A Foolish Voyage: Self-Discovery At Sea,” by Neil Hawkesford; self-published, 2015; 155 pp. Reviewed by Sandy Marsters For Points East When we first meet Neil Hawkesford, he is hanging upside down from his seatbelt in his wrecked car after running off the road during a rally competition. If you stickRead More

And The Sea Shall Have Them All By Art Milmore, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2017, 240 pp., $20, $9.99 Kindle Edition. Reviewed by Sandy Marsters For Points East By any measure, the steamer Portland, built in Bath, Maine, and launched in 1889, was a lovely, elegant ship. Were she toRead More

Harbor of Spies: A Novel of Historic Havana By Robin Lloyd, Lyons Press 2018, 320 pp., $24.95 Reviewed by Bob Muggleston For Points East The year is 1863. The American Civil War is in full swing, and a young American ship captain named Everett Townsend pulls a half-drowned man outRead More

Shakedown Cruise: Lessons and Adventures from a Cruising Veteran as He Learns the Ropes By Nigel Calder, Bloomsbury Publishing 2018, 188 pp., $19 hardcover and $13.50 Kindle edition. Reviewed by Charlie Doane For Points East I’m feeling some vindication here. Several years ago when I was Nigel Calder’s regular editorRead More

Marine Diesel Basics By Dennison Berwick, Voyage Press 2017, 212 pp., $16.00. Reviewed by Bob Muggleston For Points East Canadian author, illustrator, sailor and adventurer Dennison Berwick is the type of guy every boat owner loves having aboard: He’s someone who can do a little bit of everything, and, mostRead More

Red Flags in Blue Water: Misadventures of a Freelance Sea Captain By Rich R. A. Bard. Smooth Passage Books 2016. 189 pp., $12. Reviewed by Sandy Marsters For Points East A short book that can be consumed quickly or in small, occasional doses (read: bed head), “Red Flags in BlueRead More

Unsinkable: The History of Boston Whaler By Matthew D. Plunkett, Motorbooks 2017, 208 pp., $24 Reviewed by Jake Lundberg For Points East The classic Boston Whalers still plying waters around the world are now regarded as such rough beauties that it’s easy to forget they were initially maligned as eyesores.Read More

Reviewed by Molly Mulhern For Points East Coyote: The Mike Plant Story Sparkplug Films LLC 2017, director Thomas M. Simmons, runtime 105 minutes. Stars, among others, Mike Plant (archival footage), Philippe Jeantot (French solo sailor), Ken Read (president of North Sails), Herb McCormick (executive editor of “Cruising World”), Billy BlackRead More

A Man for All Oceans By Stan Grayson, Tilbury House Publishers and New Bedford Whaling Museum 2017, 399 pp. $29.95. Joshua Slocum was a rock star in – and after – his time. Since 1900, his book has never been out of publication, and there have been at least 25Read More

The Sea is Not Full: Ocean Sailing Revelations & Misadventures By Charles J. Doane, Seapoint Books, 2017; 437 pp., $17.62. Reviewed by Bob Muggleston For Points East One of the things I’ve always loved about sailing literature, beyond the purity of escape it so frequently provides, is how often theRead More