Great Sailing Reads

During the cold months to come, when you can't get out on the water, pick up one of these titles to stay in the nautical frame of mind.

BY JONAH RANKIN

I enjoy sailing books, in particular adventure and disaster books.  Here are some of my favorites that I have read:

"Annapolis Book of Seamanship" by John Rousmaniere.  This is the book with the basics. If you have been in a keelboat class you've already read it, but it explains simply many of the basic concepts that would be good for any sailor to know.  They are available in the WYC office.

"Sailing Alone Around the World" by Captain Joshua Slocum.  "Full of astonishing adventures, this is the true story of the first man ever to circle the globe alone entirely by sea."  He did this in three years in 1895.

"The Proving Ground" by Bruce Knecht.  This is about the Hobart race and the disaster turned into a massive rescue mission as an entire regatta is caught in a massive storm with 80+ mph winds.

"The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition" by Caroline Alexander.  They were on a mission to the Antarctic when they were trapped by an ice flow.  As time wore on, they had to hoof it across the wasteland, use liferafts in stormy seas, and live off penguin meat for months until their Captain, Ernest Shackleton, and some others patched together a mission to go get help.  All this, and "not a man lost."  Some say it is the greatest survival story ever.  My personal favorite.

*You'll notice I've started a side bar that is devoted to nautical books. Please email me your favorite sailing books (fiction and non-fiction) at telltale@washingtonyachtclub.org and I'll put them up!