Winter is a great time to sit in a comfy chair by the fire reading salty tales. Here are a few of our lesser known favorites:

The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float by Farley Mowat
Anyone who has had the experience of fixing up an old boat will sympathize with Mowat’s misadventures on a stubborn schooner. Full of riotous events and lively characters including Newfoundland fisherman, Basque smugglers, and a triumphant sail into Montreal’s Expo ’67.

Airborne by William F. Buckley
This is a witty and often laugh-out–loud story of an Atlantic crossing made by Buckley with family and friends on a 60 foot sailboat. Also included are many colorful anecdotes about Buckley’s offshore racing career.

Loki and Loon by Gifford B. Pinchot
The two great passions of Pinchot’s life were sailing and his remarkable wife Sally who shares their adventures offshore racing and cruising. From the Chesapeake Bay to Tahiti this book covers over 30 years of “a love affair with the sea”.

The Magic of the Swatchways by Maurice Griffiths
This group of essays, first published in 1932, follows Griffiths’ exploration of the creeks and estuaries of the East Coast of England. As a yacht designer and editor of Yachting Monthly, he admired the virtues of what he called simple craft, and the solitude of these quiet places.

Bob & Beth Connolly, Pandora