S/V Faith's Library

[s/v Faith]

Small-Boat Sailing
From the Human Drift Collection 1917
(Article 1st published in Yachting Monthly August 1912)
By Jack London

Read it here; http://www.jacklondons.net/smallboating.html

Great stuff!   ;D

  Couple lines;

And if a man is a born sailor, and has gone to the school of the sea, never in all his life can he get away from the sea again. The salt of it is in his bones as well as his nostrils, and the sea will call to him until he dies. Of late years, I have found easier ways of earning a living. I have quit the forecastle for keeps, but always I come back to the sea. ......


......But don't be afraid for him. He is bound to run risks and encounter accidents. Remember, there are accidents in the nursery as well as out on the water. More boys have died from hot-house culture than have died on boats large and small; and more boys have been made into strong and reliant men by boat-sailing than by lawn-croquet and dancing-school.



;D

[Frank]

Great read !! Good find !

[s/v Faith]

Gipsy Moth IV circles the world
Sir Francis Chichester

  Just finished this account of the 65 year old man's record breaking round via good hope, and the horn.  Great read, and a virtual treate on small boat sailing.  He did not sail a small boat as we discuss small boats, his original design called for an 8 ton 32-35' boat, but his design team went wild and ended up building a 14 ton 53' yawl that had some pretty difficult to manage sailing traits.  His journey captured the imagination of people around the world, and his story is rich with useful info for those with plans to SAILFAR.

Drawn from the Yachting Monthly page;

The original voyage

One of the most unforgettable pictures in the history of small boat passage-making is Gipsy Moth IV rounding Cape Horn. An almost wingless 'moth', the ketch runs the last of her easting down under spitfire jib alone. To port and starboard are horrifying white craters: the death of two giant waves, one and a half times the length of the 53ft hull.

'Wild horses could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that sinister Southern Ocean again in a small boat,' said Chichester. There is something nightmarish about deep breaking seas and screaming winds; I had a feeling of helplessness before the power of the waves came rolling down on top of me.'
When he set out from Plymouth on 23 August, 1966, Chichester's project was 'simple enough' — to race against the average time of the Australian wool clippers — 123 days. Chichester hoped to beat the best time of 100 days, but after a knockdown 2,900 miles from Sydney, which damaged his windvane, he jury-rigged his self-steering and limped through Sydney Heads after 14,000 miles and 107 days — still a remarkable passage.

When he rounded Cape Horn on the leg home, teams from the BBC and The Sunday Times flew over in a small plane to capture the famous picture. Chichester, 65, arrived in Plymouth on 28 May, 1967, having covered 29,630 miles in a sailing time of 226 days, averaging 130 miles a day on the 15,517-mile leg home from Sydney.

OBTW: the Gipsy Moth IV is circling the world once again, you acna read all about the adventure here:

http://www.gipsymoth.org

[AdriftAtSea]

It is unfortunate that Gipsy Moth IV's recent circumnavigation attempt was interuptted by a brief stay on a reef and a subsequent visit to a repair center in New Zealand.

[CapnK]

I love his gimballed seat/table.

And the kegger in the bilge. :D

[s/v Faith]

A couple recent reads....

  Tristian Jones 'One Hand for you, One Hand for your Ship'.... a good read, but as much of Tristians work, IMHO more lore then 'hard' info.  Don't get me wrong, if even HALF the things he has written are true, he has more experience then most will ever have....  I think there is much to take away from the book, but would not necessarily recommend it as a primer.

In fairness, here is a somewhat more flattering review from tristianjones.org

[s/v Faith]

You Can't Blow Home Again

Herb Payson

  This is the sequel to 'Blown Away' in which Herb sets out with his wife and son (step son) to sail around the world.  In this book, we join them as they return to the South Pacific after they have interupted their trip to deliver a friends boat back to the States, and struggle to restore their own to sailable condition and continue their journey.

