During its 67 years in operation, Herreshoff Manufacturing
Co. built some 2,000 vessels — yachts and racers, one designs and daysailers, steam cruisers and motor launches.
Herreshoff: American Masterpieces celebrates the legacy and longevity of these creations — more than 400 exist
today. Co-authors Maynard Bray and Claas van der Linde tell the stories of several Herreshoff boats still afloat,
such as the gaff-rigged cutter Neith, which sank in a hurricane but was rescued and restored; Canvasback, a long and
lean motor launch; and
Joyant, a P-class sloop that was restored after languishing
in a poison ivy thicket for more than 20 years. The book includes previously unpublished original drawings, courtesy
of the Hart Nautical Collection at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and color photos by nautical photographer
Benjamin Mendlowitz. (W.W. Norton & Co., $100)

Snowbirds Take Note

The latest version of Chris Doyle’s Sailors Guide to the Windward Islands includes detailed sketch charts based on the
author’s surveys, aerial photos of anchorages and navigational information, as well as sections on exploring ashore,
provisioning, services for cruisers and making passages between the islands. The guide covers Martinique, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. The information is linked to Doyle’s website, where there are
downloadable town maps, GPS waypoints from his sketch charts and links to local weather, news and more. It picks up
where Doyle’s Cruising Guide to the Southern Leeward Islands ends. (Cruising Guide
Publications, $35)

The Bottom Of The World

A towering rock that rises ominously from the sea lets mariners know they’ve reached Cape Horn and the southern
tip of South America. The Horn has a well-earned reputation as one of the most dangerous places on the planet, and
those who round it can face massive seas, hurricane-force winds and currents that render engines virtually useless. In
The Cape Horners’ Club, Adrian Flanagan — the first solo yachtsman to sail vertically around the world, via Cape
Horn and the Russian Arctic — recounts the history of the Horn and the stories of those who battled the odds to make
it around. (Bloomsbury, $27)

This article originally appeared in the September 2017 issue.