Book Reviews

Winter 2007

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

Waggoner Cruising Guide 2007
Editor: Robert Hale
Weatherly Press, 2006
$24.95 Cdn, $19.95 US
352 pp, colour photos and maps
ISBN 978-0935727-26-5
www.waggonerguide.com
available in Canada from Heritage House Publishing

If you are mothershipping your kayaks aboard a big boat and cruising the coast of the Pacific Northwest, the Waggoner Cruising Guide is a great resource to take along. This comprehensive guide covers Puget Sound, the San Juan and Gulf Islands, Princess Louisa Inlet, Desolation Sound, the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert and the west coast of Vancouver Island. Updated annually, the Waggoner provides current information about marinas, fuel docks, anchorages and piloting the waters between. Helpful maps and photographs supplement and illustrate the text. Consult this guide for chart numbers for the areas you plan to visit, for current information about Canada and US Customs requirements, and for general cruising tips. If you have room for only one cruising guide, this is a good choice.

Whalewatcher
a global guide to watching whales, dolphins and porpoises in the wild
by Trevor Day, Firefly Books, 2006
$19.95, 204 pp, colour photos and illustrations, glossary, index
ISBN 1-55407-200-2
www.fireflybooks.com

This comprehensive guide to watching the world’s whales is a valuable resource for anyone interested in whales. It provides detailed information about 65 species of cetaceans, including maps and notes about where in the world they may be observed in the wild. Introductory chapters outline information about characteristics of whales in general, and how you can be a responsible whale watcher without loving these marine mammals to death. Individual species are then described with attention paid to typical behavior and body shape, size and colour. Labeled illustrations draw attention to the distinguishing features of each species, and charts compare the size and body shape of the species that make up distinct groups. Dramatic photographs capture the magnificence and mystery of whales in the wild. The consistent presentation of basic facts in point form, descriptive text, and photographs and graphics makes it easy for the reader to absorb information and to compare species. Whether you are on the water hoping for a sighting, or just wanting to know more about whales, this book will help you understand and appreciate whales, dolphins and porpoises, and what you can do to protect the habitats necessary for their survival.

One-Pot Wonders
James Barber’s Recipes for Land and Sea
By James Barber
Harbour Publishing, 2006
$24.95, 120 pp, b&w illustrations
ISBN 1-55017-378-2
www.harbourpublishing.com

One-Pot Wonders is a great little book to consult while doing your expedition meal planning or to have aboard your mothership. James Barber, best known for his TV cooking show, The Urban Peasant, has lots of culinary experience, including cooking aboard small boats. He knows what to bring along to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, and to make the most of a limited number of ingredients. One Pot Wonders includes ideas for appetizers, salads, main dishes, desserts and even a one-pot Christmas. Barber’s advice, penned for small boat galley slaves, applies equally to paddling chefs and will help to make your paddling meals memorable.

The Broken Islands
the essential guide to Canada’s favourite ocean paddling destination
By Douglas H. Brunt, Metta Publications, 2006
$19.95 Cdn, $16.95 US, 112 pp, b&w photos
ISBN 0-9780884-1-7, www.Mettapublications.com

The Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island is a paddling mecca, attracting more than 25,000 visitors each year. This paddling paradise offers a network of islands in sheltered water safe enough for even novice paddlers, and opportunities for more challenging experiences exposed to the full majesty of the Pacific Ocean. This new edition of The Broken Islands guide has been updated with current access and contact information, and expanded to include maps, charts, graphs, natural and cultural history chapters, and photographs of plants and animals. This is a useful resource that will help to ensure a safe and enjoyable trip to The Broken Islands.

The Broughtons
Dreamspeaker Cruising Guide, Volume 5
by Anne & Laurence Yeadon-Jones
Harbour Publishing, 2006
$49.95, 192 pp, 9”x12”
colour maps & photos, index
ISBN 1-55017-406-1
www.harbourpublishing.com

This wonderful cruising guide is a sequel to the first four Dreamspeaker Cruising Guides which covered the popular boating regions of Georgia Strait, Puget Sound and Desolation Sound. This newest volume explores the complex maze of less traveled islands and inlets to the north, through Johnstone Strait into Queen Charlotte Strait. Numerous charts and aerial photos show the safest routes and guide readers to the multitude of islands of the famed Broughton Archipelago. Laurence’s whimsical hand-drawn maps expose the dangers and attractions of key anchorages, while Anne’s buoyant commentary draws on her own exhaustive research to evoke the mythic past of “Kwakiutl Country,” providing guidance to the hidden treasures to be found. Laurence’s fine scenic photography adds the crowning touch to one of the most handsome marine guides on the coast. Although this large format book is not really suitable for carrying on a kayak expedition, it does provide valuable information for paddlers wishing to research their trips, and is ideal for mothershippers.

Around One More Point
A Journal of Paddling Adventures
By Mary Gazetas
Touchwood Editions, 2006
$24.95, 96 pp, colour photos and illustrations
ISBN 1-894898-46-X
www.touchwoodeditions.com

In Around One More Point, Mary Gazetas reminisces about her paddling adventures on the west coast of British Columbia over the past thirty summers. These personal accounts of trips taken with her twin sister, Phoebe, are juxtaposed with Mary’s photographs and drawings, together painting a picture of how the days unfold when you head into the wilderness under paddle power. It’s a gentle life, largely taken up by the simple pursuits of finding campsites, maintaining basic necessities of life, beachcombing and playing games to while away the time when the weather is less than perfect. Mary and Phoebe were the instigators of the trips, taking along other friends and family members who paddled canoes and kayaks in various combinations, sometimes dictated by who was along that year and sometimes by the chosen destination. Around One More Point will evoke similar memories in those who also spend vacation time paddling in the wilderness, and will inspire those who long to load up their boats and go.