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REFERENCE SHELF
Bookshelf

Real Books

When we first set out on our cruise, it never occurred to us to have on board anything but cruising guides and fish guides.  Our first exposure to the Lonely Planet Guidebooks Series came when a fellow cruiser lent us the books on Venezuela and Colombia.  All of a sudden, there were countries behind the coasts!  A comprehensive guide, like the Lonely Planet series, will add immeasurably to you understanding of the places you visit, while in some countries, for example Ecuador, it was the ONLY guide we had. 

Similarly, expanding from fish guides, to references on local birds, shells, and plants and well as such larger scale phenomena around us as geology, geography, and the stars, deepens our connection with the natural world to which we live so close.

Moving beyond guidebooks to travelogues, histories, literature and modern fiction is the next step and one we began to grow into in Mexico.  Sometimes it triggers the initial desire to visit a place – as Steinbeck’s Log from the Sea of Cortez did for me for the Sea, or it can significantly enhance a cruising experience as McCullough’s Path Between the Seas did for our Panama Canal transit. One of my greatest finds is the “Travelers Tales” series.  Each volume is a collection of travel writing grouped by place or theme.  Such reading adds a dimension you can’t match from any other source.

Finally, language.  Some people are good at picking up a new language while others are not.  We have one of each aboard Tackless II!  But both captains would agree that whatever effort you can manage to learn the local language will reap untold rewards in your dealings with the local people.  At the most fundamental level, it shows respect.  Attending language schools is one of the best options, but at the very least self-study can open the door.  Cruisers should not THINK of leaving the English speaking world without Kathy Parsons’ Spanish for Cruisers or her new French for Cruisers.

To acquire every book listed below could put a goodly strain on your bookstore budget.  Fortunately, we acquired many of our references in trades with vessels going the opposite direction.  Personally, I hate parting with books, especially cruising guides whose margins have filled with first-hand observations. But, when you are sure you are not going to be returning to an area within the next few years, passing your library on to others not only raises your waterline a few inches, but helps enhance the other guy’s experience.

Regional Guides

CARIBBEAN

• Cruising Guides

• Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands, by Simon & Nancy Scott, Cruising Guide Publications

• Virgin Anchorages, (Aerial Photo Collection), Cruising Guide Publications

• Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands, by Chris Doyle, Cruising Guide Publications

• Sailor’s Guide to Windward Islands, by Chris Doyle, Cruising Guide Publications

• Cruising Guide to Trinidad & Tobago, by Chris Doyle, Cruising Guide Publications

• Cruising Guide to Venezuela & Bonaire, by Chris Doyle, Cruising Guide Publications

• The Panama Guide by Nancy Schwalbe Zydler & Tom Zydler, Seaworthy Publications (indispensable)

• Captain’s Guide to Transiting the Panama Canal, by David W. Wilson
   

• Travel Guides

• Lonely Plant Venezuela

• Lonely Planet Colombia

• Lonely Planet Panama
   

• Dive Guides

• Diving the British Virgin Islands, Jim & Odile Scheiner, Aqua Quest Publications (the most thorough)

• Guide to the Saba Marine Park, Tom van’t Hof

• Guide to the Bonaire Marine Park, Tom van’t Hof
   

• Nature Guides

• Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas by Paul Humann, New World Publications

• Reef Coral Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas by Paul Humann, New World Publications

• Reef Creatures Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas by Paul Humann, New World Publications

