100 Best Sailing Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing

5.0

The harrowing tale of British explorer Ernest Shackleton's 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole, one of the greatest adventure stories of the modern age.

In August 1914, polar explorer Ernest Shackleton boarded the Endurance became locked in an island of ice. Thus began the legendary ordeal of Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men. When their ship was finally crushed between two ice floes, th

Recommended by Ryan Holiday, Bryan Johnson, Mark Moses, and 2 others.

Ryan Holiday

Author

50 plus years old, this is a story that more than stands the test of time. Sir Ernest Shackleton makes his daring attempt to cross Antarctic continent but his crew and boat are trapped in the ice flows. What follows are 600 days of harrowing survival, first from the elements, then from hunger, then from the sea as he makes a daring attempt in a small lifeboat to reach land 650 miles away, then again as he struggles over land and mountains to bring relief to his men. And when he finally arrives with it, Shackleton simply boards them on the boat and returns home as if nothing had happened. He was an immensely brave man in the midst of terrible adversity and we see this so clearly in a book based on the remarkable diaries of his men. He never quit, never seemed to despair. This book (and his life) were living proof of his family motto: “Fortitudine vincimus” (By endurance we conquer). [source]

Bryan Johnson

How I want to behave in life. [source]

Mark Moses

Truly inspiring story of determination, grit and beating all odds. [source]

2

Sailing Alone around the World

Joshua Slocum, Thomas Philbrick

4.9

The classic travel narrative of a Don Quixote-of-the-seas – the first man to circumnavigate the world singlehandedly.

Joshua Slocum’s autobiographical account of his solo trip around the world is one of the most remarkable – and entertaining – travel narratives of all time. Setting off alone from Boston aboard the thirty-six-foot wooden sloop Spray in April 1895, Captain Slocum went on to join the

3

The Long Way: Sheridan House Maritime Classic

Bernard Moitessier and William Rodarmor

4.8

The Long Way is Bernard Moitessier's own incredible story of his participation in the first Golden Globe Race, a solo, non-stop circumnavigation rounding the three great Capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin, and the Horn. For seven months, the veteran seafarer battled storms, doldrums, gear-failures, knock-downs, as well as overwhelming fatigue and loneliness. Then, nearing the finish, Moitessier pulled ou

4

A Voyage for Madmen

Peter Nichols

4.8

In 1968, nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. It was a feat that had never been accomplished and one that would forever change the face of sailing. Ten months later, only one of the nine men would cross the finish line and earn fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the reward was madness, failure, and death.

In this extraord

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5

Maiden Voyage

Tania Aebi, Bernadette Brennan

4.6

Tania Aebe was an eighteen-year-old dropout and barfly. She was going nowhere until her father offered her a challenge. He would offer her either a college education or a twenty-six-foot sloop in which she had to sail around the world alone. She chose the boat and for two years it was her home, as she negotiated weather, illness, fear, and ultimately, a spiritual quest that brought her home to her

6

Dove

Robin L. Graham

4.5

In 1965, 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham began a solo around-the-world voyage from San Pedro, California, in a 24-foot sloop. Five years and 33,000 miles later, he returned to home port with a wife and daughter and enough extraordinary experiences to fill this bestselling book, Dove.

7

Moby-Dick

Herman Melville

4.5

Journey to the heart of the sea with this larger-than-life classic.

Regarded as a Great American Novel, "Moby Dick" is the ultimate tale of seeking vengeance.

Narrated by the crew member Ishmael, this epic whaling adventure follows the crew of the "Pequod," as its captain, Ahab, descends deeper and deeper into madness on his quest to find and kill the white whale that maimed him. Beyond the surface-

Recommended by Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Adam Haslett, and 4 others.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

According to the president’s Facebook page and a 2008 interview with the New York Times, this title is among his most influential forever favorites. [source]

Steve Jobs

Founder/Apple

Jobs told me that "Moby-Dick" was among his favorite books and he reread it a lot when he was a teen. [source]

Adam Haslett

Evil derives from the violent avoidance of the realisation of our own mortality and there could be few better examples of this in literature than Melville’s portrait of Ahab in Moby-Dick. [source]

8

Two Years Before the Mast: A Sailor's Life at Sea

Richard Henry Dana; Jr.

4.5

Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr. written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834.

While at Harvard College, Dana had an attack of the measles, which affected his vision. Thinking it might help his sight, Dana, rather than going on a Grand Tour as most of his fellow classmates traditionally did (and unable to afford it anyway) and being somethin

9

The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

4.5

The Old Man and the Sea, an apparently simple fable, represents the mature Hemingway at his best. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature soon after its publication, and half a century later it is still one of his most read books.

Recommended by Jack Dorsey, James Altucher, Jordan B Peterson, and 1 others.

