Showing titles in Sailing & Boating

On a dismal day at the end of October, 1968, a weekend sailor by the name of Donald Crowhurst set out from England in a flimsy trimaran, hoping to become the first solo sailor to circumnavigate the world nonstop. His was an exercise in over-arching ambition, delusion, and tragedy such as the world has seldom seen. Before it was over, the world media would be subject to a fraud of enormous proportions, and Crowhurst would die a madman in the middle of the Atlantic. What he left behind was a shattered boat, a shattered family, and this incredible story.

Orphaned at five, nothing held Whidden back from embarking on sea life seven years later. Serving as an apprentice, he quickly proved his worth and earned himself a mate's position by his early 20s. Graduating to third, second, and first office, he ended his career in command of, and having part-ownership of, his own vessel. Ocean Life in the Old Sailing Ship Days records a series of real events from his childhood impressions of rough and ready seamen to his thrilling and brutal experiences of war. 

In July 1973, Bob Tininenko, his wife Linda, and his brother in-law Jim Fisher set sail from Tacoma, Washington, on a 31-foot trimaran, down the West Coast to Costa Rica. The journey was expected to take a matter of weeks, but 10 days into the cruise, the party encountered a freak storm off the coast of Northern California. When gale-force winds and 50-foot waves capsized their boat, the voyage became a nightmare. For 72 days, the trio was lost at sea. Challenged by nature and compromised by a bitter rivalry, their courage and will to live was put to the ultimate test.

This is an audiobook for those who want to understand better how the water surrounding us affects our daily lives, how it imperceptibly but crucially shapes our actions and has shaped our landscape for millennia. It's for anyone who knows and loves our coast and who wants to understand, discover, surf or sail it better. Inspired by his own witnessing of the power of the sea through travelling around Britain's coastline in a panel van with his young family, William Thomson tells the story of the cycles of the sea.

All alone for 193 days in his purpose-built yacht, New Zealand yachtsman Graeme Kendall crossed 28,000 miles of ocean, facing some of the Earth's most challenging seas. An enthralling adventure, To The Ice and Beyond will inspire you to live your dreams and to never give up. During his extraordinary solo circumnavigation, Kendall became the first person to sail the Northwest Passage solo nonstop. Sailing east to west, he knocked off the "Everest of sailing" in just 12 days - the fastest recorded. This is a story of determination, meticulous planning, and rugged courage.

This enthralling audiobook takes us on a tour of the most dangerous, exciting, and often eccentric escapades of literature's sailing stars and how these true stories inspired and informed their best-loved works. Arthur Ransome, Erskine Childers, Jack London, and many others are featured as we find out how extraordinary fact fed into unforgettable fiction.

In this classic tale of true-life adventure, David and Daniel Hays, a father and son, sail 17,000 miles from Connecticut to Cape Horn and back. Together they complete this odyssey and join a select group to successfully sail the Drake Passage in a small vessel. It is also the story of conquering inner struggles as well as great distances.

Sailing Made Easy is the first step in a voyage that will last you the rest of your life. It is a gift from a group of dedicated sailing professionals who have committed their lives to sharing their art, their skill, and their passion for this wonderful activity.

Few athletes hold a record comparable to that of Oscar Chalupsky. He made history at the age of fifteen as the first person to win both the Junior and Senior Ironman titles on the same day at the South African National Lifesaving Championships, he was the country’s spokesman at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and he is a multiple-times global surfski champion. No Retreat, No Surrender is an uplifting account of grit, perseverance, talent and attitude, vividly capturing the determined mindset of an inspirational sporting legend.

A collection of thrilling diving stories.There's everything from classic tales of wreck discoveries to encounters with beautiful and bizarre creatures beneath the waves. There are stories of death and disaster as well as bravery and triumph. Each tale has been chosen to stoke the fire of divers everywhere and some are illustrated with colour photographs.Take the plunge and read about the diver who discovered how to put sharks in a trance and the marine biologist who lost a limb trying to prove that sharks were safe to swim with.

