High Seas and Home Waters

High Seas Home Waters: A History of the Cruising Club of America

by Sheila McCurdy and edited by Tim Murphy

—  2026

High Seas and Home Waters is the story of a club for capable sailors. The Cruising Club of America is famous for its adventurous members who have proved their self-reliance and seamanship skills exploring the world’s oceans and remote shores. They are, and always have been, storytellers or “yarners” as the founders would have said 100 years ago. 

While High Seas and Home Waters relates sea stories of daring accomplishments, the heart of the book is the close friendships of the Cruising Club of America members themselves, bound by their shared love of seaworthy boats and the maritime world. The beautifully designed and illustrated book covers a century of societal and technological change—starting in a time of voyaging with wooden boats and celestial navigation up to today’s high-tech yachts and satellite connectivity. Sheila McCurdy brings to life the captivating and often lighthearted history of the generations who have contributed to the global reputation of the CCA.

The Author

Sheila McCurdy went on her first sailing cruise at 3 months old, 31 years after the CCA was founded and a year before her father, the yacht designer Jim McCurdy, joined the Club. Since then she has sailed over 125,000 miles offshore, gotten to know hundreds of CCA members, and served as CCA commodore in 2009-2011. Sheila has written extensively on maritime matters, has a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island, and is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at Mystic Seaport Museum.

Pre-release praise for High Seas and Home Waters

Offshore sailors tend to be an ungovernable lot. Only free spirits head off to pursue adventures at sea, and CCA attracts the most accomplished and ungovernable of them all. While nobody could “herd the cats” represented by the ambitious, freespirited, and accomplished CCA members, Sheila has managed to herd their stories into a delightful and insightful history of the CCA. Sheila, due to her long commitment to the CCA, and her family’s history that is intertwined with that of the CCA, has been speculated to be the Queen of the CCA. With the accomplishment that this book represents, Sheila earns that title.

—Stan Honey

Record-setting navigator
2010 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee, 2012

A beautifully written tribute to a century of adventure, innovation, and seamanship, High Seas and Home Waters captures the spirit of the CCA and the sailors who helped shape offshore cruising and competition.

—Charlie Enright

CEO, US Sailing
Winning skipper, The Ocean Race, 2022–23

Sheila McCurdy has compiled an invaluable history of our Club with an emphasis on what makes it distinctive: shared stories and camaraderie. This book is well written, provides a complete view of our club for current members and is also a good overview of our values for potential new members. The introductory heading “Stories are our Clubhouse” gives a clear image of what the Club is about: good adventures and shared stories rather than glamorous settings. It is a tour de force with a delightfully personal touch.

—Sally Lindsay Honey

Two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year
Co-skipper of Illusion, winner of St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy, 2022
National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee, 2012

Sheila McCurdy’s comprehensive story of the Cruising Club of America captures the essence of American yachting over the past 100 years.  The book features compelling images from the past and present day.  The narrative is a story of people, ports, and their yachts. CCA members and sailors everywhere will be motivated to schedule adventurous cruises, which will inevitably generate more stories on the High Seas and Home Waters.

—Gary Jobson

Television commentator
America’s Cup winning tactician
Author, Sailing America and 18 other nautical titles

Order together with Adventurous Use of the Sea for a discounted rate here.