Jack Dorsey

Co-Founder/Twitter

I keep coming back to it. I love the straightforwardness, the tightness, and the poetry. I think it shows a common struggle that is repeated over and over in so many narratives both fictional and nonfictional. [source]

Jordan B Peterson

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway https://t.co/7dJE4Pfn56, a book from my great books list https://t.co/AxBNX3QpMb [source]

May Witwit

I taught this book to my students in Iraq during the economic sanctions. And I feel like it gave me some kind of strength to continue. [source]

10

Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea

Steven Callahan

4.5

Before The Perfect Storm, before In the Heart of the Sea, Steven Callahan's dramatic tale of survival at sea was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than thirty-six weeks. In some ways the model for the new wave of adventure books, Adrift is an undeniable seafaring classic, a riveting firsthand account by the only man known to have survived more than a month alone at sea, fighting for h

11

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Nathaniel Philbrick

4.5

"With its huge, scarred head halfway out of the water and its tail beating the ocean into a white-water wake more than forty feet across, the whale approached the ship at twice its original speed - at least six knots. With a tremendous cracking and splintering of oak, it struck the ship just beneath the anchor secured at the cat-head on the port bow..."

In the Heart of the Sea brings to new life t

Recommended by Richard Branson and Ryan Holiday.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

Wow, did you know that Moby Dick was based on a true story? There was a real whaling ship that was broken in half by an angry sperm whale. But it gets even more insane. The members of the crew escaped in three lifeboats, traveling thousands of miles at sea with little food and water until they slowly resorted to cannibalism(!) Besides being an utterly unbelievable story, this book also gives a great history into the whaling industry and the cowboys/entrepreneurs who led it. Definitely recommend and I promise my spoilers did not ruin anything. [source]

12

The Voyager's Handbook: The Essential Guide to Blue Water Cruising

Beth Leonard

4.4

"Belongs in the bookshelf of every cruising vessel."--Blue Water Sailing

"If you are serious about that extended voyage, read The Voyager's Handbook."--Sailing

"Every now and then a new voice emerges in the world of sailing literature that stands out, a voice that is both clear and of lasting quality. The appearance of such a new voice is something of an event, and that's what we'd call the publicat

13

The Annapolis Book of Seamanship

John Rousmaniere

4.4

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14

Master and Commander (Aubrey & Maturin, #1)

Patrick O'Brian

4.4

As the Royal Navy takes part in the wars against Napoleonic France, young Jack Aubrey receives his first command, the small, old, and slow HMS Sophie. Accompanied by his eccentric new friend, the physician and naturalist Stephen Maturin, Aubrey does battle with the naval hierarchy, with his own tendency to make social blunders, and with the challenges of forging an effective crew -- before ultimat

15

Fastnet, Force 10: The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing

John Rousmaniere

4.4

It began in fine weather, then suddenly became a terrifying ordeal. A Force 10, sixty-knot storm swept across the North Atlantic with a speed that confounded forecasters, slamming into the fleet with epic fury. For twenty hours, 2,500 men and women were smashed by forty-foot breaking waves, while rescue helicopters and lifeboats struggled to save them. By the time the race was over, fifteen people

16

Sailing Fundamentals

Gary Jobson

4.4

With over 150 line drawings and photographs, and clear, detailed coursework covering every aspect of beginning sailing—from hoisting sail to docking and anchoring—Sailing Fundamentals is the authoritative text designed to prepare the learning sailor for certification according to international standards.

Written by America’s foremost instructional authority, the new edition of Sailing Fundamentals

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17

Gipsy Moth Circles the World

Francis Chichester

4.4

18

The Complete Sailor (International Marine)

David Seidman

4.4

This is not just an instructional book---it's an insight into a sailor's approach to the sea, boats, and the ever-changing dynamic of wind on the water

"A learn-to-sail book with heart."--WoodenBoat
"A real winner...a masterful blend of straightforward text with delightful and instructive illustrations. Quite simply a great primer on sailing and the world of boats for readers of all ages."--Cruisi

19

A World of My Own: The first ever non-stop solo round the world voyage

Robin Knox-Johnston

4.4

On Friday 14 June 1968 Suhaili, a tiny ketch, slipped almost
unnoticed out of Falmouth harbour steered by the solitary figure at her
helm, Robin Knox-Johnston. Ten and a half months later Suhaili,
paintwork peeling and rust streaked, her once white sails weathered and
brown, her self-steering gone, her tiller arm jury rigged to the rudder
head, came romping joyously back to Falmouth to a fantastic rece

20

Sailing a Serious Ocean: Sailboats, Storms, Stories and Lessons Learned from 30 Years at Sea

John Kretschmer

4.4

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21

An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude

Ann Vanderhoof

4.3

An Embarrassment of Mangoes is a delicious chronicle of leaving the type-A lifestyle behind -- and discovering the seductive secrets of life in the Caribbean.

Who hasn’t fantasized about chucking the job, saying goodbye to the rat race, and escaping to some exotic destination in search of sun, sand, and a different way of life? Canadians Ann Vanderhoof and her husband, Steve did just that.

