Thought I'd share my top-ten non-fiction sailing books, split 50/50 between sea survival adventures and solo sailing adventures. Enjoy!

Full write-up:
blog.arribasail.com/2014/05/review-sea-survival-and-solo-sailing-reading-list.html

have you read this one ?
browseinside.harpercollins.com.au/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060957032

sorry dont think the link worked .. " a voyage for madmen " was my suggestion

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SandS said...

have you read this one ?
browseinside.harpercollins.com.au/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060957032

I haven't. But looks it looks like one to add to my reading list.

yes it is a good read !!!

Voyage for Madmen is THE one to read before others. Fatal Storm is an Aussie version of a different type of race tragedy but a must read also. And Jessica's book should be read to appreciate what she did in the years preceding her voyage to qualify herself. To me it is her sacrifices and dedication in those years of preparation that inspires. And of course another recommended read is Sailing Alone Around the World, the 1900 memoir of Joshua Slocum's single-handed global circumnavigation aboard his sloop Spray.

I have nearly finished this one. You get an idea of the distances and sea room when he says he lashed the tiller in the same position for 16 days!
Sea anchors or drogues seem to be the answer to extremely crap weather.
Can't quite believe he would swim alongside his boat albeit in calm weather, I hope he had a rope around his body.

Girlfriend and I have a dream to sail around Australia in about 10 years. Not sure how realistic in a Northshore 27.

yes Joshua slocums book is a great read !!!

Excellent! Lots more good books to read.

BTW, does anyone have any good recommendations for good audio books? It's a real treat to listen to a well-narrated audio book while sailing long distances when single handed. I recently listened to "Overboard" (by Michael Tougias) and loved it.

Try librivox.org/ free public domain books.

I ave downloaded and burned on to cd/dvd the following:

Sailing Alone Around the World
Riddle of the Sands
Robinson Crusoe
The People of the Crater

and many more....

There are hundreds of books, all free and easy to download or listen to...

Enjoy

^^^ Riddle of the Sands, a great read and it was made into a very good movie starring Michael York.

Try "The Long Way" by Bernard Moitessier, also "Ice Bird" by David Lewis.

Riddle of the Sands is also on Youtube here

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cisco said...
^^^ Riddle of the Sands, a great read and it was made into a very good movie starring Michael York.

Try "The Long Way" by Bernard Moitessier, also "Ice Bird" by David Lewis.

I agree "Riddle of the Sands" and "Ice Bird" are great. Must check out "The Long Way" now.

Fatal Storm is the CYC's version of what happened in the Sydney Hobart race. "An Extreme Event" by Debbie Whitmont is a far better read. Debbie was an investigative journalist who I believe stated at the time she did not know much about sailing though its clear she knows more than Rob. Debbie covers the mistakes made by the CYC, the professional Fishermen who saved a fair percentage of the survivors and for the ex navy people here, the exploits of some of our friends. Also very good coverage of the exploits of the female Sar divers involved in the first rescues. Riveting stuff written by someone who can actually write and collect facts. Read Fatal Storm first then read An Extreme Event.

Another excellent read. "Left for Dead" by Nick Ward. About a survivor of the 1979 Fastnet race.

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Ramona said...
Fatal Storm is the CYC's version of what happened in the Sydney Hobart race. "An Extreme Event" by Debbie Whitmont is a far better read. Debbie was an investigative journalist who I believe stated at the time she did not know much about sailing though its clear she knows more than Rob. Debbie covers the mistakes made by the CYC, the professional Fishermen who saved a fair percentage of the survivors and for the ex navy people here, the exploits of some of our friends. Also very good coverage of the exploits of the female Sar divers involved in the first rescues. Riveting stuff written by someone who can actually write and collect facts. Read Fatal Storm first then read An Extreme Event.

Thanks Ramona. Will check out "An extreme event."

Of the two accounts I've read, "The Proving Ground" and the "Fatal Storm" I enjoyed the first one more. Its author, G. Bruce Knecht, is a sailor and his account is so absorbing that you feel like you’re right there in the midst of the storm!

Thanks for the heads up on Extreme Event and The Proving Ground. After Voyage for Madmen I found Fatal Storm, although factual, was not to the same standard of writing. So I will chase down the other two and have a read. All the same I felt for the people in that race and especially for who were lost. And thanks everyone for some recommended new reading suggestions to add to the library.