Recommended Reading

[Legend1673]

Hello everyone,

We are in a five year plan and doing some serious live aboard research. Planning on cruising east coast and the carribean for the first couple years. I'm wondering what books you have found most helpful, inspiring, etc.?

[carstenb]

Beth Leonard - The Voyagers Handbook

[Hud3]

Ann Vanderhoof's book, An Embarrassment of Mangoes, is an entertaining and very factual account of a couple's experiences cruising the eastern Caribbean. It'll give you a good feel for what can happen if you actually get to know the locals in the islands (all good!).

Also, reading the cruising guides will whet your appetite and help you plan your adventures (Scott's and Doyle's for the Lesser Antilles).

[Mike OReilly]

Silver Donald Cameron's Sailing away from Winter, the chronicles of a journey down the east coast to the Bahamas.

The Pilot Press cruising guides for the St. Lawrence and the Canadian Maritimes.

And of course for sheer fun and inspiration, Farley Mowat's, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float.

[slowshoes]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Silver Donald Cameron's Sailing away from Winter, the chronicles of a journey down the east coast to the Bahamas.

The Pilot Press cruising guides for the St. Lawrence and the Canadian Maritimes.

And of course for sheer fun and inspiration, Farley Mowat's, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float.

I'd second Mowat's book - great fun!. Another in the same vein would be Herb Payson's Blown Away. Roger Taylor's The Elements of Seamanship is a pretty skimpy book full of simple truths as well.

[JK n Smitty]

All of Cap'n Fatty Goodlander's stuff for pure entertainment. But Buy, Outfit & Sail has some really good, practical advice.

Handling Storms at Sea by Hal Roth

Self-Sufficient Sailor and the Cost Conscious Cruiser by Lin and Larry Pardey.

[MarkJ]

I would buy nothing, and read nothing.
Seriously.

A lot of boat books are bent around disasters at sea and all they do if terrify the skipper and his wife.

If you can't sail in heavy weather get out there and learn, best way is local races.
If you want to learn how to be safe on board go sailing and put your mind into gear.
If you wish to learn about provisioning look in your own kitchen cupboards.

But reading books on growing alfalfa shoots in the aft cabin and survival spear fishing when lost at sea are only gunna put you on some weird path.

Fatty Goodlander, as someone mentioned, is good to read because he is fun and takes cruising in the spirit I like.

Other sorts of books to read are geography, history and travel books of the places you are going. You would be amazed at the number of people who cruise the Caribbean without the slightest iota of what they are seeing.

So my advice: Leave the terror books on the bookshelves and make your own adventure.

[Ryan H]

A Craft of Sail; a sailing primer, By Jad Adkins
because it's beautiful and covers the basics perfectly.

Seamanship Secrets;185 tips and techniques,
which covers advanced navigation, quick navigational calculations, basic colregs, diesel maintenance, both power and sail handling, marlinspike, basic weather and water prediction and emergency procedures.

I keep a library on hand with about a hundred or so sailing books. These are the only two I read over and over again.

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[msponer]

There Be No Dragons, Reese Palley
Buy, Outfit, and Sail, Fatty Goodlander
Blown Away, Herb Payson

Maybe it's because I started young, but traveling by boat pushed me to be a cooler person. I learned to be more flexible, resilient, and open to experiences.

The books above exude that. The authors have figured out how thoroughly enjoy themselves in this life. Even when it is a little too rich, chaotic, or vivid.

[I self edited out a very rich, chaotic, and vivid story of my sewage tank exploding onto the deck with hundreds of tourists watching -- but my point is, you have to laugh]

[CaptainBW]

I second The Voyagers Handbook. The single best resource I found while preparing to buy a cruising boat and go cruising. And...it's not a "terror" book. I agree with you MarkJ.

[Legend1673]

Thanks for your suggestions. I've read many of the "terror" books and taken something away from each (usually maintain your boat and don't be a moron), but I can understand your recommendation.


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