In the mi

22

Sailing Made Easy

The American Sailing Association ASA

4.3

The book is the most comprehensive education and boating safety learn-to-sail guide to date. Incorporated in the textbook are useful illustrations and exceptional photographs of complex sailing concepts. There are also quizzes at the end of each chapter, and a glossary to help those new to sailing to navigate their way through the extensive nautical terminology.

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23

The Complete Sailing Manual

Steve Sleight

4.3

An essential reference book for sailing enthusiasts, now in its fourth edition with a foreword by quadruple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie.

Learn the basics of sailing, master navigation, and maintain your boat with The Complete Sailing Manual, written by instructor and former British national champion Steve Sleight. This authoritative text has clear, annotated diagrams and photographs that answ

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24

Kon-Tiki

Thor Heyerdahl

4.3

Kon-Tiki is the record of an astonishing adventure -- a journey of 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean by raft. Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, biologist Thor Heyerdahl suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race from thousands of miles to the east, led by a mythical hero, Kon-Tiki. He decided to prove his theory by duplicating the legendary voyage.

On April

Recommended by Ovidiu Drugan.

Ovidiu Drugan

Expedition books from north pole to across the oceans with ships or rafts. [source]

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25

H.M.S. Surprise (Aubrey & Maturin #3)

Patrick O'Brian

4.3

Amid sights and smells of the Indian subcontinent explore ships of the East India Company. Aubrey is on the defensive, pitting wits and seamanship against an enemy enjoying overwhelming local superiority. Somewhere in the Indian Ocean lies the prize that could make him rich - ships sent by Napoleon to attack the China Fleet.

26

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea

Sebastian Junger

4.3

"Takes readers into the maelstrom and shows nature's splendid and dangerous havoc at its utmost".

October 1991. It was "the perfect storm"--a tempest that may happen only once in a century--a nor'easter created by so rare a combination of factors that it could not possibly have been worse. Creating waves ten stories high and winds of 120 miles an hour, the storm whipped the sea to inconceivable lev

27

Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E

Nigel Calder

4.3

"The definitive guide to designing, installing, and maintaining electrical and mechanical systems on your boat"

"Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual" covers virtually anything on a sail or power boat with moving parts: engine, electrical, steering systems, winches, pumps, refrigeration, plumbing, rigging.

Updated to include new chapters and information about hybrid propulsion system, distri

28

Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson

4.3

The most popular pirate story ever written in English, featuring one of literature's most beloved villains, Treasure Island has been happily devoured by several generations of boys-and girls-and grownups.

Recommended by Barack Obama, Richard Branson, and Michael Morpurgo.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

During a trip to a public library in Washington’s Anacostia neighborhood in 2015, Obama shared some of his childhood favorites with a group of young students. He also read (and acted out) Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak to kids at the White House in 2014. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Michael Morpurgo

This is the first book that I ever read on my own and I take great pleasure and pride in that. It was the first book where I really identified strongly with the boy Jim in it. He was about the same age as I was when I began reading it. [source]

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29

Sailing for Dummies

J. J. Isler and Peter Isler

4.3

Interested in learning to sail but feel like you're navigating in murky waters? Sailing for Dummies, Second Edition introduces the basics of sailing, looks at the different types of sailboats and their basic parts, and teaches you everything you need to know before you leave the dock. In Sailing for Dummies, Second Edition, two U.S. sailing champions show you how to:

Find and choose a sailing schoo

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30

The Proving Ground: The Inside Story of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race

G. Bruce Knecht

4.3

On December 26, 1998, 115 sailboats set out on the annual race from Sydney to Hobart; only 43 would make it to the Tasmanian city, the race having turned into the worst modern sailing disaster since the 1979 Fastnet Race. Combining the best elements of The Perfect Storm (W.W. Norton, 1997) and Barbarians at the Gate (HarperCollins, 1990), "The Proving Ground" is a gripping narrative that follows t

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31

Swallows and Amazons

Arthur Ransome

4.3

Upon arriving, the friends are besieged by Amazon pirates, Nancy and Peggy, who claim ownership of the land. Luckily, the Swallows and Amazons soon call a truce and set off together on wild escapades, camping under open skies, swimming, fishing, and exploring.

This deluxe hardcover edition of Arthur Ransome's charming tale will find a treasured spot in many home libraries as well as transport child

Recommended by Richard Branson.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

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32

How to Sail Around the World: Advice and Ideas for Voyaging Under Sail

Hal Roth

4.3

A new classic from one of the world's most respected sailing authors

More than 35 years ago, Hal Roth quit his job as a journalist and went sailing. Since then, he's logged more than 200,000 sea miles. Along the way, Roth also has authored eight voyaging classics, including the 1978 bestseller After 50,000 Miles.

