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More than a Map

by Meredith Laitos, Posted October 31, 2011
As sailors continue to debate the pros and cons of digital navigation apps and paper charts, map junkies just grin and think: the more, the merrier! Well, junkies, rejoice. The National Geographic Society has expanded its “Trails Illustrated Maps” series to include a number of popular sailing locations, including the Virgin Islands, Channel Islands, Apostle Islands and Boston Harbor Islands. In

Star Collector

by Charles J. Doane, Posted September 27, 2011
Though sextants are no longer used by most bluewater navigators, they are still objects of fascination to a certain passionate sect of sailors. On the one hand they are merely precision measuring instruments. On the other they seem like magical tools employed by celestial priests and druids. For those who worship the very concept of the sextant, here is a book that should satiate even the most

Jobson's Cup Runneth Over

by Meredith Laitos, Posted August 23, 2011
When Gary Jobson saw his first 12-meter at age 12, he dreamed of someday getting a taste of the America’s Cup. Over the next five decades— from his role as tactician for Ted Turner aboard Courageous in 1977 to his role as an ESPN commentator in New Zealand in 2003—Jobson got his taste, and then some. Along the way, he met a host of fascinating characters, often switching from racer to

Bull Canyon

by Sarah Eberspacher, Posted July 6, 2011
Lin and Larry Pardey have long been fixtures in the sailing world, thanks to their many instructional cruising videos and DVDs, and Lin’s 11 books about the couple’s life afloat.Lin’s most recent work, Bull Canyon: A Boatbuilder, a Writer and other Wildlife, breaks with this tradition by addressing the time they moved to an isolated California canyon 60 miles inland to build their

DVD Review: Around Alone

by Amy Ullrich, Posted June 1, 2011
In 1983, Dodge Morgan, then 53, sold his electronics company and made a promise to himself: he would sail around the world, alone, without stopping. He hoped to complete the 27,459-nautical-mile voyage onboard his 60-foot cutter, American Promise, in 220 days. That would require him to sail 100 miles a day at an average speed of 6.25 knots. As Morgan boarded American Promise in

See Like a Sailor

by MacDuff Perkins, Posted December 29, 2010
In his book Plain Sailing, Dallas Murphy gives new sailors the essential information needed to get on a boat and become a significant crewmember, while also offering experienced sailors a strong reminder of what it means to be out there in the first

Do Whales get the Bends?

by Rebecca Fenton, Posted September 23, 2010
Ever wondered why the sea is blue or a knot is called a knot? Retired marine biologist Tony Rice answers these and scores of other questions about the sea in a book that is as fascinating as it is informative. Complex and densely packed with diagrams and statistics, the book makes entertaining and occasionally challenging reading; it is best savored one entry at a time. In one of his more complex

You Want to Go Where?

by David Schmidt, Posted September 21, 2010
Need a sponsor to make your sailing dreams a reality? If so, You Want to Go Where?: How to Get Someone to Pay for the Trip of Your Dreams should definitely be on your must-read list. Author Jeff Blumenfeld, a lifelong sailor and public relations expert, distills a number of sophisticated ways of wooing prospective sponsors into digestible nuggets in this well-written look at what it

The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats

by Charles Mason, Posted June 23, 2010
After watching Steve Henkel collect brochures on trailerable boats for almost 50 years, his wife, Carol, asked why he was continuing to surround himself with mounds of seemingly obsolete files. With no room to maneuver, Henkel could only mumble that they were for a book he was planning to write. “Starting when?” his wife asked. “Now,” he meekly replied.Fortunately for us, the result is a

The Modern Cruising Sailboat

by Charles Mason, Posted June 9, 2010
Often, buying a cruising boat is the realization of a lifelong dream. But with that dream comes financial, logistical and, yes, personal obligations. While all of them can be managed, it’s a lot easier when you understand the realities that go with boat ownership. Doane has owned many boats over the years—his latest is affectionately named Lunacy—and uses his acquired wisdom in an entertaining
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