To the Sea: Sagas of Survival and Tales of Epic Challenges on the Seven Seas - Tapa dura

This huge book captures on the page the fascination and allure of the deep oceans, the incredible challenge they pose and the unrelenting demands they make of man's endurance and resolve, in exciting stories illustrated by more than 360 dramatic full colour photographs, paintings, charts and drawings. DISCOVERING THE SEAS - Exploration, Adventure & Commerce - The Great Sailors - The Age of Discovery - Means of Passage - SAILORS AND BOATS - Evolution of Ship Design - Legendary Shipwrights - Anatomy of a Sailing Boat - Wooden Boat Construction - Ropes & Rigging - Deck Gear and Safety Equipment - NAVIGATING THE OCEAN - Early Instinct - Dead Reckoning - Celestial Navigation - Sextant, Compass & Chronometer - Feats of Navigation - Global Positioning Electronics - SEA AND LAND - Wind, Tide & Breakers - Breakwaters and Harbours - Cape Horn - Beacons and Lighthouses - Lightships - VOYAGES - The Origins of Voyaging - Singlehandling - Epic Challenges - Circumnavigation - Small Craft - Whalers - Rescue at Sea - RACING AGAINST THE ELEMENTS - Great Races - Extraordinary Tragedies - Crew and Equipment - Racing into the 21st Century - Raising a Spinnaker - STORMS AND DISASTERS - Hurricanes - Typhoons - Monsoons - Tsunami - Shipwrecks - Sirens & Serpents -

The Most Comprehensive Book on Nautical Adventure Ever Published

Exhilarating stories and dramatic photographs of heroic sea adventures and disastrous nautical voyages bring to life mankind's struggles, successes and defeats in the face of the vast and powerful seas and storms.

To the Sea captures the lure of the sea, and takes you on a stirring maritime journey through history that covers nautical adventure from every angle, from the early voyages of the Phoenicians and the Vikings to yachting's golden age to today's space-age superyachts racing around the world.

Stories and paintings of the tall ships and their treacherous exploration at the dawn of nautical technology

First - hand accounts of remarkable singlehanded passages, from Joshua Slocum to Isabelle Autissier

The harrowing story of the infamous 1988 Sidney - Hobart tragedy

The evolution of boat design, voyaging and navigation

Technical drawing of ship construction ropes and rigging rescue techniques and deck gear

A glossary of nautical terms

Profiles of accomplished sailors, from Captain Cook to Eric Tabarly, Francis Chichester to Tania Aebi

Also, excerpts from the world's most fascinating nautical literature are part of each chapter, including:

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

The Sea - Wolf by Jack London

Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi

The Long Way by Bernard Moitessieer

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Ice Bird by David Lewis

Survive the Savage Sea by Dougal Robertson

A Descent into the Maelstrom by Edgar Allen Poe

Two Years before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana

Sailing Alone around the World by Joshua Slocum