what? nobody here has given credit to what may be the genesis of both small boat cruising and spy novels?
"The Riddle of the Sands" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079808/
it's based on the 1903 book "The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service " by Erskine Childers. The book is even better (and free on-line):
http://books.google.com/books?id=p44...r-navigational
it's now required reading for my crew :)
p.s. Childers' Bio is as facinating as any of his books: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Erskine_Childers
