Sailing Stories

[trisstan87]

Being on this site I suppose makes me as enamored with Sailing in all its aspects as the rest of you. I was just curious as the best books related to the dream some of you have run across.
I myself take a big inspiration for my sailing dreams from the book "Out Island Doctor" by Evans W. Cottman. It is a short, yet remarkable book that tells the true story of a teacher from the cold north of the states that got an itch for adventure so up and left for the strange islands of the Bahamas in the early 1960's. He became a doctor that sailed around the out islands of the Bahamas dispensing aid and care to the islanders. The story is rich and engaging and very humorous with some perilous adventures and mishaps mixed in. My grandparents, residents of the Abaco's for 30+ years, knew Dr. Cottman and his wife before they passed which is how I came upon the book. It is little known but such an inspiring story.
My second inspiration comes from a veteran Ol'Salt that paved the way for the cruising lifestyle, a Mr. Joshua Slocum, the first man to circumnavigate the world alone on a refitted wooden sloop named "Spray," at the turn of the 20th century.

What about the rest of you? I have a joy for reading and sailing offers ample time to do just that. Do you have any titles I should seriously consider adding to my library? I hope I have given you a few new ideas for yours. Cheers.

[CalebD]

Prepare to expand your library a bit.
One of my favorite historical narratives besides Joshua Slocum's was this one: Amazon.com: The Boy, Me, and the Cat (9781589762268): Henry Plummer: Books
Easy to read as well as historical (1912?) and humorous.

Anything by Tristan Jones (as your moniker or screen name implies) make for good reading but deciphering fact from fiction may not be so easy.

There is also a thread here with everyone's suggestions in it: http://www.sailnet.com/forums/genera...d-reading.html

Read up and enjoy!

[schdennis]

Tania Aebi's "Maiden Voyage" - an 18-year-old from New York departs in a Contessa 26 and fills her knowledge gaps in celestial navigation on her first storm at the Bahamas (no GPS at that time).
Amazon.com: Maiden Voyage (9780345410122): Tania Aebi, Bernadette Brennan: Books

Wilfried Erdmann with "Ein unmöglicher Törn" ("an impossible cruise"): as famous and experienced circumnavigator, he takes each 10 winners of a magazine's raffle for its 50 years celebration from the German Bight to New York City and back. With a random crew of more or less experienced average Joes, he goes through Storms, fould weather, fog and other kinds of trouble. Too bad there's no English translation of this.

[Dfok]

If "Out Island Doctor" is near as good a read as it is an investment thats gotta be one hell of a book. $29.00 and up used on Amazon, a used $89 hardcover version too.
Rent your copy and but a new boat in just a few weeks!

Herman Wouk's "Don't Stop the Carnival" is a treat - more island life than sailing, a terrific read nevertheless.

[trisstan87]

Out Island Doctor is a literary treasure. It is the sole reason I want to sail the unbeaten path. To where the internet is still amazing to people and the doors are still unlocked.
Here is a quick excerpt: "Doctuh," the man said finally, "ain' you gonna sound her?"
"Do what?"
He just looked at me.
"Sound her?" I said.
At that moment, though I did not know it, my future reputation on Crooked Island hung in the balance. I had no idea what the man was talking about. But then he glanced down at my bag, across which my stethoscope lay visible. "Ain' you gonna sound her?" he said again. "See if her blood is running right?"
"Oh!" I said. "Sound! Oh-sure. Of course." So I put on the stethoscope and listened to the girls heart beat for a few moments and took it off. "She's going to be all right," I said. "She's going to be fine."
"Now, Doctuh, I know when you put your sounding rod on me, you'll know everything about me, and I want you should tell me the truth!"
=D It is an exceptional fun, inspiring, and exciting read. I hope a few of you pick it up sometime.

[jaschrumpf]

My wife has bought me a lot of sailing books, but she has an interesting perspective on it. Here's a few of the titles...

Tall Ships Down : The Last Voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore, and Maria Asumpta by Daniel Parrott, et al.

Rough Water: Stories of Survival from the Sea (Adrenaline) by Clint Willis

Fastnet, Force 10: The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing, New Edition by John Rousmaniere

You get the idea. All great books though. But I don't know how she missed this one:

Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Greatest Disaster in Modern Sailing History by Nick Ward

[ChristianSch]

Originally Posted by jaschrumpf

My wife has bought me a lot of sailing books, but she has an interesting perspective on it. Here's a few of the titles...

You get the idea. All great books though. But I don't know how she missed this one:

Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Greatest Disaster in Modern Sailing History by Nick Ward

try to get the 2008 paperback version with a lot more information (and photos) of the rescue

[MissNola]

I happened across a book a few days ago called "Innocents at Sea," about author James A. McCracken and his wife Betty. They'd never been on a sailboat, so they're learning everything first-hand. I'm only 50 pages into it, but it's just an amusing, very light read. As my husband and I are completely new to sailing, I appreciate the basic-ness of the book LOL

[TQA]

For the inexperienced sailor setting off in a small boat the one book that you must have is Shrimpy by Shane Acton.

Why well his boat was 18'6" long, he had never had the mast up or sailed it when he set off and inexperienced - well read it and see for yourself.

BTW He circumnavigated in Shrimpy.

[cormeum]

"A World of my Own" by Robin Knox- Johnston