The book that started it all

I bought this book when I was 16 and still have it in hopes to give it to a son on his 16th birthday. This book fueled my wanderlust and sense of adventure,and gave birth to my love of anything sailing related.

Set in the 50s, a 16 yr old kid and his dad build a 24 ft sloop for him to sail around the world in. He leaves with minimal cash and miscellaneous items to barter with. He battles hurricanes, hunger, death at sea, and literally chasing a girl all the way around the world. It's a story a triumph over adversity,and a true story.

Two other books that might be worth a look (titles are clickable hyperlinks to Amazon):



Wind: How the Flow of Air Has Shaped Life, Myth, and the Land by Jan DeBlieu

"Jan DeBlieu lives on North Carolina's Outer Banks, where "wind is culture and heritage... Wind toughens us, moves mountains of sand as we watch, makes it difficult to sleepwalk through life." She always knows how fast the wind is blowing, and from what direction. She knows which winds are good for fishermen, and which are good for surfers. In Wind, DeBlieu teaches what she knows, and more. Watching the wind ruffle the water, turn tree branches into whips, or capsize a sailboat, she uses her powers of observation and lyrical writing to beautifully communicate what she sees. From the windy myths, religions, and creation stories of cultures worldwide, to the hardcore science of air movements and meteorology, to the stories of people whose lives are forever changed by hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes, Wind covers vast territory."

Note: "This booS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s strength is also its weakness. Its story is told not in focused narrative, but in scattered bits of science, history, personal experience, myth, mysticism, and religion. The joy -- and frustration -- in reading such a book is trying to assemble the pieces in your mind before the next gust disperses them. Its evocative prose deserves praise, but the absence of concrete images diminishes its value to scientifically inclined readers. They will crave diagrams of wind and weather patterns, historical drawings and maps, and photographs of people, birds, aircraft, and research balloons. Alas, they will find none. "



Defining the Wind: The Beaufort Scale and How a 19th-Century Admiral Turned Science into Poetry by Scott Huler

"While working as a copy editor two decades ago, Huler chanced across the Beaufort scale in Merriam-Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. He was entranced by the scale's "quintessence of... verbal economy, the ultimate expression of concise, clear, and absolutely powerful writing, 110 words in six-point type" that describe the varieties of wind from "calm" to "hurricane." Huler soon turned to a successful career as a writer and NPR contributor, but the Beaufort scale stuck with him, and he decided to learn more about the man whose definition of a "strong breeze" reads: "large branches in motion; telegraph wires whistle; umbrellas used with difficulty." Huler's admittedly obsessive narrative ranges from the late–18th-century ships of the British West Indies Company to a wind tunnel at the University of Michigan, leading "through sailing and engineering and science and technology." But at its heart is a fascination with the language we use to describe the world around us. Less a piece of science writing than a writer's meditation on science, this gem of a book is equal parts history, mystery, textbook and memoir, as much a story about how we think about the wind as it is about the wind itself, and deserves a wide audience among readers interested in writing, nature and history. "

ATB,
Sam

I definitely need to get those Indigo! Checking Amazon after this

Just occurred to me I have another useful book here at work. This is THE bible of not just knots, but rope and ropework of any kind. Wanna know how to make a snare, lash a raft or ladder together, braid sennets, splices, rope grommets, makeshift harness, join two dissimilar size ropes, even different methods of coiling rope and storage methods, its here. Pictured with my apprentice's first splices, the adjustable quick splice and flemish eye splice.

This was my book that started it all ...

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamikuza This was my book that started it all ...

I love that book. It was an inspiration! I still have a 3m Sputnik 4 in good working order.

I just dug out my copy. There are annotations on every page of that section of the book.

Philip

Actually, this is one of two pictures (trying to find the other) that REALLY got me into kites! I'd seen a couple of guys on buggies at QEII park and that got me interested ... but this and the other pic I saw in a magazine, got me fired up and I bought the Stunt Kites book ...

Trying to bring Nop to NABX 2012. . . stay tuned. . .

for fantasy freaks, The Name of the Wind. Patrick Rothfuss.

Quote:

Originally posted by pbc Quote: Originally posted by Kamikuza This was my book that started it all ... I love that book. It was an inspiration! I still have a 3m Sputnik 4 in good working order. I just dug out my copy. There are annotations on every page of that section of the book. Philip