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...
With his newer book, Surveying Fiberglass Boats, David Pascoe shows that he is a clear writer but seems to lack Allan Vaitses’ brilliance at this business, both in terms of the vessels and the p...
In December, 1872, the British ship HMS Challenger left Portsmouth, England on a voyage that would last until May, 1876, cover 68,900 miles, and add volumes to the already growing body of knowledge of...
If you have ever tried to disassemble a winch, fix your steering system, repair a galley pump, or rebuild your head, the chances are that you have been frustrated more than once. Charlie Wing’s ...
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 ...
Australian Jill Knight has written a number of articles for Good Old Boat and others about her sailing adventures and sailboat maintenance while cruising aboard Cooee, a 37-foot wooden cutter . . . a ...
In the hands of most other authors, this might be a presumptuous title. Yet Hal Roth’s latest offering distills years of voyaging and many thousands of sea miles into a clear, no-nonsense discu...
What a handsome book this one is! Glossy paper, attractive page composition, nice diagrams, and some splendid photographs: gleaming varnish and brass on a classic wooden yacht and a stunning view of a...
Maybe you’ve repaired a sail? Perhaps even while underway. But have you repaired a sail while aloft in a bosun’s chair? Not just slapped sticky-back tape on the sail, but sewed it with nee...
Eddie Jones – devout sailor, veteran columnist, computer guru – is a very funny guy. He also has a reservoir of wisdom that has little to do with learning and lots to do with living. ̶...
You don’t have to look very far in your local marina to find someone with an on-board odor problem. In fact, sometimes it seems that those with the worst problems have a knack for finding you. ...
If I were new to GPS and wanted to learn the subject in the slickest and most efficient way possible, finding this book would be like coming down on Christmas morning to find that Santa had left absol...
“Breaker, breaker . . . 10-4 Good Buddy.” Is this how you use your VHF radio? Or have you just bought a new VHF radio and are trying to figure out what the PTT button is? If so, this book ...
Have you ever spied an old wooden boat sitting quietly in her cradle and wondered about her past? How beautiful she must have been! Why, oh why, was she left there to rot? Could she be returned to her...
Hundreds of cruisers have sailed from California down the coast of Mexico. Few have been as prepared as Garry and Carol Domnisse. Garry spent 30 years in the U.S. Coast Guard. Carol is a registered nu...
Migael Scherer starts her book in Juneau, Alaska, where she is living aboard with her husband, Paul, on their sailboat, Orca. She enjoys time spent with friends, especially Joyce. Migael and Paul sail...
“Aft the more honour Forward the better man” –Horatio Nelson As Dave Olson put it when reviewing Kydd, by Julian Stockwin (Scribner, 2001; 256 pages) in the September 2001 issue of ...
Armchair sailors and northerners who anticipate a winter lay-up take heart. While enjoying a cup of something hot, you can hear the percussive smack of wave on rock, see bananas in the rigging, and sm...
“Sailing a replica of Spray isn’t as simple as it might seem, ” writes Guy Bernardin. “I had to very quickly forget completely my years of racing, learning everything over agai...
BY PETER H. SPECTRE (SHERIDAN HOUSE INC., 2003; 112 PAGES; $12.95.) REVIEWED BY ERIC V. NELSON Trying to capture the essence of The Mariner’s Book Of Days 2004 in a short review is like trying t...
If you currently have a dog or cat or are considering getting one as a pet on board, this book is an insightful, well-organized collection of short stories and useful information to help you make the ...
Was Shakespeare a sailor? Editor Tom McCarty has put together a collection of 15 classic sailing stories written by such famous authors as Aaron Smith, Joseph Conrad, Erskine Childers, Joshua Slocum, ...
Not every songwriter can pull off lyrics about Nigel Calder books, duct tape, and WD-40. Canadian singer-songwriter Eileen Quinn can and does, in her fourth CD, Not to be Used For Navigation. Her lyri...
A MUSIC CD BY HOOLIE (PIRATE WEASEL RECORDS; 2003; $15.00) REVIEWED BY MICHAEL HEWITT I don’t even know what some of Hoolie’s instruments are . . . bodrhan and bazouki, for instance, but a...
Anthony Dalton’s book on the mysterious Tristan Jones reads, more times than not, like a detective novel – one in which the author is clearly and logically explaining that Tristan Jones...
Armchair sailors and northerners who anticipate a winter lay-up take heart. While enjoying a cup of something hot, you can hear the percussive smack of wave on rock, see bananas in the rigging, and sm...
“Aft the more honour Forward the better man” –Horatio Nelson As Dave Olson put it when reviewing Kydd, by Julian Stockwin (Scribner, 2001; 256 pages) in the September 2001 issue of ...
I may have to hide Robert Smith’s books from my husband. While I enjoy visiting maritime museums, I’m not sure I enjoy visiting them with Jerry. He doesn’t do anything unless he can ...
Marianne Scott’s personal warmth and natural interest in others shines through her new book, Naturally Salty: Coastal Characters of the Pacific Northwest. In her work as a journalist, she has di...




































