Ocean Sailing

After sailing 300,000 miles and weathering dozens of storms in all the world's oceans, John Kretschmer has plenty of stories and advice to share. John's offshore training passages sell out a year in advance, and his entertaining presentations are popular at boat shows and yacht clubs all over the English-speaking world. John's talent for storytelling enchants his audience as it soaks up the lessons he learned during his often challenging voyages. Now you can take a seat next to John - at a lesser cost - and get the knowledge you need to fulfill your own dream of blue-water adventure.

Ever thought of ditching your conventional life to buy a sailboat and go traveling the world as a modern-day sea nomad? Half Fast is the true story of a married couple in their thirties who do just that—a move some of their family and friends consider to be a 'half-assed scheme' at best. With little money and even even less nautical experience they leave their small-town home in Arkansas to embark on an adventure they hope will last for a year or two but which evolves into a quarter-century voyage of discovery spanning half the world. Come along with Randy and Cheryl as they cruise their ...

John Kretschmer is sailing’s practical philosopher - as much a doer as a thinker. And that is the overarching theme of this chronicle of a sailing life. Often amusing, sometimes poignant, occasionally terrifying but always inspiring, his deeply personal account is a welcome reminder of the good life waiting at sea. With hundreds of thousands of nautical miles under his keel, John’s adventures have taken him several times around the world.

The iconic Sydney to Hobart Race, a 723-mile deepwater challenge - often called the “Everest” of offshore ocean racing - is considered one of the toughest in the world. Unpredictable weather and seas make each race demanding, but in 1998, an unexpected “weather bomb” hit the fleet, creating 80-foot waves and 100-mile-per-hour winds. Many bigger, better-equipped boats tried to maneuver around the storm, but the crew of the AFR Midnight Rambler chose to head directly into its path.

Orphaned at five, nothing held Whidden back from embarking on sea life seven years later. Serving as an apprentice, he quickly proved his worth and earned himself a mate's position by his early 20s. Graduating to third, second, and first office, he ended his career in command of, and having part-ownership of, his own vessel. Ocean Life in the Old Sailing Ship Days records a series of real events from his childhood impressions of rough and ready seamen to his thrilling and brutal experiences of war.

A retired, Canadian firefighter with a dream of adventure sails his new boat from The Virgin Islands to Grenada, and then across the Caribbean Sea to the USA. Picking up his 2 dogs he continues up and down the east coast and across the Bahamas, gaining experience as a dream of circumnavigating the planet begins to form. A true story beginning in 2012, this first half concludes with the Bénéteau 423 being outfitted in North Carolina in 2015, ready to depart for Panama. Dramatic, often moving, or incredibly funny, it is a tale of confronting the unknown, told with heart.

Islands, Oceans and Dreams is a true story of a man who, at the age of 33, began dreaming of voyaging with his wife to the South Pacific. He wasn't an adventurer or daring by nature, but he bought a boat and began learning the ways of the sea. Twenty years later, racked with the pain of divorce and still aching to live out his dream, he set off alone for Tahiti. After reaching French Polynesia, he continued cruising for seven years and wound up solo sailing around the world.

A historical fiction book set in the Atlantic Ocean during the late 19th century. Embark on a heart-pounding voyage across the turbulent Atlantic in "The Chancellor's Plight," a gripping tale of survival, desperation, and human resilience. This novel transports you to September 1869, aboard the merchant ship "Chancellor," as it sets sail from Charleston, South Carolina, to Liverpool, England, carrying a precious cargo of cotton and an unforgettable cast of passengers. What begins as a routine journey quickly spirals into chaos and terror as fate intervenes in unimaginable ways. As you delve...

Across Islands and Oceans is the memoir of 25 year-old James Baldwin and his epic two-year, solo circumnavigation in Atom, his trusty but aging 28-foot sailboat.

Have you ever parachuted in the moonlight and juggled work with play? In 1995, Steve set himself the goal to sail across the North Atlantic. Saint Lucia and the Caribbean island chain were the prize. He had to master sailing in spring Scottish waters, keep up with his military training and undergraduate life. It was hard keeping a romance alive with so many distractions, like landing a gig as a swordsman in a Hollywood movie. There were other commitments—a jaunt to Pamplona in Spain, and a camp in the United States before he could join his crew. How will he get to the tropics and have ...

Sailing by yourself, out of sight of land, can be invigorating and terrifying, compelling and tedious—and sometimes all of the above in one morning. But it is also a wide expanse of time in which to think. Sailing Alone tells the story of some of the remarkable people who, over the last four centuries, have spent weeks and months, moving slowly over the world's largest laboratory: a capricious and startling place in which to observe oneself, the weather, the stars, and countless sea creatures, from the tiniest to the most massive and threatening.

