Books For The

Boaties

Book

Shelf

Books For The

Sea-Struck

JOHN COLLINS reviews a small armful of new American titles of interest to boating enthusiasts of varied types.

Waterspout!

Waterspout! The very name of this book would send shivers down the spine of most yachties. Written by Laura McCain, the story re counts what started out to be an idyllic cruise for the lady and her husband, aboard Camelot, and ended on a Papua New Guinea reef with the end of Laura and Charles McCain’s boat and home. As the foreword states, “One wonders why they are not confined to mental in stitutions ...”

The book runs almost the gamut of the disasters that can befall small cruising craft, not through bad man agement but just plain bad luck.

From a frustrating shakedown cruise, to gutting by fire and the ulti mate disaster of not just having a waterspout overtake the boat, but having it apparently develop over head and pounce down upon the luckless Camelot, dumping it on a remote reef and its owners into the water, with their cat B 1 drenched but safe and yowling, still aboard the wreck.

The story then recounts their re scue by Taiwanese fishermen il legally working Papua New Guinea reef waters, offloading to a remote village and transfer to a sailing dugout which leaked so much it had one crew member bailing cons tantly. Thence to a mission boat from Nimowa to Bwagaoia, by small aircraft from Misima to Alotau, Port Moresby, Brisbane and then home to the US. But not before the confiscation and destruction of the unfortunate 81, whom the McCains tried unsuccessfully to smuggle through Australia on their way home.

A thoroughly engrossing tale well told, though disappointingly, but understandably, not illustrated apart from a map and a few sketches.

Bedside Book

A review of The Book of Boats seems somewhat superfluous, for its editors, William and John Atkin, together with others such as Garden, Hanna, Herreshoff et ai, have pass ed into maritime legend.

The Book of Boats is really a combination of two previous books now sadly out of print, and though some of the material is dated, the reader can be enthralled by the retelling of boating life before plastics, chrome-plated everything and electronic gadgetry.

This is a book that can be picked up and put down at the whim of the reader, a book which describes sail ing and power boat designs, spins cruising yarns, tells facts about ropes and how to build a flat bottom skiff. Authors include John Hanna, William Garden, Thomas Gilmer as well as the Atkins, and there are several cartoons by courtesy of Punch by this writer’s favourite car toonist, Emett.

Two delightful features compiled and conducted under the dubious names of Messrs Cleat, Garboard and Ratline dispense such handy hints as how to get rid of mildew, how to waterproof canvas, check

cracks in wooden spars, find the capacity of cylindrical tanks, put oil on troubled waters, etc.

A real treasure trove for the reader who likes boats gaff-rigged, cotton-caulked and spartan, boats that are not plastic and lifeless and churned out like sausages but boats that live and are as individual as the men who design and build them.

Live-aboards

Six years of living aboard your own yacht should give a fair indica tion of just what is required to make such a life as comfortable and as convenient as possible. Jan and Bill Moeller have done just that and have written a book called simply Living Aboard to spread around a little of the knowledge they’ve pick ed up in their years of blue water meanderings.

This book is not another cruising yarn, but a practical guide to the cruising yachtie of recent vintage, on how to, what to, and what not to.

To those contemplating a lifetime or part thereof, of changing scenery, cooking at a 45-degree angle and ultimate togetherness, this book is a

textbook, and may even be the de cider.

Through 300-odd well illustrated pages the Moellers cover such diverse subjects as “How much does it cost?” bringing to light all those little extras that everybody else con veniently forgets, and “Climate con ditioning,” a good subject for cruisers of tropical waters, ex plaining air conditioning and how it can be adapted to a yacht, as well as heaters and heating. For the ladies there is “Below decks decor”, “Ac commodation”, “Where to stow it all” and “Boat housekeeping”.

There is one very edifying chapter called “Special problems of the live aboard”. Altogether a well-rounded book of live-aboard hints for cruis ing people who don’t happen to be retired millionaires with a 60 to 70 foot boat.

In much the same vein, and in deed from the same publisher, is Boat Living by Jack Wiley. At first glance I wondered “Why the he 11...” However, upon reading both books I see the method. Mr Wiley’s book is written from a slightly different angle and, though covering much of the same material, complements rather than competes with the Moeller work.

Boat Living covers not only sail ing craft, but houseboats, motor cruisers, etc, modifying, main tenance and children living aboard.

Once again, this is a book for the more modest bankroll, delving rather heavily into the real costs and money problems encountered while cruising or while moored and work ing ashore.

Naturally, being published in the United States, both books maintain a somewhat American flavour, through apart from variations in currency and laws, the problems relating to living aboard your own boat are much the same everywhere, except in the Australian State of NSW where it’s not allowed at all for longer than six weeks.

Eva Palasti Brown . . . now there’s a name to conjure with. And boyoboy the culinary delights this lady has conjured up in just 90 pages is really something else.

The book is illustrated by the lady’s husband, Denis, who is, says the cover blurb, a respected painter.

He must have been drooling at the time, for, delightful as they are, all the pictures are in black and white.

Called the Blue Water Cook Book and spiral bound, it covers what to buy, how to stow suDDlies.

furnishing the galley, hints on pre paring and catching fish, breakfasts, lunches and dinners, salads, desserts and in case you overdo the whole thing, or don’t follow the recipe, a chapter called “Sickness at sea”.

Imagine, if you will, this writer and three companions aboard his diminutive craft, armed with three freshly caught bream, a dinky two burner stove, one rather tatty coconut and some miscellaneous bits and pieces that had been rum

bling around the bilges for quite

some time, all converted, with Eva Palasti Brown’s guidance, into a re past that had us belching with satisfaction and yarn-spinning over the wine until late at night. (WATERSPOUT!, by Laura McCain. Publish ed by Crescent Publications, Los Angeles, USA.

Sus 3 95 )

(THE BOOK OF BOATS, by William and John Atkin Published by International Marine Publishing Company 21 Elm Street, Camden, Maine. USA. SUSB 95 ) (LIVING ABOARD, by Jan and Bill Moeller Published by International Marine Publishing Company, 21 Elm Street, Camden, Maine USA

Susi 2 50)

(BOAT LIVING, by Jack Wiley Published by International Marine Publishing Company

Susb 95.)

(BLUE WATER COOKBOOK, by Eva Palasti Brown Published by International Marine Publishing Company SUS 4 95 )