(Part 2) Best water sports books according to redditors
We found 368 Reddit comments discussing the best water sports books. We ranked the 190 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Hey welcome back (i was medically retired from the Air Force and ended up here in San Diego)!
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For San Diego charters you are looking at Waterhorse Charters, Marissa Charters, and Nautilus (they are opening up a local dive boat center soon, one a free trip at the LA dive show from them). Waterhorse Charters is under new ownership and now offers an unlimited boat diving membership option ($x/month hop on any many boat dives as you want). Marissa is still a great operation and you get to have the best boat dog in the area, Captain! They also will go some tech diving places. For boat diving spots that your cert qualifies you for, you have Los Coronados (small islands off the coast of Tijuana) currently only waterhorse goes here, Point Loma Kelp fields Waterhorse and Marissa go here, Wreck Alley Ruby E & HMCS Yukon again both Marissa and Yukon, NOCS Tower (think underwater monkey bar set lol) both charters go here, USS Hogan (130 ft) rarely visited by either charter, Scripps Canyon I think only Waterhorse goes here. The Lois Ann just left service as a dive boat. There is a rumor that The Westerly dive boat is moving from LA to San Diego. Horizon is the main liveboard charter from San Diego but they mostly due shark diving and those trips are $$$, they do other smaller trips and I hear rave reviews but haven't personally gone yet.
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There are some more extreme sites like Cortez banks that are served by some of the San Diego liveaboards that are in your cert range but just costly.
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Shore diving....I really prefer Orange County/LA County for this. Happy to give you more details if you want but the general ones would be La Jolla Cove or La Jolla Shores in the county. For a bit more adventurous shore diving, it's really hard to beat Casino Point on Catalina Island. Both San Diego and LA offer 3R (Rocks, Rips, and Reefs) programs during the summer months that will give you orientations to the areas best shore diving spots. While they are great scuba diving spots the events are snorkel only events that focus on reading the site, safe entry/exit etc, very worthwhile for anyone looking to orient themselves to the area! This is an excellent book for the area btw https://www.amazon.com/Divers-Guide-Southern-Californias-Beach/dp/0962860042/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=diver%27s+guide+to+southern+california&qid=1562649226&s=gateway&sr=8-3
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PowerScuba is a meetup.com group that books a ton of charters and offers it to members (joining is free) basically at cost so very discounted rates. Also do group buys on equipment and travel.
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There is a dive club called Dive Animals that have their own boat, its pretty small and we found very hard to get spots on (we didn't renew membership this year due to that fact) but if you can befriend a boat driver you would have very cheap diving off a very small boat lol.
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If you have the time and want to learn a lot about Southern California diving I would highly encourage you to look at LA County's Advanced Diver Program, it's a county run program and is some of the best training you can get. It's only run once every summer and just started so keep an eye for next year's course if you are interested.
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There really aren't many dive boats out of Orange county so i'll skip that.
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The next place for dive boats is Long Beach harbor (SunDiver 1/2/Express, Magician, Explorer, Pacific Star aka Pac Star) they will do a lot of Catalina Island dives, oil rigs (highly recommended after you get back in the swing of diving but not until you're feeling comfortable with it again), and maybe some of the more remote southern channel islands. Next up you have Ventura which hosts Peace, Specter, and Explorer. They will hit up Anacappa Island and Santa Cruz pretty frequently. Then finally in the "region" you have Santa Barbara you have the Truth Aquatic fleet they'll do the more northern channel islands along with some longer liveaboard trips to other islands or destinations like Big Sur. Almost all of the LA and further north boats are proper liveaboards (so fully galleys and bunks below for sleeping). They are a bit more than the San Diego boats and the drive blows but its worth it!
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During the summer and fall you can probably get away with a 7mm semi-dry suit, but in the winter it gets damn cold. I clocked a 42 degree day on the Yukon this last winter. Luckily San Diego is host to DUI Drysuits (unfortunate name I know but not related to drinking I swear lol). Anyways.... they hold parking lot sales every so often and you get drysuits and a whole bunch of other stuff for super cheap (just clearing out inventory) so keep an eye on facebook. Some brave souls can deal with the cold year round in wetsuits, it's just so much more comfy in a warm drysuit.