This handy book for the leisure user is a quick-reference guide to radio procedures (including Urgency, Safety, and Distress messaging); installing and maintaining a VHF radio; the licensing requirements, and GMDSS including Navtex.

On 5 September 1984, 18-year-old Geoff Holt dived into an idyllic tropical sea and his life changed forever. A broken neck cut short a promising career as a yachtsman and left him paralysed, with his horizons reduced to an uncertain future in a wheelchair. On 5 September 2007, after a journey of 109 days and 1,445 miles, Geoff Holt crossed the finish line in the Solent and reached the summit of his Personal Everest – the first quadriplegic yachtsman to sail single-handed around Great Britain.

Patrick Dixon spent years working as a doctor at University College Hospital, while his wife, Sheila, was a magistrate - high-pressure careers that demanded long hours away from their home, family and passion for sailing. It is a frustrating story many occasional sailors can relate to, but unlike most, Patrick and Sheila realised early enough that they could only bend so far before something snapped; they could only take on so much before they drowned.

Embark on an extraordinary journey beyond the ordinary with Sailing Beyond the Horizon: Captivating Facts About Cruise Ships. Get ready to dive into the alluring world of maritime leisure, as this captivating book unveils the fascinating stories, hidden wonders, and mesmerizing facts beneath cruise ships' glossy surfaces. Whether you're a seasoned cruise enthusiast or a curious traveler yearning to explore new horizons, this literary odyssey is your passport to unlocking the secrets of the high seas.

In 2006, Dee Caffari became the first woman to sail solo round the world against the prevailing winds and currents. Her story is an adventure in the true sense of the word. It is about physical hardship in terrible conditions, overcoming solitude, sleep deprivation, the worry of crucial equipment failing, 34 days of gales, 12 metre waves, cyclones and a lightning strike. It is also about a woman who stepped outside her safe zone, gave up a good job and financial security, all because she wanted to sail.

Power Boating For Dummies, Second Edition teaches you everything you need to know about buying, choosing, operating, maintaining, and enjoying a power boat, and provides expert guidance for new boaters. This is also a fantastic book for experienced boaters, because it's full of tips and ideas on improving boating skills and getting the most out of water-time with the latest tech. With this guide, you can ace your boating pilot's exam and master the techniques you'll need to stay safe and have fun out there.

This audiobook of RYA European Waterways Regulation has been updated to match CEVNI 6. Covering subject areas such as Basic Rules, Visual Signs, Buoyage, Designated Areas, Sound Signals and more, this is the ideal audiobook for those wanting to pass the CEVNI test, a legal requirement for those cruising the European inland waterways.

Home from Distant Seas completes the trilogy of books by James Baldwin recounting his 25 years of live-aboard cruising adventures. The author creates a tribute to the sea and to those who venture upon her in small voyaging sailboats as he describes his personal journey of survival and discovery at sea as well as the sailors and local people he met along the way. Continuing here with the memoir of his second adventurous circumnavigation begun in his earlier books Bound for Distant Seas and The Next Distant Sea.

Still unsolved, still baffling, still claiming new victims. Here are the untold stories. A pilot reports a strange haze enveloping his plane, then disappears; 11 hours after fuel starvation, as if calling from a void, he is heard 600 miles away. He requests permission to land, then vanishes forever. A freighter steaming over placid seas disappears without a trace. A pleasure yacht ghosts past without a soul on board. A pilot calls for help because a "weird object" is harassing his plane. A jet collides with an "unknown" and is never found.

Kayak adventurer Jim Payne can’t stop running away from home. After solo trips on American and English waterways, recounted in One Inch above the Water (2008) and Discovering England (2012), Payne shares four more harrowing and humorous adventures in Worlds to Discover: Facing angry bulls and breached dams on the Connecticut River.