Born in the dusty heart of Oklahoma in 1916, ten-year-old Melvin dreams of living in Alaska. Nearly fifty year later, he builds a boat in his Arkansas back yard, launches it on the Arkansas River, and cruises it to Alaska by way of the Panama Canal. Melvin has never been south of the United States border and has never been on a boat in the open ocean. "Learn by doing," he says. A true story of courage, endurance, and survival, South to Alaska chronicles Melvin's 10,000-mile journey through a watery world he knows little about, to a world he cannot forget.

From Susan Casey, bestselling author of The Devil’s Teeth, an astonishing book about colossal,  ship-swallowing rogue waves and the surfers who seek them out. For centuries, mariners have spun tales of gargantuan waves, 100-feet high or taller. Until recently scientists dis­missed these stories—waves that high would seem to violate the laws of physics. But in the past few decades, as a startling number of ships vanished and new evidence has emerged, oceanographers realized something scary was brewing in the planet’s waters. They found their proof in February 2000, when a British research vessel was trapped in a vortex of impossibly mammoth waves in the North Sea—including several that approached 100 feet.As scientists scramble to understand this phenomenon, others view the giant waves as the ultimate challenge. These are extreme surfers who fly around the world trying to ride the ocean’s most destructive monsters. The pioneer of extreme surfing is the legendary Laird Hamilton, who, with a group of friends in Hawaii, figured out how to board suicidally large waves of 70 and 80 feet. Casey follows this unique tribe of peo­ple as they seek to conquer the holy grail of their sport, a 100­-foot wave.In this mesmerizing account, the exploits of Hamilton and his fellow surfers are juxtaposed against scientists’ urgent efforts to understand the destructive powers of waves—from the tsunami that wiped out 250,000 people in the Pacific in 2004 to the 1,740-foot-wave that recently leveled part of the Alaskan coast.Like Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, The Wave brilliantly portrays human beings confronting nature at its most ferocious.

The bestselling book that became the blockbuster film starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Diane Lane.In October 1991, three weather systems collided off the coast of Nova Scotia to create a storm of singular fury, boasting waves over one hundred feet high. Among its victims was the Gloucester, Massachusetts-based swordfishing boat the Andrea Gail, which vanished with all six crew members aboard. "Drifting down on swimmers is standard rescue procedure, but the seas are so violent that Buschor keeps getting flung out of reach. There are times when he's thirty feet higher than the men trying to rescue him. . . . [I]f the boat's not going to Buschor, Buschor's going to have to go to it. SWIM! they scream over the rail. SWIM! Buschor rips off his gloves and hood and starts swimming for his life." It was the storm of the century, boasting waves over one hundred feet high a tempest created by so rare a combination of factors that meteorologists deemed it "the perfect storm." When it struck in October 1991, there was virtually no warning. "She's comin' on, boys, and she's comin' on strong," radioed Captain Billy Tyne of the Andrea Gail off the coast of Nova Scotia, and soon afterward the boat and its crew of six disappeared without a trace. In a book taut with the fury of the elements, Sebastian Junger takes us deep into the heart of the storm, depicting with vivid detail the courage, terror, and awe that surface in such a gale. Junger illuminates a world of swordfishermen consumed by the dangerous but lucrative trade of offshore fishing, "a young man's game, a single man's game," and gives us a glimpse of their lives in the tough fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts; he recreates the last moments of the Andrea Gail crew and recounts the daring high-seas rescues that made heroes of some and victims of others; and he weaves together the history of the fishing industry, the science of storms, and the candid accounts of the people whose lives the storm touched, to produce a rich and informed narrative. The Perfect Storm is a real-life thriller that will leave readers with the taste of salt air on their tongues and a sense of terror of the deep. 8 pages of illustrations

