Book Reviews

Tony Crowley has provided boaters with a enjoyable book that contains instructions for building a variety of useful navigation tools. It combines these with reminiscences, rules of thumb, and even a r...

It seems fairly logical that words like “launch,” “moonlighting,” and even “nausea” (more about this one later) would have nautical origins. But what about “b...

“Why are we here? . . . We want to start people caring for the environment as it must be cared for . . . We want to make a difference.” – Sir Peter Blake This large-format book documents t...

With the book, How to Rename Your Boat, John Vigor has concocted useful ceremonies, prayers, rituals, and curses for any boating superstitions you may have. I didn’t realize there are so many pr...

Are you a sailor who routinely undergoes the substantial effort required to take to your dog or cat sailing with you? If you answered yes to this question, then Wet Pets and Other Watery Tales is a bo...

What have boat designs lost in the quest for windward performance? Has a century of yacht racing corrupted our ability to design safe, all-around cruisers? How do you quantify a yacht’s comfort ...

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 ...

Compass opens with a cautionary tale of a modern mega-yacht nearly coming to grief because of the builder’s (and the owner’s) over-reliance on state-of-the-art electronic navigation. When ...

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...

Windvanes hang like medals from the stern, a hallmark of many a long-range cruiser. While walking the docks, we see them hanging proudly on boats’sterns. We wonder about the stories the crew cou...

Tinkering WW II veterans and refined husband-and-wife teams dominate the literature of cruising’s post-war golden age. These pioneers proved that small boats could safely cross oceans, serve as ...

William Longyard’s introduction to A Speck on the Sea begins with the question, “Why would anyone cross an ocean in a small boat?” In the following 375 pages, he presents more than 1...

This is a book on surveying, and is well written. I advise every boatowner to read it. The author elucidates what it is that surveyors do, and every boater needs to understand the survey process. Who?...

 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...

High Latitude, North Atlantic briefly chronicles the discovery, settlement, anthropology, and history of the barren lands from north of Alaska across the Canadian Arctic and the Atlantic to northern S...

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...

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 ...