Books, Boats, and Films

Joshua Slocum on Spray (first man to single-hand Sailing Alone Around The World)

With the cool Holiday season coming around the bend and nights getting longer, we might be spending more time in the cabin. So here are some true boating movies that have real boats on the water and not all filmed on a studio. In fact my criteria insists that the boat be a main character in the movies. If you can, use a home projector on a sheet for your boat buds and you to enjoy. Popcorn is in the galley.

The books that I have paired with the movies must be written by someone who clearly knows boating and the correct terminology, whether fiction or nonfiction. Most of these books are in the public domain and can be downloaded for free in ibooks, plus in itunes university the free audio version for some is available for download by chapter.

Books ..........................................Movie (lead actor)
1. Down South................................. The Boat (Buster Keaton)
2. Captains Courageous.................. Captains Courageous (Spencer Tracy)
3. A World of My Own..................... Deep Water (documentary)
4. Two Years before the Mast......... White Squall (Jeff Bridges)
5. Three Men in a Boat..................... Captain Ron (Kurt Russell)
6. True Spirit..................................... Violets are Blue (Sissy Spacek)
7. The Old Man and the Sea.............. Dead Calm (Nicole Kidman)
8. Patrick O'Brian series...................... Masters and Commanders (Russell Crow)
9. The Race ......................................... Wind (Matthew Modine)
10. The African Queen......................... The African Queen (Katharine Hepburn, on local)
11. Treasure Island............................... Pirates of the Caribbean (Johnny Depp)
12. Sailing Alone around the World.... Riddle of the Sands (Michael York)
13. A Message from the Sea .............. Knife in the Water (Leon Niemczyk)
14. Maiden Voyage..............................Summer Rental (John Candy)
15. Ran away to Sea............................. Amistad (Morgan Freeman)
16. The Last Grain Race........................1492 Concept of Paradise (Gérard Depardieu)
17. Last Man across the Atlantic......... Morning Light
18. Shrimpy............................................ Rum Diaries (Johnny Depp) by Hunter S. Thompson

• Sailing novels (men's perspective)
• Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's top 5 sailing novels
• William F. Buckley, sailor
• Books about Women sailing
• Books by Women cruising the seas
• American Sailing Association selected novels 

Faulkner's Typewriter at Rowan Oak, Oxford, MS, also writing his stories on the wall.