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Ok now that i wrote a small novel hope it helps, welcome back, and feel free to ask anything else that comes to mind!
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edit: Forgot to mention dive shops. We mainly use San Diego Divers (best tank fills, tank VIPs, tank Hydros (all the other shops charge more and send the tanks here so skip the middle man), excellent NAUI/tech instructors), House of Scuba (front of the shop is small but they have a huge warehouse behind them and their return policy is unbeatable imho) ,and Ocean Enterprises (biggest in shop display, annual tent sales with unlimited air/nitrox fill cards, just pretty convenient for us). However there are a few others such as Beyond Land Adventures, North County Scuba Center, Oceanside Swim and Scuba Center. There are others I'm sure but those are the ones I have at least been into. Obviously in LA/Riverside/Orange County there are even way more (we have dealt with a few and if you want recommendations let me know).
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It's worth venturing up to LA during the dive show every year i think. Great lecture series, good deals on gear, phenomenal travel deals/raffles, and the party on Saturday is usually kind of fun too.
http://apps.padi.com/scuba-diving/eMaterialsv3/Uniflips/Web-Portal/79180_1_OWD_Manual_Web.html
Paper copy of manual
Book that will teach you a lot more about diving theory
I think this is possibly the best: The Complete Sailor. Cleanly written, beautifully illustrated, and I learn something new every time I open it.
Btw, professional lessons are a relatively new invention. People have been learning to sail from their friends and neighbors for thousands of years, and all of the sailors I know are happy to pass that knowledge along. You might be better off, and save a ton of money, by joining a sailing club. Plus that way once you have a boat you'll have a group of peers to crew with you, go on cruises together, etc.
I don't own Oliver's book, but he may have been talking about a large proa, not a catamaran. This is a pretty good book about a very large proa, written as a sort of historical novel.
Big proas don't experience the same stresses as big catamarans do, so they can be much wider, and thus quite fast. The boat in Vaka could probably do 20 knots under sail.
>What was the point of these canoes? Why have them instead of fleets of smaller canoes? Wouldn't the loss of one in a cyclone a terrible calamity compared to the loss of two, three, or even four little canoes?
All else being equal, longer boats are faster, roughly in proportion to the square root of the waterline length. A 100' proa would be about twice as fast as a 25' proa. This is an enormous advantage in a sailing conflict, of course.
Vaka goes into quite a bit of the tradeoffs of such a large boat.
Deep Trouble and More Deep Trouble are good reads and will give you an idea of what can go wrong and how to prepare for the worst.
Looks like a nice place to visit.
I love camping with my Kayak: http://modustollens.org/photos/galleries/Canada/Opeongo_Lake_Sept_2016/Opeongo_Lake_Sept_2016_008.jpg
Near my home: http://modustollens.org/hosted_images/Tipi_Kayak/Kayak_Dunks_to_Dyers_Sept_2016_019.jpg
https://www.reddit.com/r/Kayaking/comments/51xfgu/georgian_bay_ontario_shorline/
A good place for you to visit one day! That's all fresh water too, so, lots of drinking water to be found here.
You could, for a few dollars, pick up a small Sawyer water filter (e.g., https://www.amazon.ca/Sawyer-Products-Water-Filtration-System/dp/B013I0HNJ4); then you could get more water and maybe carry less. I have one of these tiny Sawyers for short trips plus a few other high capacity pump filters. Is there freshwater where you will be going?
Are you new to kayaking or only kayak camping? Can you roll or get back in after a capsize? The general rule is to be 'dressed for immersion' - that is, you should be wearing clothing suitable for being in the water, not sitting comfortably in the kayak.
Signalling equipment - flares, a marine radio, would be a good thing to add if you are going solo. I did not see a map in your gear list. What about tides, rip currents etc. - be good to know the local conditions around that island. What about something to bail out your kayak should it start to get flooded?
I just finished reading this: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B001NAC4W8/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
Lots of things can easily go wrong.
Be sure to post some pictures of your trip and camps when you return; I could use a vicarious adventure!
The RYA books are good, but better exists once you reach Yachtmaster level. The RYA's Yachtmaster material is far too brief, or at least it was for me when I was doing it.
