The Bookshelf

Heart of Glass
By Daniel Spurr

Nine out of ten sailors today own sturdy, often beautiful, fiberglass craft. Fiberglass brought boating to the non-rich, but the history of that revolution has never been told. Daniel Spurr rectifies this omission with his affectionate account of the fiberglass boat, from its earliest incarnation in World War II to the present. Spurr profiles landmark designs that set the standards in the used-boat market and introduces the vivid personalities who invented the world of boating we know today.

Heart of Glass is published by International Marine and is available for $27.95.

The Cruising Multihull
by Chris White

Long typecast as the hotrods of the sea--fast but dangerous--modern cruising multihulls actually are among the safest and most comfortable cruising sailboats available. Modern multihulls offer significant advantages over single-hull sailboats: They sail faster, have more living space, more comfortable, more stable, can sail safely in much shallower water, and, because their stability comes from widely spaced hulls and not from tons of lead off the keel, they don’t sink. A typical weekend cruiser’s circle of operations might double if he switches to a multihull. The U.S. Navy decided that applications requiring an extremely steady platform at sea were best suited to, of all things, a catamaran.

The Cruising Multihull supplies the reader with all the latest information about design, construction, rigs, seamanship, safety, and a point-by-point rebuttal of the “accepted wisdom” concerning multihull dangers. It will help you decide whether a multihull is right for you; which multihull--cat or tri--is best for your needs; whether you should build one yourself, have one built, or buy one off the rack. And, of course, The Cruising Multihull shows you how to get the most from your boat.

The Cruising Multihull is published by International Marine Publishing and is available at for $21.95.

A Picture History of the America’s Cup
By John Rousmaniere

This is one of the best books on the America’s Cup for photo references that was ever published. The photos are from Mystic Seaport’s Rosenfeld Collection and Archives. The book covers the start of the America’s Cup racing through the 1988 catamaran Big Boat fiasco. The author, John Rousmaniere, signed it. It was published in 1989 by Mystic Seaport Museum Stores and covers many of the works of the Rosenfeld family who were famous photographers of Yacht Races from the 20’s to the 60’s.

A Picture History of the America’s Cup is published by Mystic Seaport Museum Stores.

Mexico, Planning a Cruise to Mexico
By Carolyn and Bob Mehaffy

Destination Mexico tells you everything you need to know about getting yourself and your boat ready for a cruise of weeks or months in Mexican waters. For the practical, hands-on pleasure boat skipper you’ll find advice on clothing and provisioning, recreational and galley equipment, toiletries and medical aids.

The authors, veterans of Mexican cruising, guide you through the intricacies of government paperwork, insurance, even crew selection and buddy boats. The second half comprises an alphabetical listing of equipment you’re likely to need including electrical, mechanical and navigational gear. Twenty-five years of cruising experience have gone into this comprehensive discussion of electrical, mechanical, and navigational gear. How do you select batteries, GPS, dinghies, and other essentials? What cost and maintenance factors are involved? Destination Mexico provides all the answers to these and all the other questions you are likely to ask when preparing for the Mexican cruise of your dreams.

Mexico is published by Paradise Cay Publications and is available for $15.95.

Fighting Finish, The Volvo Ocean Race
By Gary Jobson

Covering 32,700 nautical miles over 10 months, spanning four oceans and stopping at 10 ports on five continents, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier ocean sailing event. This book presents a unique history of the race that has changed the sport of open-ocean racing forever and provides complete coverage of the race itself, from its start in Southampton, England, in September 2001, to its finish in Kiel, Germany, in June 2002. All of the action from every leg of the race is presented in full detail, combining images from the world’s foremost sailing photographers with the history of the race and the ambitious, adventurous competitors.

Fighting Finish is published by Nomad Press and is available for $44.95

WindJammer Cooking
by Dee Carstarphen
 

How would you like to cook for forty-five hungry people on an ancient, black-iron, wood-burning stove in a galley where you pump your water, cool the stores with ice, create pies, cakes, bread and pastry totally from scratch, and where an oven thermometer may as well be a figment of the imagination?

Well, here is the cook that will make the whole thing look easy as rolling out an apple pie crust in the Windjammer Cooking cook book by Dee Carstarphen.

WindJammer Cooking is published by Pen and Ink Press and is available for $11.95.

All contents are copyright (c) 2007 by Northern Breezes, Inc. All information contained within is deemed reliable but carries no guarantees. Reproduction of any part or whole of this publication in any form by mechanical or electronic means, including information retrieval is prohibited except by consent of the publisher.