Ready to Come About is both an inspiration and a cautionary tale. I met the author, Sue Williams, and her husband, David, when they delivered a presentation to our yacht club. Their tale was so fascin...
Sea Trial is two and a half stories in one, with each story perfectly complementing the other. Brian Harvey, accompanied by his wife, Hatsumi, and miniature schnauzer, Charley, set out to circumnaviga...
A variety of factors contributed to the end of yacht design’s golden age. Issue 133: July/Aug 2020 I recently finished reading Dick Carter’s autobiography, Dick Carter: Yacht Designer in the Gol...
… and Two More Performance-Influenced Cruisers Issue 133: July/Aug 2020 In the late 1960s and early ’70s, boats designated as “cruising yachts” tended to follow the Colin Archer/William Atkin model of...
An inspired, tough, seakindly cruiser Issue 133: July/Aug 2020 In the mid-1970s, naval architect William “Bill” Ion Belton Crealock entered a sailboat magazine’s boat design contest. Though already a ...
I don’t read romance novels; this is the first romance novel I have ever read. But this book was given to me by a good friend who billeted Carol Cronin in her home during the Snipe North American Cham...
This book is a manual, a fundamentals textbook for managing a sailboat when crew is short or non-existent. That is not say its message is aimed at solo-circumnavigators or adventure-minded bluewater c...
…and Two More Bright, Solid Cruising Performers Issue 131: March/April 2020 The late powerboat designer Tom Fexas once published a provocative article entitled “Sailing Is Silly” in which...
A Raised-Saloon Cruiser for Two Issue 131: March/April 2020 For 14 years, Rosie and Carl Anderson sailed their Bombay Clipper 31 throughout the coastal waters of western Florida. But after an e...
Shipwreck! What does that word conjure in your mind? Adventure, mystery, cold dark places, treasure, risk, betrayal, intrigue? All of it is delivered generously in this book. A cast of fourteen Atlant...
Pirate is an NYU professor’s telling of his adventures aboard Pirate, a 1974 Swan 38 he purchased in 1989, only four years after he learned to sail. The number of miles that pass beneath a yacht’s kee...
When I was with Mark Ellis Design in the mid and late 1980s and early 1990, Mark was in the process of successfully incorporating more powerboats into his design portfolio. I expect that was the reaso...
Jimmy Buffett, the novelist. Who knew? Well, apparently a lot of people. After all, this is his third book for adult readers, including his autobiography, A Pirate Looks at Forty. But, in a way, Jimmy...
Is The Tears of Dark Water a novel about sailing? It begins on the water. Daniel Parker and his 18-year-old son, Quentin, are well-weathered Americans long into a circumnavigation aboard their ...
There’s more to going offshore than buying a boat and outfitting it. It’s also an unbelievably emotional journey. It turns your world inside out. Often, books about going offshore will only broach the...
Self Sufficient Sailor, by Lin and Larry Pardey (Pardey Books, 2019; 332 pages) There’s no questioning or disputing the sailing (and writing) creds that made Lin and Larry Pardey household names among...
Falling, by Brion Toss (C-Star Press, 2018; 52 pages) Maybe you’ve met people doing what they’re born to do? People who early-on embraced a vocation that was perfectly aligned with their interests and...
Freestanding rigs offer an intriguing comparison to traditional, stayed masts. Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 In 1985, when I joined the office of Mark Ellis Design, Mark took me sailing aboard a Nonsuch 30...
Boat Sense: Lessons and yarns from a marine writer’s life afloat, by Doug Logan (Seapoint Books, 2019; 120 pages) Comfortable. Boat Sense is a comfortable book to read. And enjoyable. And infor...
L. Francis Herreshoff: The flowering of genuis, by Roger C. Taylor (Mystic Seaport Museum, 2019; 644 pages) Nowadays, when the name Herreshoff is mentioned, I suspect most people conjure the face of L...
A Sea Vagabond’s World, by Bernard Moitessier (Sheridan House Maritime Classic, 2019; 218 pages) Eric and Susan Hiscock, Peter and Ann Pye, and Bernard Moitessier are immortals of ocean cruisin...
A Traditional Masterpiece Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 Styled by builder Cecil Lang after William Atkin’s classic Tally Ho Major, the Cape George 38 is a traditional cutter with a counter transom, fairly f...
Affordable and innovative, these five boats were multihull game-changers. Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 Anyone who’s read this magazine for a while can appreciate how deep and broad the roots of monohull sa...
… And Two Other Interpretations of Timeless Cutter Design Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 It is relatively easy to assign a time or decade to the design of most production fiberglass sailboats. That’s particu...
Compass & Sextant: The Journey of Peregrin Took, by Phil Hoysradt, with Carol Hill (Yankee Publishing, 2019; 157 pages) Good Old Boat uses affiliate links and may earn a small commission if...
Arrow’s Fall, by Joel Scott (ECW Press, 2019; 340 pages) Good Old Boat uses affiliate links and may earn a small commission if you purchase anything after clicking through one of them. This com...
A true racer/cruiser from the world’s largest boatbuilder Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 Beneteau is arguably one of the oldest and most successful boatbuilders in the world. The French company traces its r...
…and a couple North American racer/cruisers Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 The 1980s were a transformative period in the sailboat industry in North America. After years of incredible expansion in the ...
If you’ve ever found yourself aboard, beyond cell phone reception, with a pressing question, you’ll no doubt appreciate the value of having a good reference book aboard. As you wrack your brain to rem...
Book Reviews From 1998 Crusing Rules, by Roland S. Barth Dragged Aboard, by Don Casey Cruising 101: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Paradise, by Amy Sullivan and Kevin Donnelly Illustrated Dictionary of Boat...
