As we prepared for retirement aboard Vida Dulce, we read lots of books and attended dozens of courses and seminars. Below is the list of books, charts, guides and reference materials. The ones in bold are on board Vida Dulce.

General
Changing Course, A Woman's Guide to Choosing The Cruising Life, Debra Ann Cantrell
Chasing Sunsets, Lawrence Pane, Carole Wells Pane, Ryan Pane
Life in the Left Lane, Emy Thomas
Steering You Straight, Lawrence Pane
Afloat, Guy de Maupassant Translated by Douglas Parmee
Blue Horizons, Beth A Leonard
All in the Same Boat, Tom Neale
Cruising, The Basics Zora and David Aiken
Things I Wish I'd Known Before I started Sailing, John Vigor
The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat, Mark Nicholas
Capable Cruiser, Lin and Larry Pardey
Modern Cruising Under Sail, Don Dodds
Nigel Calder's Cruising Handbook, Nigel Calder
A Passion for the Sea, Jimmy Cornell
Catamarans, The Complete Guide for Cruising Sailors, Gretor Tarjan
Cost Conscious Cruiser, Lin and Larry Pardey
This Old Boat, Don Casey
Two On A Boat, How to Keep It Afloat, Josiphine Longo
Streetwise, Don Street (DVD)
Transatlantic with Street, Don Street (DVD)
2x2 Micro Method for Learning The Wind, Captain Josie Longo
The Virgins' Treasure Isle, Julian Putley

Chapman's Piloting and Seamanship
The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, John Rousmaniere
Sail Trim, Theory and Practice, Peter Hahne
The Complete Book of Anchoring and Mooring, Earl R Hinz
Storm Tactics Handbook, Lin & Larry Pardey

Charts and Planning Guides
Atlas of Pilot Charts, North Atlantic Ocean PUB 106
Atlas of Pilot Charts, South Pacific Ocean PUB 107
Admiralty Sailing Directions, West Indies Pilot Volume II
Admiralty Sailing Directions, South America Pilot Volume III
Admiralty Sailing Directions, South America Pilot Volume IV
Admiralty Ocean Passages For The World
Imray Puerto Rico to the Virgin and Leeward Islands
... and a host of other regional and local charts

American Practical Navigator, Bowditch Volume I
American Practical Navigator, Bowditch Volume II

World Cruising Routes, Jimmy Cornell
How to Sail around the World, Hal Roth
The Gentleman's Guide to Passages South, Bruce Van Sant
Tricks of the Trades, Bruce Van Sant
Caribbean Passagemaking, A Cruiser's Guide, Les Weatheritt
ASA Passagemaking Certification Course Book

Celestial Navigation
Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen, Mary Blewitt
2010 Nautical Almanac, Commercial Edition
Sight Reduction Tables for Air Navigation, Selected Stars - Epoch 2010
Sight Reduction Tables for Air Navigation, Latitudes 0-40 degrees Declinations 0-29 degrees

Weather
The Barometer Handbook, David Burch
Modern Marine Weather, David Burch
Mariner's Weather Handbook, Steve & Linda Dashew

Radio
The AARL Handbook For Radio Communications
Marine SSB Radio for "Idi-Yachts", Captain Marti Brown

Cruising Guides
Puerto Rico, the Spanish, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Donald M Street Jr
A Cruising Guide to the Lesser Antilles, Don M Street Jr
Cruising the Virgin Islands, Joe Russell & Mark Bunzel
Exploring the Virgin Islands, Joe Russell & Mark Bunzel
The Cruising Guide To The Virgin Islands, Nancy & Simon Scott
Virgin Anchorages, Companion aerial photographs to the Cruising Guide To The Virgin Islands
The Cruising Guide To The Leeward Islands, Chris Doyle
The Cruising Guide To The Windward Islands, Chris Doyle
The Cruising Guide To Venezuela and Bonaire, Chris Doyle
The Panama Cruising Guide, Eric Bauhaus

Other Local & Regional Guides
Diving
Diving the British Virgin Islands, Jim and Odile Scheiner
The Dive Sites of the Virgin Islands, Lawson Wood

Coral Reef Fishes, Ewald Leiske & Robert Myers
Guide to Gamefish of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Birds

Language Assistance
Spanish For Cruisers, Kathy Parsons
French For Cruisers, Kathy Parsons

Knots
Cyrus L Day Knots & Splices, Revised by Colin Jarman
Pocket Guide to Knots, Lindsey Philpott
Don Street's Knots, Don Street (DVD)

Fishing
The Cruiser's Handbook to Fishing, Scott Bannerot & Wendy Bannerot
Saltwater Fishing Made Easy, Martin Pollizotto

Cookbooks
Kitchen Afloat, Joy Smith
Joy of Cooking, Irma S Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker
Cruising Cuisine, Kay Pastorius
The Cruising Chef Cookbook, Michael Greenwald
The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann
The Big Book of Casseroles, Maryana Vollstedt
Off the Shelf, Donna Hay
What Can I Bring? Cookbook, Anne Byrn
Big Flavors of the Hot Sun, Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby
The Thrill of the Grill, Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby

Boat Maintenance
The Complete Rigger's Apprentice, Brion Toss
Advanced Marine Electrics and Electronics Troubleshooting, Ed Sherman
Fiberglass Repair, Polyester or Epoxy, David and Zora Aiken
Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual, Nigel Calder

First Aid
American Red Cross First Aid
American Red Cross Adult CPR/AED
American Red Cross Wilderness and Remote First Aid
Advanced First Aid Afloat, Peter F Eastman, M.D. and John M Levinson, M.D.
Where There Is No Doctor, A Village Health Care Handbook, David Werner with Carol Thurman and Jane Maxwell

Periodicals
Practical Sailor
Seven Seas Cruising Association Commodores' Bulletin
Latitudes and Attitudes
Cruising World
Sailing
Islands