Seductive Cruising Books

[dwhatty]

Our first boat together was a joint agreement as we both wanted one and we had 22 happy years cruising on that boat with friends and children. When I started making noises, for various reasons, about selling the first boat and getting another, my wife was most definitely not a happy camper. She loved the old one and really wanted to keep it. However, one day while she was at her mother's in the southern part of the State, I emailed her a broker's blurb on a particular IG32 I'd seen on the Web as a type of boat that she/we might, just might, like. She recognized the dock that the boat was on in the pictures as being just down from her mother's house, went right down to see it on her own initiative w/o telling me and then called me to tell me I should immediately hop in the car and get down there asap as it looked like a really interesting boat. Shortly thereafter we became the owners of that IG32. To have a wife that loves boats and cruising is a wondrous and blessed thing indeed. Whatever one can do to foster that is well worth the effort.

 

[mattkab]

The Motion of the Ocean, by Jana Esarey (Amazon).

My wife and I both read it, and loved it, before finding out that the author is a friend of a friend.

We are now fairly sure she used our experiences writing directly about our first years owning boats together (she didn't of course, which is good news because that means nobody knows how to use a pumpout the first time!*

*).

The 2nd half of the book gets slower, IMO, but the first half is a must read for all cruising couples.

 

[FF]

SEA GYPSY , Perter Tangvald

Opens with his 3rd wife walking out down the dock.

 

[Marin]

Metafora wrote:
I am looking to this forum to help me in a seduction. My wife of Can anyone suggest books by cruisers that would make the whole adventure so deliciously exciting, so blissful, so joyous my dear wife will beg me to cast off from the dock and never return?

*Yes, but...... the books I can recommend and that have the potential to do what you desire are very specifically related to the Pacific Northwest, primarily the BC raincoast.

The absolute best cruising book my wife and I have ever read is The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet.* Recently widowed, the author took her five young children and their dog and explored the lower BC coast in a 25 foot cruiser (the dog rode in the dinghy towed behind) in the late 1920s.* The book is the story of their adventures and the people they met along the way.* Probably the single best book about boating in this area.* Out of print for many years it is now back in print..

The problem is that while it might give your wife a real desire for boating, it will be for boating in this area.* There is a major difference beween boating in the remote mountain fjords and among the thousands of bays, channels, and inlets in the islands of the inside waters of Washington and BC and the flatlands of the ICW, Chesapeake, etc.

There are a number of other books that I and my wife have enjoyed and have contributed greatly to our continuing love of boating, but they are all related to Puget Sound, the BC raincoast, and SE Alaska.* I have never read any book about cruising in the US southeast but I have to believe there are some.

But The Curve of Time is well worth reading, in my opinion, regardless of where one lives and boats.


-- Edited by Marin on Sunday 12th of February 2012 01:03:45 PM

 

[Conrad]

Marin wrote:Metafora wrote:
I am looking to this forum to help me in a seduction. My wife of Can anyone suggest books by cruisers that would make the whole adventure so deliciously exciting, so blissful, so joyous my dear wife will beg me to cast off from the dock and never return?

*Yes, but...... the books I can recommend and that have the potential to do what you desire are very specifically related to the Pacific Northwest, primarily the BC raincoast.

The absolute best cruising book my wife and I have ever read is The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet.* Recently widowed, the author took her five young children and their dog and explored the lower BC coast in a 25 foot cruiser (the dog rode in the dinghy towed behind) in the late 1920s.* The book is the story of their adventures and the people they met along the way.* Probably the single best book about boating in this area.* Out of print for many years it is now back in print..

The problem is that while it might give your wife a real desire for boating, it will be for boating in this area.* There is a major difference beween boating in the remote mountain fjords and among the thousands of bays, channels, and inlets in the islands of the inside waters of Washington and BC and the flatlands of the ICW, Chesapeake, etc.

There are a number of other books that I and my wife have enjoyed and have contributed greatly to our continuing love of boating, but they are all related to Puget Sound, the BC raincoast, and SE Alaska.* I have never read any book about cruising in the US southeast but I have to believe there are some.

But The Curve of Time is well worth reading, in my opinion, regardless of where one lives and boats.



-- Edited by Marin on Sunday 12th of February 2012 01:03:45 PM

*I wholeheartedly agree with Marin on reading The Curve of Time. And if you read it, as I did, while exploring the same areas that the book covers, even better!*

But I would not recommend reading Following the Curve of Time; whereas the first tome is magical, the second is not.

For anyone anywhere The Curve of Time is a great read.

 

[Marin]

While the original poster was asking about books to make cruising sound appealing, it's even better if there is a great book that makes cruising in the area one lives sound appealing. I can't speak for any books written from the perspective of east coast cruising.

But for anyone reading this thread who lives in or has an interest in boating in this area, here are some that we have found particularly appealing, particularly, as Conrad said, because we are boating the same area and either have gone or can go to the same places being written about.