HARD AGROUND is more than the story of a racing yacht running aground in the vast, merciless expanse of the Indian Ocean. It is a deep dive into the collision between human ambition and the untamable sea — where cutting-edge technology meets the raw, unpredictable power of nature. In the 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race, the Vestas Wind was a sleek, cutting-edge machine, helmed by some of the world’s most skilled sailors. Yet, despite every precaution, the boat ran hard aground on a hidden reef — a navigational nightmare that exposed the brittle underbelly of modern offshore racing. With ...

Written some 40 years after Moby Dick, Melville's Billy Budd is a moving tale of good versus evil. Set aboard a British navy ship at the end of the eighteenth century, a young, innocent sailor's charm and good nature put the men around him at ease. Ship life agreed with Billy. He made friends quickly and was well liked, which infuriated John Claggart, the ship's cold-blooded superior officer.

The Unfiltered Truth Behind Sailing’s Greatest Madness The Vendée Globe is not just a race—it is a solitary pilgrimage across the planet’s most hostile oceans, a test of endurance, ingenuity, and raw will. In The Epic Story of the Vendée Globe 2020–21, the drama of the world’s toughest sailing challenge unfolds in all its brutal beauty. The 2020-21 Vendée Globe was supposed to be just another edition of the world’s toughest solo yacht race. Instead, it became a white-knuckle psychodrama of shattered boats, broken minds, and the kind of raw human moments that get scrubbed from...

All alone for 193 days in his purpose-built yacht, New Zealand yachtsman Graeme Kendall crossed 28,000 miles of ocean, facing some of the Earth's most challenging seas. An enthralling adventure, To The Ice and Beyond will inspire you to live your dreams and to never give up. During his extraordinary solo circumnavigation, Kendall became the first person to sail the Northwest Passage solo nonstop. Sailing east to west, he knocked off the "Everest of sailing" in just 12 days - the fastest recorded. This is a story of determination, meticulous planning, and rugged courage.

Fifteen tropical islands, fifteen chapters filled with adventure. This book lets you hop aboard a little sailboat and join the author on a three-year-long voyage across French Polynesia, where you will discover some of the most interesting places, people and wildlife of the South Pacific. From the world-famous island of Bora Bora to the remotest atolls of the Tuamotus, experience the challenges and rewards of the seafaring life as you dive with dolphins and sharks, sail under the stars, drink from fresh coconuts in the company of heavily-tattooed men, brave heavy storms and violent currents...

This riveting collection of adventure writing includes the work of The Perfect Storm author, Sebastian Junger. Listen as men and women battle the elements, and often each other, to stay alive, confronting sharks, savage storms, rogue waves, mountainous icebergs, starvation, and their own fear and suffering.

Das Ocean Race ist der härteste Teamwettbewerb im Segeln: Über sechs Monate auf sieben Etappen führt das Rennen um die ganze Welt, und die längste Etappe umfasst unglaubliche 23.000 Kilometer, von Kapstadt über Kap Hoorn nach Itajaí in Brasilien. Der deutsche Weltklassesegler Boris Herrmann und sein Team Malizia sind mit der neu gebauten Yacht "Seaexplorer" gegen vier andere Teams angetreten: fünf Menschen auf engstem Raum, die sich aufeinander verlassen, jeder Handgriff muss sitzen, bei Sturm wie bei Flaute.

The Horn’s First Master is the gripping true story of a man who took on the deadliest sea on Earth. In 1834, Croatian-born Captain Pietro Giacomo Leva steered an Austro-Hungarian brigantine through the world’s most feared waters and into legend. With towering waves, freezing winds, and brutal conditions, Cape Horn was the ultimate test of skill, courage, and command. Leva passed that test — and carved his name into the history of both his island and his empire. Blending vivid maritime history with sharp-eyed narrative, The Horn’s First Master charts Austria’s unlikely bid for ...

In 1870, a man took a bet. He said he could sail a twenty-foot yawl across the Atlantic. East to west. The hard way. Most men would have laughed. He didn’t. He just went. The Ocean Wager tells the true story of Captain Nikola Primorac, a quiet sailor from Dubrovnik who risked everything to cross the sea in a boat smaller than most lifeboats. No engine. No charts worth trusting. No backup. Just sails, salt, and the will to endure. This is not a tale of glory. There are no parades here. No medals. Just storms and silence. Just two men and a dog, soaked and half-mad, crawling across a grey ...