Onboard Literature

[LCBrandt]

Following Patrick O'Brian's death in January 2000, the American playwright David Mamet wrote an homage to him in the NY Times. It was reading Mamet's tribute when I first heard of O'Brian. Shortly thereafter in a New Orleans bookshop I purchased book #5 of his Aubrey/Maturin series, and was immediately hooked. Twice I have read the entire series, and as it has been almost five years since the last reading, I hope to set aside sufficient time next summer on the boat to go through them all again. My wife dreads this activity of mine because for a period of three months or so I become virtually incommunicado. A bomb could go off right next to me and I probably would not put down my book.

I find O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series to be literature of the highest order, better written by far than the Hornblower novels. The series benefits from repeated readings, as the second time so much more humor comes to light. There are numerous hilarious situations embedded in the books that the American ear tends to miss on the first read. Next time through, you'll laugh your head off at situations, comments, etc, that you entirely missed on the first reading.

So what other boat reading is out there?

Well, I have two recent discoveries:

1. Roger Pilkington - a Brit who in the sixties traveled the canals of Europe in a 35 hp 42-foot former admirals launch wrote about the experiences in a series of books, all similarly titled: Examples...Small Boat Through Sweden ; Small Boat On The Upper Rhine [I finished this one a few weeks back]; and so on through Europe. The canals he describes would never open to the draft of our boats, but he cruises with an open heart and an open mind, and generously and interestingly describes his travels, and the people and history of the lands as experienced from his M/V Commodore (and his newer boat, the M/V Thames Commodore).

2. Arturo Perez-Reverte - a Spanish writer, very prolific, who has made a name in two genres.

In the first style, he is the heir of Patrick O'Brian in his ability to write, as O'Brian did, of an age when swashbucklers yielded a great story. The Captain Alatriste series is not about a ship's captain, but rather a sword-for-hire in the 1600's during the Spanish war with the Netherlands and during the Inquisition. The narrator of the story, an old man named Inigo, remembers back to his pre- and early-teens when he was at Captain Alatriste's side; the young Inigo is my favorite character. I am looking forward to exciting adventures from him as he enters his teens and discovers women. The 4th Captain Alatriste book to be translated into English has just hit the market in the US, and I am waiting for Costco to offer it in paperback. For readers new to Perez-Reverte, the book to start with is titled [I]Captain Alatriste.

The other Perez-Reverte style is set in modern times. He has written a number of these, all very good. The Nautical Chart is an excellent book for a sailor to begin Perez-Reverte with. If you are interested in shenanigans in the Vatican, The Sevilla Communion is a great choice.

Great boat reading. Make a note of it.

[Solla Sollew]

I can't recommend anything “new” out there because I’m not a particularly literate person - as all will see below. I do like to watch movies so ask about my DVD collection.

On board I have copies of:

Chapman’s Piloting
Cruising Guide to the Channel Islands (Fagan)
Treasure Island (Stevenson)
2 Years Before the Mast (Dana)
I had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew (Dr. Seuss)

Two of these works have special significance to my locality but nonetheless, I highly recommend any of theses “classics”.

So far I’ve had very good sailing fortune which may explain why no Bible is on board. Lucky streaks don’t last forever so maybe it’s time to get a copy.

Marc
Solla Sollew #1473

[Allan R]

If you're interested in sailing related reading, Bernard Moitessier has written a number of interesting stories with some history of SE Asia thrown in.

Sailling to the Reefs
Cape Horn: The Logical Route
The Long Way
Tamata and the Alliance
A Sea Vagabond's World

[serenitynow]

Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen is a very informative, well-written account of how it was done 500 years ago. You'll enjoy.

[John Reimann]

Especially for those who cruise in (or visit) Mexico , I highly recommend B. Traven's "jungle novels" - best read in their sequence. These and many of his other books and short stories provide a vivid glimpse of Mexican history and culture. Traven also wrote "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," made into the famous film with Humphrey Bogart. He also wrote a brutal novel called "Death Ship", about a sailor caught on such a ship (no, it's not a ghost story; it's about an old rust bucket steamer.) He was pretty popular in his day, and many of his books can be found at used book shops.

