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. Jim et al *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Sat, 24 Aug 2002 12:47:17 -0400, jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net wrote: > What would be your top choices for purchase to start a library? This is ours: http://www.havkajakroerne.dk/php/phpwiki/index.php/Bibliotek -- steen --- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Sea Kayak Rescue by Schumann & Shriner Seakayaking Safety & Rescue by Lull Skinbaots of Greenland by Petersen All other books I recommend were already mentioned by other people Cheers Ulli *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> From: jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net > 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? I've got a pretty large sea kayaking library. Here are my top choices: 1) Sea Kayaking - A manual for Long-Distance Touring by John Dowd, fourth edition Of all the general kayaking books I own, this is the one book I recommend to everyone if they could only choose one. You can feel the practical experience ooze out of this book as you read it. It is obvious that Mr. Dowd has 'been there, done that'. Most of the general sea kayaking books say much the same thing, but this one is a noticeable step above the others. This is also probably the best book for those learning to put the "sea" into their sea kayaking. 2) Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation by David Burch I learn (or re-learn) something new every time I pick this book up. A bit heavy for a beginner, but the beauty of this book is you can read it once and come away with a basic level of understanding about navigation. As your experience in kayaking navigation improves, you can read it again and come away with an even deeper understanding. I've gone through this book four times, and I'm still learning and understanding new things. 3) Sea Kayak Rescue by Roger Schumann and Jan Shiner If you have been through the BCU, ACA or a commercial safety/rescue class, you probably don't need this book. But it is refreshing to see an entire book dedicated to rescues - not just a chapter. Lots of pictures and interspersed with real life stories makes this an excellent book for folks who are unable to attend training, or who would like to polish up their book knowledge of rescues. 4) Sea Kayaking Safety & Rescue - by John Lull For those that want to progress beyond the basic rescue/recoveries described in the Sea Kayak Rescue book, I can recommend this as your next stop. Careful, I don't recommend a beginner take on these topics until they have built a firm foundation in basic skills and rescues. But this book is the best next logical choice. The light but adequate coverage of self/assisted rescues leads me to believe the author expects you to already know these basics, so I still recommend the book by Schumann/Shriner first. 5) Travels With a Kayak by Whit Descher Not a _technical_ book, but one to lift your spirits. The best way to describe this book would be "Dave Barry goes white water kayaking". Almost no mention of the on-water technical stuff, but full of silly banter on getting to put-ins around the world. An excerpt from the chapter on paddling in Pakistan: Andy and I jeeped down past the river's carnivorous part then joined it and Slime [Slime was the trip leader], Marcus, and Mike once more. We paddled to the village of Balakot and here, above the final boulder garden, I asked Slime something I'd been wondering about for the last three weeks. I said, "Slime, you're the leader. What are you doing back here?" "It's called hindsight." "But hindsight is _after_ the fact." "Sure, you watch where everyone disappears in this next drop and avoid that spot. Follow me and you won't get in trouble." "Slime, I've been trying to follow you for weeks now but you always grab and hog the last possible microscopic eddy above each drop. Anyone behind you is committed to a thrashing." "That's experience." Woody *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I don't think this one has been mentioned: Shelley Johnson (2002), The Complete Sea Kayaker's Handbook, Ragged Mountain Press (an update of the Woman's Guide book) Great introduction to everything you want to know about sea kayaking, beautifully written, with almost nothing for me to criticize (a rare event)! -Paul *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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