• Watching Fishes by Roberta Wilson & James Q. Wilson, Pisces Books

• Coral Reef Fishes of the Caribbean, by F. Joseph Stokes, Collins

• The Nature of the Islands, by Virginia Barlow, Cruising Guide Publications

• Tropical Trees, Dorothy and Bob Hargreaves
   

• Travelogues/Literature

• Seadogs, Clowns & Gypsies (and other titles) by Cap’n Fatty Goodlander

EASTERN PACIFIC

• Cruising Guides

• The Panama Guide by Nancy Schwalbe Zydler & Tom Zydler, Seaworthy Publications

• Charlie’s Charts of Costa Rica by Margaret Wood, Charlie’s Charts

• The Forgotten Middle
   

• Travel Guides

• Lonely Planet Panama

• Lonely Planet Ecuador

• The Galapagos Islands by Pierre Constant, Odyssey Publications

• Lonely Planet Costa Rica

• Lonely Planet Central America
   

• Dive Guides - none
   
• Nature Guides

• Fishes of the Pacific Coast by Gar Goodson, Stanford University Press (excellent)

• Reef Fish Identification by Paul Humann

• Coastal Fish Identification: California to Alaska by Paul Humann

• Guide to the Marine Coastal Marine Fishes of California, California Fish Bulletin #157, University of California

• Birds of Panama, with Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras, by Robert S. Ridgely & John A. Gwynne, Jr., Princeton University Press
   

• Travelogues/Literature

• The Path Between the Seas, by David McCullough

• Road Fever,  by Tim Cahill (A terrific travel writer takes on the 15,000 mile drive from Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay.)

• The Arcturus Adventure: An Account of the New York Zoological Society’s First Oceanographic Expedition, William Beebe
  (An historical journey to the Galapagos and Cocos Island.)

MEXICO

• Cruising Guides

• Charlie’s Charts of Mexico, Charles E. Wood, Charlie’s Charts

• Boating Guide to Mexico by John Rains

• Mexico’s Baja California by Jack Williams, H. J. Williams Publications

• Cruising Guide to Sea of Cortez: Lower Gulf by Gerry Cunningham

• Cruising Guide to Sea of Cortez: Middle Gulf by Gerry Cunningham

• Cruising Guide to Sea of Cortez: San Carlos by Gerry Cunningham

• Cruising Guide to Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, by Chris Doyle, Cruising Guide Publications
   

• Travel Guides

• Lonely Planet Mexico

• Lonely Planet Baja
   

• Dive Guides

• Diving Baja California, by Susan Speck, Aqua Quest Publications

• Diving & Snorkeling Baja California, by Walt Peterson, Lonely Planet/Pisces Books

• Baja California Diver’s Guide, by Michael B. Farley and Lauren K. Farley, Marcor Publishing

• Diver’s Guide to Underwater Mexico, Michael B. Farley and Lauren K. Farley, Marcor Publishing
   

• Nature Guides

• Fishes of the Pacific Coast by Gar Goodson, Stanford University Press (excellent)

• Coastal Fish Identification: California to Alaska by Paul Humann

• Guide to the Marine Coastal Marine Fishes of California, California Fish Bulletin #157, University of California

• The Baja Catch, by Neil Kelly & Gene Kirby, Apples & Oranges Publications

• Baja California Plant Field Guide, by Norman C. Roberts

• Roadside Geology and Biology of Baja California, by John, Edwin & Jason Minch

• The Magnificent Peninsula, by Jack Williams & Patty Williams

• MxWX: Mexico Weather for Boaters, John E. Rains, Point Loma Publishing
   

• Travelogues/Literature/Fiction

• Traveler’s Tales Mexico (wonderful)

• Miraculous Air by C.M. Mayo (very worthwhile for Baja)

• Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck (somewhat laborious ruminations, but classic!)

• With Steinbeck in the Sea of Cortez, by Sparky Enea (The above seen from a different angle!)

• Mexico, by James Michener

• The Green Flash and Easing Sheets, by L.M. Lawson (Mysteries in the cruising fleet!)

SOUTH PACIFIC OVERVIEWS

These guides are very useful references for planning your cruise across the Pacific, and once you get past French Polynesia, they may be the only guides you have to some of the small island groups.  The included chartlets for each area are usually only for the primary ports and are not substitutes for proper charts of the islands and harbors.

• Cruising Guides

• The Pacific Crossing Guide, Edited by Michael Pocock, The Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation in Association with the Ocean Cruising Club. 

