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How Reading to Your Kids Inspires Them to Sail

It’s hard to know how and why a kid’s dreams take hold, but we do know one of the great pleasures of being a parent is reading to your kids. We were reminded of this as we caught this photo of a mother and child looking over a Latitude 38 at a local coffee shop.

Who knows where reading with you kid will take them?
Who knows where reading with your kids will take them?
© 2025 Leslie

They’re looking at the calendar of upcoming events and a dealer’s ad with boats for sale. Could they be imagining sailing off to St. Somewhere? The magazine is full of stories and tales that fuel the dreams of adults and kids. We remember the books we read as kids: Harold and the Purple Crayon, Where the Wild Things Are, and later Dove, Sailing Alone Around the World, Tinkerbelle: The Story of their 78-day Atlantic Crossing by Robert Manry, and many more. What’s your most memorable or inspiring book as a kid or adult?

Harold and his purple crayon created his own dreams.
Harold and the Purple Crayon created his own dreams.
© 2025 Harold and The Purple Crayon / Crockett Johnson

Reading the printed page alone or with your kids is a completely different experience from one where links, ads, pop-ups, videos, clickbait and all the rest jump between you and your child. Yes, our magazine is supported completely by advertisers and subscribers, and the advertisers are the businesses that support sailing and your sailing dreams. We appreciate advertising and the advertisers who make it possible for us to connect the West Coast sailing tribe and publish the stories that inspire everyone.

Reading Robin Lee Graham's book Dove is one of the most frequently mentioned books that inspired young people to sail.
Robin Lee Graham’s book Dove is one of the most frequently mentioned books that inspired young people to sail.
© 2025 Robin Lee Graham Dove

We probably read Robin Lee Graham’s book Dove when we were about 13 or 14. He left Hawaii to sail solo around the world at age 16 aboard a 24-ft boat. At 14, it created an exciting and possibly achievable dream. A 24-footer was a pretty big boat compared to our 10-ft Turnabout, but it seemed within reach. Somehow the combination of reading the stories and the good fortune to grow up sailing led to a lifetime passion.

Will they be a cruiser or racer? Or both?
Will they be a cruiser or racer? Or both? Does it matter?
© 2025 Latitude 38 Archive

It’s hard to know which stories will captivate a kid’s imagination, but it’s a completely different experience from video games, movies or social media. We’re glad we had the years to read to our kids, who continue to devour books to this day. It certainly comes as no surprise that Latitude 38 is a big supporter of the relaxed, undistracted act of reading magazines or books to yourself or with your kids. And there’s always the irony of posting these stories in our digital newsletter. Time for our links: If you want to turn off your device to read a Latitude 38, you can pick one up here. You can see the stories in the current issue here. Whatever your style, we hope you find time to relax and enjoy it — alone or with your kids.

 

Sailing

1 Comments

  1. Bill Hellendale 2 weeks ago

    The books that augmented my interest in sailing were the Swallows and Amazons series, around a dozen books for kids written by Arthur Ransome in the 1930’s long before i was born. Set on Windermere lake in Northern England, they were all about the adventures these kids had, sailing and camping all around this lake all summer long in 12 ft sailing dinghies. I liked them so much that I even visited the lake as an adult when I was in England!

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