Why I Wrote the Bookfrom John PollackIn 1999 I was working as a Washington speechwriter when, frustrated by the cynicism and hypocrisy of Congress, I quit my job to pursue a whimsical ambition that I had been harboring since the age of six – to build a boat made entirely of wine corks, and to take it on an epic journey. That was easier said than done. But over the next two years I convinced dozens of skeptical bartenders and waiters to save corks for the boat (supplementing those I had been saving for nearly three decades), struggled with a brilliant yet challenging partner to overcome serious design hurdles, and eventually cajoled more than 100 volunteers to help build the boat itself.In 2002, we completed this vessel of 165,321 corks, shipped it to Portugal and spent 17 days sailing and rowing down the Douro River, where the Cork Boat became a national sensation. The whole adventure was so improbable yet so colorful that, upon my return to the United States, I felt compelled to write the story.The result is Cork Boat.
