Favourite Sea Stories

What's your favourite story of the sea?

Youth by Joseph Conrad, and Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl are two of my favourites.

(Edited to add touchstones)

Man, why isn't this group more active? it would be perfect for me...

South Sea Tales by Jack London, In the South Seas by Stephenson and We, the drowned by Carsten Jensen are the first that springs to mind.

For all it's moralistic preching, I also really enjoyed Captains Courageous when I read it.

Nonfiction:
In The Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick, the basis for the novel Moby-Dick. See also his brief, entertaining, and very helpful Why Read Moby-Dick.
Adrift: 76 Days Lost At Sea by Steven Callahan
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
Sailing Alone Around The World by Joshua Slocum
American Sea Writing: A Literary Anthology

Fiction:
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Typhoon by Joseph Conrad

Much of Conrad and Melville concerns being at sea.

>3 barney67: I've heard good things about Sailing Alone Around the World. Slocum was quite the adventurer. I've always wanted to try a great adventure like that, but of course I have a million excuses not to...

One thing that I've noticed when reading many sea stories (fiction or non-fiction) is how multi-national the crews were, in the old sailing days. So many sailors deserted or died of scurvy and other diseases that the captain was forced to recruit whoever he could find at the next port. (Think of Queequeg in Moby Dick, for example.) It makes you wonder how they all communicated with each other.

Philbrick makes a point of the multiracial makeup of the Pequod's crew in his book Why Read Moby Dick. And, I think, in Heart of the Sea when it comes to the history of whaling. There were, at times, all-black ship crews.

In The Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
Treasure Island

The Annapolis Book of Seamanship

I've never traveled and likely never will, but I send myself on little vacations imagining sea journeys. I handle the boat on these journeys, so figured I should learn how to imagine doing that.

Steve: when you go on your imaginary journeys, what type of boat do you sail? A yacht, clipper, outrigger...?

I like to browse websites that sell yachts-- just to dream. Some used yachts are surprisingly affordable, and cost no more than an SUV. Of course, I'd have to learn to sail first... And convince my wife its a good idea (which would be harder!)

MadPoet: Lately a 90ft Swan sloop, replacing a 60ft sloop because there just wasn't enough imaginary room. Once a 29ft ocean-going rowboat, but I'll never do that again.

For sea stories that I don't tell myself, I especially liked The Nigger of the Narcissus, despite it's unfortunate name, but most Conrad and much of London works fine.

Sweet! That's what I call a sailboat! How much does it cost? Never mind: it's well outside my tax bracket.

Conrad is great for sea stories, I agree. Haven't read that one yet, though.

Madpoet: I heard that one Swan 90 tricked out for serious racing (carbon-fiber spars and deck, lightweight everything, kevlar sails) cost USD15 million (93,183,000 yuan). So I'll be saving up for a while.

For sea stories I'll include We, The Navigators, about traditional Polynesian navigation techniques. Remarkable techniques considering how big the South Pacific is and how tiny the islands. The author describes a voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti on a modern sailboat with a traditional Polynesian navigator, along with providing considerable historical information.

Steve, I'll have to look that one up.

$15 million? That's what I guessed: just a tad beyond my budget. But it's fun to dream. Maybe I could serve on the crew....

Running Away to the Sea by Douglas Fetherling. The subtitle is" Round the World on a Tramp Freighter."