Bosun’s Bag: A Treasury of Practical Wisdom for the Traditional Boater
By Tom Cunliffe
Artwork by Martyn Mackrill
Adlard Coles, $35
Wit, wisdom, history, seamanship, hands-on skills, and the evocative artwork of Martyn Mackrill—all are contained within this eminently readable new book by Tom Cunliffe. Filled with stories of sailing, priceless knowledge, and the joy of a life at sea, this is far more than simply a hands-on guide to sailing and managing a traditional boat—although it accomplishes that goal admirably as well. Reading this book is like wandering through a chandlery or along a waterfront of the past in the company of a salty old ship’s bosun. Whether explaining what a watersail is and how and why to rig it, how a tiller line helps manage steering, or how to maintain or repair wooden blocks, Cunliffe manages to deliver an absolute treasure trove of sailing and seamanship know-how—all with a lively sense of humor enriching the storytelling that fills this book. Read the full review in the upcoming January/February issue of SAIL.
Passages: Cape Horn and Beyond
Lin and Larry Pardey
Paradise Cay Publications, $22.95
Few sailors can write about passagemaking with more authority than Lin Pardey. And true to her life and career as a writer and sailor, her new book is a vibrant account of some remarkable passages, including rounding Cape Horn against the prevailing winds with her late husband, Larry, in their 29-foot cutter, Taleisin. But it is navigating the unknown, deeper life passages that this book is truly about, most significantly the gradual loss of Larry to Parkinson’s and dementia, and then the life that comes after. This is a brave book, written by an indomitable woman and sailor, who now at 80 years old continues to live life “all the way up.” It honors the man with whom she shared more than 50 years of that life voyaging the world’s oceans and inspiring generations of sailors. And though it sails straight on into the hardest of life’s passages, it also celebrates the light that emerges when one has had the strength and courage to endure the storm. Read the full review in the October issue, as well two chapter excerpts in the October and November/December issues.
The Ship Beneath the Ice
By Mensun Bound
Mariner Books, $20
Perhaps you’ve caught the latest National Geographic film “Endurance” (it’s fantastic) based on the expedition to find Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship by the same name that was famously beset by ice in the Weddell Sea and sunk in November 1915, spawning Shackleton’s legendary rescue of his team. Mensun Bound was director of exploration for both expeditions to find the Endurance, and this is his account of those searches. Written largely out of the daily journals he kept throughout both expeditions, Bound mingles science, history, maritime archaeology, climate change, his personal fears and hopes, unqualified awe at his polar surroundings, and his keen observations of the life aboard ship around him with a light touch and a ready sense of humor. Read the full review from the April 2024 issue.
Stikky Night Skies
Laurence Holt Books
$12 at stikky.com
Whether you want to brush up on your night sky chops or entrance a youngster with the magic up there, this is the book to help you do it. Stikky’s way of teaching actually, well, sticks. The book’s subtitle is “Learn six constellations, four stars, a planet, a galaxy, and how to navigate at night—in just one hour.” They aren’t kidding. They do it by a series of steps that start with introducing how to identify, say, Orion, by finding his belt. Each page that follows builds on that, adding complexity and challenge, in a kind of flip-book format, until you are identifying Orion, upside down and tiny, in a sky full of stars. It is deceptively simple, sly, addictive, fun, and it absolutely works. Read the full review from the August/September 2024 issue.
Last Days of the Slocum Era
By Graham L. Cox
Vol. 1 (301pp) $35; Vol. 2 (351pp) $35
Random Boats Publishing
Graham Cox, the author of this charming two-volume memoir, led an intriguing sailing life that connected him to a wide array of voyagers, both famous and obscure. He finally realized his own dream in a stout 24-foot steel boat, Arion, that he cruised on the Queensland coast as a full-time liveaboard for nearly 25 years—sailing it first as a cutter, then later as a junk. His book(s) function as memoir, but also as an informal history and relational genealogy of the 20th century cruising community. Volume 2 also provides a useful primer for anyone interested in junk rigs, as well as something like an evocative cruising guide to Australia’s east coast. Read the full review in the November/December 2024 issue.
