Re: [Paddlewise] books

On Sat, Aug 24, 2002 at 12:47:17PM -0400, jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net wrote:

> My local kayak club is going to start a library. I have already
> donated my well worn copy of Deep Trouble.  What would be your top
> choices for purchase to start a library? Our club has made great
> strides this summer in the areas of skills and safety.  It would be
> great if we could keep the momentum going.

In the area of books dedicated to kayaking safety, there are really
only two (note I said dedicated, rather than touch upon).  They are:

 - "Sea Kayak Rescue: The Definitive Guide to Modern Reentry and
   Recovery Techniques"
   by Roger Schumann, Jan Shriner, Christopher Cunningham
 - "Sea Kayaking: Safety & Rescue"
   by John Lull, Paul McHugh

You've received recommendations already for both.  I've had the former
about since it came out.  The latter just arrived (or, more correctly,
pieces of it did -- Amazon can't pack books these days worth a
tinker's &%#$!).

As to the skills bit, there are so many kayaking books that cover
skills as part of their content, that you either
 1) wind up buying them all, or 
 2) buying those whose style appeals to you, or
 3) buying one "good" one and then adding to that as you find others
    that cover material absent in the first.

I'll put in a plug for "The Essential Sea Kayaker" by David Seidman.
What I like about it is that he doesn't cop an altitude (do it my way
or don't bother, the BCU says this or that, or whatever) and he
encourages you to experiment on your own and learn that way (which is
how he learned much of what he did, apparently).

If you're after comprehensive coverage of a topic (i.e., buying pretty
much everything dedicated to just that), another area that's pretty
easy to cover is rolling.  The only two books dedicated to just that
of which I'm aware of are:

 - "Eskimo Rolling"
   by Derek C. Hutchinson
 - "PADDLING ON THE EDGE THE BOMBPROOF ROLL AND BEYOND!"
   by Paul Dutky

The latter is a whitewater book, but plenty of sea boaters have it on
their shelves.

Another area are worth considering for you library are videos, which
I've not seen mentioned.  Here are some recommendations (there are far
fewer videos on the market than there are books):

- Performance Sea Kayaking
- In The Surf!
   (both of the above from Performance Video) 
- Brent Reitz Forward Stroke Clinic
   (specialized, but what we do most is "paddle forward", well
    received by Sea Kayaker mag)
- Grace Under Pressure: Learning Kayak Roll
- The Kayak Roll
   (these two are pretty much it on rolling)
- Capsize Recoveries & Rescue Procedures
   (2-video set from University of Sea Kayaking)

Finally, it always nice to peek at others book shelves.  Her are a few
links to some respectable places on the web that allow you to do just
that:

- The Maine Kayak Company
  (they provide some of the country's best BCU-based instruction -- or
   so more than a few say)
  reading list link
    http://www.maineislandkayak.com/pdf/lib_readinglist.pdf
  (it's a PDF file, so make sure you've got Acrobat Reader around)
- Body Boat Blade Intl.
  (run, I believe, by two of the three people who'll be doing a "Kayak
   Around Iceland Expedition" in 2003 -- the third is Chris Duff of
   "On Celtic Tides" fame)
  reading list link
    http://www.bodyboatblade.com/else-reference.htm

Well, I've rambled on long enough.  I hope something above is of use.
The best to you and your budding library.

-.- jwd
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