The Reluctant Mariner tells of an Australian couple's five-year circumnavigation of the world in a 12.2-metre long, steel-hulled ketch called Onawa. The author, Joanna Hackett, was once a self-proclaimed landlubber who had never even considered sailing off over the horizon in search of adventure but, having married a man keen to do just that, was willing to "give it a go". Her candid account, penned with dry wit and accessible style, made The Reluctant Mariner a sell-out when it first hit ...

In 1997, on my fiftieth birthday and on the fiftieth anniversary of Dr Arthur Kassel's death, I began researching the story of his life. I knew where his life ended, but I did not know where it began or the path he was forced to take between the two. I soon realised that the subject was immense, covering much more ground than I had initially imagined, both geographically and emotionally.I wondered, at times, why I was bothering with one man's life. Why bother with one? One ruined l...

Within Moreton Bay lie many small islands, protected by the large barrier islands of Moreton and North and South Stradbroke. Some of these small islands are inhabited, with thriving communities, while others only appear at low tide, being little more than mangroves and mud. Even so, these mud islands are vitally important for the continued health of the waters and wildlife of Moreton Bay. The village islands of Russell, Karragarra, Lamb and Macleay are known collectively as the Southern Mo...

Within Moreton Bay lie many small islands, protected by the large barrier islands of Moreton and North and South Stradbroke. Some of these small islands are inhabited, with thriving communities, while others only appear at low tide, being little more than mangroves and mud. Even so, these mud islands are vitally important for the continued health of the waters and wildlife of Moreton Bay. The village islands of Russell, Karragarra, Lamb and Macleay are known collectively as the Southern Mo...

Within Moreton Bay lie many small islands, protected by the large barrier islands of Moreton and North and South Stradbroke. Some of these small islands are inhabited, with thriving communities, while others only appear at low tide, being little more than mangroves and mud. Even so, these mud islands are vitally important for the continued health of the waters and wildlife of Moreton Bay. The village islands of Russell, Karragarra, Lamb and Macleay are known collectively as the Southern Mo...

Within Moreton Bay lie many small islands, protected by the large barrier islands of Moreton and North and South Stradbroke. Some of these small islands are inhabited, with thriving communities, while others only appear at low tide, being little more than mangroves and mud. Even so, these mud islands are vitally important for the continued health of the waters and wildlife of Moreton Bay. The village islands of Russell, Karragarra, Lamb and Macleay are known collectively as the Southern Mo...

Somewhere between the Galapagos Islands en route to the Marqesas Group in the darkest of nights, at approximately six degrees south of the equator a sailboat is whispering along under full sail. The fresh south east trades are pushing her sleek hull through the coal black water at around eight knots. The man standing at the wheel, wearing ragged shorts only in the warm tropical breeze gently fanning him over the port quarter, helms his craft by starlight alone. All lights have been doused ...

At 35-years old, Kelly and Paul Watts sold their home and quit their jobs to sail around the world, without any sailing experience. Two days after purchasing their forty-two-foot sloop, they got caught in a forty-knot gale off the coast of Cape Fear, NC.  Their sails ripped; the engine overheated; the GPS broke; they suffered hypothermia and severe seasickness.  And yet they persevered on their journey, discovering the playful sea lions of the Galapagos, the seductive dance of t...

298 photos! Missives from MARAVIDA: A Family’s Caribbean Sailing Adventure documents the extraordinary journey I took with my husband and our two children. Our adventure is chronicled in the e-mail messages I sent to family and friends after we met up with MARAVIDA in Trinidad. It is supplemented with pictures, general information about the locations we visited, and web links. I’ve done my best to preserve the small details of our life, which might prove useful for those who would like to ...

When Ben Tucker and his kid brother Matt decided to sail south in search of icebergs on Ben's small home-built kiwi sloop, their father Jon was allowed to come along as their cabin-boy, on a promise of good behaviour.The unfolding adventure took them through thick pack ice to become trapped at the windiest place on the planet, a remote location in East Antarctica.'Snow Petrel' is proof of what ordinary people can achieve on a minimal budget. Recently released in New Zealand...

The author shares his dream of sailing around the world, first formulated when he was six years old. The outfitting of his boat for the task and the trip itself taking 7 years, starting and ending in Hawaii. Leading him as far north as Alaska, south to New Zealand and into the relatively uncharted waters of the Black Sea, up the Dnieper River in the Ukraine and to Saudi Arabia. Along the way he encounters high winds to 70 knots and 50 foot waves, equipment breakdowns that have to be diagno...

Ever felt like stepping off the treadmill, taking a year off work and sailing a yacht around Australia? Well, if you are reading this then it's a good chance you have, during an occasional daydream, let go the mooring lines of work and family and quietly left the harbour to see what lies around the next headland or what white sandy bay awaits. Rob Manning and Diana Neggo turned that very same daydream into a reality and Telltales is their story. What's unique about this tale is that Rob an...