Best4Boats Best Books: The Way of the Sailor by David Kilmer
“You may ask, what magic is left in existence?”
So opens captain David Kilmer’s book The Way of the Sailor (Signalman Books, 2024), a work that straddles the space between memoir and short story collection. When not writing, Kilmer is a working recreational boat captain who splits his time these days between the Coeur d’Alene, ID area and the Sea of Cortez. If you happen to see the iconic Sizzler, featured on the cover of The Way of the Sailor, plying over the water of Lake Coeur d’Alene during a summer sunset, the odds are good that Kilmer is the man at the helm.
The Way of the Sailor is his third book and pairs sailing related stories from his life with thoughtful philosophical examinations of the events that benefit from the author’s hindsight. These varied vignettes, usually taking place underway with sails flying, serve as bite sized conduits for life lessons. What does it mean to set sail, really? Kilmer’s writing takes a look under the hood so to speak, teasing out meaning from the rollicking yarns told from waters around the world.
“So many things I cannot control about the voyage, and so few things I can…” opens what I think is a key chapter On Becoming a Sailor. He quotes Yeates and encourages sailors to first “read the masters”. For Kilmer, the way of the sailor really is a philosophical, spiritual path. “Practicing a certain way of being in the world. Holding ourselves to a personal code, like the knights and the samurai. Call it the way of the sailor.”
My reaction while reading this was simply hell yeah. Miyamoto Musashi was the most famous of all samurai and his book The Five Rings published in 1584 is still famously read as a landmark book about self-improvement and leadership. Similarly, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations (first written down in his personal diary in the second century AD, first published for the public in the 1500s) manifests stoic philosophy for the modern mind. Kilmer, in his humbler sailor way of course, is doing something similar here. Translating the realm of action, seafaring, and the beauty of being propelled by the wind into epiphanies about life itself.
Part sailing memoir, part life coach adjacent insights, and part Rumi-like praise for the miracle of being alive, Kilmer’s The Way of the Sailor contains a lot of heart and vulnerability. I appreciated the many dots connected from the clearly well-read author who is just as comfortable sharing a humorous story about being bitten by the infamous pigs in the Bahamas as quoting the King James Bible or Joshua Slocum. Frankly, one is struck by what a fine, gentlemanly fellow the author is by his tone and delivery—an uncommon breath of fresh air in today’s publishing landscape.
To me, more than anything here is a man’s man writing about being in love. Love of setting sail. Romantic love. The love of life itself and the wild places. Love of his fellow humans. Often sentimental? Certainly, but what’s wrong with that? All told, The Way of the Sailor is a great read both for the boat minded and also those interested in self-improvement and spirituality. I enjoyed it best in controlled reading bursts, putting it down between stories to let the ideas marinade properly. I can’t shake the feeling that this book is a force for good in the world, which is not strictly a book review criteria for me but nonetheless an impression I have. Medicine to the ailments of these chaotic, stressful times may very well be to set sail on meaningful adventures, commit to self-improvement, and feel deeply.
This book is vitality beamed directly to the brain and was a good reminder for me to enjoy those precious moments on and off the water mindfully. Throw a copy onboard when cruising for maximum enjoyment. Best4Boats recommends The Way of the Sailor—well done, captain.
Captain David Kilmer
The Way of the Sailor is captain David Kilmer’s third book. His other titles include the memoir A Peril to Myself & Others and novel The Million Dollar Fish. Learn more at wayofthesailor.com.
