The Missing Centimetre
One family's Atlantic sailing adventure
Check out the reviews!
Now also in German
and for the iPad - available in 32 countries
My aim in writing The Missing Centimetre was to inspire others – to make anyone who had ever dreamed a similar dream feel at least a little bit more confident about making that dream a reality.

When we first started talking about taking time out and going on an adventure we found very few books or other guides to help us along the way. By being truthful about the worries we had and difficulties we faced, as well as the eventual triumph and transformation we felt, we hope we might help some of you come to believe that it is possible to live a bigger life.

In our case, we snipped one short year out of the measure of our lives to make a voyage by boat, but the big questions we faced, about careers and family and, ultimately, what life is for, should be familiar to everyone – sailors and non-sailors alike.

As well as providing inspiration, I hope I’ve told a good story that will draw you in and keep you reading. We had a great time, visited some beautiful places and met some wonderful people. I am keen to hear what you think of the book.

Take a sneak preview of the book and check out the first couple of pages here.

See the interview on our our Movie's page here and some voices from the press here.

At Boot Düsseldorf 2012, the book was also be launched in German by Delius Klasing Verlag, one of Europe's biggest publishers within watersports. The title of the book is "Sabbatical auf See - Eine Familie setzt die Segel". See Interview from the exhibition on German TV ZDF here. Click here to order.
Look inside the book and check out the first pages
The Missing Centimetre is the inspiring story of an ordinary family, with ordinary sailing experience and a common dream, who, together, achieve something extraordinary.

Written as we sailed, the story is one of transformation, of our family growing together, learning to take big decisions, dangers, challenges and new worlds in our stride.

Not only is it the story of our north Atlantic circuit, but it also offers practical advice and tips based on hard-won experience of blue-water family sailing. The book is illustrated with over seventy full-colour photographs, maps and diagrams.

If you’ve ever wanted to know how it feels to make the break, set sail for the horizon and keep going, The Missing Centimetre might be for you.

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Leon being interviewed about the book. Click here to view it on our movie's page.
The Missing Centimetre has been published in December 2009 by Outworn Creed.

Via the Internet, the book is available for purchase through HR Parts&Accessories's webshop, Amazon or directly from the publisher, Outworn Creed. Outworn Creed has agreed to donate 10% of the cover price to the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation, which might turn it into your preferred supplier.
- 'After going to a lecture by a blue-water sailor, I said to her afterwards that I’d love to do one day what she had done. “Well”, she answered, “then do it!” I thought she had missed my point. As the typical dreamer I was at that time, I stoutly believed I couldn’t change my life. How stiff I was! Today, I see it very differently and would like to have the same effect on you as that lady had on me.  Reading on is, therefore, done at your own risk. Be warned: you might get infected and, one day, decide to go cruising as well. We would love to see you out there.'
 
- 'There was no moon and it was flat calm. Ahead, I could make out Polaris. To our stern lay the Southern Cross. The glassy Atlantic acted like a mirror. There was no visible horizon. Stars twinkled all around us. They were above us, to our sides and deep, deep below us. It felt absolutely as if we were hanging freely in space.'
Signing copies at the book launch of "The Missing Centimetre" at the London Boat Show, January 2010
Some reviews from the press below. Please also check the customer reviews on Amazon UK as well as Amazon US, who have already read the book.

"Prepare to be inspired by this compelling story of self-discovery...Read this book with caution, because it may cause you to quit your job and go after your dreams...'Sell up and sail' books are 10 a penny, but written as they sailed, this book provides a totally gripping tale. The enjoyable narrative combined with an extensive range of practical tips and a host of beautiful illustrations encourages the reader to rethink their dreams." Sailing Today, June 2010

"This book delivers more than just a toss-the-lines-and-go-sailing story. Instead of lists of gear, Schulz spends time discussing getting the family mentally ready for their adventure....making the reader ready to hop on board and sail away with them." Cruising World, June 2010

"But if you don’t buy it for yourself and you know some people teetering on the edge of doing something similar, give this book to them and turn them from dreamers to doers. Or better still, buy it for the friends at home who pose those hard-to-answer questions of why you are doing what you are doing. Leon explains it better than anyone I know." Caribbean Compass, May 2010

"...a very pleasant source of inspiration for all who are thinking of doing something similar". På Kryss, May 2010.

"Beautifully produced on high quality paper with superb colour photographs and written with an easy flowing style, the book describes the human experience of such an adventure...With the author's gift for painting vivid word pictures, the reader is taken along on the voyage and gains both inspiration and one family's answer to the question: why sail the oceans and what is it like?" Cruising, June 2010