Sailing Classics

A retired, Canadian firefighter with a dream of adventure sails his new boat from The Virgin Islands to Grenada, and then across the Caribbean Sea to the USA. Picking up his 2 dogs he continues up and down the east coast and across the Bahamas, gaining experience as a dream of circumnavigating the planet begins to form. A true story beginning in 2012, this first half concludes with the Bénéteau 423 being outfitted in North Carolina in 2015, ready to depart for Panama. Dramatic, often moving, or incredibly funny, it is a tale of confronting the unknown, told with heart.

Nearly two thousand years ago, an anonymous Greek-speaking merchant recorded the sea routes connecting Roman Egypt with eastern Africa, Arabia, and India. His practical handbook—known today as The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea—preserves an extraordinary firsthand picture of commerce across the ancient Indian Ocean. Port by port, the author identifies anchorages, sailing distances, seasonal winds, local rulers, dangerous waters, and the goods exchanged at each destination. Ivory and tortoise shell leave Africa; frankincense and myrrh come from Arabia; pepper, pearls, gemstones, cotton, ...

Humphrey van Weyden led a privileged existence during his early life, but suddenly finds himself cast into the sea, fighting for survival. Pitted against ruthless captain Wolf Larsen, van Weyden's courage and determination allows him to fight adversity and learn valuable lessons along the way, in this American classic originally published in 1904.

Treasure Island: A Telling for the New World is an eight-hour audio mini-series, based on the classic by R.L. Stevenson. The adaptation resets the story in the Bayous of Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans, and the Caribbean in 1828. This fully dramatized production stars the voices of Keith...

Written some 40 years after Moby Dick, Melville's Billy Budd is a moving tale of good versus evil. Set aboard a British navy ship at the end of the eighteenth century, a young, innocent sailor's charm and good nature put the men around him at ease. Ship life agreed with Billy. He made friends quickly and was well liked, which infuriated John Claggart, the ship's cold-blooded superior officer.

Frank Johnson no longer fits in the army. The world he'd built up over twenty years of service to the USA doesn't work anymore, as much because of what the Merge did to him as what it did to the world. Francisco wasn't one for following inconvenient rules, and following the rules following orders, is central to what a modern soldier is. Meanwhile, Francisco, his other self, the other side of his Merge, is trying to do something important. Something that Frank fully approves of, But to do it, Francisco desperately needs supplies and a link back to Earth. So Frank takes his twenty, hocks his ...

A gripping intellectual adventure story, Sailing from Byzantium sweeps you from the deserts of Arabia to the dark forests of northern Russia, from the colorful towns of Renaissance Italy to the final moments of a millennial city under siege.

A Roman governor sails the Black Sea—and reports what he finds directly to the emperor. Written in the form of a letter to Hadrian, Arrian’s Periplus of the Euxine Sea is at once an inspection report, a practical sailing guide, and a remarkable work of ancient travel literature. Its dramatic setting belongs to 131/132, when Arrian governed the frontier province of Cappadocia and commanded Roman forces along the eastern Black Sea. Arrian begins at Trapezus, modern Trabzon, and follows the coast eastward past rivers, harbors, forts, and client kingdoms. He records sailing distances, ...

Two Years Before the Mast is an 1840 memoir by the author Richard Henry Dana. A Harvard graduate, he spent the years 1834 to 1836 as a sailor on a merchant ship on a voyage from Boston to California. The journey took them past Cape Horn on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet. Dana provides detailed descriptions of ship life and the technical aspects of sailing. A chapter on California and its inhabitants offers valuable historical insights on the state which was then a foreign land.

The third, fourth and fifth series of the nautical comedy, plus Christmas Special and The TV Lark The Navy Lark gang are back for more seafaring shenanigans… Collected here are the complete Series 3, 4 and 5 of the much-loved show, including the long-lost episode ‘The Cornish Exercise’...

When a young boy named Jim Hawkins finds a treasure map and narrowly escapes pirates searching for it, he brings it to Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney, who immediately outfit a schooner named The Hispaniola and bring Jim along as cabin boy to retrieve the buried treasure. However, as they near...

As founder and editor of the highly successful magazine Latitudes & Attitudes, he surveys and comments on the good and the bad, the funny and the sad, the practical and the theoretical of the sailing scene. This collection of his editorials and other writings is full of useful advice, keen observations and, yes, some outrageous comments, the way only Bob can put them on paper.

The first two series of the vintage seafaring comedy – plus Special The Wrens’ Reunion One of BBC Radio’s most popular and long-running sitcoms, The Navy Lark sailed the airwaves for an impressive 15 series between 1959 and 1977. Included here are the complete Series 1 and 2, featuring the...

Sailing is an international sport that offers many rewards. Imagine white sails billowing against a clear sky, the brisk feel of the breeze on your face, and the gentle motions of the boat as it cleanly slices through the water. While sailing is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, it also requires you to be an active participant more than almost any other type of boating.

In his critically acclaimed novel Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay told a vivid and powerful story inspired by China’s Tang Dynasty. Now, the international bestselling and multiple award-winning author revisits that invented setting four centuries later – a world inspired this time by the...

“Woe to the man whose heart has not learned while young to hope, to love—and to put its trust in life!” In an effort to avoid heartbreak and suffering, Axel Heyst has closed off his heart to the world. Raised by a single father, a philosopher with an exceedingly pessimistic view of...

The sixth and seventh series of the much-loved comedy, plus the 1965 Christmas Special All aboard HMS Troutbridge for maritime mishaps and merriment, as the crew return from eventful leave and sail into more trouble. This collection contains the complete Series Six and Seven of the long-running...

Deadeye. Death at the Classic Regatta. A mystery yacht has washed up on an Antiguan beach and the crew is missing. A blood trace leads to a murder investigation. Michael 'Harry' Harris, a young English deckhand, is charged with the murder of his boat captain. Harry begs the help of the local boatbuilder's fiery daughter, Sylvie Copeland. Together they battle a ruthless Swiss financier willing to do anything to cover up an international conspiracy. Just what happened onboard the yacht that night and will Harry and Sylvie become the next victims? Set in the Caribbean amid its lush backdrop, ...

The tenth and eleventh series of the side-splitting Senior Service spoof Left hand down a bit! The clueless crew of HMS Troutbridge have returned to port after months at sea, and are soon getting into more hilarious scrapes... Included here are the complete Series Ten and Eleven of the...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2017 SHORTLISTED FOR THE LONDON HELLENIC PRIZE 2017 WINNER OF THE PRIX MÉDITERRANÉE 2018 From the award-winning, best-selling writer: a deeply moving tale of a father and son’s transformative journey in reading – and reliving – Homer’s epic...