I never get on a boat without my Reed's Skipper's Handbook. Truly essential. Yachtmaster for Power and Sail got me through my exam first time and I didn't get asked anything that wasn't explained clearly and concisely within it.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reeds-Skippers-Handbook-Malcolm-Pearson/dp/1408124777
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yachtmaster-Sail-Power-Alison-Noice/dp/1472925491/ref=pd_sim_14_14?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=1SZTBHGP5TBDENET1P26
I really like David Seidman's The Complete Sailor - it's really well-structured and easy to read.
Here's a few books to get you started exploring some out of the way places.
This is covered by rule 11 and 16.1.
Rule 11 On the Same Tack, Overlapped: When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat.
Rule 16.1 Changing Course: When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other boat room to keep clear.
If I were you I'd get a copy of Dave Perry's book and read it a few times.
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Racing-Rules-Sailing-through/dp/1938915046
His writing is also nice
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alone-Together-Sailing-Hawaii-Beyond/dp/099725310X
Honestly, $200 really isn't that big of a stretch. Quality dive gear isn't cheap. My diveshop has a package that gives you a $70 mask, $85 fins, $50 boots, $20 snorkel and a log book/binder for $200, so all in all you end up saving 70 or 80 bucks. The boots and log binder are essentially free.
However, Mask/Snorkel/Fins are the big money makers for a shop, not courses, instruction or big ticket items like regs etc.
As far as books, $70 is fair for text/elearning code + PADI fees. While you could get them anywhere else you will still end up paying the same somewhere else.
http://www.amazon.com/PADI-Water-Diver-Manual-Table/dp/B003JX0AUK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396724450&sr=8-1&keywords=padi+open+water+diver+manual+2013
Is $60 alone, plus there will be a fee when PADI processes the cert as well.
In the end, diving is a VERY expensive hobby, and while I agree, don't waste your money. You will still be paying out large sums of money to dive in one way or another.
If you're asking this on reddit, you are laughably far away from actually going cruising. I'll say this as politely as I can, but questions like this get really tiring when 99.9999% of the time the person is just an absolute dreamer.
Go pickup a copy of the Voyager's Handbook:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Voyagers-Handbook-Essential-Guide-Cruising-ebook/dp/B0072UO1VA
or one of the other many, many intro to cruising books to get a base framework of what to actually think about when considering long distance cruising.
Safety, comfort, speed, etc are all relative terms. If you're comfortable with shitting in a bucket, catching rain water, relying on your ability to catch fish at sea, etc, your needs would be very different to someone who needs a washing machine. People have crossed oceans in ridiculously small vessels: https://imgur.com/gallery/CbysZ the question is what you need.
The Voyagers Handbook covers this well; the essential tradeoffs have already been distilled here as I recall them:
I've been aboard when webbing and hollow webbing + low stretch have been used and neither gave me trouble getting around or underfoot. Looking forward to hearing other experiences.
All these questions are spelled out in the rule book, or will otherwise be amended by the Racing Instructions provided during the Skippers Meeting.
I highly recommend the Dave Perry book Understanding The Racing Rules Of Sailing. This book also contains the current US Sailing rulebook in full, so you need not buy both books.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1938915046
A word of advice - I wouldn't worry about protests, particularly how to file one, at your first regatta. Worry about beating them on the course, not in the room. Keep your head in the game, don't sail mad. Sail fast, sail smart, sail safe.
I find there's a lot of information on forums for popular boats regarding their mechanical and construction deficiencies. E.g. Discussion on certain boats getting blisters, or needing bulkhead replacements. However, there's basically no information on design deficiencies, and most of the discussion you do find is pure speculation. The reason for this is because boat design is more of a tradeoff of different qualities. You want to research these qualities as much as possible. For instance: displacement, sail area, keel type, hull construction, cabin layout, cockpit size and layout, water line length, ability for the boat to right itself and how it affects stability, etc. Most of the information on these subjects is available on books and not necessarily easily accessible on the web. Here are some good books:
Now, these books are slanted on offshore sailing which is what I'm interested in. You didn't specify where you'd be sailing or how you'd be using it. My guess is general weekend cruising.
