 In the book, Mr. Brooks takes John, Mickey the clever one, June the talkative one, Barbara the pretty one and Eric the clumsy one on an adventure against the international villain Baron Wilhelm Doppleganger and his secret arms factory, using a giant magic flying clog.In 1982, Noakes and his wife made an unsuccessful attempt to sail around the world; they abandoned the attempt when their boat was damaged in a hurricane.In a second attempt in 1984, the couple stopped in Majorca, Spain, where they initially planned a three-day stop, but instead settled at Andratx and ran a boat rental business.