Check It Out:

Boats and boating have played an important role from the early days of the dugout canoes. Originally made for transportation, then commerce, boats later became a part of our recreation, whether for personal pleasure or racing for glory. One thing that can be said about all boats is that they are things of beauty. Our Nautical Collection offers the browser many viewing delights.

 Four master designers and their work are revealed by author Franco Pace in his wonderful photo-filled books “William Fife: Master of the Classic Yacht,” “Sparkman & Stephens: Classic Modern Yachts” and “Herreshoff and his Yachts.” Fife, one of the great geniuses of yacht design, built his boats in Scotland between 1890 and World War II. His works are considered to be among the most beautiful, and most elegant and fastest ever built. Sparkman & Stephens was one of the most successful and influential yacht design firms in the history of the modern yacht. The partnership was noted for the breadth and dominance of its designs from 6-, 8-, and 12-metre boats to America’s Cup yachts and a renowned fleet of groundbreaking yachts. Nathaniel Herreshoff, one of the giants of early 20th-century yacht design, was an innovator, a bold thinker and a designer of graceful, beautiful racing yachts, many of which are still winning classic regattas today.

 “A Century Under Sail: Selected Photographs by Morris Rosenfeld and Stanley Rosenfeld” is compiled by a father-son team specializing in photographs of the America’s Cup. More than 200 monochrome photographs were chosen to celebrate a joining of great yachts and the sea from the perspective of legendary photographers.

 “Steamers, Schooners, Cutters & Sloops: Marine Photographs of N.L. Stebbins Taken 1884 to 1907” by W. H. Bunting is another photographic treasure.

Steam replaced sail for commercial purposes, and local racing craft was abandoned for more scientific designs at the turn of the last century. Stebbins’ photographs capture the changes in yacht design that took place in the northeastern waters and are all that now remains of some of the vessels that have all but vanished.

Beken of Cowes, a renowned three-generation family firm of nautical photographers, is represented in the collection by “Sailing Thoroughbreds, The Glory of Sail” and “A Hundred Years of Sail.” Beken photographs are recognized worldwide as portraits without equal.

 Both pleasure craft and speedboats have been made out of quality wood and are known for their beauty. “The Legend of Chris-Craft” by Jeffrey Rodengen explores the history and legacy of the family that made runabouts and cabin cruisers for recreational boaters.

“Chris-Craft Boats” by Anthony Mollica Jr. offers spectacular color photos of the family’s offerings, as does his book “The American Wooden Runabout,” which expands the scope of these “sport cars of the nautical set.” The six-volume series “The Real Runabouts” by Robert Seltz is a culmination of research on the wooden runabout builders that includes the story of the mahogany inboard or “speedboat.” Kayaks, too, fall into the wooden boat category with “Baidarka: The Kayak” by George Dyson and “Kayaks You Can Build” by Ted Morres.

 “The Sailing Collection: The Great Ships” includes four discs: “The Whalers,” “The Clippers,” “The Galleons” and “The Schooners.” For centuries, the world’s great sailing ships embodied adventure. They were the key to vast riches, fame and world power that transformed the world.

“In the Wake of the Zaca: The Remarkable Adventures of a California Schooner” relates the story of the Zaca, which launched on the eve of the Great Depression and sailed through 75 years of history. It served as a luxury yacht, scientific research vessel, navy patrol boat and party boat for Errol Flynn.

“The Last Sailors,” narrated by Orson Welles, is an exquisite motion picture history that tells the story of sailors, with ancient crafts, still harnessing the wind and the sea for their livelihood.

CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public Library. The library may be contacted at (949) 717-3800, option 2.