Nautical Mind Blog » bargains

Treasures of the Vault… Now on Sale!

Peter — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:15:38 +0000

Deep in the cavernous bowels of Nautical Mind Head Quarters lies a dusty, half-remembered vault. Once a year we throw open its creaking doors, shine high-lumen flashlights in to the dank, and haul out a trove of wondrous artifacts. Left-handed marlinspikes, deadlight bulbs, buckets of prop-wash, deeply discounted calendars, all manner of reasonably-priced boat books, and much more are schlepped from the dark into a waiting truck.

Cavernous Bowels

The assembled crew consists of tall ship captains, yachties, software developers, islanders, and sailors of all stripes. Our zeal for the impending Event makes the load light and the work swift, as we sing Broadway show tunes and pack the truck.

Ramping up the Excitement	Treasures of the Vault
Zeal	Double Zeal

The truck gets sprinkled with drywall dust, which presumably allows it to pass unharmed through the magical Prince’s Gates and arrive at the fabled CNE grounds. Then, drawing on years of experience helming a tug in treacherous arctic waters, the driver deftly slips 30 tons of truck and bargain down the congested aisles of the Direct Energy Centre. Truly a sight to behold, he manages not to crush a single SeaDoo or shipping pallet of radars. Once at our destination, we resume our joyous box flinging, this time unloading the truck and assembling our pop-up bookstore booth. Within moments, we deploy carpets, bookcases, tables, merchandise, POS-terminals, and the treasures of the vault.

Watch out buddy! That's 30 tons of truck and bargain comin' at you!

Joyous Box Flinging

Pop-up Bookstore Booth

At last, the booth is ready for another year of the carnival atmosphere of the Toronto International Boat Show. Come visit us at booth G545 before sundown on Sunday, January 22nd! We look forward to seeing you!

Booth G545. You should come!

Boat Book Gift Ideas, Big and Small

Nautical Mind Bookstore — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:56:00 +0000

These days, the answer to the question “what is a book?” is certainly changing. And while the Nautical Mind is on the brink of offering e-books, we definitely have some pleasing book book alternatives that are anything but standard size. If you can’t make it to our old fashioned brick’n'mortar storefront to browse, go ahead and browse our online catalogue. Perfect for Christmas stockings, purses, book bags, hand luggage – not to mention cockpits and bunks – here are a few of the best:

Reeds Knot Handbook, new this year, is a perfect little item for pocket or bag, for anyone who’s trying to learn the ropes. Its step-by-step photos demonstrate how to tie the most useful knots—and also show what the finished product should look like. Reeds Skipper’s Handbook is more of a quick reference, bursting as it is with the critical basics of navigation, weather, anchoring, mooring, and more. The Boater’s Pocket Reference ranges a little further while remaining compact, covering boating terms, design, construction materials, the rules of the road, seamanship, weather, engines, electronics, and even more.

Maybe you’d prefer to bedeck your hull … with sets of card-sized how-tos? The Chapman Deck of Essential Knots presents 47 knots—each on a water-resistant card. Hand them out as needed (green crew securing a line around a cleat?) or use them to test yourself while relaxing on board. Or maybe you’d like a wider-ranging cockpit quiz session—then you’ll definitely enjoy a set of SeaCards: Flash Cards for Beginners and Advanced Sailors. With more than 450 nautical flash cards, there’s a question to test everyone’s level of seamanship and navigation. Is your crew more interested in pirates, privateers, mutineers, ocean explorations, ingenious inventions, and amazing modern-day solo-circumnavigations? Then Seafaring Navigation & Exploration Quiz Deck fits the bill even better.

For pure fun, Heave Ho: The Little Book of Seasickness is a hilarious little gift for anyone not actually suffering from it. At the other end of the spectrum, Poems of the Sea is a small-is-beautiful gift solution for more soulful sailors.

The Captain’s Quick Guides series covers thirteen topics (an example: Captain’s Quick Guides: Sail Trim and Rig Tuning) in a 14-panel fold-out package, laminated for use on board. Each one is packed with instruction and diagrams. Along the same lines is the Companion series of quick reference guides (see Navigation Companion): handy, splash-proof, spiral-bound at the top, each about 24 pages.

And if “small gift” means “small price tag,” take a look at the Sailing Pocket Companion. At $4.99, it’s a perfect little offering for anyone who wants to know their starboard from their stinkpot, and their raggie from their stern. Want to give a little more? Throw in the Pocket Size Boater’s Companion ($2.99) as well, and you can still give a gift under $10. A small spiral-bound notebook, it’s perfect for boaters who like to keep lists (and check them twice). Slightly larger in size—but still easy on the pocketbook—are Complete Flags of the World ($7.99) and A Visual Guide to Flags of the World ($3.99), both good references for those who like to identify any flag they see.

