Book selections for a course on sailing and the sea

[Hymodyne]

I'm a professor of literature at a small private college in SW Mass, and I'd like to offer a literature course and lab (on the water) on sailing and the sea next fall.

I have some selections already identified, but I'd like to hear from
any of you who might have non-fiction or fiction selections that would be appropriate for a 1st or 2nd year college level course.

many thanks,

hym

[Joe CD MS 300]

A lot of good suggestions there. Here is the link:

http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=17483


Just curious, what wouldn't be appropriate for a 1st or 2nd year college student? Or is the issue more or less what they would find interesting?

Joe

[Hymodyne]

thanks for the reminder about the previous link.

I'll look through the suggestions and work from there.

hym

[RMeigel]

Author: Erskine Childers

A classic read - one of the funniest descriptions of adapting to life on a sailboat to be found in literature.

[Joe Montana]

Riddle of the Sands was a good suggestion because it is also an interesting war/espionage story and a bonus is that a reader will always be able to answer a trivia geography question about the Frisian Islands! More traditionally, how about something by Joseph Conrad or Jack London -- or an excerpt from an explorer's log (perhaps a sequence from one of Captain Cook's voyages of discovery ).

[RMeigel]

Sir Ernest Shackleton's story of his expedition to Antartica aboard the Endurance is perhaps the most powerful first person account of polar exploration that exists. On this voyage, Shackelton's ability to persevere and to lead in the worst of conditions illustrates why he is considered one of history's greatest explorers.

The aspect of this survival story that qualifies it as a contender for sea voyage reads is the 800 mile navigation feat in an open lifeboat in the southern ocean that was successfully undertaken by
Shackleton seeking help to rescue the men left behind after his ship Endurance was crushed by ice.

[Maine Sail]

Sailing Around the world Alone

And don't forget these:

Gypsy Moth Circles The Globe - Sir Francis Chichester
A Voyage For Madmen - Peter Nichols
Fastnet Force Ten - John Rousmaniere (sp)
Cruising in Serafyn - Lin and Larry Pardey
Cape Horn The Logical Route - Bernard Moitessier
Dove - Robin lee Graham

This should be a good start...

[mchaffie]

Shackleton's Boat Journey by Frank Arthur Worsley, the Captain of the Endurance, is a wonderful read.

[Joe Myerson]

Let's not forget Richard Henry Dana's classic, "Two Years Before the Mast."

And, for shorter stuff, some of the essays of E.B. White.