Category Archives: bargains

Boat Show: Authors and Bargains Galore!

The cavalcade of boaty and literary wonder that is the Toronto Boat Show is just around the corner!  From Saturday, January 12th to Sunday the 20th we’ll be at the Direct Energy Centre on the old, slightly haunted CNE grounds. This year we’ll be joined by a whole chapter of authors who will be delivering lectures/seminars/workshops, signing books, and  generally hanging out at our booth (listed below).  We’ll also have incredible, once-a-year-only treasures and bargains from the vault like last year.  If for some reason you can’t make it to the party, you can drop by our store which will have the same great deals, but less of the carnival atmosphere.  If you can’t make it there, but would like an autographed copy of a book, phone or email us, and we’ll get the author to sign the book and then ship it to you. More fun boat show facts are on their website.

Continue reading

Harbourfront Wasteland Wonderland

At first glance, our neighbourhood appears to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Wind funnels down a canyon of condos and whips across dusty rubble while giant machines demolish sidewalks, traffic lanes, and the peace. Look deeper though, and beneath the desolate moonscape you’ll find a vibrant community, brimming with delicious food, fun activities, and great deals! When you visit our store, you’ll find the same selection of books, charts, and calendars as on our site (in pleasantly browsable, physical form) as well as special store-only bargains, magazines, DVD rentals, and a puppy! You’ll also be able to swap yarns and expertise with our staff of Arctic tug crew, tall ship sailors, and seasoned yachties.

Pylons!

Puppy! (not for sale)

Skating!

Rubble!

When you’re done with us, load up on rugged gear for you, your boat, and your family at Genco Marine next to the Beer Store, or Tilley Endurables in the nearby Queen’s Quay Terminal. QQT’s a fun boutique mall, home to a games store, fudge shop, food court, and more. Apart from the food court, there are plenty of tasty and unique restaurants nearby like Grill 4 U Shawarma, Indian Roti House, and Shoeless Joe’s. Special mention must go to Spice Thai Cafe, whose hot and sour soup is the best in the city, and the unfortunately-named Lick It Gelato whose coffee is molto béne.

Tall Ship Caledonia

The Tall Ship Caledonia — Right across the street from us!

Activities and entertainment also abound, including one of the best skating rinks in the city, tall ship watching (now with extra “tall” thanks to the arrival of Caledonia), the Power Plant Gallery, the Music Garden, and of course, beholding the engineering marvel of major enhancements to municipal infrastructure.

 

* Parking can be challenging, especially if there’s an event at the Sky Dome/Rogers Centre, but there’s metered parking and several lots in the neighbourhood (including beneath the Radisson). The nearby police station is the Marine Unit, and so generally more interested in fining you for missing paper navigation charts than giving parking tickets. There’s a 509 bus running from the similarly devastated Union Station.

Happy 50th, Toronto Brigantine – 10% Off For Alumni

The Nautical Mind wishes Toronto Brigantine & STV Pathfinder a happy anniversary, and congratulates them on fifty years of bringing tall ship adventures to youths!

Alumni attending the 50th Anniversary Celebrations at Harbourfront receive a 10% discount on all purchases made at The Nautical Mind on Saturday, November 10th.

TBI Favourites include Small Craft Piloting & Coastal Navigation, Chapman Seamanship & Piloting, The Ashley Book of Knots, The 74 Gun Ship, and The Aubrey & Maturin Series.

Treasures of the Vault… Now on Sale!

Deep in the cavernous bowels of Nautical Mind Head Quarters lies a dusty, half-remembered vault.  Once a year we throw open its creaking doors, shine high-lumen flashlights in to the dank, and haul out a trove of wondrous artifacts.  Left-handed marlinspikes, deadlight bulbs, buckets of prop-wash, deeply discounted calendars, all manner of reasonably-priced boat books, and much more are schlepped from the dark into a waiting truck.

NMHQ Catacombs

Cavernous Bowels

The assembled crew consists of tall ship captains, yachties, software developers, islanders, and sailors of all stripes.  Our zeal for the impending Event makes the load light and the work swift, as we sing Broadway show tunes and pack the truck.

