Books about Seagoing from Amazon.com

In World War II, aboard the aircraft carrier Saratoga, Captain Robert Beebe dreamed of one day retiring and cruising the world in a small boat. At that time world cruisers voyaged exclusively in sailboats. But sailboats are confined to narrow lanes of predominantly favorable winds, which can be unpredictable and difficult. Beebe wanted to arrive at distant ports relaxed and on time, not battered and two months late. He wanted to voyage under power..

Back in the 1940s, no suitable long-distance powerboats existed. Beebe literally had to invent modern powerboat voyaging from scratch. The design parameters he developed for long-distance powerboats are still in use by naval architects today. The resulting boat, Passagemaker, was home to the Beebes for many years and more than 60,000 ocean-crossing miles. What Beebe learned in those years of voyaging became, in 1974, , still the most important and influential book ever published on long-distance powerboating..

Now, under the able pen of world cruiser Jim Leishman, Beebe's classic Voyaging Under Power has received its first complete overhaul. The core of the book is vintage Beebe; his designs, his research, and his wonderful cruising stories remain intact. What's new are details of the advances of the intervening years: electronic wizardry for navigation and communication; efficient new engines that wring more miles out of a gallon of diesel fuel; active roll-prevention devices that virtually eliminate seasickness; propeller nozzles and bow thrusters that improve maneuverability and ease handling for short-handed crews; bulbous bow extensions that improve speed, fuel economy, and sea-keeping ability. There's an all-new section featuring the work of other designers, including George Buehler, Jay Benford, James Krogan, Jeff Leishman, Nils Lucander, Charles Neville, and Steven Seaton. Mrs. Beebe has thoroughly revised her original chapter on provisioning the long-distance galley, and there are several new chapters, including Inland Voyaging, which covers long-distance cruising on American inland waterways; Watch-Standing; and A Passagemaker's Machinery..

Voyaging Under Power is the definitive guide for those who yearn to expand their cruising horizons, and cross oceans with speed and comfort..
Price: $16.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A how-to book explaining traveling the world by hitching around by yacht. Detailed discussion regarding how to approach yachtsmen, how to plan your trip and where in the world to go to get in the path of passing yachts..
Price: $6.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Chasing Dreamtime is the incredible true-life story of a young traveler's journey through memory and myth. In 1975, after college and a brief, disastrous marriage, Neva Sullaway attempts to escape her anguish as well as the post-Vietnam confusion of her generation by sailing alone around the world, but her plans are abruptly scuttled. A string of unlikely events occurs and sends her boat-hopping across the vast South Pacific.

While sailing among the exquisitely beautiful Pacific atolls, Sullaway is arrested for a visa violation, hunted by sharks, stricken with tropical fever and held at knifepoint. Even after being entangled in a drug-smuggling scheme and facing death several times, Sullaway continues her journey, taking a brief respite from sailing the seas to pedal a "pushbike" 2,000 kilometers along Australia's northeastern coastline. There the odyssey takes its sharpest turn as she ventures onto a fishing trawler in the remotest outback regions.

While poised at the brink of her physical and emotional limits in the stark Never-Never, Sullaway catches a glimpse of the elusive Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime and her darkest demons unfold into wings of flight. For Sullaway and the reader alike, reality can never be the same again..
Price: $7.41 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Newlyweds Terry Hunter and ex-NYPD detective Joe Manetta are busy running their Cozumel dive operation and starting a family. But a chance encounter with a female diver from Holland leads them on a globetrotting adventure. While diving with humpback whales in the Dominican Republic, they learn a rogue sea captain is illegally hunting whales and killing activists attempting to stop the hunt. But far more dangerous for the whales is a conspiracy led by Japan, Iceland, Finland and Norway, to overturn the International Whaling Commission's whaling ban at the Commission's upcoming meeting in Iceland. Terry and Joe travel to Iceland offering their assistance to save the whales and solve a cover-up reaching the highest levels of government. Their involvement entangles them in a dangerous world of international politics, intrigue, and murder, where fate has a surprise in store for them. Reviews for Whales' Angels: "In this sequel to Dangerous Waters, Paul Mila has crafted another exciting adventure-mystery featuring Terry Hunter and Joe Manetta. Like Tony Hillerman, Mila skillfully combines an intricate mystery plot with engaging characters and insights from a different culture, allowing his readers to experience the world from a novel perspective: that of the whales and dolphins who inhabit three-quarters of our planet. Don't miss this one!" Judith Hemenway, author of The Universe Next Door. Whales' Angels "A solid plot, intriguing characters and a realistic depiction of scuba diving and marine creatures are the hallmarks of Paul Mila's second novel featuring Terry Hunter and Joe Manetta. This time out, Joe and Terry get involved with activists ("Angels") attempting to prevent a rogue sea captain from harpooning of whales in the chilly waters off Iceland. Trying to save a whale, one of the Angels ends up dead - but was it really an accident? The resolution of the mystery will keep readers -divers and non divers alike - on the edge of their seats." Bonnie J. Cardone, former editor of Skin Diver Magazine, author of Shipwrecks of Southern California and Fireside Diver, and member of the Women Divers' Hall of Fame..
Price: $9.88 [Notify me when price goes down.]