Great holiday reads from Boat Books of Westhaven
Whether you’re looking for summer reading or a Christmas gift for the boat lover in your life, a book about boating is a superb suggestion. We asked Marianne Bosman of Boat Books at Westhaven for her best suggestions for summer 2025/26.
Local sailors telling their stories
Lin Pardey's Passages: Cape Horn and Beyond – Lin was a feature speaker at the 2024 Auckland Wooden Boat Festival and this compilation of her sailing adventures is a popular stand out.
Reawakened - Traditional navigators of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa by Jeff Evans shares the stories of ten navigators and the challenges and triumphs of traditional wayfinding
Andrew Fagan's Swirly World: Lost at Sea was released a year ago and tells the story of Andrew’s non-stop world record attempt that went wrong.
A few lucky readers were fortunate to have their copy of Marco Polo autographed by Tony Armit at the first Auckland Wooden Boat Festival. His book is available to purchase from Boat Books.
Tales from the past
Johnny Wray's South Seas Vagabonds paired with a Ngataki T-shirt is a wonderful choice and a great read about the little boat that’s out and about promoting our festival.
For children
How Ships Work – a fold-out book by Clive Gifford that has pleased kids (of all ages) the world over.
Rock pools – A guide for Kiwi Kids is from local author Ned Barraud and a wonderful read.
Best guide for cruisers
David Thatcher's New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf – easily the best guide for anyone boating on the Hauraki Gulf.
Books on knot tying
The ultimate gift for the nautical booklover and advanced knot-tyer is possibly The Ashley Book of Knots – a beautifully presented guide across 620 pages, including 3,900 different kinds of knots. (one copy in stock - allow 3-4 weeks for shipping)
Another option, Essential Knots, comes as a kit with two practice ropes, a book and 48 knot-tying cards.
Order online at www.boatbooks.co.nz or visit in-store at 22 Westhaven Drive, Auckland – where you never know quite what you will find!
