Winter reading

Greetings forum,

Having completed a voyage from Bellingham to Ketchikan on the Alaska ferry 'Columbia' with out any weather, flat clam all the way!, I had the opportunity to read a novel that I am sure would be welcome on board any trawler for winter or on the hook reading.

Whiskey Gulf- authored by Clyde Ford is situated in the Bellingham area where international intrigue is integrated with nautical abandon. The cast includes a 36 foot Willard aft pilot house trawler as the central stage.

Mr. Ford has several books and of those it appears that there are three that are characterized with the same lead person in the form of a retired Coast Guard Commander turned private investigator.

These books are: Red Herring, Whiskey Gulf, and Precious Cargo.
For fast stories of the Georgia Straits, Puget Sound maritime adventure check out Amazon for used copies.

What other authors of maritime stories tickle your pallet of reading?

Regards,
A.M.Johnson-Ketchikan
27 foot Marben

Penthouse 'Letters TO The Editor'

TBH, I don't remember the last time I read something for pleasure. It's probably 'Marley & Me'. I am more into reading things like Nigel Calders books, Chapman's piloting, and things that be teach'n me stuffs. Sure, the argument can be made that those books bring me pleasure, but I have trouble with fiction. Bess likes the Jimmy Buffet books and insists I should read them, however, I would much rather curl-up with the Jabsco manual for our head or flip thru the parts list of the Perkins.

Tom-

I'm in the early stages of JB's A Pirate Looks at Fifty
It's just for fun, no serious plans to buy a sea plane.

I can't even keep up reading the posts here. I doubt I'll get any other serious reading done in the winter/spring months either due to work obligations.

Far Tortuga, by Peter Matthison. About the last of the Cayman Island Turtle fisherman.

Rambler wrote:

"the posts here. I doubt I'll get any other serious reading done"

We're supposed to be serious here?

I like Pete Culler's book "Skiffs and Schooners". Great stuff about wood boats re construction and design. I especially liked the chapter on paint and related stuff.

For books specifically about the PNW and Inside Passage------

Pasasge to Juneau by Jonathan Raban (one man's sailboat voyage up the Inside Passage with a unique perspective on Capt. Vancouver's voyage)

Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet (the best book ever about boating the BC coast)

Spnner's Inlet by Don Hunter (humorous fiction about life on a Gulf Island)

Spillsbury's Coast by Jim Spilsbury (growing up on Savary Island and starting a business among the BC islands)

Raincoast Chronicles (all twenty or so of them) (Life along the BC coast in stories, legends, poems, and photographs)

Light on the Island by Helene Glidden (author's childhood at the Patos Island lighthouse in the early 20th Century)

Whistle Up the Inlet by Gerald A. Rushton (history of the Union Steamship Co.)

Keepers of the Light (Vol 1 and 2) by Donald Graham (story of the lighthouses along the BC coast)

Once Upon an Island by David Conover (the story of building a resort on Wallace Island in the Gulf Islands by the photographer who discovered Norma Jean Baker aka Marilyn Monroe)

I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven (story of a minister who has two years to live who learns the meaning of life at a native parish in BC)

And a shameless plug for...
Success on the Step: Flying with Kenmore Air by C. Marin Faure (the story of Kenmore Air Harbor, the world's premier seaplane airline with a history intertwined wth the PNW, BC, and SE Alaska coast)

Marin,
Some great books there, have you read Spilsbury's book "Accidental Airline"? It's another great story about how he ended up starting an airline after WWII. Some good aviation history and a good cutthroat business tale all in one book. It might be hard to find. I bought it years ago on a B.C. ferry.
Lyle

No, I haven't read Accidental Airline, mainly because I can never remember the title when I try to recall it. Thanks for the reminder. I'll try to find a copy.

I echo the list submitted by Marin. Will be on the hunt - Thanks,

Al Johnson-Ketchikan
27 Marben

Like many of you, I have little time for reading fiction. My wife introduced me to recorded books so now I listen to fiction while I drive or do other more or less rote tasks. The problem with recorded books is the reader can make or break the story. Some are great (George Guidall, for instance), a few are awful (no names), and most are ok. We always have a book or two when we do road trips. You can bet we'll try to do this when we move aboard.

Gary