Resource List

This is a page of resources that can be found on-line and most are absolutely free! My thanks to Michael Moradzedeh of the Passport Owners Association of America.

1. CHARTING RESOURCES

• SeaClear II – A free PC program that displays Electronic Navigational Charts from the U.S. Government. It works with GPS input, too, converting your laptop into a plotcharter.
• Free Electronic Charts – Your tax dollars at work! These are the SAME source materials that go into your printed charts.
• Marine Planner.com – Weather and raster charts for the whole world. Free Cap’n-based chart viewer available. A modest fee is charged.
• Chart Number 1. Explains ALL the symbols. Why pay?
• Chart Users Manual. Download all (a PC program) or just some.
• Light Lists: The descriptions and lat/long of ALL the markers the Coast Guard knows about. It comes in several volumes. The Pacific Coast and Islands list is here, and there are the corrections.

2. NAVIGATION AND PILOTING RESOURCES

• COLREGS: the official navigation rules. These make for interesting reading, and are the ultimate authority on such items as whether the seaplane has right of way over the submarine. One MB pdf file.
• American Practical Navigator The classic and comprehensive reference on navigation. Updated yearly. Serious boaters should have a copy of this onboard.
• Sight Reduction Tables are available here. If you're using (or learning to use) celestial navigation, this is essential.

3. HF Communications

• Coast Guard Watchkeeping schedule. It's good to know who's listening and when.
• Complete list of HF Channels. A reference document.

4. Ripping Great Yarns of the Sea

The 1800s and early 1900s constituted a golden age of recreational exploration by sail. Jack London, for example, wrote many books based on his experiences. Guess what! Their copyrights have expired! Project Gutenberg (a non-governmental effort to digitize every book ever printed) makes them freely available. Every book published overseas or prior to 1923 (in the US) is probably on this site and can be downloaded at no cost. Shakespeare's copyright has also expired. Download any and read while at sea.

• The House of Pride and Other Tales of Hawaii (Jack London) Short Stories of Hawaii.
• On The Makaloa Mat (Jack London) More Hawaiian short stories.
• Cruise Of The Snark (Jack London) This one is charming and true. Jack, his wife, and a few friends build a yacht to sail to the South Seas. His diatribe against boatyards is classic.
• Two Years Before The Mast. (Richard Henry Dana) Great story of an 1800s lawyer gone to sea as a common sailor. Interesting descriptions of California.
• The Sea Wolf. (Jack London) A challenging captain....
• The Cruise of the Dazzler (Jack London) Young Jack had a nifty voyage sailing around San Francisco Bay.
• Sailing Alone Around The World (Joshua Slocum) It's about sailing. Alone. Around the world. For the very first time! And very well written.
• Sea Fairies, A children's underwater fantasy book by L. Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz.
• Sky Island: being the further exciting adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill after their visit to the sea fairies (L. Frank Baum) A follow-up book to the Sea Fairies.
• 20,000 Leagues Under The Seas (Jules Verne) Have you read it this millenium?
• Three Men In A Boat (Jerome Klapka) Three doofy guys boat up the Thames.

5. Periodicals

The following growing list of periodicals are dedicated to sailing issues.

• Latitude 38: This is a classic sailing magazine full of information useful to sailors on the Pacific coast of the US. There's a free electronic version, too.
• Cruising World: One of America's premier sailing magazines, now with a great electronic version. Be sure to check out the extensive video section where you can watch videos taken from the world over.
• Apparent Wind: a list of online sailing magazines from all over the world.
• Sailing: Your webmaster's favorite sailing magazine. Sailing is a large format magazine with big photos and boat-design reviews by Robert Perry.