The boatowner's foremost troubleshooting guide, now better than ever If it's on a boat and it has screws, wires, or moving parts, it's covered in Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual. When you leave the dock with this book aboard, you have at your fingertips the best and most comprehensive advice on: Battery technologies 12- and 24-volt DC systems Corrosion, bonding, and lightning protection Generators, inverters, and battery chargers Electric motors and electric lights Marine electronics, antennas, and RFI Diesel engines Transmissions, shaft brakes, and propellers Refrigeration and air-conditioning Tanks, plumbing, and through-hulls Pumps and watermakers Steering, autopilots, and wind vanes Stoves and heaters Winches, windlasses, and bow thrusters Spars, rigging, and roller reefing "If you had to choose a single book to help you assess and maintain your boat gear, this would be it."—Practical Sailor "A truly remarkable bible. . . . This book is the best of its kind."—WoodenBoat "A major achievement. . . . It would be hard to imagine anything going wrong on a boat that couldn't be figured out with this book."—Sailing World "The world's best technical reference and troubleshooting book."—Sailing Inland and Offshore "This manual will be of lasting interest to anyone who wants to know how their boat works, what has gone wrong when it doesn't, and how it could be fixed."—Classic Boat "Without becoming too complex, the book covers almost every imaginable mechanical or electrical matter in the marine environment."—Work Boat World "Calder lives what he writes, . . . [and] what he offers . . . is practical solutions to problems associated with increasingly complex marine systems. . . . [A] bargain for anyone in the construction and repair side of the boat business."—Professional Boatbuilder

Interested in learning to sail but feel like you’re navigating in murky waters? Sailing for Dummies, Second Edition introduces the basics of sailing, looks at the different types of sailboats and their basic parts, and teaches you everything you need to know before you leave the dock.In Sailing for Dummies, Second Edition, two U.S. sailing champions show you how to:Find and choose a sailing schoolUse life jackets correctlyTie ten nautical knotsHandle sailing emergencies (such as capsizing and rescuing a man overboard)Launch your boat from a trailer, ramp, or beachGet your boat from point A to point B (and back again)Predict and respond to water and wind conditionsRead charts, plot your course, use a compass, and find your position at seaSailing for Dummies shows you that getting out on the water is easier than you think. The authors keep the sailor-speak to a minimum where possible, but give you a grasp of the terminology you need to safely and effectively communicate with your crew. A textbook, user’s manual, and reference all in one, this book takes the intimidation out of sailing and gives you the skills and confidence you need to get your feet wet and become the sailing pro you’ve always wanted to be. Anchors away!

This book contains a complete copy of the Inland and International Navigation Rules as presented by the United States Coast Guard. In addition all Notice to Mariners updates to date, 1/1/2012 are incorporated within the text. The Coast Guard requires that an up-to-date copy of Navigation Rules such as this one be carried on all vessels 12 meters (39 feet) or more in length at all times. We have also included detailed instructions on how to log on to the NIMA website to monitor Notice to Mariner notifications so you can keep your book up-to-date. This book also includes an annotated table of contents to help the reader find the rule they seek; no such feature is found in the government edition.

It’s no secret: most triathletes are weak swimmers. Improving your swim will make you a faster, more confident triathlete, and you’ll enjoy your time in the water.Swim Workouts for Triathletes, 2nd Ed. will help you develop real swimming speed. This waterproof book of 75 swim workouts provides the structure, variety, and drills triathletes need to become more efficient and faster swimmers. Each workout is designed around a specific goal—endurance, speed, form, muscular endurance, or anaerobic endurance—making it easy to prepare for events of different distances and improve all-around swimming skill.Supplement your current training plan with these workouts or use one of the book's four swim training plans to prepare for triathlon's most popular swim distances. You’ll improve your efficiency and feel for the water with illustrated technique drills. New 30-minute workouts help slower swimmers or those with limited pool time get up to speed.Swim Workouts for Triathletes means no more swimming in circles. Take this waterproof book to the pool with you, and you’ll be swimming real workouts that will make you a faster swimmer and a better triathlete. 

Often humorous, sometimes chilling, always intriguing, these true stories describe the exploits of such notorious maritime marauders as Blackbeard, Henry Morgan, Jean Lafitte, Captain Kidd, and other lesser known but equally cutthroat brigands. Stockton writes of "a grim subject in a spirit both comic and romantic."— The Dictionary of American Biography.