So no, I haven't seen any discussion on the differences between boats like that. You have to make an informed decision on the data available (e.g. of sailboatdata.com, class association sites, owner postings on forums, etc). Best thing to do is ask people who have knowledge once you've narrowed it down. The truth of the matter is, no matter what boat you get you will have to deal with the tradeoffs. Some guy saying that "X" boat is slow or fast is completely subjective and doesn't mean a damn thing to you. You have to figure out what the qualities you want are first and find the boat that best fits those qualities.
Lastly, if this is your first boat please go small and with something that you can easily sell again. Chances are your wants and needs will change, and dumping a whole bunch of money into the wrong boat may be a big mistake. Get something simple that is easy to maintain, so you can learn how to properly maintain a sailboat. The mistakes you will make will not be a big deal on a small boat, but if you buy a 40 ft Catalina a small mistake can balloon very quickly.
Knot books:
This book is great for the basic, every day kind of knots. I'd suggest this one to get the basics down.
If you have a lot of time/money/desire to learn knots, this is the knot bible. It is awesome. I found a used copy in good condition for cheap, so if you have a used bookstore, I'd suggest poking around in there for a copy. This book is HUGE (600+ pages) and incredible. However, it is somewhat excessive, with a lot of knots you'll probably never use.
As for sailing books, I like this one for explaining the basics. It not only explains how to do certain maneuvers, but why. The example on proas tacking is one of my favorites.
I wasn't thinking of wind exposure on the large windows, more like what can happen when a really big wave hits them :)
It really comes down to personal comfort. For myself after I do some island hopping I've been looking at maybe getting a Tayana 37 cutter for ocean hopping. Small windows, full keel, small cockpit, plenty of sail and fuel, a proven world cruiser.
You might consider buying this book: http://www.amazon.com/Seaworthy-Offshore-Sailboat-Essential-Features/dp/007137616X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342194688&sr=8-1&keywords=offshore+boat
Basically learn up on the sort of features you need and then make a call on whether or not your boat can be modded to get it to the point where you'd be comfortable make the trip.
But at at certain point, to me, it becomes better to buy a different boat. For example I have a Pearson 323 now and I could mod her for an Atlantic trip. Re-inforce the rigging, maybe add another compression post in the cabin to add structure, toss on a liferaft and rig her up for a drogue.
But considering she's worth 20k and for 50k I can get a nice Tayana 37 it doesn't make much sense to toss 20k into her to rig her up for a trans Atlantic trip. Especially when you consider that any buyer looking for an offshore boat isn't going to be shopping for a heavily modded coastal cruiser. I'd basically be tossing "offshore boat" money into a "coastal cruiser" market. I'm better off buying that Tayana and putting offshore money into her.
But maybe you don't need to add much to your boat for a 1 off Atlantic trip. In that case it may make sense to get to the bare minimum of your comfort level, wait for the best time of year and then head on out, enjoy yourself and come back home.
I'd just really research up, learn the risks and just talk with your significant other what level of risk you're comfortable with. That's really the important part and everyone is different in that regard.
Unfortunately there are no tricks. But all it needs is a bit of practice. It looks complicated at first but really is rather simple. And remember that it is always the same steps you have to do. What helped me is writing down these steps on a clean sheet of paper.
 
Maybe one of those videos can help also help you, not sure how good they are though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfkwKTyYqeI
RYA Day Skipper: The Height of Tide
Leith Nautical Sailing Academy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=793F-Ha4T2U
RYA Coastal Skipper: Secondary Port tidal height corrections
Leith Nautical Sailing Academy
 
And this book also helped me with my theory. It has step by step instructions for all tidal calculations
Yachtmaster for Sail and Power Hardcover
by Alison Noice
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yachtmaster-Sail-Power-Alison-Noice/dp/1472925491
 
The secondary ports here are subordinate stations btw.
I completely and whole heartily recommend -
Buy, Outfit, and Sail by Fatty Goodlander.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00638SJII/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_hCKSBbDBD1P7E
And ...
Chasing the Horizon also by Fatty Goodlander.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00121QHXK/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_yEKSBbDTYBTS5
He is the uncrowded king of Poverty Finance.
Read as much as you can, join Facebook groups, buy a Kindle, go to boat shows. Immerse yourself in the culture as much as you can before you have a boat.
Welcome to the Bay Area!!! It's not all gentlemen here ;) we've got some ladies too!
