Boating Books Review: Hiding In Plain Sight

Hiding In
Plain Sight

More than 70 islands dot the seascape between New York Harbor and Fishers Island Sound on the New England coast. You might recognize well-known names such as Shelter Island, Fire Island and Gardiners Island, but chances are you don’t know about Money Island, Pot Island and Rats Island. Author Thomas Halaczinsky visits them all in Archipelago New York, a photographic and literary logbook that follows the route of European adventurer Adriaen Block, the first person to explore and map the area. Halaczinsky retraces the journey in his 30-foot sailboat and discovers an enchanted island world that’s been hiding in plain sight. ($30, Schiffer)

Crossing The Connecticut

Before there were bridges, ferries were the primary way for people and goods to cross the Connecticut River, which runs about 410 miles from upper New Hampshire to Long Island Sound. One ferry, with a Connecticut run between Rocky Hill and Glastonbury, began service in 1655 and today is the longest continuously
operating ferry service in the United States. It’s
one of more than 100 ferries that have plied the Connecticut River since the 17th century, each with its own unique story. In Connecticut River Ferries: A Long History of River Crossing, authors Stephen Jones and Wick Griswold animate characters such as Katherine Hepburn, ferry queen Cathey LaBonte and Capt. Ham Sandwich, and tell the stories that tied them together. ($22, The History Press)

Solo Seamanship

It was more than 50 years ago when Robin Knox-Johnston set sail from Falmouth, United Kingdom, to participate in the

Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first nonstop solo sailing race around the world. Nearly a year later, his was the only boat to finish, and he became the first man to complete a nonstop solo navigation. Since then, Knox-Johnston completed three more circumnavigations under sail. Knox-Johnston has put those experiences on paper in his new book, Knox-Johnston On Seamanship and Seafaring. The first half focuses on the seamanship, skills and gear required to complete a circumnavigation, and the second half details Knox-Johnston’s experiences and memories of being at sea. ($23, Fernhurst Books)

This article originally appeared in the September 2018 issue.