Ramping up the Excitement

Ramping up the Excitement

Treasures of the Vault

Treasures of the Vault

Zeal

Zeal

Double Zeal

Double Zeal

 

The truck gets sprinkled with drywall dust, which presumably allows it to pass unharmed through the magical Prince’s Gates and arrive at the fabled CNE grounds.  Then, drawing on years of experience helming a tug in treacherous arctic waters, the driver deftly slips 30 tons of truck and bargain down the congested aisles of the Direct Energy Centre.  Truly a sight to behold, he manages not to crush a single SeaDoo or shipping pallet of radars.  Once at our destination, we resume our joyous box flinging, this time unloading the truck and assembling our pop-up bookstore booth.    Within moments, we deploy carpets, bookcases, tables, merchandise, POS-terminals, and the treasures of the vault.

30 Tons of Truck and Bargain

Watch out buddy! That's 30 tons of truck and bargain comin' at you!

Joyous Box Flinging

Joyous Box Flinging

Pop-up Bookstore Booth

Pop-up Bookstore Booth

At last, the booth is ready for another year of the carnival atmosphere of the Toronto International Boat Show.  Come visit us at booth G545 before sundown on Sunday, January 22nd!  We look forward to seeing you!

 

Booth G545

Booth G545. You should come!

Boat Book Gift Ideas, Big and Small

These days, the answer to the question “what is a book?” is certainly changing.  And while the Nautical Mind is on the brink of offering e-books, we definitely have some pleasing book book alternatives that are anything but standard size. If you can’t make it to our old fashioned brick’n'mortar storefront to browse, go ahead and browse our online catalogue. Perfect for Christmas stockings, purses, book bags, hand luggage – not to mention cockpits and bunks – here are a few of the best:

Poems of the Sea Sea Cards Heave Ho!  The Little Book of Seasickness

Reeds Knot Handbook, new this year, is a perfect little item for pocket or bag, for anyone who’s trying to learn the ropes.  Its step-by-step photos demonstrate how to tie the most useful knots—and also show what the finished product should look like. Reeds Skipper’s Handbook is more of a quick reference, bursting as it is with the critical basics of navigation, weather, anchoring, mooring, and more. The Boater’s Pocket Reference ranges a little further while remaining compact, covering boating terms, design, construction materials, the rules of the road, seamanship, weather, engines, electronics, and even more.

Continue reading

Vicki de Kleer Discusses the Origins of The Visual Guide to the Flags of the World

Sailor, author, and Nautical Mind alumna Vicki de Kleer weighed in with the origins of her innovative and invaluable Visual Guide to the Flags of the World.

A Visual Guide to the Flags of the World

A Visual Gudie to the Flags of the World

Vicki de Kleer (L) and the Nautical Mind Staff

Vicki de Kleer (L) and the Nautical Mind Staff

Regarding the Visual Guide to the Flags of the World

Usually the first questions regarding the book are “How did you get started with this idea?” followed by “Why do you think it is particularly useful?” In answer, I will tell you that my curiosity about flags started decades ago, when I was first taught how to sail. This was in a particularly busy sea area off the south of England, close to Portsmouth and Southampton. At that time there were many trans-Atlantic liners coming, anchoring, and going. Among them the Queen Mary, Bremen, and Normandie, as well as Naval ships, fishing boats and visiting yachts. So it was fun, and easy to learn what part of the world they came from by their national ensigns. Some of these are the same as the national flag, others are a variation of that, or even completely different. Only Great Britain goes so far as to have three! White specifically for the Navy, blue for Merchant Marine, and everybody else flies what is commonly, if informally, known as the Red Duster. (Protocol is strictly observed, however one morning at our local Sailing Club, a small tent was found flaunting an enormous White Ensign! The inhabitants claimed they ‘found it’, but incidentally at the time there was a lot of Naval activity just off shore, and no further questions were asked. )

Continue reading

A New Shipment of Deeply Discounted Books

We recently snapped up lots of great books at amazing prices.   These great books include:

As well as texts for professional mariners like:

And many more.  They’re all in our Bargains section.