For summer sailing on the bay, one thing you may have heard about is the "summer pattern" - cool air (aka heavy winds) rushing in through the Golden Gate and spilling over the Bay and towards Sacramento is a common occurrence in the summer, when Sacremento's hot weather causes a vaccum sucking wind in from the ocean. Just know that it can be still at 2pm and gusting 25knots by 4pm. I race on the bay and have seen this happen a few times!
Also, I definitely recommend bringing a motor with you in high-traffic areas with deep channels where the huge cargo boats pass. The Lee of Angel island is easy to get stuck in without wind, and that's a highly trafficked area. A motor will ease some stress until you're used to weather patterns created by the terrain around the Bay.
Last!! I HIGHLY recommend the book Sailing the Bay by Kimball Livingston. It's a great easy read and I'm sure many sailors familiar with the bay read through it with knowing nods about the little bits of local knowledge. http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Bay-Kimball-Livingston/dp/0966380800
This one?
Always - hidden delams can cost you more than you're paying to fix. Maybe its had a hard grounding and the keep connection is iffy - can you tell? A surveyor usually can.
Failing that - at the very least buy and read this book.
Thank you! We used the Bonaire Reef Smart Guide and found it to be really helpful. I recommend checking it out. We took a lot of video on the trip where my wife and I talk about what we liked best. We will post it on my channel but I'll try to post it here as well.
We really liked "Something Special" and the dives we did at Lac Bay on the East Side of the island the best I think. The stuff on the east side we did with Bonaire EastCoast Diving and had a really good experience. Definitely check that out.
loosely based on this book: A Diver's Guide to Southern California's Best Beach Dives
one our favorites is paradise cove, but its OC, traffic back is pretty bad, but its pretty fantastic. i try to make a point to get my fills at a shop local to the dive and talk them about the planned dive.
some are pretty bad, but some are great, ill go through my log and post a small list, i wont be able to do this until monday.
I've posted this before, but it's worth posting again. I don't race catamarans but the book has helped me quite a lot in terms of learning how to sail.
It's also been said here before, but if you're having trouble getting both bows through the wind while tacking, try sheeting in the jib late (assuming you've got one) - it can help push the bows across onto the new tack.
But most of all, enjoy the boat!
I grew up paddling around this area, and this sounds like a great weekend trip. 18 miles downstream should definitely be doable in two days. I see you’ve gotten a lot of good advice already, so the only thing I really have to add is make sure you know what to expect.
This is my favorite guidebook for this area: http://www.amazon.com/Paddling-Eastern-North-Carolina-Ferguson/dp/0972026819 I’d definitely get it and read about the sections you’ll be paddling. Literally includes everything you need to know, plus general tips for padding rivers, river camping, etc.
I’d definitely check this site out as well: http://tarpamlicowatertrail.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=299 Lots of great info about camping in this area, including platform camping.
Lastly, if anyone is looking for a nice day paddle along the Tar-Pamlico, I love the area around Washington. Usually I eat an early-ish lunch at Backwater Jack’s Tiki Bar, and then put in at the boat ramp right there or head over to Goose Creek State Park.
That's awesome to hear, and once you get one welcome to the club. If you were anywhere near West Michigan I would invite you to join us but I'm guessing your not.
In response to a few things I have read while skimming this thread:
Hobie 16 are not hard to recover from a turtle. I would not recommend using a bob (giant float at the top of the mast) because I had heard of people suffering from a lost of speed due to wind resistance. Unless you and your crew are both tiny people or you will only be sailing it in lakes less than 20ft deep righting a 16 is fairly easy. All you have to do is release all of the sheets, pull out as much slack as you can on the main sheet, and then get all of your weight on the back of one of the pontoons. This will cause the bow of the opposite pontoon to rise and you can get it back to being on its side where you can do a normal recover. On that note I highly recommend a Hawaiian style righting system.
Yes they are big to trailer, but without going to a mano-slug with a drop keel or a bigger catamaran you won't find any dingy with that much sail area and or power to weigh ratio.
