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Ontario Sailor Book Reviews: March 2015

Once again, we’re pleased to present the most current set of book reviews from Ontario Sailor magazine.

 

The Sea Among Us
By Richard Beamish, Gordon McFarlane
Hardcover, 384 pages

The Straight of Georgia, lying between the B.C. coast and Vancouver Island, is home to Canada’s largest seaport and two-thirds of the province’s population, but also a wide diversity of sea life. In essence a large sea, these waters support the world’s densest population of harbour seals, largest concentration of bald eagles, biggest octopus (Pacific giant) and longest marine plant (bull kelp). This book is an exhaustive study of the area, and opens with details on geology, fish and marine life, and concludes with the impact people have had on the area through fishing, logging and other activities. The authors, both scientists who live on Vancouver island, warn that the ecosystem is one of the most threatened in Canada and have written this book for the enjoyment of the general public to connect people with the water and promote stewardship. Royalties from book sales go to the Pacific Salmon Foundation. The writers rely on many other scientists as chapter authors, although the text is fast-flowing and written in plain English without scientific jargon. There are lots of colourful photos, graphics and illustrations.

Bluewater Sailing on a Budget: How to Find and Buy a Cruising Sailboat for Under $50,000Bluewater Sailing on a Budget
By Captain Jim Elfers
Softcover, 168 pages

If you are shopping for a yacht to take bluewater cruising than this is the book for you. Northern California based sailor and marine surveyor Jim Elfers, who has sailed more than 50,000 miles and worked for seven years at a marina in Baja California in Mexico, offers up 20 seaworthy boats that are available for under $50,000 that are worthy of coastal or far-off ocean voyages. The overall boat price was chosen because most people can save up that amount in a few years and head off into the sunset. The book details how to source and buy the ideal cruising yacht and how to deal with yacht brokers and marine surveyors. The list of good boats includes the Niagara 35, Beneteau First 38, Ericson 38, C & C 40, O’Day 39/40, Catalina 36, Canadian Sailcraft 36T, Pearson 36-2, Hunter 37 cutter, Tartan 37, Tayana 37 and the Pearson 40 (honorable mention). Each yacht gets a chapter that details the “good, bad and ugly” about the boat. Okay buyers, warm up those engines and get prepared before you head out on that shopping trip.

 

Henry Hudson, Doomed Navigator & Explorer
By Anthony Dalton
Softcover, 139 pages

British Columbia based author Anthony Dalton, who has written 13 non-fiction books mainly about the sea, ships and boats (The Graveyard of the Pacific, Sir John Franklin, Baychimo: Arctic Ghost Ship), has delved into the life of British explorer Henry Hudson and his four Arctic voyages in search of the elusive Northwest Passage and a trade route to the Orient. Hudson had followed other explorers like John Cabot (1496-98), his son Sebastian Cabot (1509), and Martin Frobisher (1576-78) to find a shorter route to China. The author says Hudson was determined and ambitious and his discoveries of Hudson Bay and many rivers helped to open up North America, but the explorer was also reckless and obsessive, which led to “clouded judgment” and “disastrous choices” that ended in mutiny after his ship became iced in for a winter in the Canadian Arctic in 1610-11. This is the story of the other Henry Hudson that you won’t find in most history books.

 

NipissingNipissing, Historic Waterway, Wilderness Playground
By Francoise Noel
Softcover, 270 pages

Nipissing University history professor Francoise Noel took some time off to research the history of tourism in the area of Lake Nipissing, which is located northeast of Georgian Bay and drains into the Great Lakes basin through the French River. She says the project was sparked by the effect the birth in 1934 of the Dionne quintuplets had on tourism in the area. The author researched the birth extensively and unearthed provincial road maps and other tourism literature that lists details of the Dionne births like the location of the nursery where people could visit, the home town of the doctor who gave birth to the five babies and other details that were designed to bring tourists into northern Ontario. From 1935 to 1943, the trip to Quintland was the most popular motor trip, with over 3 million making the pilgrimage. The research includes the importance of fishing and hunting as a way to draw tourists to nearby towns like North Bay from the 1870s to the early 1950s and the importance of the railways during these early years of travel. Later, the car opened up the area to wilderness seekers and those who wanted to see some pretty remarkable babies.

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