Dive into these boating books

Our summer reading

list ranges from guides

to fantasy voyages

Tired of techno-thrillers and romance paperbacks? Here’s a list of books for the nautically inclined chosen by our editor. . .

Sorensen’s Guide to Powerboats, 2nd edition, by Eric Sorensen. Published 2008 by McGraw Hill, USA. The subtitle of this book is “How to evaluate Design, Construction, and Performance.” That’s a little dry for a book that puts an awful lot of sea time into understanding why boats work the way they do. This is the stuff a dealer or a broker WON’T tell you. My favorite? Dive right into the chapter called “Finding your Next Boat.” It’s a fantastic checklist/discussion guide.

Into the Land of Coconut Dreams, by Bill Hezlep. Published 2009. This book has a better subtitle: “A travel Log, a Sea Story, and a Passage in Time; Mostly True.” I often shy away from recommending self-published books, but this one is charming and it’s perfect for those on the cusp of saying “to heck with it” and sailing away. The experiences he shares are valuable and he kept good notes on his first trip to the Bahamas from the Chesapeake and shares those as well. Available from flipkart.com or Amazon.

Seafaring Lore and Legend, by Peter Jeans. Published 2004 by International Marine. This fascinating, fun reference is now available on Kindle. The author explores myths and superstitions, profiles pirates and famous sea captains, and gives the stories behind countless expressions. If you’ve got kids old enough to ask questions, of if you want to stump the know-it-all at your yacht club, you need this book.

A to Z of Bahamas Heritage, by Michael Craton. Published 2007 by Macmillan Caribbean. Cruising to the Bahamas? You’ll get more out of your trip if you know more about the place and its people. Not a boring reference book, this work by one of the leading Bahamian historians is as entertaining as it is informative about the culture of the Bahamas and its “characters.”

The Republic of Pirates, by Colin Woodard. Published 2008 by Mariner Books. This book, too, has a subtitle: “Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down.” Given that the author’s perspective is that pirates weren’t criminals but rather social revolutionaries, how could this book be anything but a rollicking tale with pirates as the good guys? It tackles the golden age of pirates from 1715-1725 in the Caribbean and Bahamas. Arrrgh.

Bahama Queen, By Gertrude “Cleo” Lythgoe. Published 2006 by Flat Hammock Press. For pirates of a more recent era, this is the autobiography of the only woman to hold a wholesale liquor license in Nassau, Bahamas, during Prohibition. That would probably be a ho-hum story except for the fact that she was living the high life and supplying a fleet of rum-runners. There are several great companion books on this topic: Rum Row: the Liquor Fleet that Fueled the Roaring Twenties, by Robert Carse (2007), and The Real McCoy, by Frederic F. Van de Water (2007), both published by Flat Hammock Press.

Seized, by Max Hardberger. Published 2010 by Broadway. Now, to modern day pirates! Capt. Max Hardberger shares his true adventures of the shadowy world of recovering repossessed, stolen or otherwise illegally obtained ships from some pretty scary places. Think “Mission Impossible” on the high seas.

Cruising Guide to Puerto Rico, 2^nd Edition, by Stephen Pavlidis. Published 2010 by Seaworthy Publications. Now that Puerto Rico had changed its rules regarding entry fees and registration for visiting mariners, it makes sense to update your cruising library with this updated book so you can visit the Spanish Virgin Islands. It contains 53 charts color photos and GPS coordinates for PR and the north coast of the DR.

Back to June Newsletter