The one down side of any type of multi-hull that that they can almost always be out pointed by a mano-slug. If you are unfamiliar with pointing that is how close to straight into the wind you an go while still producing thrust with the sails. With a Hobie 16 you can get in the ball park of 45* off straight into the wind where with a mano-slug you can get about another 10 to 15 degrees closer. Where multi-hulls make up for that is in the speed. To make it to an upwind mark we may not be able to take a more direct route, but we can cover more distance faster. Plus, on a reach we can blow anything else out of the water.
Tacking (changing direction with the bow passing through directly into the wind) is more difficult than on a mano-slug, especially having to cover more of a change of angle thanks to not being able to point as well. This can be compensated with good technique. The basics of that are to keep the jib on the same side until and then let it back wind for a moment to let the wind push the bows through the dead zone and then bringing the jib over on the new tack. This can also be assisted by crew weight distribution to bring the new leeward bow out of the water so there is less resistance to turn.
You absolutely want to sail with a jib. While there are other designs of cats like the Hobie 14 (non turbo) that don't have a jib, the 16, as someone else mentioned, uses the jib as the forestay when when the jib is up. The jib and the main work in tandem by controlling the air moving over the main that helps generate forward force, and without a jib you are really SOL when it comes to tacking as the main alone is just going to act like a giant weather vain.
The name of the book may make it seem comically outdated but Catamaran Racing for the 90's is still often referred to as the Bible of cat sailing
http://www.amazon.com/Catamaran-Racing-For-Rick-White/dp/1880871009
If you have any other questions you are more than welcome to send me a PM. I have sailed little sail boats, raced big sail boats, and I have owned a Hobie 16 for about 4 years now (my girlfriends name for it is "The Mistress").
Please buy and read this. Too many people on the water with zero knowledge. This is the bible of boating. In addition, a Coast Guard Power Rangers course is a great idea.
https://www.amazon.com/Chapman-Piloting-Seamanship-68th/dp/1618372432/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
I've had people here recommend me some good books on this topic:
Inspecting the Aging Sailboat - Don Casey
For fiberglass specifically:
Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats - Henry C. Mustin
Boat Race before last the bowman of the winning boat was 5'10", huge heart and lungs, and weighed in the mid 80's (KGs) if I recall, so built pretty solid.
To go sub 6 is the elite standard, but don't forget weight adjustment, there's no point going sub 6 mins if you weight 200kg, no one's going to enjoy dragging a hippo in thier boat if he's not pulling his own weight and then some, the calculator and an explanation of weight adjustment are available here http://www.concept2.com/us/interactive/calculators/weight_adjustment.asp
Train on sliders, or take out a single, there is 10x the chance of an injury in land training than on the water.
long steady pieces are also good, don't even go for distance, just sit on an erg for 30 mins, an hour or even 90 mins, it won't wreck you because it shouldn't, but it will improve your times.
READ: You're going to have to live and breath rowing, I'd recomend the following (Not that I've read them all, but i've ordered them and almost finished the original print of Rowing Faster)
http://www.amazon.com/Rowing-Faster-2nd-Volker-Nolte/dp/0736090401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314681440&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/High-Performance-Rowing-John-McArthur/dp/1861260393/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b http://www.amazon.com/Lactate-Threshold-Training-Peter-Janssen/dp/0736037551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314681471&sr=1-1
You're gonna need to know more about rowing and training than anyone on the team, because the hours you'll be putting in will make you your own coach.
HIGHLY Recommend this book: The Guide's Guide
I own the earlier, non augmented version, but it's the same book. This was written by a very successful company operating on multiple rivers in California back in the day. The owner retired and they now only operate on one river.
Anyway, some of this stuff is clearly specific to they way this company did things, but the core values and organizational systems presented in this book are the gold standard for being a good guide. The book covers everything from customer interactions and meal prep to river signals and basic hydrology.
It's 20 bucks on Amazon. The company I work for keeps like 15 copies of it and would pay you three hours of work if you read this book in your spare time. I've read it multiple times for my own refresher in the spring, and have my own copy now.
EDIT: Woah, I just read about this new version on Amazon. The augmented version is like twice as long as my version (140 pages vs 316 pages). Sounds like they added a ton of material about Swiftwater Rescue and such. My book does not have all that. Mine is the old 1980s version. The newer version also has river stories, games, and riddles, and a lot more. Basically, it is the book I have, and then another books worth of content added about being a good guide. Haha. I'm gonna have to buy the new one too! It sounds like this update was in 2005, so there will be updates to what is in my book to keep things current I guess.