Traven, himself, was a very interesting character. He died, I think, in the 1950s or 60s, and up until just a few years back, nobody knew who he was. He had this obsession with keeping his true identity secret, believing that the author is totally unimportant, it's his or her writing that matters. He was born in Germany, went into political exile and settled in Mexico, where he lived much of his life.

[LCBrandt]

Just last night I finished Airborne, by William F Buckley, Jr., a sweet, kind-hearted (and true) story of a voyage in his schooner Cyrano from Miami to Marbella, Spain, via Bermuda and the Azores.

The book tells of the voyage, but also includes background tales of previous boats he has owned or on which he has crewed, with numerous colorful adventures and mis-adventures. On this trip Buckley was accompanied by his son, Christopher, and his unflappable sister-in-law, Bill, and a few friends and other crew. Mr Buckley is an accomplished sailor, but you wonder after hearing some of the misadventures just how he (or his pocketbook) survived to get him to that level.

A nice take-away, for me anyway, is an entire chapter devoted to a "Heath Kit-like" description, step-by-step, of how to shoot and calculate an LOP from a sunsight. I copied those pages and will put them on my boat for my next offshore passage - in a month or so - when I intend to match my sextant fixes to my WAAS-capable GPS.

The book's subtitle is "A Sentimental Journey", and clearly conveyed throughout is his love for his son, Chris. Chris and friend Danny's hungover returns to shipboard life after shore leave in Bermuda and Faial gain the father's understanding and sympathy But the dad is much exasperated with Chris primarily for his not taking advantage of the opportunity to learn navigation. The father-son story forms the keel of this vessel, a strong, unbreakable one.

The man can tell a moving story. Highly recommended boat reading.

[stu jackson c34]

Not necessarily considered "literature" but a good read nonetheless is the West Marine or Defender catalogs. I can't recall the number of times I've asked people about things when on their boats and say, "Heck, let's look at a WM catalog and I'll show you exactly what part I'm talking about," to be met with nothing but a vacant stare. I once had to order a part while sailing across Monterey Bay - came in very helpful, along with the boat inventory spreadsheet I keep on board with the specific model number, too.

Maurice Griffiths wrote a series of books about sailing the east coast of England in the period between the wars. Great reading and wonderful to reread again and again. They've recently begun to republish many of his out of print books. The Magic of the Swatchways is one of the most known of his works.

[WD-40]

I second Bernard Moitessier!

Also>
Robin Lee Graham-Dove
Hal Roth
The Hiscocks
Diary of a Sea Captains Wife

But to name a few~

WD
S/V DRAKE EQUATION
www.drakeequation.org

[LCBrandt]

A good list, except for Robin Lee Graham who's writing reads like that of a spoiled brat. Much more mature, and a much better writer in the younger sailing lit category, is Tania Aebi's "Maiden Voyage"; although she had a lot of luck with her to make it half way round the world before she learned celestial nav.

[WD-40]

Larry,
Tania Aebi's "Maiden Voyage" is a good read.
I will add the Tristan Jones series to the list.

Like many of us who sail i have read probably most english and many translated sailing books and novels.

Robin Lee Graham's DOVE was the first of many, my passion and fascination with sailing started with Robins write up series in National Geographic. Dove changed my life forever.

[ramblin@joimail.com]

A few that come to mind;

The Non-Macho Sailor by Katy Burke(not sure if the author is right, book is on the boat) Katy may be the one that writes about canvas stuff.
Voyage of Commitment by Raymond F. Triplett
One Watch at a Time by Skip Novak
Adrift by Steven Callahan
All of Hal Roth's books
Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
The Bible

[John Reimann]

Somebody mentioned Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl. Also by him is "The Voyages of the Ra", in which he tried to prove possible his theory that Egyptians sailed reed boats to South America. Fascinating stuff.

Another great book by B. Traven is "Death Ship", but I really like all of his work.

For those of you who like scientific books, "Our Stolen Future" by Theo Colborn.

[wfahey]

Close to the Wind by Pete Goss. -- His first Vendee Globe attempt.