Taking that book as its starting point, this handsome new volume incorporates the new t

33

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

Dava Sobel

4.2

Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day—and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resol

Recommended by Richard Branson.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

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34

Post Captain (Aubrey & Maturin #2)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Master and Commander raised almost dangerously high expectations Post Captain triumphantly surpasses them a brilliant book Mary Renault. The best historical novels ever written- New York Times

35

The Ashley Book of Knots

Clifford W. Ashley

4.2

This is the definitive book on knots. Here are approximately 3900 different kinds, from simple hitches to "Marlingspike Seamanship." Mr. Ashley has included almost everything there is to know about them. Precisely named and classified (some new ones for the first time officially), they can be easily found in the big index. He tells when they appeared, something about their history, and what they a

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36

Storm Tactics Handbooks

Lin Pardey, Larry Pardey

4.2

In a storm at sea, luck is highly biased toward the sailor who has a plan. So write Lin and Larry Pardey in this, the third edition of their highly regarded Storm Tactics Handbook. As in the first two editions of this book, they describe their concerns about the tendency of modern sailors to discard the classic methods used to bring sailing vessels of all sizes from vast clipper ships to tiny yach

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37

Close to the Wind

Pete Goss

4.2

On November 3, 1996, former Royal Marine Pete Goss embarked on the most grueling competition in his sailing career: the Vendée Globe, a nonstop, single-handed round-the-world yacht race. For the next seven weeks he met every challenge in his stormy path, from combating waves the height of six-story buildings to grappling with his spinnaker in high winds. Then everything began going wrong: His sail

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38

The Surgeon's Mate (Aubrey & Maturin #7)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are ordered home by dispatch vessel to bring the news of their latest victory to the government. But Maturin is a marked man for the havoc he has wrought in the French intelligence network in the New World, and the attention of two privateers soon becomes menacing. The chase that follows through the fogs and shallows of the Grand Banks is as tense, and as unexpected

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39

Heavy Weather Sailing 7th Edition

Peter Bruce

4.2

Since this book was written over 30 years ago by the great British sailor K. Adlard Coles, it has become the standard work on seamanship under gale conditions. More than 100,000 English-language copies have been printed, and there are editions in French, German, Dutch, Italian, Swedish, and Spanish.

The thirtieth-anniversary edition of this classic includes sections on parachute sea anchors and dro

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40

World Cruising Routes

Jimmy Cornell

4.2

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41

The Mauritius Command (Aubrey & Maturin #4)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Captain Jack Aubrey is ashore on half pay without a command—until Stephen Maturin arrives with secret orders for Aubrey to take a frigate to the Cape of Good Hope under a commodore's pennant, there to mount an expedition against the French-held islands of Mauritius and La Réunion. But the difficulties of carrying out his orders are compounded by two of his own captains—Lord Clonfert, a pleasure-se

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42

Desolation Island (Aubrey & Maturin #5)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

"[O'Brian's] Aubrey-Maturin series, 20 novels of the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Wars, is a masterpiece. It will outlive most of today's putative literary gems as Sherlock Holmes has outlived Bulwer-Lytton, as Mark Twain has outlived Charles Reade." —David Mamet, New York Times

Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and surgeon Stephen Maturin sail

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43

The Letter of Marque (Aubrey & Maturin, #12)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Captain Jack Aubrey, a brilliant and experienced officer, has been struck off the list of post-captains for a crime he did not commit. His old friend Stephen Maturin, usually cast as a ship's surgeon to mask his discreet activities on behalf of British Intelligence, has bought for Aubrey his former ship the Surprise to command as a privateer, more politely termed a letter of marque. Together they

44

True Spirit: The True Story of a 16-Year-Old Australian Who Sailed Solo, Nonstop, and Unassisted Around the World

Jessica Watson

4.2

On May 15, 2010, after 210 days at sea and more than 22,000 nautical miles, 16-year-old Jessica Watson sailed her 33-foot boat triumphantly back to land. She had done it. She was the youngest person to sail solo, unassisted, and nonstop around the world.

Jessica spent years preparing for this moment, years focused on achieving her dream. Yet only eight months before, she collided with a 63,000-ton

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45

The Reverse of the Medal (Aubrey & Maturin #11)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Captain Jack Aubrey, R. N., ashore after a successful cruise, is persuaded by a casual acquaintance to make certain investments in the City. This innocent decision ensnares him in the London criminal underground and in government espionage—the province of his friend Stephen Maturin. Is Aubrey's humiliation and the threatened ruin of his career a deliberate plot? This dark tale is a fitting backdro

46

Adrift: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea

Tami Oldham Ashcraft

4.2

The heart-stopping memoir, soon to be a major motion picture starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin, and directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Everest).

Young and in love, their lives ahead of them, Tami Oldham and her fiancé Richard Sharp set sail from Tahiti under brilliant blue skies, with Tami’s hometown of San Diego as their ultimate destination. But the two free spirits and avid sailors couldn’t

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47

The Nutmeg of Consolation (Aubrey & Maturin #14)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Alternate Cover Edition can be found here.

