The best books about ocean adventures and life at sea

Stepping away from his ‘normal’ genre of historical fiction, Wilbur Smith has created an ocean adventure novel that anyone with seafaring urges or experience would love to read. As a longtime seaman, with my own vast experience on the ocean, this book will take you to places and adventures far beyond any that most seamen have ever experienced. Based on the unique life of a marine engineer/adventurer, Hungry as the Sea takes the reader on an epic adventure into the treacherous realm of the Antarctic, aboard an ocean-going tugboat intent on trying to save a floundering cruise ship. I could feel nature’s elements and life’s dangers on every page.

As a 100-ton licensed United States Coast Guard Captain, I have seen and experienced many frightening and challenging moments at sea. This book, Hungry as the Sea, shares and captures the essence of what makes the oceans so frightful, and yet so enticing. I love Smith’s writing, his ability to ‘paint’ the complete scene on every page, and the honesty and graphic descriptions of each encounter his characters see and feel. While I have personally encountered many challenges on the ocean, Smith’s writing proves to me that I have ‘not seen it all’. This book reminds me that although they can be explored, the oceans will never be tamed.

While I cannot even pretend to compare my writing to that of Wilbur Smith, my book shares some of my own experiences at sea, along with some insight into what it might be like for others to hop aboard a boat bound for places most people only dream about. 

One of the true classics, Moby Dick, even though written approximately 150 years ago, still holds the fascination and similarities that men today hold for tales from the sea. In Melville’s tale, a former shipmate relates the story of why and how one man’s obsession with a Sperm Whale ultimately led to his and most of his shipmate’s demise. A fascinating tale that introduces the reader to Captain Ahab, Queequeg, and other unique and colorful characters, the story abounds with subtle inferences about the similarities and distinctions between man and the animal world. 

From my own experiences, the tale that Melville creates resonates strongly with some of my own obsessions in life and runs alongside many of the primal urges many men seek to overcome and conquer in their own lives. Even though long and sometimes a bit heavy, this American classic is one that all readers should enjoy.

I am recommending this book because Moby Dick, The Whale, is more than a tale of man vs. animal, but because it also conveys the struggle that some men have with themselves, and their need to be bigger, better, smarter, and stronger than anyone, or anything else. From my own fishing exploits, I can truly appreciate the passion that Captain Ahab has to conquer the mighty Sperm Whale, despite the potential consequences.

When a man sets sail on an extended ocean voyage, there is usually purpose, determination, and a goal to reach. Donald Crowhurst likely held these objectives when he embarked upon his round-the-world sailing adventure…but somewhere along the way, he lost sight of those goals, and seemingly with the basic truth of reality. Crowhurst’s story is a  sometimes dark and disturbing account of what the voyage was all about, and what may have actually taken place on this strange and bizarre odyssey. As a man who has felt the pangs, insecurities, and unknowns when on the ocean, miles from land, scared, and facing the challenges that both nature and humanity tossed our way, I can somewhat understand how a man at sea can become so lost, so confused, and so vulnerable.

The Strange Voyage of Donald Crowhurst helped me to understand some of the odd feelings and thoughts that I have felt on a cold and rough night on the ocean; alone, frightened, insecure. It also helped me to realize that under such circumstances, one’s outlook on life, drive, and purpose are the only things a man can draw upon, and put to the test when confronting a threat to our own courage and personal character. 

I recommend this book to all readers that can appreciate how far astray one can wander, even while trying to adhere to a specific plan or goal. Crowhurst embarks on the first around-the-world sailboat race, intent upon winning the race, and becoming the first to accomplish the feat. Inexplicably, a mere 2 weeks and only several hundred miles from winning the race, and reaching his goals, Crowhurst’s sailboat is found adrift with no sign of the seaman.

In re-creating his journey (based primarily on his ship’s log), the authors try and weave together the details of what happened along the way, where things went wrong, and ultimately what did actually take place aboard the ill-fated sailboat. While I cannot personally imagine attempting to sail around the world single-handed, I can appreciate how such an endeavor could lead one astray.

When a 16-year-old Indian boy finds himself shipwrecked on a small raft with only a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger on board, what could possibly go wrong? That question obviously seems ridiculously easy to answer; nearly everything! In this inspiring tale, Yann Martel has created a nearly unbelievable situation which seems extremely unlikely to happen, and yet his tale weaves the story into such a believable set of circumstances that the reader cannot help but get drawn into the chaos. Colorful, imaginative, and inspiring, the Life of Pi is an ocean adventure unlike any other. 

This book resonated with me on many levels; from the incongruity of how the young boy became stranded, to the interaction between the boy and the animals. As with my own ocean experiences, one never knows what might be encountered on any given voyage, and even though my own experiences with sea animals cannot match those of the 16 year-old Indian boy, my own encounters have made a lasting impression. I recommend this book for all who might wonder how things can happen, and how even the youngest of us can adapt and cope with the inexplicable.

Of all the books I’ve read throughout my life, this one is my absolute favorite. Written in simple, yet descriptive and colorful prose, this book helped shape my own life voyages. As an avid fisherman, I related completely with the Old Man and his battle with the ‘mighty fish’; a huge marlin that he hooked and did his best to conquer. Ultimately, he did overcome the battle with the great fish, subduing it and tying it alongside his little fishing skiff (it was too massive to drag aboard), only to have the great fish ravaged and torn to shreds by sharks. A young boy, who the Old Man took out fishing when times were good, feared deeply that the Old Man was lost at sea, but when he discovered that he had returned during the dark of night, with only the great fish’s carcass to show for his valiant effort, the young boy could feel, sense, and understand how even a heroic and epic challenge can lead to failure. 

I have read The Old Man and the Sea three times, and each time I learn new things, about myself, about life, and about the mysteries and vastness of the sea. The book is written simply and honestly, and I first read it at the age of six. When I re-read it at age 21, I found it even better, and the last time I read it, at age 62, I loved it even more. It has wonderful insight into the basic challenges that we all face in life, and even though it takes place primarily aboard a small fishing skiff off the east coast, its message and imagery resonate clearly with everyday life for all of humanity.