I was reading another thread when I came across Duncan's reference to a book that he found inspirational. Like a lot of you, I suspect, I am, in addition to being a real sailor, an armchair sailor as well. I'm a bit unusual in that the bulk of my armchair-sailoring occurs in the summer as I am a teacher and, therefore, have more time in the summer to read. It got me to thinking that a book thread would be good in so many ways. You might recommend a book to educate us, excite us, scare the mess out of us, or just entertain us. Since I'm starting the thread I get to go first.
1. By the Wind. By Richard Baum. My favorite. About a fellow who sails mostly the Northeast, but also a few trips to the Islands without an engine.
2. The Compleat Cruiser. By L Francis Herreshoff. This one is as educational as it is entertaining. A must-read if you are a cruiser.
3. Sensible Cruising Designs. By L. Francis Herreshoff. You have to read the chapters on the H28 and Rozinante.
Favorite Sailing Books
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Figment
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My Old Man And The Sea by Daniel Hays. A guy and his son take a smallish boat from New London around cape horn and back.
Taking On The World by Ellen MacArthur.
All This and Sailing Too Olin Stephens' autobiography, best read with a copy of Lines at your elbow.
The Lobster Chronicles by Linda Greenlaw. I have a soft spot for lobsterman books.
The Nature of Boats by Dave Gerr. Because I'm a nerd.
Dances With Waves by Brian Wilson. An otherwise sane guy paddles a kayak around Ireland.
On the Water by Nathaniel Stone. An otherwise sane guy rows the "Great Circle Route" around the eastern US.
Or we could just post pics of our bookshelves! ;)
Taking On The World by Ellen MacArthur.
All This and Sailing Too Olin Stephens' autobiography, best read with a copy of Lines at your elbow.
The Lobster Chronicles by Linda Greenlaw. I have a soft spot for lobsterman books.
The Nature of Boats by Dave Gerr. Because I'm a nerd.
Dances With Waves by Brian Wilson. An otherwise sane guy paddles a kayak around Ireland.
On the Water by Nathaniel Stone. An otherwise sane guy rows the "Great Circle Route" around the eastern US.
Or we could just post pics of our bookshelves! ;)
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CharlieJ
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The book that first lit my fire on cruising was "Princess , New York" By Joe Richards.
He buys a rather run down Friendship sloop prior to WWII and cruises down the ICW in it, repairing and improving as he goes, searching for his "island in the sun". After the war he picks back up.
Joe died in the late 80s and still had Princess. He was living in Florida then and he and Princess had found his "Island"
Another book I have enjoyed enough to read several times is one of Eric Hiscocks first published books- "Wandering Under Sail" He tells about his early cruises in Wanderer and Wanderer II, before he met Susan and then of the first cruises they took. All over the English isles, Brittany, Norway, etc, all engineless.
And of course the timeless "Riddle of the Sands" by Erskine Caldwell.
And we have books by the Pardey's, Don Street, and the Hiscocks later cruising and voyaging books, Way to many to list.
In addition, anything by Tristan Jones- he was a total prevaricator and didn't do half of what he wrote about, but he sure spun a good tale.
He buys a rather run down Friendship sloop prior to WWII and cruises down the ICW in it, repairing and improving as he goes, searching for his "island in the sun". After the war he picks back up.
Joe died in the late 80s and still had Princess. He was living in Florida then and he and Princess had found his "Island"
Another book I have enjoyed enough to read several times is one of Eric Hiscocks first published books- "Wandering Under Sail" He tells about his early cruises in Wanderer and Wanderer II, before he met Susan and then of the first cruises they took. All over the English isles, Brittany, Norway, etc, all engineless.
And of course the timeless "Riddle of the Sands" by Erskine Caldwell.
And we have books by the Pardey's, Don Street, and the Hiscocks later cruising and voyaging books, Way to many to list.
In addition, anything by Tristan Jones- he was a total prevaricator and didn't do half of what he wrote about, but he sure spun a good tale.
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David VanDenburgh
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Another good one
Richard Bode's First You Have to Row a Little Boat is an excellent afternoon read. The subtitle is something like "Lessons on life and living." Bode was a journalist and sailor who learned how to sail as a boy and finally bought a classic blue sloop that he had longed for during his youth. Truly a great read.
