Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

27.8.12

Summer readings


This summer I have read three great books:

DOVE, the 1972 classic book that every sailor or dreamer has read sometime. It's the story of Robin Lee Graham, a guy who spent five years sailing around the world as a single-handed sailor starting when he was 16-years old.
My favourite line from the book:

"It's the next horizon that matters, said Charles. Just think of it that way and you'll be home before you know it."

So true!



SOLITAIRE SPIRIT, from Les Powels, who is now 86 years old and living aboard his self-built yacht in Lymington, UK.
This fantastic book it's about his three successful solo circumnavigations. His first circumnavigation took place when he was 37 years old and only eight hours sailing experience!! On his last one he was 67 when he started it, returning eight years later. He was awarded the Ocean Cruising Award of Merit.



The other book it's called ROUNDING THE HORN - a deck's-eye view of Cape Horn, from journalist and sailor Dallas Murphy.
This is the history of Cape Horn described through some historical chronicles. From Drake to FitzRoy (the captain of the Beagle). It's also a firsthand experience of Murphy´s own trip to Cape Horn.
I recomend this book for the entertaining and historical side of it but mind you that you should read it with an open mind because the author sometimes it's too opinionated and not that historically accurate.


21.1.12

Young Guns

Laura Dekker, 16 years and 4 months old, has just become the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world, cutting six months off the unofficial record set in 2010 by Australian teenager Jessica Watson, who was days away from her 17th birthday when she completed her own non-stop voyage.
















Her website with the late developments can be find here.

And I'm very sure that, like with J. Watson, a book will be on the way very soon. By the way, I strongly recomend "True Spirit", Jessica Watson's book

27.10.11

Mingming

I've been following Roger Taylor's voyages from some time now.


He's sailing all over the world aboard his little 21" junk-rigged Corribee since 2006.
For the record, designed by Robert Tucker, the first Corribee was launched in 1965.







Now I have just started reading his last book,  "Mingming & The Art of Minimal  Ocean Sailing", that covers three lengthy voyages in Mingming, including a trip to the Azores and the northern passages.







Like is sailing, he also has a "minimal" site were you can follow his adventures
Simple Sailor


and some youtube videos that can be followed here:
Mingming / Youtube

28.9.11

Longitude

Do you remember when the world didn't know how to measure longitude?
LONGITUDE is one of the most interesting books I've been reading lately.