"The Cruise of the Cachelot" written by an ordinary seaman who happened to be literate. It is an account of the round the world voyage of a whaling ship back in the late 1700s or early 1800s from the perspective of a lower deck seaman.
I bought a hard back copy of this book in very good condition from a second hand shop at Woolongabba in Brisbane for 50 cents in about 1985. Unfortunately I loaned it to somebody after I had read it and never got it back.
If anybody comes across a copy of this book I will give you $100 for it straight up.
For those interested in true accounts of sailing adventures written by an Australian, you should read anything written by Alan Villiers.
Among his book titles are The Set of The Sails, Cruise of The Conrad, By Way of Cape Horn, The Sons of Sinbad and The Quest of The Schooner Argus.
He was there at sea at the end of the Golden Era of the Cape Horn Clippers that carried grain from Port Lincoln, South Australia to Portsmouth, England.
There are many character building concepts in his writings that are mostly forgotten in this day and age of instant gratification.
If you desire a complete yacht manual with personal anecdotes, Donald M. Street's, The Ocean Sailing Yacht is great. You could probably pick up a copy of that on E-Bay for $100.
Probably the most depressing sailing book to read is The Strange Voyage of Donald Crowhurst. If you commit suicide after reading it, it is not your fault.
Another commendable and collectable classic is Sailing The Farm by Ken Neumeyer. One man's version of how to survive the apocalypse on a yacht. I believe that one is available on the net in PDF.
So google that lot and let us know what you come up with.
In the meantime SumFingWong, you should consult your friend, HuFlungDung before you post siwwy questions ong folum.
