Nick Ward, who survived the disastrous 1979 Fastnet race aboard the 30-foot Grimalkin, has recently published a book about his experience.

It’s called Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Greatest Disaster in Modern Sailing History, and it ought to make interesting reading for anyone heading offshore in a small boat. For a preview, read the story over at the Telegraph.

But a word of warning: I suggest you read it while you’re safely moored in a well-protected harbor somewhere. I was once sailing across the Pacific, and we made the mistake of listening to the book-on-tape version of The Perfect Storm when we were about seven days out…what a stooopid idea that was!

Especially when we got to the part where author Sebastian Junger describes PRECISELY what happens, physiologically, to the human body when it drowns. We listened to that just as night was falling. What were we thinking?!?

Wait a minute…that ain’t right. Ah, here we go:

The new Fisheries Supply catalogs are here!
The new Fisheries Supply catalogs are here!

I know…funny how the least little thing amuses me. But in case my readers haven’t caught on yet, I love Fisheries Supply.

From the website: ‘To get your copy of what has been referred to as the "bible of marine hardware", please provide your shipping address. Free catalogs can only be shipped within the United States. If you reside outside of the United States, we will be happy to provide a freight quote.’

Looking for stocking stuffers for your favorite nautical history buff? Have you seen Arcadia Publishing’s "Images of America" series of books?

I love them, and I’m not just saying that because my aunt wrote the one about Tacoma’s Waterfront. (Hi Caroline! Just drop the check in the mail. Thanks. )

Only recently did I realize that they aren’t limited to the Pacific Northwest. Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series covers a LOT of ground:

Not only that, but the series covers a lot of ground, topic-wise, as well. It ain’t all shipping and industry, by any means. That’s just the stuff I tend to like.

It seems to me there’s a reason these books are so attractive to us. In an increasingly homogeneous world, where a strip-mall in Idaho looks pretty much the same as one in Louisiana, these books help us preserve our sense of place and history. That might sound a little poetic for a gear and gadgets blog, but that’s the way I feel about it.

The folks from “Rite in the Rain” were at the Pacific Marine Expo, and I picked up a brochure, an all-weather pen, and another pocket-sized spiral notebook…thanks guys!

See, I use these products every day. Into my pockets each morning go my keys, wallet, coin purse, cell phone, and my little Weems & Plath-branded Rite in the Rain 3″ x 5″ all-weather spiral notebook.

Aboard Two Lucky Fish, my log is maintained in a (more…)

   In fourteen hundred ninety-two
   Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

Well, sure he did…and what of it? I can be a bit of a contrarian from time to time. That’s why I respect and admire skeptical, independent historian Gunnar Thompson, who’s gathered some pretty compelling evidence disputing the history we all grew up with. Namely, the assertion that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America.

Never mind the fact that the continent had already been discovered by the people living there; that’s an argument for another day. Let me clarify: Thompson suggests that Columbus was not the first non-American to visit America and bring news of his voyage home. Even more surprising for those of us brought up with the conventional “New World” orthodoxy, Europeans may not have been the first to accomplish this at all! (more…)

In my earlier roundup of San Juan Islands cruising guides, I left out one of the most popular titles:

Waggoner Cruising Guide 2007: The Complete Boating Reference, edited by Robert Hale. I recently attended a big C-Dory gathering on Lopez Island, and it seemed like almost every one of them had a copy of this book on board.

Now that I’ve had a chance to look through it, I can see why. Wow! This book manages to do everything well, and I don’t say that lightly. I’m really impressed. (more…)

I’ve checked out every Puget Sound/San Juan Islands cruising book I could find at the Seattle Public Library. Here is my summary:

A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, second edition, by Migael Scherer, published by McGraw Hill/International Marine, 2005; $39.95. I like this one a lot. Sturdy, well organized, folds flat on any page, lots of good information, very professional presentation. But what really makes this book shine is that the author’s voice comes through. Not only is the book a thorough and authoritative reference, but it has a bit of personality, as well. It’s not cutesy or in-your-face or distracting; I just mean that you can sense the individual human personality behind the words on the page, and this gives the book a genuineness that makes it very pleasant to read. Perhaps another way of saying this would be: If I were to write a cruising guide, my goal would be to produce something like this. After conducting this review, this is the book I went out and bought.
(more…)

Bill Seifert’s Offshore Sailing, 200 Essential Passagemaking Tips, is a great resource for anyone who appreciates good, practical ideas and solutions won from a lifetime of commissioning and sailing boats. If you are building, buying, or refitting, his description of all the details of an ideal offshore boat is especially worthwhile. You can certainly find this book on Amazon, and even do a full-text search on it’s contents, but I do love a real bookstore that caters to sailors, so if you don’t have one near you, try the Armchair Sailor, in Seattle.