Looking for Sailing Adventure Books

[mrohr]

Lotsa great sugestions here, but little known is: Hell on Ice.
US navy send sailig ship to Pacific Arctic 100 years back. Very few come back.
Nuff said.

[DDabs]

Run Before The Wind by Stuart Woods is a great adventure. It isn't completely about sailing, but it follows a boy who leaves school, ends up sailing in Europe, murder, etc. Really great easy read.

[biltong]

All of the Trisan Jones books are worth a read. I still haven't decided whether they should be classified as fact or fiction, perhaps a bit of both.

[Curmudgeon]

There have been many great books mentioned, but not C.S. Forester's Hornblower books, which are set in the same historical era as O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturnin series.
I'd also recommend John Vigor's Small Boat to Freedom.

[sailorladd]

Originally Posted by bigwhyte

i have read the voyage of the northern magic and loved it ! could u help me find more books like this to read till i can sail around the world
thanks in advance
scott whyte

I can recommend a good sailing adventure book that has just been published on amazon's Kindle, called Days of Deja vu by Jonathan Reid. It is a fun read with some scary storms, good descriptions of sailing and associated thrills and spills as he sails around the Atlantic and Pacific...

[svHannabel]

Try these:

Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz: Really could historic look at Captain Cook where the author retraces many of the original journeys.

Kawabung's South Seas Adventure by Charles Dewell: What could be more adventurous than crossing the Pacific in a 20 foot boat (PSC Flicka)?

North to the Night by Alvah Simon: Actually, this book presents an even bigger adventure...sailing to the polar icecap and living their on the boat while iced-in for a season. Truly remarkable!

[sailorladd]

thanks will check them out

[shantycrew]

Surprised that no ones mentioned Francis Chichester. When my friend was clearing out her dads old house she gave me a hard back copy of "The lonely sea and the sky" Two thirds of it are about his exploits in the early days of flying. England to Australia in a plane made of wood and canvas, his navigation skills with a sextant are amazing and then he goes on to sail solo across the Atlantic long before his circumnavigation. Boys own adventure in vivid prose. best book by a long chalk in my Library of sea adventures. Don't know if it's still available but wow what a tale of daring do.

[Aussie escapade]

Sorry I haven't read all the posts however I am today reading a book by captain Fatty Goodlander titled, how to inexpensively and safely buy, outfit and sail a small vessel around the world.
If anyone has read this and has any comments this would be much appreciated!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by svHannabel

Try these:

Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz: Really could historic look at Captain Cook where the author retraces many of the original journeys.

+1. Very interesting and well written book. The different thing about Horwitz's book is that he retraces Cook's journeys from a sociological perspective - what impact did Cook have on the areas that he visited? Turns out it was quite significant in many cases.

+1 On the Tristan Jones books also. Whether fact or fiction they are a good read.

Also:

Sea of Gray by Tom Chaffin. Did you know that he Confederates ran a privateer fleet during the US Civil War? Neither did I, and I'm a sailor from the deep south. Good read, as engaging as any novel, but it is all real and very interesting history. See Amazon.com: Sea of Gray: The Around-the-World Odyssey of the Confederate Raider Shenandoah (9780809095117): Tom Chaffin: Books.

Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers. Fiction, but from Childers it was meant to describe what he considered a very real strategy for German invasion of England by sea. Good read. Made into a movie. Childers also had an interesting life. See The Riddle of the Sands, Erskine Childers, 1903.

In Search of Maya Sea Traders by Heather McKillop. Not a sailing adventure, but very interesting ancient maritime related history. An account of archeological research along coastal Belize which verified the presence of a significant coastal trading Mayan community there. You can still easily find obsidian flakes and other small artificats in this area (Port of Honduras) to today.

[sabray]

Mingming and the art of minimal sailing. Even if your not thinking minimal here's a great adventure well written.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Aussie escapade

Sorry I haven't read all the posts however I am today reading a book by captain Fatty Goodlander titled, how to inexpensively and safely buy, outfit and sail a small vessel around the world.
If anyone has read this and has any comments this would be much appreciated!

Chances are you will get better, more up to date information from people on this forum that have voyaged on small vessels...

[Sailor g]

Originally Posted by Aussie escapade

Sorry I haven't read all the posts however I am today reading a book by captain Fatty Goodlander titled, how to inexpensively and safely buy, outfit and sail a small vessel around the world.
If anyone has read this and has any comments this would be much appreciated!

Haven't read this book but I love Cap'n Fatty's stories in Cruising World. He & his wife have been sailing all over the world on a boat they salvaged so they should know about inexpensive. They also have a great love story & words of wisdom for those sailing with a spouse/significant other. I agree that CF have wonderful info but I also enjoy reading stories for what they can offer.

[IslandHopper]

Already posted earlier in the thread but a big +1 from me, a cracker of a read.......

Amazon.com: Desperate Voyage (9780924486203): John Caldwell: Books

"A must read for all would-be voyagers. -- Latitude 38, February 1999 - One of the classic 'How I did it on a shoe-string in an unsuitable boat, knowing nothing about sailing' books....A good read and hooray for the days when people could do this sort of thing without attracting condemnation. -- The Island, Spring 1999 - [An] astounding tale of courage and adventure....an engaging, well-written story that combines elements of romance with incredible adventure, farce and foolhardiness. If ever there was an argument for the benefits of sail training, this book cements it. Riveting stuff. --Sailing Today, December 1998"

[sailorladd]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

Already posted earlier in the thread but a big +1 from me, a cracker of a read.......

Amazon.com: Desperate Voyage (9780924486203): John Caldwell: Books

"A must read for all would-be voyagers. -- Latitude 38, February 1999 - One of the classic 'How I did it on a shoe-string in an unsuitable boat, knowing nothing about sailing' books....A good read and hooray for the days when people could do this sort of thing without attracting condemnation. -- The Island, Spring 1999 - [An] astounding tale of courage and adventure....an engaging, well-written story that combines elements of romance with incredible adventure, farce and foolhardiness. If ever there was an argument for the benefits of sail training, this book cements it. Riveting stuff. --Sailing Today, December 1998"

Well I have to say that I did it on a shoestring and built my own boat from scratch not knowing a SINGLE thing about what was out there waiting for me, and I still did it without any serious sail training courses...here's to the good old days! I also wrote a book about the whole adventure but I believe I would be shot out of the water if I were to mention it here, so won't