Here is a shortlist of books to start with:
 

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FICTION
 

• The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels by Patrick O'Brien

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HISTORY (LOCAL)
 

• Underwater Ghost Towns of North Georgia (Lost) by Lisa M. Russell
  Lost communities, forgotten crossroads, dissolving racetracks and even entire towns disappeared. The creation of Lake Lanier displaced more than seven hundred families. During the construction of Lake Chatuge, busloads of schoolboys were brought in to help disinter graves for the community's cemetery relocation. Contractors clearing land for the development of Lake Hartwell met with seventy-eight-year-old Eliza Brock wielding a shotgun and warning the men off her property. Lisa Russell dives into the history hidden beneath North Georgia's lakes.

 

• Forsyth County: History Stories by Annette Bramblette 
  The northern Georgia reaches were once home to the Cherokee Nation, who, as early as 1731, lived among the fertile lands and were linked to other native inhabitants by a meager trading path. The first European settlers and traders, arriving in 1797, introduced agriculture to the area, as families established homes and farms along the Georgia Road... Including new and unpublished data, this book explores the important advances in education, economy, and historic preservation in Forsyth County, as well as the tragic events related to the expulsion of the African-American population in 1912 and the Brotherhood Marches in 1987.

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HISTORY (MARITIME)
 

• In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
   

• Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro by Rachel Slade 

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• The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Rachel Slade

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MEMOIR
 

• As Long As it Takes: Meeting the Challenge by William Pinkney (Author), Bill Cosby (Introduction)
  "...On June 9, 1992, Captain Pinkney sailed his boat, Commitment, into Boston Harbor after completing a twenty-two month solo-circumnavigation of the globe. As the first African-American to sail alone via Cape Horn through the dangerous Southern Ocean, the journey was even more special because of the message he set out to send to children about their dreams, education, and, above all, commitment..." (from book description on Amazon)
   

• Crossing the Wake: One Woman’s Great Loop Adventure by Tanya Binford
  "One Woman's Great Loop Adventure follows the waterlogged travels and travails of a woman willing to risk it all in a quest to bring some adventure to her life. A beautifully honest account of riding the waves of a journey, both physically and emotionally grueling, author Tanya Binford recounts her arduous six months with amazing detail. After leaving behind her work as a psychiatric nurse practitioner and saying goodbye to her grown children, Tanya Binford was ready to cast off. With an itch for sailing that had taken root decades before, she was finally ready to put her dreams into action--not even a lack of any real sailing experience could stop her!"  (Note, she made the Loop in a 25'  Ranger Tug - not a sailboat - but still a good read for sailors). 
   

• Two Years Before The Mast by Richard Henry Dana 
   

• One Girl One Dream by Laura Dekker 
  Laura is the youngest person, starting at age 14, to sail around the world solo.  
   

• Taken by the Wind by Dr. Mike Jacker
  Sailor's Voyage in a Bygone Era . Would you have sailed a 30-foot sailboat production Cal 30 to the South Pacific before GPS navigation and accessible ocean weather forecasts existed? In 1976, after graduating from Harvard College, Mike Jacker embarked on a year-long voyage aboard Rhiannon with two friends named Louis and Clark. 

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•  A World of My Own by Robert Knox-Johnston
  The first winner of the Sunday Times Golden Globe solo, non-stop around the world race in 1998-1999.

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• The Voyages of the Damn Foole by Tom McGrath

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• The Long Way by Bernard Moitessier
  An entrant to the 1998-1999 Golden Globe solo around the world race -but after rounding Cape Horn on his way to the finish, he abandoned the race and continued west around Africa and Australia a 2nd time to stay in Tahiti. 
   

• Journey of a Hope Merchant by Neal Petersen
  From Apartheid to the Elite World of Solo Yacht Racing

 

• How Not to Sail by Bradford Rogers
  At our Feb 2022 membership meeting, Bradford regaled us with stories and tips of what NOT to do while sailing.  We look forward to him returning.

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• Sailing Alone Around the World by Capt. Joshua Slocum

 

• Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by David Sobel
  The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one man's forty-year obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--"the longitude problem.

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SAILBOAT MAINTENANCE

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• Fix It and Sail: Everything You Need to Know to Buy and Retore a Small Sailboat on a Shoestring by
  Brian Gilbert
   

• Sloop: Restoring My Family's Wooden Sailboat--An Adventure in Old-Fashioned Values by Daniel Robb
   

• Becoming a Sailor by Paul Trammell
  Buying and fixing up a cheap small boat and sailing from Florida's west coast to St Augustine alone.

 

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SAILING REFERENCE

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• The Kedge-Anchor or Young Sailors' Assistance by William N. Brady, Sailing-Master, U.S.N. 188
   

• Self Sufficient Sailor by Lin & Larry Pardey
  How to acquire and sail around the world and be self-sufficient.
   

• GPS for Mariners, 2nd edition: A Guide for the Recreational Boater by Bob Sweet
  From the National Education Officer of the U.S. Power Squadrons, here is the operator's manual that should come with every boater's GPS receiver or chart plotter.

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Suggestions?  Email bfscweb@gmail.com.

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"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails!"
~ William A. Ward 

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"The rules are there, the physical laws that we have slowly learned. If we obey them we have a chance of survival. It is no use knowing that your boat is heading toward the eye of a storm and praying to God to see you through.  That's not his job. It's your task to steer the boat away from the eye, and you are asking too much if you expect the boat to survive when you deliberately ignore the rules." 
~ Robert Knox-Johnston