What We’re Watching
Super Solo Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in 1969 became the first person to sail around the world nonstop and singlehanded aboard Suhaili, a 32-foot, teak-planked Bermudan ketch built in Bombay, India. One of nine entrants in the 1968-1969 Golden Globe race, the 29-year-old would be the only one to cross the finish line, taking 313 days to complete the circumnavigation. Since then, the solo skipper has completed many circumnavigations, including sailing in the 1977 Whitbread Round the World Race and winning the Jules Verne Trophy with Kiwi sailor Peter Blake. The story of his life is an interesting tale with twists and turns at every salty segue. The skipper’s story was recently put to film for the documentary Sir Robin-Knox-Johnston: Sailing Legend, a 56-minute documentary that can be viewed on YouTube with a simple search of the title.
More Salty Reads
Cold Comfort
It’s not everyone who seeks out a sailing adventure in the high latitudes of the Arctic and Southern oceans. After all, most sailors lean toward cruising warm climes, not the colder ones. That said, these wild places are home to some of the last rugged seascapes on the planet. And, vast areas once locked in by ice year-round are now more accessible to cruisers. The remoteness of these areas poses challenges, though. Now, a new book written by a pair of experienced polar navigators aims to provide sailors with the wisdom and information they need to travel safely in these majestic, but potentially hazardous, waters. High Latitude Sailing: Self-Sufficient Sailing Techniques for Cold Waters and Winter Seasons covers topics ranging from weather forecasting, safety, anchoring, gear and clothing, to piloting icy waters and more. ($35, Adlard Coles)
Southern Cross
Originally written in 1947 to help cruisers navigate and explore the Intracoastal Waterway between New York and Florida, today Waterway Guide publishes 10 different cruising guides covering the ICW, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Florida Keys and more. Newest to hit bookshelves is the 2021 Southern Waterway Guide, which covers Florida, the Okeechobee Waterway, the Keys and the Gulf Coast to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Inside the covers are hundreds of pages containing information about bridges, shoaling, marina locations, anchorages, GPS waypoints and things to do ashore along the way. ($45, Waterway Guide Media)
SOCIAL NETWORKS
Trawler Life Facebook can be a place of friction, but there are helpful and entertaining groups one can join based on their interests. Trawler Life is a gathering place for like-minded trawler owners who post pictures and videos of their boats and adventures and also share tips for engine troubleshooting, locating hard-to-find parts and more. A Facebook search for “Trawler Life” will set you on the right course.
