Rogue Waves and Determining Longitude at Sea

I’ve been meaning to write about two books that I read on our crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas that I had set aside just for that passage and enjoyed a great deal. Honestly, I thought I already wrote about them but I can’t find the post in my offline writer or on the blog so apparently I didn’t. Is there a cruiser version of senioritis or can I get senioritis before 40?

Both books are non-fiction and both are the type of books that, in my opinion, if you like the idea of the book, you will like the execution. If the idea of the book sounds boring, give it a pass.

The first is a book about rogue waves by Susan Casey called “The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean". Although perhaps a questionable choice of book to read while surrounded by hundreds of miles of ocean with no port in sight, I loved the book. I particularly enjoyed the fact that she skips back and forth between information and viewpoints from wave scientists, big wave surfers, and shipping companies and insurers.

The second book was about the discovery of longitude, or rather, the accurate measurement of longitude on land and later on sea. The book is “Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time” by Sobel. It is a bit nerdy, engaging and concise and I really enjoyed it.

I’ll bet your local library has copies of both or if you are feeling flush pick up a copy for yourself when you are ordering your holiday gifts from Amazon.