Prevailing Wind
By Thomas Dolby
Archway Publishing, $39.99
Thomas Dolby is best known as the electronic music pioneer whose innovative approach to synthesizers in the 1980s earned him five Grammy awards and the Billboard Top 5 hit “She Blinded Me With Science.” But he’s also a lifelong sailor whose heart belongs to classic wooden sailing yachts, as well as a student of history with a keen interest in the Progressive Era of the early 1900s in the United States. All of this provides the backdrop for Dolby’s first novel, Prevailing Wind, the story of a challenge for the America’s Cup that weaves into its plot a mystery in the heart of the New York Yacht Club, and the thorny relationship between two brothers from Maine who are, in what becomes their separate ways, recruited to sail for yachts hoping to vie for the Cup. This is a terrific read that employs the art, science, passion, and intrigue of high-stakes yacht racing to illuminate the history of a tumultuous time and the cultural and economic chasms that defined it. Through the eyes of the young protagonist, it’s a story of hardship and opportunity, grit and glory, and above all the love and wonder of sailing in a legendary time for the sport. Read the full review here.
Sailing Commitment Around the World
By William D. Pinkney
Illustrated by Pamela C. Rice
Available through The Sailing Museum Store, $25.00
Captain Bill Pinkney, inducted into the the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2021 with a Lifetime Achievement Award, was the first African American to sail solo around the world via the five capes. Aboard the Valiant 47 Commitment, he completed his 32,000-mile circumnavigation with stops in a variety of countries along the way. In this book dedicated to children ages 8 to 12 years old, Pinkney begins with the story of how he was first inspired by a book he read in seventh grade—Call It Courage—and how he wanted to be like that story’s young protagonist who “took his destiny into his own hands and had a great adventure.” Then he takes readers along with him as he makes that dream a reality, stopping in places like Bermuda, South Africa, Brazil, Tasmania, and New Zealand, reveling in the sea’s beauty while also enduring its challenges. Beautifully enlivened with Pamela C. Rice’s colorful and dynamic artwork, this book is a powerful and delightful visual story as well as a narrative that’s sure to capture the imaginations of young dreamers. Bill Pinkney passed away unexpectedly on Aug. 31, 2023, at 87 years old; this book is just one of his many legacies.
Unfurmiliar Territory: The Adventures of Captain Marco
By Lesley O’Brien
Illustrated by Emmett Donovan
Orange Kitty Kreative, $18.95
This is a fun new story about Marco, “a rough-around-the-edges former street cat turned sailboat captain.” The first in a series, it tells the story of how Marco, who now happily lives aboard with his “crew” Maggie and Lewis, wanders off down the dock and finds a cozy napping spot under a dinghy on the bow of another boat. Of course, that boat isn’t sticking around, and suddenly Marco awakens to find himself somewhere he didn’t expect to be—at sea—with a complete stranger. No spoilers here…suffice to say that Marco has a street cat’s savvy and nine lives to help him navigate the situation and make a new friend in the process. Emmett Donovan’s lovely illustrations help make this a fun kid-in-your-lap, read-aloud book for all the sailing grandparents and parents out there.
The Last Days of the Schooner America
By David Gendell
Lyons Press, $34.95
David Gendell, a lifelong sailor, Annapolis native, and co-founder and former editor of SpinSheet magazine, has taken a deep dive into a subject that has captured his imagination since he first heard local tales about the storied schooner America and then held a piece of it in his hands. Its connection to Annapolis was clear—the fabled schooner that sailed to England in the summer of 1851, upset the Brits at their own regatta, and launched what is today still known as the America’s Cup, died an ignominious death when a shed collapsed on it during a snowstorm. It was at Annapolis Yacht Yacht, ostensibly to be restored, when the shed collapse happened in 1942; more pressing matters—shipbuilding for WW II—sealed its abandonment and fate. But as he studied the end story of the America, Gendell says, “It became abundantly clear that America’s last chapters had not been thoroughly researched or written about by anyone, in stark contrast to the deep, near fetishized research that had been conducted into her creation and the 1851 race.” Gendell raced against time to interview those primary sources who were still living and were there when the America met her fate. Coupled with his in-depth research, he has brought this story, until now not fully told, to life.
The Co-Captain’s Log
By Katherine González
Posada Publishing LLC, $25
Chronicling one couple’s voyage across the Pacific, The Co-Captain’s Log is a story of heart and adventure. Katherine González has inventively compiled her narrative as a multimedia experience, with plenty of maps, photos, and tables in the book itself in addition to a digital supplement where readers can sign up for daily updates from the logbook emailed to them in real time, as if they were reading the tracker reports from Ana Maria as Katherine and her husband, Andres, make the crossing. Despite coming to the sailing world as the less experienced half of the couple, González writes with the salty spiritedness that immediately identifies her as a true sailor. Full of ups and downs, she has managed to tell a tale that’s adventurous and eminently readable while still being packed with all the nautical details and data that sailing readers could ask for.
December 2024