David
David
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Tim
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I also do a lot more reading in the summer, mostly as a prime function of cruising. For most of the year, I don't normally have a ton of time to read, though I manage a couple pages every night before I crack my head on the wall behind my bed as I doze off, but when cruising, I power through books at an alarming rate. My cruises are the only time I really have to totally relax, and there's nothing I like more than just sitting in the cockpit all day long reading (punctuated by trips to the galley, of course).
I have a few sailing books that pretty much live on the boat, and which I reread annually. They're all quick reads, and none are trying to be too important--just fun.
Blown Away, by Herb Payson: A musician and his cocktail waitress wife sell out and go cruising in the South Pacific on a wooden ketch in the 1970s. Bumbling, honest, and downright amusing.
You Can't Blow Home Again, by Herb Payson: Part II of the above. Not quite as much fun as the original, but still good.
The following four books simply chronicle, in a nice innocent and breathless style, the 7-year circumnavigation of the Pardey's aboard Seraffyn--the trip that led to their guru-ness. Great fodder for the cruising wannabe, despite the fact that we all know how things have changed so much since the 70s. But frankly, I think all cruising dreamers wish it were like this (and I think too many people still think it will be just like this...).
Cruising in Seraffyn, by Lin & Larry Pardey
Seraffyn's European Adventure, by Lin & Larry Pardey
Seraffyn's Mediterranean Adventure, by Lin & Larry Pardey
Seraffyn's Oriental Adventure, by Lin & Larry Pardey
(All the other books by the Pardeys are good reads too--I have them all, though they're all more instructional than just pure documentary.)
Dorothy Elizabeth, by Roger Duncan: A skilled and experienced lifelong sailor (and author of the ubiquitous Cruising Guide to the New England Coast) builds (or has built) a boat to replace the Friendship sloop he has sailed and chartered for years, now that he's getting a bit too elderly to handle the Friendship's sail plan. Nothing earth shattering--just a pleasing book somehow. Also look for Eastward by the same author.
Sailing in a Spoonful of Water, by Joe Coomer: A nerdy, inexperienced Texan/Maine summer person buys a quirky wooden motorsailer and bumbles around southern Maine. Artfully written. And I know the people who "saved" him, as described in a portion of the book.
The Boat Who Wouldn't Float, by Farley Mowat: I guess everyone's not into Mowat, but this winter I've read some other works by him, and I have to say I've come to love his writing style. I can't wait for summer to read this classic again.
I also have and frequently reread all the Hal Roth books, though they're more of an acquired taste, I think.
This is just a short list of some of my perennial favorites. My shelves (well, mostly still in boxes) are full of all manner of other sailing books, running the gamut from the usual DIY books to lots of books written about offshore races (some good, some really poor), and many of the books that have been listed in others' posts. And some books that I wonder why I have.
I have a few sailing books that pretty much live on the boat, and which I reread annually. They're all quick reads, and none are trying to be too important--just fun.
Blown Away, by Herb Payson: A musician and his cocktail waitress wife sell out and go cruising in the South Pacific on a wooden ketch in the 1970s. Bumbling, honest, and downright amusing.
You Can't Blow Home Again, by Herb Payson: Part II of the above. Not quite as much fun as the original, but still good.
The following four books simply chronicle, in a nice innocent and breathless style, the 7-year circumnavigation of the Pardey's aboard Seraffyn--the trip that led to their guru-ness. Great fodder for the cruising wannabe, despite the fact that we all know how things have changed so much since the 70s. But frankly, I think all cruising dreamers wish it were like this (and I think too many people still think it will be just like this...).
Cruising in Seraffyn, by Lin & Larry Pardey
Seraffyn's European Adventure, by Lin & Larry Pardey
Seraffyn's Mediterranean Adventure, by Lin & Larry Pardey
Seraffyn's Oriental Adventure, by Lin & Larry Pardey
(All the other books by the Pardeys are good reads too--I have them all, though they're all more instructional than just pure documentary.)
Dorothy Elizabeth, by Roger Duncan: A skilled and experienced lifelong sailor (and author of the ubiquitous Cruising Guide to the New England Coast) builds (or has built) a boat to replace the Friendship sloop he has sailed and chartered for years, now that he's getting a bit too elderly to handle the Friendship's sail plan. Nothing earth shattering--just a pleasing book somehow. Also look for Eastward by the same author.
