Gift ideas for a teen new to sailing

[jimmacd]

Hi,

I am not a boat owner, but my 17 year old nephew has recently started taking sailing lessons. He is located in Ojai, CA, and is taking lessons on Lake Casitas, but if bitten by the bug, he is close to some very nice coastal sailing out of Santa Barbara. His maternal grandfather as well is a very passionate coastal and open ocean sailor out of Trinidad, so you can say sailing it is in his blood.

That said, my wife and I would like to get him something sailing related for a holiday gift, and wanted to ask you all what "must have" gifts we might want to consider purchasing for him. We've already purchased several other gifts for him, so our budget for this gift is up to ~$30. We were thinking of a book, magazine subscription, or some gear, but have no idea what would be useful to him or more likley to fan his passion for this new pursuit -- so we would appreciate and all suggestions that you may have.

Thank you,
Jim

 

[Ross]

As always my choice is for books , For his purposes this title may be excellent: "The Practical Pilot" by Leonard Eyges. Coastal navigation by eye, intuition and common sense. Published by International Marine publishing Co. ISBN 0-87742-969-3

edited for typos

 

[letterman]

Books you can get at the library. Magazine subscriptions work best, I think. What is he into? At that age, I would have LOVED Classic Boat or Practical Boat Owner or Wooden Boat. But then I am past artist, engineer, photographer, so old wooden boats fit all three. However, if he is into racing, the get a racing mag. Of course now you can get a lot off these online, but I still prefer the hard copy for the classics.

 

[Tim R.]

"Annapolis book of seamanship" is an excellent reference I look to often. Better to own this one than borrow.

A good adventure is "A voyage for Madmen". Excellent read about the first solo circumnavigation in 1969. A related video about one of the contestants(Donald Crowhurst) is "Deep Water". Read the book, then watch the movie. Very entertaining.

 

[jimmacd]

What is he into?

He currently is learning to sail on a lake, in dingy-sized boats I believe, so he doesn't have a lot of sailing experience. However, I think he has been a passenger on larger craft during trips to Trinidad when younger. I also thiink he is intrigued by the allure of coastal sailing and island hopping, as well as racing -- thanks to stories of his grandfather's extensive sailing experiences (including racing for the Trini national team).

 

[Scott T-Bird]

For $30 you can possibly get a small selection of books and mags. For a book, I would steer away from the instructional and lean towards something more entertaining. I was a reader at 17 and "Sailing Around the World Alone" by Captain Joshua Slocum is just the sort of book that I loved at that age. Written, at the turn of the last century, it is entirely "G" rated but it has some absolutely fascinating stories as he travels from place to place and any kid would be absorbed. The version I bought has a companion book about the Captain enduring a shipwreck in Brazil and making a sailboat on the beach to bring his family back home to the northeast. These are true accounts and better than fiction! For a real sea captain, Slocum was an excellent writer ... I found the book almost impossible to put down ... both times I read it! It is acknowledged as one of the landmark adventure books about sailing in any generation.

I've heard many other great suggestions for books on this forum so stay tuned! I'll bet we'll hear some more.

 

[Bob V]

ditto what Scott said

about Slocum and add Tania Abby's (sp?) "Maiden Voyage".

The second one is about an 18 yr old girl setting out in a 26 ft boat to sail solo around the world. She makes it by the way and it is quite the adventure story.

Tania is all grown up now and off cruising with her two sons.

 

[higgs]

"The Last, Strange Voyage of Donald Crowhurst" and "Heavy Weather Sailing" by Alder Coles are two book i really enjoyed as I was getting into the sport.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Wow! Great ideas. I just finished two of the four grandkids with Slocum(he can't have my copy) and Abby. By adding one for myself got free shipping from Amazon. Thanks guys.

 

[Ross]

Sometimes you can get the books you want at the library but the library wants them back in a couple of weeks and some books should be within reach forever. One of the things that has made Around Alone and Maiden Voyage entertaining is their instructional value. You can learn alot from books like those. But they are worth more than one read.

 

[Capt. Ed]

A leatherman core or wave .As simple as that !

 

[Ross]

The story is told of a young man going the the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and was seeking to become his pupil. Aristotle in his bath at the time asked why student was seeking Aristotle as a teacher. The would be student replied because Aristotle was the greatest teacher of his time. Whereupon Aristotle grabed the young man and held him under water for some long seconds and finally pulled him to the surface. Then he said to the would be student ,"When you want knowledge as badly as you just now wanted air then you may come back to me" .

 

[sailingdog]

A great book for almost any sailor is Dave Seidman's The Complete Sailor, which is about $15 at most major bookstores.

 

[higgs]

Ed

The Leathermans are over $30. Otherwise they would be great gifts. [

 

[Dalliance]

Here is another book to consider -

THE WHY BOOK of SAILING - The Curious Sailor's Guide to the Science of Sailing and Seamanship, by Scott Welty, published by Burford Books in 2007. Scott is a retired high school physics teacher who now cruises full time. The book examines, with a sense of humor, how the forces of nature come to bear on a sailboat.

 

[Ross]

The problem with tools and other "things" is that they can be lost. Knowledge will stay with you for as long as you have your mind . When you finally lose that then neither knowledge or tools will be of any use.

 

[Rich (P303)]

Hi,

I am not a boat owner, but my 17 year old nephew has recently started taking sailing lessons. He is located in Ojai, CA, and is taking lessons on Lake Casitas, but if bitten by the bug, he is close to some very nice coastal sailing out of Santa Barbara. His maternal grandfather as well is a very passionate coastal and open ocean sailor out of Trinidad, so you can say sailing it is in his blood.

That said, my wife and I would like to get him something sailing related for a holiday gift, and wanted to ask you all what "must have" gifts we might want to consider purchasing for him. We've already purchased several other gifts for him, so our budget for this gift is up to ~$30. We were thinking of a book, magazine subscription, or some gear, but have no idea what would be useful to him or more likley to fan his passion for this new pursuit -- so we would appreciate and all suggestions that you may have.

Thank you,
Jim

How about a tactical compass?

 

[Prime Time]

gift

How about just a decent knife? A good safety item. Doesn't have to be too fancy.

 

[jimmacd]

Thanks for the great advice everyone. Due to the multiple recommendations for books in general, and specifically for that about Solcum's adventures and Maiden Voyage, we opted for the latter. We think this relatively recent account (compared to that of Slocum's) of a voyage taken by someone near his age, will really resonate with our nephew.

Best regards,
Jim

 

[Stan Breaux]

2 Suggestions:
1. Sailing Gloves (with no fingertips) -- You can possibly buy from this website or else from West Marine or Defender online
2. The Book "Lionheart" which written by a 17 year old Australian Boy who sailed around the world alone.