Reading is my favorite way to spend down-time aboard. Books about sailing keep me inspired on my own adventures. Here are some of my favorites from the past year :

Reading the Glass: A Captain’s View of Weather, Water and Life on Ships

A refreshing and engaging perspective on weather as it relates to sailing. Weather patterns play such a crucial role in a sailor’s life. I couldn’t help but love this narrative which is told through a series of tall ship voyages.

Mutiny on the Bounty: A Saga of Sex, Sedition, Mayhem and Mutiny, and Survival Against Extraordinary Odds

If that title doesn’t pique your interest… This book has it all, and as someone who didn’t know much about the mutiny on the Bounty before this book, I couldn’t wait to find out what happens next.

Cape Horn to Starboard

John Kretchmer is a prolific author and his stories and career have been an inspiration to me. He and his crew just rounded Cape Horn again this year, 40 years after this book’s release- but Cape Horn to Starboard remains an excellent read for an aspiring adventure sailor like myself.

Facing Fear: The First Woman to Sail Solo Around Antarctica

Lisa Blair’s account of her solo circumnavigation of Antarctica. Although the writing can be dry at times, the story of her overcoming a bombardment of challenging conditions is nothing short of inspirational. Women have been showing up big time on the sailing scene in the last decade and this story is sure to inspire a new generation of adventurous female sailors.

the outlaw ocean

A fascinating look into the cultural fringes of the seagoing industries written by a New York Times journalist-drawing on five years of perilous and intrepid reporting, often hundreds of miles from shore, Ian Urbina introduces us to the inhabitants of a hidden world.

There are several that didn’t make the list- if you want to talk sailing books, come join me aboard Galene for an adventure!

Fair winds,

Capt. Clay