Christmas Book Ideas for your favourite sailor

8:05 AM Sat 19 Dec 2009 GMT

'Everyone needs to experience tough sailing at some time...' .

There's nothing like a good nautical book as a Christmas present for the sailor in your life - or even for the would-be sailor in your life. Sail-World has selected a few suggestions to take the pain out of at least some of your Christmas shopping. Some here are educational, some are old-fashioned adventures, and some are inspirational - some are even all three:

Walking on Water - .. .

Walking on Water, by Geoff Holt:
This is a book with much topical relevance, as the protagonist, 43-year-old quadriplegic Geoff Holt, is currently embarked on a sailing adventure, solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Impossible you say? Geoff has already sailed solo round Britain, and by Christmas Day he may have reached the Caribbean.

On September 5, 1984, eighteen-year-old Geoff Holt dived into an idyllic tropical sea, and his life changed forever. Walking on Water is Geoff's very personal story of his life before the accident: how he learned to live with his disability, how he achieved remarkable success in spite of it, and, in particular, how he rediscovered the sea and helped to promote sailing opportunities for disabled people. It is also the story of how he conceived, organized, and completed the dangerous Personal Everest voyage. Moving, uplifting, and written with humor, it is above all a journey through a remarkable life-a powerful affirmation of the potential of the human spirit.

Unable to pursue his first career as a charter skipper, he learned computing and became a marketing manager in a large accounting firm. He later went on to achieve a degree in fine arts valuation. He has contributed to 'Sailability,' inspiring sailors with disabilities.

It's an inspiring book for anybody who loves the sea and a challenge
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One Man’s Journey - .. .

?ne Man's Journey, by Ken Gourlay

One man's journey is as captivating, revealing and emotional as the journey it describes. Interweaving his daily messages from home with his post-trip recollections, Tasmanian Ken shares the extremes of expedition from the highs of awe inspiring encounters with ice bergs to emotional lows deep enough to reduce this hardened sea dog to tears.

Commendably candid throughout, the account reveals decisions, sacrifices and support necessary to conquer what Ken frequently refers to his personal Everest. It's a privilege to be taken along for the ride. Rob Shaw - The Examiner

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The next two books could be given separately, but it would be a nice touch to give them as a pair:

The Voyages of Joshur Slocum - .. .

The Voyages of Joshua Slocum, By Joshua Slocum, Edited by Walter Magnes Teller

When Joshua Slocum brought the 37-foot SPRAY into harbor at Newport, R.I., on the morning of June 27, 1898, he completed an unprecedented feat of seamanship: for the first time in history, a man had sailed alone around the world. Eleven years later, Slocum once again set out alone, bound for the Orinoco River. He and the SPRAY were never seen again, and no clue to his fate was ever found.

In the 100 years since Slocum started his successful circumnavigation, his account of the voyage, Sailing Alone Around the World (included herein), has become a classic, but only a few readers know of Slocum's other books, The Voyage of the LIBERDADE and The Voyage of the DESTROYER from New York to Brazil. (Of the latter, only three copies are known to exist.) With this magnificent volume, Walter Magnes Teller - Slocum's biographer - rescues those two neglected sagas from oblivion, along with the previously undiscovered AQUIDNECK correspondence, a treasure trove of revealing letters.

Teller augments the Slocum material with a biographical introduction and separate forewords for each of the individual works, offering interpretations and insights which brilliantly enhance the actual text. Additionally, a new preface brings the history of Slocum scholarship up to date.
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Sailing Around the World by Guy Bernadin - .. .

Sailing Around The World: A Family Retraces Joshua Slocum's Voyage, by Guy Bernardin.

Joshua Slocum's best known book, Sailing Around the World is here mirrored in a family adventure to see what Slocum saw.

It is a thoroughly enjoyable, attention engaging travelogue by expert sailor Guy Bernardin, about his embarking upon a grand journey across the waves with his wife and 3-year-old-son, and learning about the thrill of life itself in the process.

Black-and-white photographs and descriptive text immerse the reader in the ups and downs of a captivating journey. Sailing Around The World is highly recommended reading for armchair travelers and anyone who has every contemplating the adventure of sailing around the world.
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Seafaring Lore and Legends by Peter D Jeans.JPG - .. .

Seafaring Lore and Legend: A Maritime Miscellany of Myth, Superstition, Fable, and Fact, by Peter D. Jeans

This, apart from being a great Christmas present, is a valuable and lively resource. Jeans sorts truth from fiction with a sure hand and does full justice to both. Peter Jeans, President Emeritus, National Maritime Historical Society, tells.

Seafarers follow a way of life unlike any other, and they have created and handed down through thousands of years a rich legacy of peculiar customs, bizarre beliefs, and outlandish tales of the wonders and horrors to be found beyond the edge of the known.

This sourcebook of maritime mystery, history, and legend leaves no superstition unturned in its quest to celebrate the most colorful and curious aspects of our nautical heritage.

Ever wonder why ships are referred to as 'she' and 'her,' whether sea serpents ever really existed, or whether Davy Jones had a real-life origin? Seafaring Lore and Legend answers these questions and hundreds more you never thought to ask, like why 'Pig & Whistle' is such a popular name for English pubs.

Maritime lore and legend is as broad and deep as the sea itself. In addition to the Mediterranean sea gods, Neptune and Poseidon, you'll meet lesser-known deities such as Portuna, Nereus, and Maui. You'll set sail with Sindbad, Saint Brendan, and a host of other legendary voyagers; travel to the lost land of Lyonesse; and get a taste of seafaring life on the Spanish Main. You'll learn about the birth of the British Royal Navy and the lives of history's greatest and most notorious sea captains, and discover so many nautical superstitions and taboos that you'll wonder how anyone ever dared to set sail at all.

Entertaining, authoritative, and peppered with countless fascinating details of life aboard ships, Seafaring Lore and Legend makes for compelling reading and delightful browsing while remaining an indispensable reference for anyone afflicted with an incurable passion for ships, sailors, and the sea.
Peter Jeans began his love affair with seafaring lore more than forty years ago. He has been an adventurer, English teacher, and columnist, and is an avid sailor and writer.
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Comfortable Cruising around Central and North America - .. .

Comfortable Cruising around North and Central America:

During a 15-month sabbatical in their Beneteau 38 Bagheera, the Copelands visit eleven countries around North and Central Amercia.
A comfortable route with no oceans crossed, this voyage gives a fascinating insight into the wide cultural diversity, stunning physical and historical sights, abundant underwater and wild life, as well as the impressive variety of cruising grounds this region offers.
Appendices give detailed information on route-planning and weather, cruising guides and travel tips. A further chapter details modifications, changes and equipment added to the Copelands' boat and why.
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All of these books, except maybe 'Walking on Water', are available in Australia from Boat Books , or your favourite internet book site. 'Walking on Water' is available from Sheridan House by clicking here . Happy shopping!

by Lisa Mylchreest