The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet

Spilsbury's Coast: Pioneer Years in the Wet West by Jim Spilsbury (growing up and starting a business in the "jungles," the maze of islands beween Vancouver Island and the mainland)

Spinners Inlet by Don Hunter (humorous Gulf Island's semi-fiction).

Whistle Up the Inlet by Gerald Rushton (story of the Union Steamship Company's pocket ocean liners that served the BC raincoast)

Fishing with John by Edith Iglauer (true story of a New Yorker magazine writer who went to BC to reserach an article and married a salmon troller and fished with him)

Light on the Island by Helene Gliddon (growing up at the Patos Island lightstation)

Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Rabban (a relatively recent solo voyage by the author in a small sailboat up the Inside Pasasge from Seattle)

Once Upon an Island by David Conover.* Conover was the photographer who first photographed Norma Jean Mortenson, aka Marilyn Monroe, in a target drone factory in WWII.* After the war David and his wife purchased Wallace Island in the BC Gulf Islands and built a small but successful cabin resort.* The book is the story of their first year from arrival on the island to getting the resort up and running.

Keepers of the Light by Donald Graham (the story of the first lighthouses along the southern BC and Vancouver Island coast.

Lights of the Inside Passage by Donald Graham (story of the rest of the lighthouses up the coast of BC).

Raincoast Chronicles editied by Howard White.* The individual journals of stories of the BC coast, which began appearing in 1972, have been bound together in a series of books called First Five, Six through Ten,* Eleven Up, and Fourth Five.* An absolutely marvelous collection of stories, legends, poems, first-hand accounts, and photos documenting life along the BC raincoast, from gypo logging camps to fishing to fire bombers to boat building and everything in between.

*


-- Edited by Marin on Sunday 12th of February 2012 01:55:11 PM

 

[Conrad]

Marin wrote:
While the original poster was asking about books to make cruising sound appealing, it's even better if there is a great book that makes cruising in the area one lives sound appealing. I can't speak for any books written from the perspective of east coast cruising.

But for anyone reading this thread who lives in or has an interest in boating in this area, here are some that we have found particularly appealing, particularly, as Conrad said, because we are boating the same area and either have gone or can go to the same places being written about.

The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet

Spilsbury's Coast: Pioneer Years in the Wet West by Jim Spilsbury (growing up and starting a business in the "jungles," the maze of islands beween Vancouver Island and the mainland)

Spinners Inlet by Don Hunter (humorous Gulf Island's semi-fiction).

Whistle Up the Inlet by Gerald Rushton (story of the Union Steamship Company's pocket ocean liners that served the BC raincoast)

Fishing with John by Edith Iglauer (true story of a New Yorker magazine writer who went to BC to reserach an article and married a salmon troller and fished with him)

Light on the Island by Helene Gliddon (growing up at the Patos Island lightstation)

Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Rabban (a relatively recent solo voyage by the author in a small sailboat up the Inside Pasasge from Seattle)

Once Upon an Island by David Conover.* Conover was the photographer who first photographed Norma Jean Mortenson, aka Marilyn Monroe, in a target drone factory in WWII.* After the war David and his wife purchased Wallace Island in the BC Gulf Islands and built a small but successful cabin resort.* The book is the story of their first year from arrival on the island to getting the resort up and running.

Keepers of the Light by Donald Graham (the story of the first lighthouses along the southern BC and Vancouver Island coast.

Lights of the Inside Passage by Donald Graham (story of the rest of the lighthouses up the coast of BC).

Raincoast Chronicles editied by Howard White.* The individual journals of stories of the BC coast, which began appearing in 1972, have been bound together in a series of books called First Five, Six through Ten,* Eleven Up, and Fourth Five.* An absolutely marvelous collection of stories, legends, poems, first-hand accounts, and photos documenting life along the BC raincoast, from gypo logging camps to fishing to fire bombers to boat building and everything in between.

*



-- Edited by Marin on Sunday 12th of February 2012 01:55:11 PM

*To add to Marin's list:

Tales From Hidden Basin - Dick Hammond. Reminiscent of The Curve of Time. One of my favourites.

Destination Cortez Island - June Cameron. History & stories.(Her spelling of Cortes)

Tales From Finn Bay & Hanging Tough - Harry Allen. Haven't read these yet, but hear good things; Harry was a commercial fisherman and wrote about his adventures.*

Would also heartily second the recommendation of Jim Spilsbury's Coast: Pioneer Years in the Wet West.*

The Accidental Airline - Jim Spilsbury. Gives an interesting but somewhat biased and ultimately negative view of the development of air transportation along the BC coast. This is a suggestion rather than a recommendation.

 

[FF]

Can anyone suggest books by cruisers that would make the whole adventure so deliciously exciting, so blissful, so joyous my dear wife will beg me to cast off from the dock and never return?

NO but I can suggest a technique.

The brides fear FEAR , lack of knowledge and strange frightening circumstances.

Rent a canal cruiser on the Erie Canal, and spend a week.

Navigation ZERO, work load almost ZERO , just securing to a free dock.

"Trapped aboard" ZERO as docks are few miles apart, and many have power ,

Wi Fi and tons of resturants ,shopping & museums as the docks are in the heart of downtown.

