Few people would want to test their mettle in an ice-encrusted boat with an Arctic explorer, sail the Straits of Magellan with Joshua Slocum, or watch with Owen Chase as an angry whale sends his ship to the bottom, thousands of miles from the nearest land. But it's quite another thing to read these true accounts while settled into a favorite chair. Slocum and Chase persevered in the face of travails that would have given Job pause. Their stoic accounts are stronger and more dramatic for their total lack of affection, their frankness, and their lack of ego. Their gripping stories are custom-made for the imaginative reader who seeks adventure in a more controlled environment, safe and warm, and well fed - civilized readers with their armchairs anchored firmly to the living room floor. Rich in drama and history, here are stories that will entertain, inform, and inspire--enduring stories that have attracted generations of readers.

Sailing Made Easy is the first step in a voyage that will last you the rest of your life. It is a gift from a group of dedicated sailing professionals who have committed their lives to sharing their art, their skill, and their passion for this wonderful activity. This book, which Sailing Magazine called "best in class" upon its release in 2010, is the most comprehensive education and boating safety learn-to-sail guide to date. It is also the official textbook for the ASA Basic Keelboat Standard (ASA 101). Incorporated in the textbook are useful illustrations and exceptional photographs of complex sailing concepts. The text’s most distinguishing feature is its user friendly "spreads" in which instructional topics are self-contained on opposing pages throughout the book. There are also chapter end quizzes and a glossary to help those new to sailing to navigate their way through the extensive nautical terminology.

For thousands of years, man has sailed into battle, sailed for rumored wealth, and sailed for pure adventure. And for nearly as long, stories about the sea have entertained, intrigued, and inspired readers. The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told brings together some of the most compelling writing of the millennium. Here is Peter Goss's wrenching narrative of incredible courage in the world's most desolate ocean along with Ernest Shackleton's understated and awesome account of one of the most daring small-boat journeys ever taken, where failure meant certain death for his long-suffering crew. But sailing is much more than headlong dashes into roaring seas. You'll also find William F. Buckley Jr. on idyllic cruising; James Thurber on the arcane and often impenetrable language of sailors; and the legendary Joshua Slocum on sailing alone around the world. The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told is a treasure trove: tears, adrenaline, laughter, and adventure abound. With contributions from: - James Thurber -William F. Buckley Jr. - Ann Davison - Sterling Hayden - Ernest Shackleton - Tristan Jones - Samuel Eliot Morrison - Joshua Slocum - E. B. White - C. S. Forester - Cleveland Amory - Weston Martyr - Peter Goss - David Kasanof – and many others.

For Gary Jobson—the three-time All American sailor, America’s Cup winner, Fastnet Race winner, and ESPN sailing commentator since 1985—sailing is life. In 2003, he was diagnosed with lymphoma, and here he relays the tumultuous diagnosis and treatments endured before the cancer went into remission. Through remission he remembers how his life has intertwined with some of the greatest sailors, how the sport has changed since his childhood, how the public view of sailing went through a revolutionary change with the advent of ESPN, how sailing can create lasting bonds of friendship that endure, and how sailing offers everything from the highest of adventures to the simplest of pleasures. This uplifting memoir also includes a foreword by Ted Turner.

An anecdotal, highly personal course through America's nautical history features nearly 140 images of ships from the 18th through 20th centuries: quoddy boats, fishing schooners, clippers, packet ships, frigates, and other vessels.

Firsthand accounts of thrilling adventures on the high seas — of surviving on an uninhabited island, of narrowly escaping capture in the Pacific Islands where Capt. James Cook was killed, encounters with savage natives in the South Seas and more. A vivid picture of life aboard the "tall ships" of a century and more ago.

Forty-five magnificent ready-to-color illustrations depict USS Constitution, sloops, whalers, frigates, clippers, more. Informative captions.