Nature, recreation and sports / Sports & recreation / Boating

Celestial Navigation in a Nutshell

by Hewitt Schlereth

Celestial Navigation in a Nutshell demonstrates how to take sights by the sun, moon, stars, and planets, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The reader is taken carefully through several...

Wager

by Richard Woodman

Captain Cracker Jack Kemball of the tea clipper Erl King races Captain Richards of the Seawitch from Shangai to London. The wager: his daughter's hand in marriage.

Canoe and Boat Building: A Complete Manual for Amateurs

by W. P. Stephens

Contains comprehensive, simply written directions for designing and constructing canoes, rowing and sailing boats, and hunting craft. 87 illustrations.

Little Ship of Fools: Sixteen Rowers, One Improbable Boat, Seven Tumultuous Weeks on the Atlantic

by Charles Wilkins

The dramatic and hilarious story of sores and survival on a human-powered journey across the ocean.

It was to be an expedition like no other—a run across the Atlantic from Morocco to Barbados aboard an experimental...

Mine's Bigger

by David A. Kaplan

As the dominant venture capitalist of Silicon Valley, Tom Perkins had seemingly done it all—from amassing a billion-dollar fortune to getting himself convicted of manslaughter in France. But his ultimate dream...

With Reckless Abandon: Memoirs of a Boat Obsessed Life

by Jim Sharp

Here is the inspiring story of a man who overcame childhood polio to live an adventure-filled life as captain of Maine's most famous windjammer, the schooner Adventure, now a National Historic Landmark in Gloucester,...

The Voyage Alone in the Yawl "Rob Roy"

by John MacGregor

Riveting tale of a 1,500-mile voyage on a 21-foot sailboat in the late 19th century, undertaken in response to a "Boat Exhibition" and regatta staged by Napoleon III to encourage the youth of France to explore...

The Steam-Yacht 'North Star'

by Anonymous

This article, "The Steam-Yacht 'North Star,'" originally from the July 1853 issue of The Knickerbocker magazine, describes a yacht privately used by the Yankee millionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt III. 

Honey, let's buy a BOAT!

by Darren Finkelstein

Revised Edition published 2014. Right now there are over 1.6 million people who love boating on the rivers, lakes and oceans around Australia. They must be onto something. So what's stopping you from getting...

Motorboating: Start to Finish

by Barry Pickthall

New to motorboating? Do you need to learn the basics? Or are you experienced, but wish to broaden your skills and develop your techniques? In either case, Motorboating is the perfect book for you.

This, step-by-step...

Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die

by Chris Santella

Landlubbers joke that sailors are always wanting to head off to the ends of the earth, but Chris Santella takes that life-changing desire very seriously. In this, the third installment in his immensely successful...

Ocean Life in the Old Sailing Ship Days

by John D. Whidden

John D. Whidden started out at sea in 1834, at the age of twelve, and did not retire until 1870. 

This is his account of over a quarter-century spent on the high seas. 

Orphaned at five, nothing held Whidden...

The Sea is Not Full

by Charles J. Doane

The Sea Is Not Full is an eclectic personal sailing narrative that mixes accounts of two dramatic boat abandonments and a cruise up a West African river with practical advice on learning to sail, navigation,...

Cruising Southern Spain

by Michael Briant

The book visits the ports and marinas between Gibraltar and Port Napoleon all the way along the Costa del Sol.

It has port plans, descriptions, indication of cost, and what sort of place it is.

Tells you about...

Sailing for Kids

by Tim Davison & Steve Kibble

Sailing for Kids is aimed at children aged 8-15 who are taking their first steps into the fantastic world of sailing. Packed full of colour photographs and diagrams, this straightforward and easy-to-understand...

Racundra's First Cruise

by Arthur Ransome

Racundra’s First Cruise is Arthur Ransome’s account of Racundra’s maiden voyage, which took place in August and September 1922. The cruise took him from Riga, in Latvia to Helsingfors (Helsinki) in Finland,...

Simple Boat Maintenance

by Pat Manley

Simple Boat Maintenance concentrates on the 67 most common boat maintenance jobs. Each is rated for difficulty on a scale of 1-5 and is explained in simple steps with lots of photos and diagrams. No special...

Coach Yourself to Win

by Jon Emmett

This book will help you to succeed on the water whether your aim is Club, National, International (or even Olympic) level. With detailed analysis, challenging exercises and useful top tips throughout, everything...

Learn to Sail (enhanced)

by Tim Hore

Get afloat and start having fun with step-by-step advice, photo sequences and diagrams. This jargon-free guide allows complete novices to get out on the water with the minimum of fuss. One- and two-person dinghies...

VHF Afloat

by Sara Hopkinson

VHF Afloat explains how to use your VHF DSC radio. It covers licensing the equipment and gaining the operator certificate, and then takes you through each type of call. Each procedure is clearly illustrated...