich responses and reconsiderations of this truly amazing book. Philip Hoare (mentioned below as one of the curators of the Moby Dick Big Read project) writes on its contemporary resonance in his article Subversive, queer and terrifyingly relevant: Six reasons why Moby Dick is the novel for our times. 

“The book features gay marriage, hits out at slavery and imperialism and predicts the climate crisis – 200 years after the birth of its author, Herman Melville, it has never been more important.”

Philip Hoare

Together, artist Angela Cockayne and writer Philip Hoare convened and curated a unique whale symposium and exhibition at Peninsula Arts, the dedicated contemporary art space at Plymouth University. This grew into an extraordinary compilation of art and voices (Tilda Swinton, Stephen Fry and more) – the Moby Dick Big Read – inspiring and inspired by this vast book.

Read Toby’s blog post about Moby Dick Afloat! in 2026.

SALON DETAILS:

• Five two-hour meetings online, followed by six-day study with six nights on board the Eda Frandsen from 3.00pm on Monday 13 September 2026 to 9.00am on Sunday 19 September 2027.
• Five online meetings (on Zoom) Wednesdays 5.30-7.30 pm (UK) in advance of departure, dates to be confirmed.
• Facilitated by Toby Brothers, Salon Director
• Recommended edition: Moby Dick (Norton Critical Edition, Third Edition 2018), by Herman Melville, edited by Herschel Parker; W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN-13: 978-0393285000
• Cost for four online meetings and six-night voyage with study sessions, including opening notes will be £2,180.00 per person (£1,680 to cover the cost of sailing on the Eda Frandsen + £500 for the literary study).
• Participants will be responsible for arranging their own travel to and from our departure and end point, the port of Oban on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, as well as insurance to cover their trip.
• We have just seven places available. If you are interested in joining, please email us using the subject line Moby Dick 2027 giving your name and a phone number on which we may contact you.
• Please note that the voyage will involve sharing confined living and sleeping space while onboard. We do not require you to have nautical skills, but some time spent on sailing boats or camping would be useful so you know what to expect. We ask you to let us know in your email whether you have such experience and to confirm that you are in good physical health.
• It is always possible that there may be rough seas and weather, so please consider carefully whether you are likely to be adversely affected by these conditions.
• If we are able to offer you a place we will ask for an initial deposit of £100 per person, with the balance due by 31 December 2026.