You’re going to like Jack Becker. He doesn’t match the stereotypical sailor profile. He’ll leave you wondering why he’s made the choices he has. And when he succeeds against th...
Why is it that men predominate among sailors? Sailing a boat doesn’t take superior strength. It doesn’t demand a uniquely male skill. Having a Y chromosome is not required. Sailing isn...
“Ice blink” is a name given to a white light seen on the horizon, especially on the underside of low clouds, due to reflection from a distant field of ice. This phenomenon has been used hi...
As a contributing editor with Good Old Boat, Gregg Nestor continues to impress us with the breadth of his sailing skills and the depth of his knowledge. Now he has shown us another impressive quality:...
A DVD BY PAUL AND SHERYL SHARD (SHARD MULTIMEDIA, 2005; 4 HOURS; $19.95 U.S., $24.95 CAN) REVIEWED BY KAREN LARSON Paul and Sheryl Shard are professional videographers who tour the world by sailboat. ...
This book, originally published in 1916, is Captain Bob Bartlett’s story of the loss of the sailing vessel Karluk during an arctic expedition that had begun in 1913. It is a gripping tale of bei...
Good Old Boat author Brian Gilbert has just written the sailboat restoration book for Everyman. You may not recall him, but Everyman awoke one day after having a dream of sailing a boat of his own. Hi...
A most amazing book arrived for review recently. The box weighed 8 pounds. This isn’t the sort of book you can hold on your lap or take along on the bus for light reading. The 528-page coffee-ta...
If you enjoy time with Lin and Larry Pardey (and who doesn’t?), you’ll want to view their two new DVDs, Get Ready to Cruise and Get Ready to Cross Oceans. These professionally produced disks are the n...
With his newest book, Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Sailing, John Vigor alternates between being a wise old salt, a nautical curmudgeon, a patient teacher offering safety tips to a new sail...
If you enjoy time with Lin and Larry Pardey (and who doesn’t?), you’ll want to view their two new DVDs, Get Ready to Cruise and Get Ready to Cross Oceans. These professionally produced disks are the n...
Heavenly. That’s the way I would describe night sailing. Since seeing the book, Stikky Night Skies, now I know why. (“Stikky” is the name of a growing series of books because each bo...
The first book ever sold by Good Old Boat magazine — call it the beginning of our Good Old Bookshelf — was the first edition of Illustrated Sail & Rig Tuning by Ivar Dedekam. Ivar, a Norwegian, ne...
Greg Smith set out in his sailboat to see the world. Those who choose to go along as readers of his book, The Solitude of the Open Sea, gain a fresh perspective of circumnavigating through the eyes of...
David O’ Neal is a funny guy. He’s written a sailors’ lexicon that will make any sailor laugh. I imagine him sitting with friends over glasses of wine while dreaming up crazy meaning...
Anyone who hopes to live aboard or cruise full time someday will want to talk to others who have already lived this dream. Lots of others . . .as many as possible . . . with all kinds of opinions. For...
Dan Smith became the de facto historian of the Allied Boat Company as the corresponding secretary of the Allied Seawind Owners’ Association. The cartons of documents which came with the job elev...
Jerry and I hope to transit the St. Lawrence within the decade ahead. When we do, he’ll be relying on my school-girl French to get us through Quebec. For my part, I’ll be relying on Kathy ...
BY JOHN MCVIE (WYMAN PUBLISHING, 2004; $12.99 U.S., $16.99 CANADA) REVIEWED BY KAREN LARSON John McVie, son of the internationally known photographer, Canadian Jim McVie, has just produced a calendar ...
This isn’t so much a review as an announcement and endorsement. After all, how does one review a cruising guide except by using it for extensive cruising. (Humm . . . that does sound like fun, t...
Small Boat to Freedom: A Journey of Conscience to a New Life in America is John Vigor’s tale of a wrenching lifestyle change made in 1987 at age 50. The South African government was crumbling as...
We’re taking our sailing vacation early this year. By the time you’re reading this newsletter, Jerry and I will be heading out across cold, cold Lake Superior in search of loon chicks and ...
First Aid at Sea is a handy reference that’s small enough to keep nearby for any emergency that might occur aboard. It’s lightweight and extremely easy to use with sturdy tabbed pages, bul...
The poetry of Michael Kahn’s photos takes your breath away. A latter-day Rosenfeld, Michael knows where the heart and passion of sailing are. He directs his lens there. And he captures a voluptu...
In telling his story, London Goes to Sea, Peter Baumgartner speaks for many sailors. There is no major drama — no sinkings, world-circling voyages, or perfect storms. Nevertheless there is minor dram...
John Vigor is the answer guy if you’re having onboard arguments about nautical terminology or the science of sailing in general. His new book, The Practical Encyclopedia of Boating: An A-Z Compe...
BY SHARON KRATZ (1ST BOOKS LIBRARY, 2004; 150 PAGES; $16.75) REVIEWED BY KAREN LARSON Jim and Dianne Carlin had all the time in the world to sail their Island Packet 38, September Song, around the wor...
There is a strange force within sailors which causes them to retreat to the water on boats when that water offers scant refuge, guaranteeing neither safety nor security. Author Thomas Froncek knows th...
A book like Chapman needs no introduction and no review. It’s an extraordinary reference book full of information useful to all sailors. It’s enough to say that a new edition was released ...
Reese Palley has gone around in the world long enough to develop character. He has followed his own course long enough to become a character. And he has gone around at sea long enough to qualify as a ...