Shipwrecked on a remote island in the Dutch East Indies, Captain Aubrey, surgeon and secret intelligence agent Stephen Maturin, and the crew of the Diane fashion a schooner from the wreck. A vicious attack by Malay pirates is repulsed, but the makeshift vessel burns, and they are truly marooned. Their escape from this predicament is one that only the whim

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48

Get Real, Get Gone: How to Become a Modern Sea Gypsy and Sail Away Forever

Rick Page and Jasna Tuta

4.2

'Don't even think of buying a boat until you have read this book'. -Tom Cunliffe (legendary sailor and author of The Complete Yachtmaster). The idea that you have to be rich to travel the world on your own yacht is so universal, it goes largely unquestioned This book hopes to change all that. If you are not rich, but dream of seeing our beautiful world from the deck of your own yacht, this book is

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49

The Ionian Mission (Aubrey & Maturin #8)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, veterans now of many battles, return in this novel to the seas where they first sailed as shipmates. But Jack is now a senior captain commanding a line-of-battle ship in the Royal Navy's blockade of Toulon, and this is a longer, harder, colder war than the dashing frigate actions of his early days. A sudden turn of events takes him and Stephen off on a hazardous mi

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50

Flirting with Mermaids: The Unpredictable Life of a Sailboat Delivery Skipper

John Kretschmer

4.2

Over the course of twenty years of delivering sailboats to far-flung quaysides, John Kretschmer has had innumerable adventures, both humorous and terrifying. in Flirting with Mermaids, he recounts the most memorable of them. He crosses the Western Caribbean with a crew of eccentric Swedes researching ancient Mayan mariners, lands in Aden at the outbreak of civil war, and endures a North Atlantic c

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51

The Fortune of War (Aubrey & Maturin #6)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

An essential of the truly gripping book for the narrative addict is the creation of a whole, solidly living world for the imagination to inhabit, and O'Brian does this with prodigal specificity and generosity." —A.S. Byatt

Captain Jack Aubrey, R. N., arrives in the Dutch East Indies to find himself appointed to the command of the fastest and best-armed frigate in the Navy. He and his friend Stephen

52

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Jean Lee Latham

4.2

A fictionalized biography of the mathematician and astronomer who realized his childhood desire to become a ship's captain and authoredThe American Practical Navigator.

Recommended by Bill Nye.

Bill Nye

About a real-life American hero who pulls himself through life with genius and hard work. He inspired me as kid — he still does. I hope to make the movie someday soon. [source]

53

The Wanderer

Sharon Creech, David Diaz

4.2

The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in, it said, come in. Sophie hears the sea calling, promising adventure as she sets sail for England with her three uncles and two cousins. Sophie's cousin Cody isn't sure he has the strength to prove himself to the crew and to his father. Through Sophie's and Cody's travel logs, we hear stories of the past and the daily challe

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54

The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst

Nicholas Tomalin, Ron Hall

4.2

The Sailor's Classics library introduces a new generation of readers to the best books ever written about small boats under sail

In the autumn of 1968, Donald Crowhurst set sail from England to participate in the first single-handed nonstop around-the-world sailboat race. Eight months later, his boat was found in the mid-Atlantic, intact but with no one on board. In this gripping reconstruction, jo

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55

Treason's Harbour (Aubrey & Maturin #9)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

All Patrick O'Brian's strengths are on parade in this novel of action and intrigue, set partly in Malta, partly in the treacherous, pirate-infested waters of the Red Sea. While Captain Aubrey worries about repairs to his ship, Stephen Maturin assumes the center stage for the dockyards and salons of Malta are alive with Napoleon's agents, and the admiralty's intelligence network is compromised. Mat

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56

The Thirteen-Gun Salute (Aubrey & Maturin #13)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Captain Jack Aubrey sets sail for the South China Sea with a new lease on life. Following reinstatement into the Royal Navy. Maturin climbs the Thousand Steps of the sacred crater of the orangutans. A killer typhoon catches Aubrey and his crew trying to work the Diane off a reef. In the barbaric court of Pulo Prabang a diplomatic mission tries to prevent links between Bonaparte and the Malay princ

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57

The Yellow Admiral (Aubrey & Maturin #18)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Life ashore may once again be the undoing of Jack Aubrey in The Yellow Admiral, Patrick O'Brian's best-selling novel and eighteenth volume in the Aubrey/Maturin series. Aubrey, now a considerable though impoverished landowner, has dimmed his prospects at the Admiralty by his erratic voting as a Member of Parliament; he is feuding with his neighbor, a man with strong Navy connections who wants to e

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58

The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin #16)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

At the outset of this adventure filled with disaster and delight, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin pursue an American privateer through the Great South Sea. The strange color of the ocean reminds Stephen of Homer's famous description, and portends an underwater volcanic eruption that will create a new island overnight and leave an indelible impression on the reader's imagination.

Their ship, the Sur

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59

The Far Side of the World (Aubrey & Maturin #10)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

The war of 1812 continues, and Jack Aubrey sets course for Cape Horn on a mission after his own heart: intercepting a powerful American frigate outward bound to play havoc with the British whaling trade. Stephen Maturin has fish of his own to fry in the world of secret intelligence. Disaster in various guises awaits them in the Great South Sea and in the far reaches of the Pacific: typhoons, casta

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60

The Commodore (Aubrey & Maturin #17)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

Having survived a long and desperate adventure in the Great South Sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return to England to very different circumstances.

