13 FEBRUARY 1953, Page 28

Temptress Returns. By Edward .AlIcard. (Putnam. 12s. 6d.) IN this

book Mr. Edward Allcard proves that he is not only an intrepid sailor, but also an efficient journalist who almost invariably finds the telling phrase. This well-produced volume is a record of his adventures aboard the 'Temptress' as he crossed the Atlantic from West to East. (The 'Temptress', a small yacht, is a 34-foot yawl.) Mr. Allcard did most of this fantastic journey alone. Discomforts had to be recorded, and their very recording was a safety-valve for any dreary thoughts which may have plagued him. But he had, quite truthfully, a very bad time of it indeed. He ran into gale after gale, badly hurt his right hand, and, as for his yacht, its sails were in shreds and its mizzen gone by the time it reached the Azores. Mr. Allcard's style is ingenuous and somewhat emotional. " A single-hander does not have to control his feelings in periods of excitement, " he says after spotting land, " and, on that incredible day at that incredible hour, I gave full and complete rein to my natural self." The most surprising thing that happened to him was that a girl stowaway appeared when he left the Azores. She withdrew at Casablanca, greatly to his regret. It is a charming episode in a most refreshing and sincere