More Books, Less Paddling

Woke up today to see the wind was still howling a gale off the bay. When I walked the landlady's dogs close enough to shore that I could see the water (but they couldn't and so didn't start begging to run along the shore) the bay was full of whitecaps. No kayaking this morning! Typical for November.
Managed to get the dogs back to the Beach House without having to shampoo salt water out of their fur. And I've found time this morning before going to the special collections room at the public library to study, so here's a brief note about some more books I've read recently that might interest paddlers.
Philip Teece is a local writer with several good books worth finding on the library shelves. Raincoast Macabre is a collection of his west coast ghost stories -- very chill. Plenty of kayaking references in these stories, as well as other small boats.

His book A Dream of Islands has several stories detailing how he constructed and became familiar with his little sailboat Galadriel. It's of particular interest to anyone jonesing to build their own wooden boat! Most of all, I enjoy the references to local islands and bays around the Saanich Peninsula.Follow the further adventures of the sailboat Galadriel in Teece's book A Shimmer on the Horizon. Here Teece tells of taking his little boat beyond Desolation Sound with a new partner in her own sailboat. Gunkholing from one anchorage to another sounds like a marvelous way to spend a summer.All three of these titles were released by the Victoria-based publisher Orca Book Publishers. Some of Teece's books are still available in bookstores, and these three titles are all in the Greater Victoria Public Library. Check 'em out and do a little armchair sailing and paddling this stormy winter!