When the breeze is calm and the ocean is flat, a good book helps pass the time. Click on the above topics and find some great reading recommendations.

If you are interested in the history of the exploration of the world, you must read the following two books.

1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies.  This is a remarkable book.  If you are interested in nautical history you must read it.
"OVER TEN YEARS AGO I STUMBLED UPON AN INCREDIBLE discovery, a clue hidden in an ancient map which, though it did not lead to buried..."  

The Island of Seven Cities: Where the Chinese Settled When They Discovered America  by Paul Chiasson.  This book references 1421 and builds on the evidence of Chinese discovery.