Too many years ago to remember, while living a land-locked life in Alberta, having never dreamed of sailing before, I somehow came into possession of a book called “An Embarrassment of Mangoes” by Ann Vanderhoof.  The story of an Ontario couple stepping away from their lives to experience life in the Caribbean was truly my first inkling that people really do run away from home to live on a sailboat.

It was about the time that I read this book that my step-dad got a sailboat, sailing her on a lake west of Edmonton.   I would only sail with them once or twice a year, and generally the sailing wasn’t too spectacular, but being on the water, seeing how the boat responded to any changes to the sails – it was fascinating, and I was hooked!

There are so many amazing books related to sailing – whether they be the practical, every boat should carry these types of books (I am looking at you Nigel Calder!) or the fantastic adventures of brave souls single handing around the world (with the reemergence of the Golden Globe race this year, I would highly recommend “A Voyage for Madmen” – it tells the story of the first Golden Globe race, and the sometimes tragic results) or stories about your “average” person or couple who just head out to experience a bit more of the world, or, depending on how you look at it, a bit less of their normal world, there is truly a book for everyone or every situation.

While I could hardly make a dent in the list of the sailing books that I have devoured, and loved over the years (we have entire bookshelves in our house dedicated to this subject!), I can say that I have absolutely loved “Love with a Chance of Drowning” by Torre DeRoche and “Maiden Voyage” by Tania Aebi and I have made nearly everyone I know read both!

Books help us join these people as they explore the world, and feed our desire to see these places, do these things.  I don’t know if it would have ever occurred to me to set out to sail away from North America if not for Ann Vanderhoof’s story – perhaps something else would have inspired me – but I do know that for me, that was the first inspiration.

What was yours?  What made you want to sail away, or climb a mountain, or just move away from your home town?  Is there a book, or a story, or a movie that put that idea in your head?

It is truly amazing how small the world can be when we allow the adventures of others to open our eyes to what lies beyond the borders of our town, province, country.  For now, as we plan, and save and work on the boat, I will continue to visit distant shores via the books that tell the stories of other people’s adventures.  Maybe someday, I can put my own adventure into the pages of a book?!

What is your favorite sailing related book?