For Jack it is a happy homecoming, at least initially, but for Stephen it is disastrous: his little daughter appears to be autistic, incapable of speech or contact, while his wife, Diana, unable to bear this situation, has disappeared, he

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61

The Truelove (Aubrey & Maturin #15)

Patrick O'Brian

4.2

A British whaler has been captured by an ambitious chief in the sandwich islands at French instigation, and Captain Aubrey, R. N., Is dispatched with the Surprise to restore order. But stowed away in the cable-tier is an escaped female convict. To the officers, Clarissa Harvill is an object of awkward courtliness and dangerous jealousies. Aubrey himself is won over and indeed strongly attracted to

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62

Godforsaken Sea: The True Story of a Race Through the World's Most Dangerous Waters

Derek Lundy

4.1

"The best book ever written about the terrifying business of single-handed sailing--. Lundy tells a harrowing tale, as tight and gripping as The Perfect Storm or Into Thin Air."--San Francisco Chronicle

A chilling account of the world's most dangerous sailing race, the Vendée Globe, Godforsaken Sea is at once a hair-raising adventure story, a graceful evocation of the sailing life, and a thoughtful

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63

Blue at the Mizzen (Aubrey & Maturin #20)

Patrick O'Brian

4.1

Napoleon has been defeated at Waterloo, and the ensuing peace brings with it both the desertion of nearly half of Captain Aubrey's crew and the sudden dimming of Aubrey's career prospects in a peacetime navy. When the Surprise is nearly sunk on her way to South America—where Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are to help Chile assert her independence from Spain—the delay occasioned by repairs reaps a harv

64

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3)

C. S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes

4.1

The Dawn Treader will take you places you never dreamed existed.

NARNIA... the world of wicked dragons and magic spells, where the very best is brought out of even the worst people, where anything can happen (and most often does)... and where the adventure begins.

The Dawn Treader is the first ship Narnia has seen in centuries. King Caspian has built it for his voyage to find the seven lords, good m

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65

How to Read a Nautical Chart, 2nd Edition (Includes All of Chart #1): A Complete Guide to Using and Understanding Electronic and Paper Charts

Nigel Calder

4.1

Authoritative, practical, and hands-on information on reading and relying on electronic and paper nautical charts

The classic "How to Read a Nautical Chart" explains every aspect of electronic and paper nautical charts: how a chart is assembled, how to gauge the accuracy of chart data, how to read charts created by other governments, how to use information such as scale, projection technique and da

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66

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Avi

4.1

An ocean voyage of unimaginable consequences... Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I liv

67

The Riddle of the Sands

Erskine Childers

4.1

Languishing one summer at the Foreign Office in London, Carruthers is rescued by an unexpected invitation to join Arthur Davies and the Dulcibella in the Baltic. A grouse-shooting party or a weekend at Cowes would have been more Carruther’s style. More disconcerting still, soon after his arrival it emerges that Davies needs his assistance, not on a yachting holiday, but in a sport of amateur spyin

Recommended by Ben Macintyre, Keith Jeffery, and Stephen Evans.

Ben Macintyre

It’s a ripping yarn, it’s just so exciting. I first read it when I was about ten, and I’ve re-read it periodically since and it combines two of the things that I love most. [source]

Keith Jeffery

A wonderful book both for the espionage aficionado and also for the yachtsman. [source]

Stephen Evans

It’s the Great Game again, but this time it is played out in a small sailing boat on the Frisian Coast in Germany around 1900. [source]

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68

The Sea Wolf

Jack London

4.1

The Sea-Wolf is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by Jack London about a literary critic Humphrey van Weyden.The story starts with him aboard a San Francisco ferry, called Martinez, which collides with another ship in the fog and sinks. He is set adrift in the Bay, eventually being picked up by Wolf Larsen.Larsen is the captain of a seal-hunting schooner, the Ghost. Brutal and cynical, yet also

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69

Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Greatest Disaster in Modern Sailing History

Nick Ward, Sinead O'Brien

4.1

In August of 1979, Nick Ward began the 600-mile course of the UK's Fastnet Race with perfect weather. Within 48 hours, the deadliest storm in the history of modern sailing had blasted through the Irish Sea. By the time it had passed, it had thrown one of the world's most prestigious races into bedlam and taken the lives of fifteen sailors. Ward's boat, Grimalkin, was capsized again and again, and

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70

Crossing Pirate Waters (Escape)

Julie Bradley

4.1

71

This Old Boat

Don Casey

4.1

72

Taran Wanderer (The Chronicles of Prydain, #4)

Sterling Hayden

4.1

Taran is an Assistant Pig-Keeper no longer; he has become a hero. Now he dreams of winning the hand of the Princess Eilonwy. Eager to find his origins, Taran sets off with the faithful Gurgi on a quest across the marvelous land of Prydain. Their journey takes them to the three witches in the Marshes of Morva, through the many realms of Prydain, and finally to the mystical Mirror of Llunet, which m

73

Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual: Including Inspecting the Aging Sailboat, Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair, Sailboat Refinishing, Sailbo

Don Casey

4.1

The definitive guide from the world's best-known sailboat maintenance expert

Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual combines six core volumes into a single, utterly dependable resource that answers every frequent question, explains every major system, and helps you keep your boat and its components shipshape.