On the other end of the size, weight, and price scales—and with a correspondingly huge WOW factor—are the books that look great on the living room coffee table and delight on a quiet afternoon or evening at home. Weighing in at just over 4 kg, slip-cased, and definitely dream material, is the Super Yacht Bible. Its gorgeously presented colour photographs are so vivid that you just about feel you are sitting on board. The Spirit of Sailing by Michael Kahn has an equally absorbing but completely different effect. Its hauntingly beautiful sepia-toned images touch our longing for the sea. Opulence is replaced here with recalled sensations—the waves lifting the hull, the creak of the mast when the sails fill and the ship leans her shoulder deeper into the blue.

For those who prefer to read of sailors more than their vessels, there’s the intriguing Face to Face: Ocean Portraits. Yes, it paints perceptive pictures—in both photographs and prose—of seafarers who have spent their lives working or playing at sea.

Finally, the perfect book for anyone writing a cruising bucket list: Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die showcases 50 of the most intriguing sailing destinations, gorgeously photographed, including Georgian Bay’s North Channel.

For even more great, gift ideas please check out our Gift Ideas section.

Vicki de Kleer Discusses the Origins of The Visual Guide to the Flags of the World

Peter — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:14:11 +0000

Sailor, author, and Nautical Mind alumna Vicki de Kleer weighed in with the origins of her innovative and invaluable Visual Guide to the Flags of the World.

A Visual Gudie to the Flags of the World

Vicki de Kleer (L) and the Nautical Mind Staff

Regarding the Visual Guide to the Flags of the World

Usually the first questions regarding the book are “How did you get started with this idea?” followed by “Why do you think it is particularly useful?” In answer, I will tell you that my curiosity about flags started decades ago, when I was first taught how to sail. This was in a particularly busy sea area off the south of England, close to Portsmouth and Southampton. At that time there were many trans-Atlantic liners coming, anchoring, and going. Among them the Queen Mary, Bremen, and Normandie, as well as Naval ships, fishing boats and visiting yachts. So it was fun, and easy to learn what part of the world they came from by their national ensigns. Some of these are the same as the national flag, others are a variation of that, or even completely different. Only Great Britain goes so far as to have three! White specifically for the Navy, blue for Merchant Marine, and everybody else flies what is commonly, if informally, known as the Red Duster. (Protocol is strictly observed, however one morning at our local Sailing Club, a small tent was found flaunting an enormous White Ensign! The inhabitants claimed they ‘found it’, but incidentally at the time there was a lot of Naval activity just off shore, and no further questions were asked. )

Years went by, occasionally my memory was jogged back to flags when sailing to ports in the Azores or the Bahamas. And sometimes by events ashore, such as the Olympic Games. Then in the summer of 2000 there was a Tall Ships Race around the Atlantic. I was fortunate enough to get a crew position on the barque Lord Nelson on the last leg, from Halifax to Amsterdam. The harbour was absolutely packed with assorted ships, thick with masts. And more flags, signals, ensigns and banners flying than one could count! And that was the trigger! I had been using a flag book with nations listed in alphabetical order. That involved thumbing through pages until confronted with the one that matched the one I hoped to identify. Very time consuming and sometimes frustrating! There had to be a better way! And that led to a format similar to a field guide, based on design and colour. There are a limited number of basic geometric flag designs, for instance stripes, which may be horizontal, vertical or diagonal, few or numerous. And there are limited strong colours traditionally used. So the use of the book is centered on two pages of basic patterns. Having determined that, you will be directed to pages arranged by colour. This method will enable you to identify the country of origin of a flag you have seen within about 14 seconds. And that answers the second question. It is uniquely quick and hassle free to use! This was originally written with marine use in mind- it is already aboard some training ships and many yachts. However it is also a reference book in libraries and schools. Sports communities have also been interested during international competitions. Almost indispensable for catching up with who-is-who during the Olympic parade! Needless to say it is particularly useful for travellers,- it only weighs 150 grams! And so for a few dollars that will not strain your pocket book, you will have a vexillological reference volume that will fit in your pocket! I trust that you will find it valuable.

For a limited time, Vicki de Kleer’s Visual Guide to the Flags of the World is $3.99, 70% off the regular price at the Nautical Mind.

A New Shipment of Deeply Discounted Books

Peter — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:26:43 +0000

We recently snapped up lots of great books at amazing prices. These great books include:

32nd America’s Cup: A Photographic Celebration, with striking images and five languages (English, French, Spanish, German, & Italian). It’s usually $99.99, we’re selling it for $19.99
Against The Flow, the inspiring story of a teacher turned record-making yachtswoman by Dee Caffari for $8.99
The Complete Yachtmaster, the fifth edition of the comprehensive classic by Tom Cunliffe, for only $12.99

As well as texts for professional mariners like:

Reed’s Marine Distance Tables for $19.99
Reed’s Mathematical Tables and Engineering Formulae for $9.99

And many more. They’re all in our Bargains section.