Sailing in a Spoonful of Water, by Joe Coomer: A nerdy, inexperienced Texan/Maine summer person buys a quirky wooden motorsailer and bumbles around southern Maine. Artfully written. And I know the people who "saved" him, as described in a portion of the book.
The Boat Who Wouldn't Float, by Farley Mowat: I guess everyone's not into Mowat, but this winter I've read some other works by him, and I have to say I've come to love his writing style. I can't wait for summer to read this classic again.
I also have and frequently reread all the Hal Roth books, though they're more of an acquired taste, I think.
This is just a short list of some of my perennial favorites. My shelves (well, mostly still in boxes) are full of all manner of other sailing books, running the gamut from the usual DIY books to lots of books written about offshore races (some good, some really poor), and many of the books that have been listed in others' posts. And some books that I wonder why I have.
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cantstopnow
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Duncan
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It's funny, my other "hobby" is fly-fishing and they tend to be readers/writers, too.
Thanks for all the titles - here are some more that another group put together, along with some "lists of lists".
I really enjoyed This Thing of Darkness/To the Edge of the World (careful, it's the same book, published under either title, so don't get both!).
I like The Hinckley Guide to Yacht Care : How to Keep Your Boat the Hinckley Way, mostly for the way he writes, plus beautiful photos and really good drawings. It's not snooty, and it sort of reminds me of talking to the yard manager.
I find Tom Colvin's Cruising As a Way of Life is similar that way, lots of practical stuff, opinions, formulas, and personal observations. It's out of print, but he'll send you Coastwise and Offshore Cruising Wrinkles, which includes "several of the chapters".
Thanks for all the titles - here are some more that another group put together, along with some "lists of lists".
I really enjoyed This Thing of Darkness/To the Edge of the World (careful, it's the same book, published under either title, so don't get both!).
I like The Hinckley Guide to Yacht Care : How to Keep Your Boat the Hinckley Way, mostly for the way he writes, plus beautiful photos and really good drawings. It's not snooty, and it sort of reminds me of talking to the yard manager.
I find Tom Colvin's Cruising As a Way of Life is similar that way, lots of practical stuff, opinions, formulas, and personal observations. It's out of print, but he'll send you Coastwise and Offshore Cruising Wrinkles, which includes "several of the chapters".
Cape Dory 10 & 27
Great thread!
A number of my favorites have already been mentioned (but heck, I'll throw in another recommendation for the Pardey's "Seraffyn" series and also "My Old Man and the Sea").
I really enjoyed "Chasing the Dream: Tryste Around the World,"* by Val Haigh. Val, along with her husband and four (of six) daughters, built a tri-maran on Salt Spring Island in BC and then sailed it around the world. Granted, it was the late 1960s, but when they left they planned on a year or two and they had $1000 to their name. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized that they were around the same age as my parents; just trying to imagine them doing that with my brother and I - I don't think so!
I found the book in a small shop on Salt Spring when I had just set out cruising for the first time, so that added to the magic, but I've re-read it a few times in later years and still liked it just as much.
Another book I found at around the same time was "In the Curve of Time," by Muriel Wylie Blanchet, which is also set in British Columbia. After Muriel's husband drowns during a solo day trip in their 1930s (?) 25-foot wooden motor-cruiser, Muriel and her five (?) kids set out for the summer(s) on their 25-foot wooden motor-cruiser and have numerous adventures. The book melds the trips of various succeeding summers into one.
I don't remember the details exactly (better read it again), but they take all kinds of crazy things in stride. Like cruising with 6 people and a dog on a 25-foot boat in rain country (she details the sleeping arrangements, which reminded me of one of those sliding puzzles wherein you have to move three tiles to get at a fourth one), or rowing the boat 20 miles with the dinghy (where the dog rides normally) when the batteries give out.
One book I didn't expect to enjoy was "North to the Night," by Alvah Simon. I read it on night watch after just about everything else was read and re-read, and much to my surprise I loved it. The book recounts a trip wherein Alvah and Diana (his wife) take their steel boat waaaaaay up north into Nunavut to ice themselves in for the winter.
"Coasting," by Jonathan Raban was nice. It recounts his sail around England on a new-to-him boat. He also wrote books about things like a trip down the length of the Mississippi in a 17-foot motorboat, and a sail up the inside passage from Seattle to northern B.C.
