Books on board

Books on a boat

Every one likes a sailing holiday right? They can be expensive though so we’ve picked a few literary ones that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own armchair and in the case of the North Water, you’ll probably be pleased that you have. Some waters are choppy, some very Arctic but there’s also a nice gentle option on a boat in the West Coast of Scotland during the summer months so there’s something for everyone. And put it this way, you don’t get sea sick with a book!

Type of Ship: Puffer boat

Destination: Summer at Sea to Crinan, Argyll and Bute

Your skipper –  Katie Fforde

Life on the ocean wave  – well in a puffer boat which used to be used as a sort of working/delivery boat for taking supplies up and down the coast of Scotland to remote coastal communities.  Now these boats are used as holiday lets and it’s what Emily of the story decides to go on. A great way to discover the west coast of Scotland and to see whether cooking in the galley and tasting all of fresh food that the region has to offer…

Holiday tip: Savethepuffer.co.uk/holidays

Type of ship: The Ship (of the future?)

Destination: Who knows?

Skipper: Antonia Honeywell

Well if next time you visit the British Museum, you notice that it’s been taken over by people trying to save themselves from the end of the world, then you’d better head off down the London Docks and get on board the ship. This is the kind of ship, as portrayed on the cover, where you will be with the chosen few, and head off into into the unknown where the only place you know you’re headed is safety …or is it? This was a  very dystopian novel and this journey on board a ship is quite like any other!

Type of ship: Whaling ship

Destination: The North Water

Skipper: Ian McGuire

Now this is only for the faint hearted. I felt a bit sick reading about the swell of the ocean and the wind and rain and I was nowhere near water or a boat at the time. A whaling boat is not the kind I would ever get the chance to board and so I was curious. My heart is still in my mouth and my stomach is empty and I’ve freezing from the sheer energy needed to read this account of a ship with a murderer on board. If you fall in, the Arctic waters will claim your life within seconds – and afloat in the Arctic waters, there’s no one to hear your screams….

Type of ship: An adventure ship

Destination: To a world of discovery

Music on board: Song of the Sea Maid

Skipper: Rebecca Mascull

This would have been a remarkable journey to have been on. Dawnay Price,a woman based on a real life female adventurer, sailed to Peniche and the Berlengas Islands in Portugal to discover the flora and fauna of the day. She was a single woman and a scientist in the days when both were frowned upon but what she achieves is remarkable. This was the booktrail book of 2015 as it just captures the sense of adventure, Dawnay’s fearless need to explore and discover and the new discoveries she does make. The fact and fictional worlds make this one of the most fascinating journeys by ship or boat we’ve ever done.