• Landfalls of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the Pacific Islands (4^th Edition), by Earl R. Hinz, University of Hawai’I Press. (A classic guide, and the only one with a chart for the regions confusing time zones!)

• South Pacific Anchorages, by Warwick Clay, Imry Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd., St. Ives Cambridgeshire, England.  (A funkier guide including a lot more out of the way anchorages.
   

• Travel Guides

• Lonely Planet South Pacific
   

• Travelogues/Literature

• Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before, by Tony Horowitz

• The Wanderer, by Sterling Hayden

• The Aubrey/Maturin Series, by Patrick O’Brien

• Tales of the South Pacific, by James Michener

• Mutiny on the Bounty

• Slow Boats Home, by Gavin Young

• In the Heart of the Sea: the Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathniel Philbrick
   

• Language

• South Pacific Phrasebook, Lonely Planet

FRENCH POLYNESIA

• Cruising Guides

• Charlie’s Charts of Polynesia, by Charles E. Wood, Charlie’s Charts  (familiar format charlets covering Marquesas, Tuamotu, Pitcarin Island, Easter Island, Gambiers, Australs, Societies, Cooks, Niue, and the Hawaiian Islands.)

• Guide to Navigation & Tourism in French Polynesia, by Patrick Bonnette & Emmanuel Deschamps, Éditions A.. Barthelemy in Avignon and Éditions Le Motu in Moorea (available in US in English) (Beautiful, motivational photography, almost a coffee table book; great local info; hard-to-read chartlets)

• Exploring the Marquesas Islands,  by Joe Russell

• Cruising Guide to Tahiti and the French Society Islands, by Marcia Davock, Westcott Cove Publishing Company. (Didn’t use much.  Nice chartlets, but published in 1985.)

• The Mooring’s Cruising Guide to the Islands of Tahiti in French Polynesia, available with convenient, annotated charts from The Moorings.  ( A mistitled guide to the Leeward Societies where the Moorings has its fleet  (No info on Tahiti or Moorea) .  Very useful guide to the area’s difficult anchorages.  Their charts are super convenient.)
   

• Travel Guides

• Lonely Planet South Pacific
   

• Dive Guides

• Pisces French Polynesia
   

• Travelogues/Literature

• Fatu Hiva, by Thor Heyerdahl

• The Moon & Sixpence by Somerset Maugham

EASTER ISLAND

We did not cruise here by boat although the island is covered by the above South Pacific Overview books.  Rather than sail here, we flew in.  Spanish and Rapa Nui are the official languages although English and French are spoke by people in the tour business.

• Travelogues/Literature

• Kon Tiki, and Aku Aku, by Thor Heyerdahl

• Easter Island, by Jennifer Vanderbes

THE COOK ISLANDS

• Travelogues/Literature

• An Island to Oneself, by Tom Neale

SAMOA

• Travelogues/Literature

• South Sea Tales, by Robert Louis Stevensen

KINGDOM OF TONGA

• Cruising Guides

• Sailingbird’s Guide to the Kingdom of Tonga, by Charles Paul Katherine Pham-Paul (excellent guide with full color photos and interesting sidebars, considered the best by most locals)

• Ken’s Comprehensive Cruising Guide for the Kingdom of Tonga, by Ken Hellewell (guide@cruisetonga.com) A Cevennes Productions Endeavor, 2002

• The Mooring’s Cruising Guide to the Kingdom of Tonga, available with convenient, annotated charts from The Moorings.
   

• Travelogues/Literature

• Tonga Islands: William Mariner’s Account,  by John Martin M.D.