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned [Chapman Piloting and Seamanship](https://www.amazon.com/Chapman-Piloting-Seamanship-68th/dp/1618372432/ "Amazon link"). Pretty comprehensive, and also serves as mobile ballast if you need to adjust trim.
If looking to purchase a book, consider getting Six Skills by Steve Lewis: http://www.amazon.com/The-Six-Skills-Other-Discussions/dp/098122802X
Another good book is Deco for Divers by Mark Powell: http://www.amazon.com/Deco-Divers-Decompression-Theory-Physiology/dp/1905492294
Then, there is the ever adorable scuba tank water bottle: http://www.amazon.com/TankH2O-Scuba-Stainless-Steel-Bottle/dp/B00C2AAVRS
Fatty Goodlander is a master of improvisation. They were lucky to have him on the radio! If you haven't already, check out some of his books. As an experienced sailor, I received his book "Buy, outfit and sail a small vessel around the world" and a bottle of rum in return for pulling a Canadian boat off of shore in Charleston. There's a lot I already knew, there were some neat tricks I never thought of, but overall it was a fun read. http://www.amazon.com/Outfit-Sail-Capn-Fatty-Goodlander-ebook/dp/B00638SJII
You can buy this book on Amazon. I'm not sure if you are trying to get one in some other way, but I left you the link.
https://www.amazon.com/Guides-Guide-Augmented-Reflections-Professional/dp/0977277402
Buy the boat "Sailing the Bay" by Kimball Livingston, and read it. Then decide on a next step.
http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-The-Bay-Kimball-Livingston/dp/0966380800
I started drawing again. Reading more books for leisure. Recently came across a book called Alone Together: Sailing Solo to Hawaii and Beyond it's a personal log of a solo sailing journey to Hawaii. Very well written filled with humor and a great little escape even if you're not into sailing. The author has a youtube channel where he blogs about working on his boat and reads an excerpt from the novel (https://www.youtube.com/user/cdw000).
Exercise is a great way to get lost in your own thoughts and vitalize the body. I go hiking from time to time. I think it's a great hobby to take on.
For a while I was into vintage watch collecting. It was a weird passion brought on by the idea of replacing a fitbit I got from my ex for Christmas. I was never a watch person until I got that fitbit and literally wore it every day. I came to realize that it's dangerous to start collecting anything when it's for the reason of trying to fill a void. I sold off my collection once it became a problem.
You're right about not wasting energy and talent on hate, anger, and misery. Going through this has made me realized that it's pointless to feed my demons. This has changed me a bit. Though I still think a bit of anger is healthy as it can be a force that drives productivity, so as long as you know where to stop. I have had thoughts here and there whether I've been suppressing the anger or it's really gone. I hope for the latter.
Whether our problems are similar or not, the end result is the same I think. But finding solace in the fact that there great people out there gives a lot of hope that it will be okay.
The Six Skills, by Steve Lewis.
Shadow Divers is absolutely worth reading as well.
The way I'd been told it as a kid growing up, the Tongans were the boatbuilders, with Samoans teaching navigation, and with the help of resources provided by Fijian chiefs (read large trees provided from Fiji's then pristine primary forests). That the halfway point here for this tripartite meeting were the Lauan islands where the people there today continue to reflect their mixed inheritances from culturally (the people can speak both Fijian and Tongan and their house construction mirrors the Samoan styled fale than the bure.
The numbers of 500 and 600 might be an exaggeration by European sailors of the time, Cook observes numbers of 200+, his surprise being more that these larger Vaka were agile and able to match speed with his ship than the passenger numbers.
My laugh about the numbers bit is that for those 600 islanders back in the day, that would probably be the equivalent of maybe 50 regular Samoan bros today 😂 (it's ok I'm Samoan myself).
Tom Davis' book Vaka (https://www.amazon.com/Vaka-Polynesian-Thomas-R-Davis/dp/9820101204) refers to the use of large double hulled boats as being the ferries of the day, transporting people and goods across islands and countries of the day. Their sailing schedules would of course be mapped to a seasonal calendar to when winds changed to prevail in one direction over another.