More than 2,500 clear and detailed illustrations guide you step by st

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74

North To The Night: A Spiritual Odyssey In The Arctic

Alvah Simon

4.1

In June of 1994 Alvah Simon and his wife, Diana, set off in their 36-foot sailboat to explore the hauntingly beautiful world of icebergs, tundra, and fjords lying high above the Arctic Circle. Four months later, unexpected events would trap Simon alone on his boat, frozen in ice 100 miles from the nearest settlement, with the long polar night stretching into darkness for months to come.
With his

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75

The Hundred Days (Aubrey & Maturin #19)

Patrick O'Brian

4.1

Napoleon, escaped from Elba, pursues his enemies across Europe like a vengeful phoenix. If he can corner the British and Prussians before their Russian and Austrian allies arrive, his genius will lead the French armies to triumph at Waterloo. In the Balkans, preparing a thrust northwards into Central Europe to block the Russians and Austrians, a horde of Muslim mercenaries is gathering. They are i

76

Swell: Sailing the Pacific in Search of Surf and Self

Liz Clark

4.1

True surfers understand that surfing is not a sport, a hobby or even a lifestyle. Instead, it is a path, a constantly evolving journey that directs where you go, how you live, and who you are.

In 2006, Liz Clark decided to follow the path that surfing, sailing and love of the ocean had presented to her. Embarking on an adventure that most only dream of taking, she set sail from Santa Barbara, solo,

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77

Cruising in "Seraffyn"

Lin Pardey

4.0

A cruising tale that is full of the sights and sounds, the fragrances and native customs of foreign lands, especially Central American and the Caribbean. It tells a story of a leisurely sail through the Gulf of Cortez and on through Panama Canal to the Azores and England. It is also a carefully thought out guide to living aboard a small boat.

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78

Chapman Piloting Seamanship

Chapman

4.0

The boater’s essential reference celebrates its 100th anniversary!
For a century, Chapman has been an indispensable, trusted resource for boating under power and sail. It has sold millions of copies, and is a must-have for virtually anyone who puts a craft on water. Featuring 1,500 color photos, this updated edition covers new technologies, maritime laws and regulations, safety tips, and maintena

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79

The Invaders (Brotherband Chronicles, #2)

John Flanagan

4.0

The adventure continues in the Ranger's Apprentice companion trilogy!

Hal and the Herons have done the impossible. This group of outsiders has beaten out the strongest, most skilled young warriors in all of Skandia to win the Brotherband competition. But their celebration comes to an abrupt end when the Skandians' most sacred artifact, the Andomal, is stolen--and the Herons are to blame.

To find red

80

Trekka Round the World

John Guzzwell

4.0

One of the great maritime stories of all time, is updated in this entirely new edition. Contains previously unpublished anecdotes and photos of a remarkable sailing trip around the world. Included are John’s accomplishments in his Endangered Species in the 1998 Singlehanded TransPac Race.

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81

Once is Enough

Miles Smeeton

4.0

The Sailor's Classics library introduces a new generation of readers to the best books ever written about small boats under sail

When the 46-foot "Tzu Hang "sailed from Australia into the vast Southern Ocean in December 1956, her crew of three couldn't know what terror awaited them.

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82

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower

C. S. Forester

4.0

Here we meet Horatio Hornblower, a young man of 17, in this Volume #1 of what becomes the 11 volume set about the career of this British Naval officer fighting against Napoleon and his tyranny of Europe as an inexperienced midshipman in January 1794. Bullied and forced into a duel, he takes an even chance. And then he has many more chances to show his skills and ingenuities - from sailing a ship f

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83

The Care and Feeding of the Sailing Crew

Lin Pardey, Larry Pardey

4.0

Since it was first published in 1980, The Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew has become the preferred resource for cruising sailors-whether they're planning a weekend afloat or a round-the-world voyage. Two circumnavigations and 185,000 miles of voyaging have given Lin and Larry Pardey an ideal vantage point for sharing useful information on all aspects of preparing for an enjoyable life aboard. Thi

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84

Bloody Jack (Bloody Jack, #1)

L. A. Meyer

4.0

Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy

Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas.