Rachel
*Charlie: Yes, I will send it to you..... any day (year?) now.
A number of my favorites have already been mentioned (but heck, I'll throw in another recommendation for the Pardey's "Seraffyn" series and also "My Old Man and the Sea").
I really enjoyed "Chasing the Dream: Tryste Around the World,"* by Val Haigh. Val, along with her husband and four (of six) daughters, built a tri-maran on Salt Spring Island in BC and then sailed it around the world. Granted, it was the late 1960s, but when they left they planned on a year or two and they had $1000 to their name. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized that they were around the same age as my parents; just trying to imagine them doing that with my brother and I - I don't think so!
I found the book in a small shop on Salt Spring when I had just set out cruising for the first time, so that added to the magic, but I've re-read it a few times in later years and still liked it just as much.
Another book I found at around the same time was "In the Curve of Time," by Muriel Wylie Blanchet, which is also set in British Columbia. After Muriel's husband drowns during a solo day trip in their 1930s (?) 25-foot wooden motor-cruiser, Muriel and her five (?) kids set out for the summer(s) on their 25-foot wooden motor-cruiser and have numerous adventures. The book melds the trips of various succeeding summers into one.
I don't remember the details exactly (better read it again), but they take all kinds of crazy things in stride. Like cruising with 6 people and a dog on a 25-foot boat in rain country (she details the sleeping arrangements, which reminded me of one of those sliding puzzles wherein you have to move three tiles to get at a fourth one), or rowing the boat 20 miles with the dinghy (where the dog rides normally) when the batteries give out.
One book I didn't expect to enjoy was "North to the Night," by Alvah Simon. I read it on night watch after just about everything else was read and re-read, and much to my surprise I loved it. The book recounts a trip wherein Alvah and Diana (his wife) take their steel boat waaaaaay up north into Nunavut to ice themselves in for the winter.
"Coasting," by Jonathan Raban was nice. It recounts his sail around England on a new-to-him boat. He also wrote books about things like a trip down the length of the Mississippi in a 17-foot motorboat, and a sail up the inside passage from Seattle to northern B.C.
Rachel
*Charlie: Yes, I will send it to you..... any day (year?) now.
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Mark.Wilme
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keelbolts
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Tim,
I forgot The Boat Who Wouldn't Float. It's been some time since I read it, but I laughed more and harder while reading that book than any other sailing book I've read. I bought Favona from a Newfoundlander so I knew about throwing the top away when opening a bottle of booze. There were many nights of negotiation leading to my purchase of Favona. I have the stains on my wife's white tablecloths to prove it, but that's another story...
I forgot The Boat Who Wouldn't Float. It's been some time since I read it, but I laughed more and harder while reading that book than any other sailing book I've read. I bought Favona from a Newfoundlander so I knew about throwing the top away when opening a bottle of booze. There were many nights of negotiation leading to my purchase of Favona. I have the stains on my wife's white tablecloths to prove it, but that's another story...
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Tim
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That sounds like the kind of story one tells while unwinding (over iced drinks, of course) in the cockpit in the evening after an ardous day of reading aboard...keelbolts wrote:Tim,
I bought Favona from a Newfoundlander so I knew about throwing the top away when opening a bottle of booze. There were many nights of negotiation leading to my purchase of Favona. I have the stains on my wife's white tablecloths to prove it, but that's another story...
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Summersdawn
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If you enjoyed the Curve of Time try Three's a Crew (Kathrene Pinkerton). Similar book, same coast and the same time frame. In fact, they were in Princess Loiusa inlet at the same time.Rachel wrote: Another book I found at around the same time was "In the Curve of Time," by Muriel Wylie Blanchet, which is also set in British Columbia. After Muriel's husband drowns during a solo day trip in their 1930s (?) 25-foot wooden motor-cruiser, Muriel and her five (?) kids set out for the summer(s) on their 25-foot wooden motor-cruiser and have numerous adventures. The book melds the trips of various succeeding summers into one.
I don't remember the details exactly (better read it again), but they take all kinds of crazy things in stride. Like cruising with 6 people and a dog on a 25-foot boat in rain country (she details the sleeping arrangements, which reminded me of one of those sliding puzzles wherein you have to move three tiles to get at a fourth one), or rowing the boat 20 miles with the dinghy (where the dog rides normally) when the batteries give out.
