Re: [Paddlewise] Sea Kayaking Literature?

"Steven W. Jarvis" wrote:
> 
> Paddlewisers,
> 
> I'm relatively new to touring kayaking, and when I really get into
> something, I like to delve into the literature of it (both the "literary"
> and the instructional). 

Here are some recommendations:

"Day of Two Sunsets" by Michael Blades is an excellent book. It does a
wonderful job of capturing the essence of kayak touring in the Pacific
Northwest.  

"Seekers of the Horizon", a collection of kayaking essays edited by Will
Nordby, is another excellent book. It contains stories from around the
world, including Hannes Lindemann's account of his epic voyage across
the Atlantic, an interesting story by John Bauman about his
circumnavigation of Iceland, and a story by Nordby about a trip to
Glacier Bay (which contains an interesting account of a bear that had a
paddler for dinner--quite literally, I'm sorry to say).

Regarding instructional books, in addition to the Hutchinson book I
would suggest that you read the basic manuals written by John Dowd,
Randel Washburne, and Nigel Foster, each of which is excellent. This
should give you a diversity of opinions. I also strongly recommend the
Broze manuals that can be found on the Mariner Kayaks web site
(www.marinerkayaks.com). An excellent primer on marine weather is Jeff
Renner's "Northwest Marine Weather", which focuses on the Northwest but
has a lot of information of more general interest (presented in an
exceptionally clear manner). From there you can move on to more advanced
weather texts. And by all means read the Burch book on kayak navigation.
This should help get you started.

Oh yeah, one more recommendation. For a portrayal of the stunning
potential of the human spirit, read Alfred Lansing's "Endurance".
Reading this book will inspire you never to give up.

Dan Hagen
Bellingham, Washington
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