There's only one problem: Jacky

85

Escape from the Ordinary

JULIE BRADLEY

4.0

86

Marine Diesel Engines: Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repair

Nigel Calder

4.0

Praise for this boating classic:

"The most up-to-date and readable book we've seen on the subject."--Sailing World

"Deserves a place on any diesel-powered boat."--Motor Boat & Yachting

"Clear, logical, and even interesting to read."--Cruising World

Keep your diesel engine going with help from a master mechanic

Marine Diesel Engines has been the bible for do-it-yourself boatowners for more than 15 year

87

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe

Laurence Bergreen

4.0

The riveting story of Ferdinand Magellan’s historic 60,000-mile ocean voyage

“Prodigious research, sure-footed prose and vivid descriptions make for a thoroughly satisfying account... it is all here in the wondrous detail, a first-rate historical page turner.”— New York Times Book Review

Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey fil

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88

Swallowdale (Swallows and Amazons, #2)

Arthur Ransome

4.0

Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series has stood the test of time. Ransome is not only a great storyteller, writing from first-hand experience, but each story celebrates eternally valuable qualities of practical knowledge, independence, and initiative. The twelve books are for children or grownups--anyone captivated by a world of sailing, adventure, and imagination.
Swallowdale (originall

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89

Self Sufficient Sailor

Lin Pardey, Larry Pardey

4.0

This book is what the title says. It is the distillation of what the Pardey's have learned in 150,000 miles of sailing on board their two cutters, Seraffyn and Taleisin, and on scores of other boats they have delivered or raced. Lin and Larry tell how they have sailed in comfort and safety without large cash outlay- on a pay-as-you-earn-as-you-go plan and by simplifying.In its first edition, this

90

Inspecting the Aging Sailboat (The International Marine Sailboat Library)

Don Casey

4.0

91

Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before

Tony Horwitz

4.0

Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone BeforeTwo centuries after James Cook's epic voyages of discovery, Tony Horwitz takes readers on a wild ride across hemispheres and centuries to recapture the Captain's adventures and explore his embattled legacy in today's Pacific. Horwitz, a Pulitzer Prize-winner and author of Confederates in the Attic, works as a sailor aboard a replica of Cook's ship, me

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92

Love with a Chance of Drowning

Torre DeRoche

4.0

Love can make a person do crazy things. . .

A city girl with a morbid fear of deep water, Torre DeRoche is not someone you would ordinarily find adrift in the middle of the stormy Pacific aboard a leaky sailboat – total crew of two – struggling to keep an old boat, a new relationship and her floundering sanity afloat.

But when she meets Ivan, a handsome Argentinean man with a humble sailboat and a d

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93

The Incredible Voyage

Tristan Jones, John Hemming

4.0

In a salty, slashing style, Tristan Jones unfolds his extraordinary saga--a six year voyage during which he a covered a distance equal to twice the circumference of the world--revealing both a rich sense of history an insuppressible Welsh wit. With a singleness of purpose as ferocious as nay hazard he encountered, Tristan Jones would not give up--even after dodging snipers on the Red Sea, capsizin

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94

The Motion of the Ocean: 1 Small Boat, 2 Average Lovers, and a Woman's Search for the Meaning of Wife

Janna Cawrse Esarey

4.0

The humorous true story of a woman who abandons her tidy life to honeymoon across the Pacific on a leaky, old boat—only to find that sailing 17,000 miles is easier than keeping her relationship off the rocks.

“Somewhere fifty miles off the coast of Oregon I realize the skipper of this very small ship is an asshole. He also happens to be my husband.”

While most thirty-somethings are climbing the corp

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95

The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Gear, and Handling

John Vigor

4.0

"An invaluable resource. [Vigor's] practical wisdom gives you the know-how and confidence to prepare your boat for the sea."--Cruising World. Here is the book that answer the sailor's fundamental question--"Can my boat take me offshore safely?"--then shows how to make it happen.

96

Survive the Savage Sea

Dougal Robertson

4.0

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97

Taking on the World

Ellen MacArthur

4.0

When Ellen finished the Vendee Globe, yachting's toughest race aged just 24 the nation took her to it's heart. The depth of the affection for Ellen is extraordinary - she makes people feel like they can do anything!

This is her story, written intrue Ellen style, in her own words, without the help of a ghost writer.

Passionate, dramatic and and deeply affecting, her story will move and inspire all wh

98

Sailing to the Edge of Time: The Promise, the Challenges, and the Freedom of Ocean Voyaging

John Kretschmer

4.0

John Kretschmer is sailing's practical philosopher--as much a doer as a thinker. And that is the overarching theme of this chronicle of a sailing life. Often amusing, sometimes poignant, occasionally terrifying but always inspiring, his deeply personal account is a welcome reminder about the good life waiting at sea.

With hundreds of thousands of nautical miles under his keel, Kretschmer's adventur

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99

The Boat Who Wouldn't Float

Farley Mowat

4.0

It seemed like a good idea. Tired of everyday life ashore, Farley Mowat would find a sturdy boat in Newfoundland and roam the salt sea over, free as a bird. What he found was the worst boat in the world, and she nearly drove him mad. The Happy Adventure, despite all that Farley and his Newfoundland helpers could do, leaked like a sieve. Her engine only worked when she felt like it. Typically, on h

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100

Fatal Storm: The Inside Story of the Tragic Sydney-Hobart Race

Rob Mundle

4.0