  I REALLY enjoyed this book, Herb has a way of telling it like it happened, warts and all.  He is not afraid to let you know when he was a bonehead, and the whole 'superhero' guise is completely absent from this book.  What you are left with is well told story of a small crew on a smallish boat on a typical journey (typical in that is does not go in any way as planned). You share in the good and bad and I felt that what I took away from it was more valid for the honesty of the approach.

  I have requested 'blown away' as a gift, and look forward to reading the 'prequel'.

  Looks like Amazon has them from $2.99, I would recommend picking up a copy... a great read.  ;D

[s/v Faith]

  Was talking to a friend of mine the other day who practices medicine in varous third world envorons far away from other medical assistance.

  We were discussing varous training, and books that might be helpful to the small boat cruiser.

  His first recommendation was;

Click here to read reviews and order via amazon

[s/v Faith]

Just read

The Riddle of the Sands

by
Erskine Childers

  "Even in the dim gaslight he clashed on my notions of a yachtsman--no cool white ducks or neat blue serge; and where was the snowy crowned yachting cap, that precious charm that so easily converts a landsman into a dashing mariner? Conscious that this impressive uniform, in high perfection, was lying ready in my portmanteau, I felt oddly guilty. He wore an old Norfolk jacket, muddy brown shoes, grey flannel trousers (or had they been white?), and an ordinary tweed cap. The hand he gave me was horny, and appeared to be stained with paint; the other one, which carried a parcel, had a bandage on it which would have borne renewal. "


Two young British yachtsman discover a grave secret on the shifting tides of the North Sea coast, in what is often considered the first spy novel. The Riddle of the Sands is remarkable for its anticipation of the first World War, its timeless descriptions of the North Sea coast, its moments of cynical humor, and of course, the authenticity of the sailing.

  I borrowed this quote from this site, where you can download it free (PDF Waring).

Great read, one I had intended to read for a while.

[AdriftAtSea]

Webb Chiles has posted three of his books on his website as free PDF downloads.  You can get them here.

[Auspicious]

I've been very interested in anchors and anchoring for a long time. Recently I bought two topic-specific books. "Book reports" will be along eventually, but my initial reactions from flipping through:



The Complete Book of Anchoring and Mooring has some interesting material, but is dated as to equipment. Lots of opinion and not much substantiation.




The Complete Anchoring Handbook is a surprisingly objective tome by the designer of the Spade anchor. I am particularly pleased by the emphasis on technique.

More to follow.

[s/v Faith]

Just a couple of classics;

  First, the Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy. 



  If you have not read it, or have not re-read it lately I strongly recommend you not only read it, but get the trilogy and read all 3 together.  Wonderful read!  Probably a good way to pass the time for you guys up there where the rain turns white and cold..

  Then;

Tai-Pan by James Clavell



  What a WONDERFUL book.  Currently reading Shogun... Man what a great ride... would recommend any of the James Clavell books (even though I have not read them all).  I plan to read Noble House, and Gai-Jin next.

Last but not least;

  Sailing Small by Stan Grayson



  This really is a very good book.  I learned somethign new from several of the chapters.  What Stan Grayson has done is complie several authors accounts of sailing in small boats.  Much more useful, and much easier read then many of the 'how to' type books.

OBTW, you can WIN your very own copy in the SailFar Pride contest.

[Tim]

OBTW, you can WIN your very own copy in the SailFar Pride contest.

I'm working on it ;) just waiting to see if my inaugural invite shows up :D

[CharlieJ]

Ah yes- Mutiny on the Bounty.

That's where the name Tehani came from by the way. Tehani was one of the Polynesian women who went with the mutineers to Pitcairn.

And if you like the M.O.B trilogy, you should find the book "In Search of Paradise- the Nordoff-Hall story"

Nordoff and Hall are the co-authors of M.O.B and In Search  details their lives. Both became pilots in WWI where they met each other ( and disliked each other ) and were assigned to write things for the government.

Fascinating biography. Halll lived out his life in Tahiti and is buried there. Nordoff died in California.