FIJI

• Travelogues/Literature

• A History of Fiji, by R. A. Derrick, University of the South Pacific

• Kayaking in the South Pacific, by Paul Theroux

• Life in Feejee: Five Years Among the Cannibals, A Woman's Account of Voyaging in the Fiji Islands.., by Mary D. Wallis
   

• Cruising Guides

• A Yachtsman’s Guide to Fiji: A Navigators Notebook, by Michael Calder, the Cruising Classroom, Sydney, 1987
   

• Dive Guides

• Pisces Fiji

LOOKING AHEAD: AUSTRALIA, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA & S.E. ASIA

• Cruising Guides ---Although we haven’t been there yet, we have accumulated some recommended references for these areas

• Cruising the Coral Coast, by Alan Lucas

• Cruising the New South Wales Coast, by Alan Lucas

• Brownie’s Beacon to Beacon (for navigating from Bundaberg to the Cold Coast)
   

• Travelogues/Literature

• Traveler’s Tales Australia

• In a Sunburnt Country, by Bill Bryson

• Krakatoa, by Simon Winchester (a look not just at the geologic volatility of the area, but the political as well)

• Traveler’s Tales Thailand

• Slithering South,  Steve Van Beek (a 58-day trip by one man in a tiny boat on the Ping River in Thailand)

• Brother Fish, by Bryce Courtenay

• The Rainboys, by Frank Worsdale

• From the Land of the Green Ghosts, Pascal Khoo Thwe

• The Glass Palace, by Amitav Ghosh

Language Study

• GENERAL

• Yachtsman’s Eight Language Dictionary, by Barbara Webb, Adlard Coles.  (Nautical vocabulary in English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese)
   

• SPANISH

• Spanish for Cruisers by Kathy Parsons, Aventuras Publishing (indispensable for cruisers)

• More Spanish for Cruisers: Study Guide, by Kathy Parsons, Aventuras Publishing (email kathy@spanish4cruisers.com)

• Lonely Planet Latin American Phrasebook

• The University of Chicago’s Spanish-English Dictionary, by Carlos Castillo & Otto Bond, Pocket Books.  (An excellent paperback dictionary!)

• Complete Handbook of Spanish Verbs, Passport Books, NTC Publishing Group

• Spanish Verb Tenses, Dorothy Devney Richmond, Passport Books, NTC Publishing Group

• Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish,  Margarita Madrigal, Doubleday

• Warren Hardy Language School Cardgame Workbooks, Warren Hardy Language School, San Miguel de Allende, MX (www.unisono.net.mx/cardgame)
   

• FRENCH

• French for Cruisers by Kathy Parsons, Aventuras Publishing (indispensable for cruisers)

• Lonely Planet French Phrasebook

• The Ultimate French Review and Practice, David Stillman & Ronnie Gordon, Passport Books, NTC Publishing Group

• NTC’s New College French and English Dictionary, NTC Publishing Group

• OCEANIA

• South Pacific Phrasebook, Lonely Planet

General

NATURE

• The Practical Geologist, by Dougal Dixon/ Raymond L Bernor, Editor, A Fireside Book, Simon & Schuster 
  (a great find to help appreciate a very complex subject!)
• A Field Guide to Seabirds of the World, by Peter Harrison, the Stephen Green Press/Viking
• Stars & Planets, a Petersen Field Guide
• Soap Operas of the Sky, by Jeannie Kuich, Cruising Guide Publications
• The Cruiser’s Handbook of Fishing, Scott & Wendy Bannerot, International Marine

CRUISING

• World Cruising Routes, by Jimmy Cornell, International Marine

• World Cruising Handbook, by Jimmy Cornell, International Marine

• Cruising Ports: Florida to California via Panama, Captain John E.Rains, Pt. Loma Publishing

• SSCA Bulletins, The Seven Seas Cruiser’s Association

HEALTH

• Healthy Cruiser Handbook by Janette Loomis, Seaworthy

RADIO

• SSB for Idi-Yachts, by Capt. Marti Brown
• HF Radio Email for Idi-Yachts, by Capt. Marti Brown

Travel Writing

Since I started this website, I’ve developed a taste for travel writing.  Since I am a long way from regular magazine deliveries, I usually consume my travel writing in collections, like the Travelers Tales (www.travelerstales.com) books, several of which are mentioned here under specific categories.  Even when they don’t pertain to a place I am soon likely to visit, I enjoy opportunity to share someone else’s experience.  Here are some good ones.

