Preparation - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 55

A Cruiser's Library
Given limited space on a cruising sailboat, we were very selective about the topics we “al-
lowed” on board Namani . The following are our top picks for a Pacific-bound sailor's
cruising library.
Technical
• Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual [#1] (Nigel Calder): The cruiser's
boat bible. If we had to throw books overboard to keep the boat afloat, this would
be the last one to go. Although we refer to it less often as we become increasingly
and intimately familiar with our boat's systems, this topic remains an invaluable
resource.
• Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age [#2] (John Karl): An excellent book that effort-
lessly introduces the theory behind celestial navigation without ever losing track of
the application.
• Modern Marine Weather [#3] (David Burch): The most comprehensive, profound
and accessible coverage of the subject that we have come across.
• Offshore Sailing [#4] (Bill Seiffert): An unusual book in that it simply offers “200
Tips” for offshore sailors, most of them relating to outfitting and equipment modi-
fications. It will make you look at your own set-up with fresh eyes and includes a
wealth of useful pointers. After four years aboard Namani , we still pick up the
book from time to time and continue to find new thoughts and ideas.
• Instant Weather Forecasting [#5] (Alan Watts): This flip-through book provides great
visual references thanks to its pictures and concise text.
Field Guides
• Smithsonian Handbooks: An excellent series of compact, well-illustrated guides.
Our favorites are Ian Ridpath's Stars and Planets [#6] , Mark Carwardine's Whales,
Dolphins, and Porpoises [#7] , and Peter Dance's Shells [#8] .
• Birds of New Zealand and the Central and West Pacific [#9] , a Princeton Illustrated
Checklist (Ber van Perlo): This topic filled the only gap we found in the Smithso-
nian series. It is a well-illustrated, easy-to-use identification guide.
Other