The biggest advantage is all this fun will be had in a boat that is quite narrow.

SO visiting a boat show , everything will look great , even the 30 ft ers.

Her boat comparison will be with the narrow boat , nor her 4000 sq ft dirt house.

Do it!

 

[Marin]

FF wrote:

Rent a canal cruiser on the Erie Canal, and spend a week.

Navigation ZERO, work load almost ZERO , just securing to a free dock.

"Trapped aboard" ZERO as docks are few miles apart, and many have power ,

*That's actually a very good suggestion on Fred's part.* I don't know anything about the Erie Canal other than what it is and where it is, but my wife and I have done a lot of narrowboating on the British canal system.* We didn't do this to introduce her (or me) to boating--- we'd both been involved with boats since early childhood.* But it is, as Fred describes, a wonderful and unique way to enjoy boating with all the attributes that Fred talks about as a benefit to a new or apprehensive boater.

Good suggestion, Fred, and well worth someone following up on.

A few shots from some of our own trips......


-- Edited by Marin on Monday 13th of February 2012 01:15:29 PM

 

[Marin]

Of course the really big test is if a couple experiences a fairly serious problem or bad situation while out boating, manages to get through it, and the wife (or the husband for that matter) retains her desire and enjoyment of boating. We know a couple who bought a boat, used it for a year or so and then one day while docking the wife lost her footing on the toe ledge along the side of the cabin while setting a fender and ended up hanging from the grabrail with her legs in the water. Her husband managed to help her hand-walk back to the cockpit and climb in but that was it. She never set foot on the boat again, didn't want anything to do with it, and demanded that they sell it despite her husband's life-long love of boating. And they did.

On the other hand, we know couples who experienced severe weather (for this part of the world) while out, bashed through six foot wind waves and basically had a miserable time, or experienced an engine overheat in their single engine boat in rough water, strong winds, and it became a race between the towboat and the rocks.* While none of the parties in these instances enjoyed it, the thought of getting out of boating never crossed any of their minds.

In the case of one of the engine shutdowns in strong winds and currents, it occured on the first day of a planned five month cruise to SE Alaska.** In this case the tow arrived before the rocks, they were towed to a marina where they could order the part they needed, they fixed the engine, and continued on their cruise with no subsequent problems.* We know people that in the same situation one or both of them would have said, "That's it, we're not going" and returned to their slip and done something else that summer.

If one has a boating partner that can take the nasty surprises that boating has a habit of throwing at us, deal with them, and continue to enjoy boating, one has a real winner on their hands.


-- Edited by Marin on Monday 13th of February 2012 02:21:20 PM

 

[KJ]

Metafora wrote:
*Can anyone suggest books by cruisers that would make the whole adventure so deliciously exciting, so blissful, so joyous my dear wife will beg me to cast off from the dock and never return?

You get the idea. *

Many thanks.

George

*

*While not books, these are some pretty good boating movies that might encourage your wife to ask you to cast off and never return:

Dead Calm

Captain Ron

Perfect Storm

Cape Fear

All good family viewing!!***************** KJ


-- Edited by KJ on Monday 13th of February 2012 02:21:13 PM

 

[Pineapple Girl]

maybe check out the cruising america's waterways DVDs (available from NetFlix).* they make boating look easy and focus on the things to do at the destinations.**

 

[dwhatty]

KJ wrote:While not books, these are some pretty good boating movies that might encourage your wife to ask you to cast off and never return:
Dead Calm

Captain Ron

Perfect Storm

Cape Fear

All good family viewing!!***************** KJ



-- Edited by KJ on Monday 13th of February 2012 02:21:13 PM

Those movies might make my wife want to cast off, but they make me want to curl up in my bed on land.

 

[Metafora]

I want to thank all of you who have been so kind in offering your suggestions to encourage my wife in her enjoyment of boats and cruising. I again want to say what a warm and helpful bunch of folk inhabit this forum! It is very encouraging to see that this is not a new topic and most of you have companions who share in the love of the sea.

It will be fun to watch Anne melt into the arms of the berth and find bliss in the gentle cradle that rocks and rolls with the tides...

I think you all again and feel I have enough suggestions to do the trick. If not, I'll post again.

George
METAFORA
Sabre 36
Charleston, SC

 

[Codger2]

Metafora wrote:..... and find bliss in the gentle cradle that rocks and rolls with the tides...

******** (burp) excuse me but I have to get outside!

 

[Moonstruck]

SeaHorse II wrote:Metafora wrote:..... and find bliss in the gentle cradle that rocks and rolls with the tides...

******** (burp) excuse me but I have to get outside!

*Come on Walt. *You just haven't experienced the bliss of being a Sabre owner. *It just does something for you. *You could have a whole different attitude.

 

[KJ]

charles wrote:
The PERFECT STORM is not one to have your wife see. It is about a horrible storm and my wife, a seasoned boater was scared by that movie.*

Charles,

If you think she was scared by The Perfect Storm, wait till she sees "Captain Ron".

*