• By Sailors/ Cruisers 

• An Embarrassment of Mangoes, Ann Vanderhoof

• The Solitude of the Open Sea, by Gregory Newell Smith 

• Living A Dream, by Suzanne Geisemann

• A Prairie Chicken Goes to Sea, by Margo Wood

• Passage to Juneau, A Sea and It’s Meaning, Jonathan Raban

• The Boat That Wouldn’t Float, by Farley Mowat

• Slithering South,  Steve Van Beek (a 58-day trip by one man in a tiny boat on the Ping River in Thailand)

• Slow Boats Home, Gavin Young (China to England by freighter(s))

• Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before, by Tony Horowitz

• General Travel

• A Woman Alone: Travel Tales from Around the Globe, Ed. Faith Conlon, Ingrid Emerick & Christina Henry de Tessan, Seal Press.  (Check out Seal Press’s Aventura series, books focusing on women’s travel.)

• Jaguars Ripped My Flesh, Tim Cahill

• Pecked to Death by Ducks, Tim Cahill (with an interesting piece on the giant clams of Tonga!)

• Not So Funny When It Happened, Travelers Tales

• There’s No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled, Travelers Tales

• The Thong Also Rises, Travelers Tales

• A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk about their Craft, Lives & Inspiration, Travelers Tales

Women & Cruising

In September 2006 I began writing a column for Latitudes & Attitudes Magazine called The Admiral’s Angle (check it out here), which grew out of a seminar I gave with Kathy Parsons and Pam Wall on Women and Cruising at the Miami Boat earlier that year.  The motivated woman will find answers anywhere she looks, but some women do better with material looking specifically at (and from) the woman’s perspective.  So I have started collecting books in this vein.

• If The Shoe Fits:  Confessions of a Reluctant Boatfrau, by Rae Ellen Lee

• An Embarrassment of Mangoes, Ann Vanderhoof

• Living A Dream, by Suzanne Geisemann

• It’s Your Boat, Too, by Suzanne Geisemann

• A Prairie Chicken Goes to Sea, by Margo Wood

• The Cruising Woman’s Advisor: How to Prepare for the Voyaging Life, Diane Jessie

• Changing Course: A woman’s Guide to Choosing the Cruising Life, by Debra Ann Cantrell

• Blue Horizons: Dispatches from Distant Seas, by Beth Leonard

• CDs by Eileen Quinn!

ABOUT FOOD

I inherited an addiction to cookbooks from my mother.  I have many aboard from my foundation book --  The Joy of Cooking – to various titles from Sunset Books and Australia’s Family Circle collection (obtained in Trinidad!), to cookbooks specializing  in vegetarian cuisine, pasta and bread.  Lately, however, the recipes that have grabbed my interest have come one by one from friends or circumstances, and these will gradually show up in the Galley Section of this website.  Below I will list several books that do stand out on my shelf.

• COOKBOOKS

• A Taste of the Tropics, by Jay Solomon, the Crossing Press (shaped my charter cuisine)

• The Underway Gourmet, by Gerda Dehrmann (A charter chef collection including hard-to-find Caribbean recipes)

• Trinidad & Tobago Recipes, Naparima Girls’ High School Diamond Jubilee (Available in Trinidad)

• Cruising Cuisine, by Kay Pastorius. International Marine (Really useful recipes by a West Coast cruiser)

• The Breadman’s Healthy Bread Book, by George Burnett, William Morrow & Co.

• (The author claims you can lose weight eating his “healthy” breadmachine recipes…but we have not found it to be the case!)

• TRAVEL & FOOD

• The Adventure of Food: True Stories of Eating Everything, edited by Richard Sterling, Travelers’ Tales  (Note: They have others!)