As a kid I was fortunate to have parents who started my brothers and I sailing in small boats. At first it was in a Sea Snark and then a 10’ Turnabout (or National 10). Sailing was fun. It was an escape, an adventure and allowed my brothers and I a way to explore our small world. But it was sailing stories that inspired me to sail beyond our little cove and stick our bow out into the ocean.
I was recently thinking of some of the many stories I read as a kid and teenager that motivated my future sailing life. As I look at the list below there were a couple of things that stood out. Most all of the stories were of adventure and exploration. Almost all of the boats were very modest, basic and mostly small. The boats seemed plenty big enough for a kid and also appeared as an achievable dream
Robin Lee Graham on ‘Dove’, Robert Manry on ‘Tinkerbelle’, Lin and Larry Pardey on ‘Cruising on Seraffyn’. Not everyone grows up to want to sail like them but, when you’re young, their adventures seemed within reach. They all had much more noteworthy adventures than mine but they did inspire a passion for sailing which hasn't left me yet.
Whether you're starting young or old here are some of the stories that inspired me.
The first couple of kid stories:
‘Harold and The Purple Crayon’ by Crockett Johnson
‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak
‘Treasure Island’ Robert Lewis Stevenson
Later on:
‘Dove’ by Robin Lee Graham
‘Sailing Around the World Alone’ by Joshua Slocum
‘Tinkerbelle’ by Robert Manry
‘A World of My Own’ by Sir Robin Knox Johnson
‘Cruising in Seraffyn’ by Lin and Larry Pardey
‘Endurance, Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage’ by Alfred Lansing
‘White Sails, Black Clouds’ by John J. McNamara
‘Two on a Big Ocean’ by Hal Roth
'Around the World in Wanderer III' by Eric Hiscock
I know I read quite a few more but this still seems like quite a few. Maybe that's why I didn't get all my books for English class read!
Have any books you read as a kid that inspired you?
Suggested by reader George Hastings:
'Call It Courage' by Armstrong Sperry
