Book the Captain just finished snoozing on: Psychology of Sailing, by Michael Stadler
Trolling the internet for books on improved First Mate management and motivation, I found Psychology of Sailing, by Michael Stadler, and decided to give it a whirl.
Since this is an out-of-print book, the used prices range from nearly free to seriously insane. By checking Amazon weekly, we finally found an offer for less than £7, shipping included.
Topics covered
- sensory illusions at sea – what sights and sounds can ‘trick you’ at sea and why this happens
- how seasickness happens and why
- crew psychology – interactions of crews on ships, leadership and motivation
The best part
For us, it was the crew psychology – interactions of crews on yachts, leadership and motivation. That’s why we bought it.
Wishes
We were hoping that the whole book would be about crew interaction on yachts and long distance passages – and how to optimize that. Unfortunately, only 45 pages (out of 120 pages) covered this.
While this section was interesting, I’d like to find a much deeper and lengthy analysis of crew psychology. But this book is the best ( – and the only – one specifically focused on voyaging) that we can find so far.
Maybe analyses of parallel or similar situations would be helpful? For example, analyses of interaction of crews on submarines? Or other groups in confined spaces?
Conclusion
So – it’s still a good add to the sea library.
It gives a bit of insight on what I’m doing right in Can Opener management and some ideas about where to investigate to improve even further. I’d really like to find more expert coverage of this topic, however.
Got any good recommendations on ‘crew psychology’ for the sea library?
What other books are a must for the cruising life?
–Captain Cat
Book Reviews
Previously: How to Sail Around the World – Book Review
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The Cruising Kitty 