When you can't sail, you can always read about sailing

Here's a reading list of historical sailing adventures:

blog.arribasail.com/2015/06/review-historical-sailing-adventures.html

I'd love to hear your recommendations for historical sailing non-fiction.

Crusoe said..
Endurance, now that's a good read. But if you read it then you must read this book as well. It is about the men sent to the other side of Antartica to lay the supply line for Shackeltons planned travers of Antartica.


Shackleton's Forgotten Men: The Untold Tale of an Antarctic Tragedy.

Thanks. Will add that to my reading list.

Any book by Alan Villiers. He was one of the last tall ship sailors.

southace said..
Scruizin I'm not sure if you have this book "Nemeses" but I believe it's right down your ally! It's a part fiction / part non fiction about the brutal Sealers that worked from Bass strait through to Kangroo island and Cape Jervus. It's pritty brutal but well written more along the fiction side!

Hey southace, do you know the name of the author? It's a popular title for a book...

Icebird by David Lewis is a good read. That South passage is a great looking boat Wander66.

aus005 said..
the previous picture is windeward bound she has been slipped at devonport for the last couple of weeks now at musselroe bay on tassies ne coast heading back to hobart i think.
made from recycled timbers and volunteer labour she carries some of young endeavoures sails and gear

For the last two days she has been anchored off Lemons beach on the opposite side of Cape Portland than musselroe, sheltering from the South Easterly's. She is still there this morning with the wind from the south at 9 knots. Ive been following vessels around Tass on Marine traffic to see where they anchor for shelter. It's been interesting to see a fishing boat, Bluefin often anchors just off Passage Island between Cape Barren and Clark Islands in an Easterly. On Google Earth there is 28 fishing boats at anchor in various bays between South West Cape and Cape Sorrel, and that's not counting the yachts in Port Davey area. By the look the satellite pics where taken in summer. It would be good to know which of these, if any would be a safe bolt hole in a south westerly blow........( maybe the subject of another thread though.)

Discoveries in Australia by John Lort Stokes is a fascinating read. Stokes became commander of HMS Beagle on her third voyage, after having shared a cabin with Charles Darwin on the second voyage. This is his account of the voyage of discovery from 1837 to 1843, exploring and charting a large part of the Australian coast. A very entertaining writer, even though much of the work is about observations of tides, soundings, and navigational hazards. Some of this technical information might be of interest for you people for modern day navigation, as it is just as relevant. His observations about aboriginal people and their treatment are very revealing. He was even speared (I think when he was in the Kimberley) yet seemed to hold no grudge, accepting it as an understandable reaction to his uninvited arrival.

The language takes some getting used to, but it's well worth the perseverance.

It is available online but I obtained a hardcopy.
en.wikisource.org/wiki/Discoveries_in_Australia/Volume_1 and en.wikisource.org/wiki/Discoveries_in_Australia/Volume_2