Trekka Aound the World by John Guzzwell is another great book. Solo circumnavigation on a home built 20' yawl in the 1950's.
And nobody's mentioned it, but what about Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World? Quite inspirational.
Rick
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Tommy Bahama
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So many books, so little time...my all time favorite is the "Master and Commander" series by Patrick O'Brian. The terminaology is outstanding, very dry humor and excellent human-life story lines. I had a very hard time not putting the books down and going to bed. There is more info on knots, lines and sails that you'll ever care to know...and these are just by-lines to the strory!
The series consists of 20 completed novels and one that was not finished when Mr. O'Brian died. There are nunerous companion books that accompany the series (map books, cook book, ship types, etc.).
I've read the series twice and I'll probably read them again. One of my friends introduced me to them and got me hooked...we ended up taking turns doing the book-store run and share joint custody of the library....these books are even more fun if you have someone to share them with. If you're like me, you'll start immitating the characters to people who think that you may be crazy.
Tom
edited to add that I was not a sailor until I had read one or two novels. A friend gave me and my family a ride on his trimaran and I was hooked...one more novel and I ran out and bought a used hobie 16...it's been like that ever since.
The series consists of 20 completed novels and one that was not finished when Mr. O'Brian died. There are nunerous companion books that accompany the series (map books, cook book, ship types, etc.).
I've read the series twice and I'll probably read them again. One of my friends introduced me to them and got me hooked...we ended up taking turns doing the book-store run and share joint custody of the library....these books are even more fun if you have someone to share them with. If you're like me, you'll start immitating the characters to people who think that you may be crazy.
Tom
edited to add that I was not a sailor until I had read one or two novels. A friend gave me and my family a ride on his trimaran and I was hooked...one more novel and I ran out and bought a used hobie 16...it's been like that ever since.
1968 Islander Bahama 24
Hull # 2465
Sail # 443
Hull # 2465
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keelbolts
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I read the O'Brian series in one long read until I got to about 2 books from the end. Then I had to wait for the next one to come out... I have a good friend that is a square-rig sailor and he says the descriptions of setting and bracing the rig are spot on. I also have a reliable source that tells me that the mindset of a covert agent, as represented by Maturin, is also correct. Not suprising as I believe O'Brian was a british intelligence type during the war. My father was a Naval officer so I appreciate Aubrey's connection to the service.
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dmairspotter
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Ceasar Choppy
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A few memorable ones I've read:
Sailing Alone Around the World (as previously mentioned).
Children of Cape Horn, by Rosie Swales
Survive the Savage Sea, Dougal Robertson (should be in everyone's ditch bag).
Gentlemen Never Sail to Weather: A Story of an Accidental Odyssey, by Denton R. Moore
Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henery Dana, Jr.
Blue Latitudes: Going where Captain Cook has Gone Before, by Tony Horowitz
The Saga of Cimba, by Richard Maury
Fastnet Force 10, by John Rousmaniere
Anything by Bernard Motissier, most notably, Cape Horn: the Logical Route.
Sailing Alone Around the World (as previously mentioned).
Children of Cape Horn, by Rosie Swales
Survive the Savage Sea, Dougal Robertson (should be in everyone's ditch bag).
Gentlemen Never Sail to Weather: A Story of an Accidental Odyssey, by Denton R. Moore
Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henery Dana, Jr.
Blue Latitudes: Going where Captain Cook has Gone Before, by Tony Horowitz
The Saga of Cimba, by Richard Maury
Fastnet Force 10, by John Rousmaniere
Anything by Bernard Motissier, most notably, Cape Horn: the Logical Route.
"Grey Seas Under", not really a sailing book at all but a great read.
Our family's all time favorite: "Muskrat, a surprise bid for the America's Cup" by Douglas Hanks. Now you know where the name for our Challenger came from- not that she's as fast. Definately a must for any one from the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. Not in print any more but there are copies at Amazon. Or track us down next summer- we have loaners on the boat!
Our family's all time favorite: "Muskrat, a surprise bid for the America's Cup" by Douglas Hanks. Now you know where the name for our Challenger came from- not that she's as fast. Definately a must for any one from the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. Not in print any more but there are copies at Amazon. Or track us down next summer- we have loaners on the boat!