BOATING BOOKS - THE PERFECT GIFT FOR THE FAMILY MARINER
Fred Dyson – Dyson's Starboard View – Messing About in Boats
Buying Christmas gifts for mariners is tough. They won't put up with phony stuff and their interests are generally pretty narrow. We are going to give you a few book suggestions that will warm the timbers of most seafarers' hearts.
"Piloting and Seamanship and Small Boat Handling" – Charles Chapman
This book is the standard instruction book on small boat seamanship. It is all there: boat handling, safety, knots, weather, navigation, ground tackle, emergency procedures, radio protocol, sailing, and docking techniques. The book is updated yearly at this time and the most experienced seaman will learn from it.
"Riddle of the Sands" – Erskine Childers
This is a classic sea story set in the North Sea on the coast of Holland and Germany prior to World War I. The heroes are having a holiday of a gaff-headed yawl, when they encounter suspicious activity on the part of a German yacht and its mysterious owner. It describes their magnificent thirty-mile trip in a rowboat, navigating by compass and finding the channels with a boat pole in the fog as they try to untangle the enigmas of the villains. There is lots of shallow-water sailing lore, danger, spies, class struggles and a beautiful girl to make this story fascinating reading.
"Steaming to Bamboola" – Christopher Buckley
No, not BiIl Buckley. This is Christopher, a former speech writer for President Bush and a sometimes mariner. In 218 pages he manages to tell you about one memorable voyage on a tramp steamer, the history of the U.S. Merchant Marine, and the collected experiences and sea stories of the entire crew of miscreants and misfits. You will hear about the engineer who had ball bearings welded into the overhead above the skipper's cabin so the rolling and banging would keep him from sleeping and the fastidious skipper who shared the affections of a blow-up doll with the room steward. You will ride out Atlantic storms, worry about the future of the U.S. merchant fleet, and laugh until there are no more tears.
"African Queen" - C.S. Forester
This one was made into a classic movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. A proper English missionary lady must flee the Germans with a drunken reprobate seaman on his steam-powered launch, the "African Queen." They wrestle with their personal differences, fight the elements, fall in love, and attack the enemy with a vengeance in this delightful story set in Africa at the beginning of World War I.
"Desperate Voyage" -John Caldwell
Traveling 8,500 miles across the Pacific. A tough and determined U.S. GI with no sailing experience starts from Panama in an old cutter-rigged sailboat bound for Australia to be reunited with his wife who he has not seen in a year. His departure from the Balboa Yacht Club in the canal zone is amongst the funniest tales of the sea ever written, and Caldwell's adventures rank with the greatest tales of survival. Dismasted and later shipwrecked, Caldwell ate everything on board his boat, the ''Pagan." He ate his shoes, belt, Vaseline, lipstick, toothpaste and the marine growth from the hull. He drank the motor oil, fished, and ate seabirds, beak, feet and all. Through it all he has three companions, Flotsam and Jetsam, his kittens, and Stowaway, a rat. A true story, well written.
"Sailing Around the World Alone" - Joshua Slocum
This is the original cruising tale that has inspired thousands of people to want to build a sailboat and "sail round the world." Slocum's boat, the "Spray", has been replicated and many have followed his route, but he did it long ago and no one has had his adventures or done it with such style.
ALSO RECOMMENDED
Anything maritime by Jack London, Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, Tristan Jones, Nordoff and Hall, and C.S. Forester. These men know their subjects and are technically very accurate. They write with great skill, and the stories seize and carry you along like a Cook Inlet bore tide. By Farley Mowat: "The Boat That Wouldn't Float", "The Serpent's Coil", "Grey Seas Under"
The recipients of any of the above books will be grateful, but I must warn you the recipients won't be available for any useful duty until the last page is turned.
LOCAL BOATING ASSOCIATIONS
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary - training classes, voluntary inspections, information, safety training. Contact Bill Schmidtman at 271-5935.
Knik Canoers and Kayakers - paddle sports, safety, environmental responsibility, touring, whitewater. Contact Dave Blanchet at 561-0500.
Alaska Boating Association - river boats and recreational river boat issues. Contact George Piaskowski at 337-8032.
Alaska Marine Dealers Association – 561-4554.
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