I have, in my boat library, a copy of "The Book of Navy Songs," copyrighted in 1955 by the United States Naval Institute. It was given to me by an old friend after he left the Naval Academy, and it contains all sorts of rousing sea chanties. Many's the evening that my wife, Suzanne, and I have sat around Rockhopper, our 1978 Morgan 45 Ketch, singing songs from the days of wooden ships and ironmen.

OK, maybe not.

I do have the book, but it is buried somewhere in a pile of stuff in the bottom of the v-berth that became a storage area when our youngest son left home.

I do, however, have the requisite number of Jimmy's CDs to ensure music on a long weekend sail (if I have to tell you who Jimmy is, you might want to check to see if you still have a boat). But whenever I have new guests on board, I pull out some CDs from less well known performers and try to open people up to the idea that there are some songwriters out there who also have held a tiller in their hands.

ERIC STONEEric Stone in concert.ERIC STONE

Eric Stone is one of the most prolific cruiser singer/songwriters. He has put out eight CDs of what he calls "nautical Americana," with his first one, "Songs for Sail," actually being certified gold. He started out in Southeast Texas and played the East Coast bar circuit for several years before ending up in Hawaii in 1991. It was on Oahu that he discovered his flair for tropical storytelling and wrote most of the songs for his first CD before returning to Orlando, Fla., and teaming up with old band mates to form a country band called "Eric Stone and The Risk."

In 1991, he headed to Nashville and worked as a songwriter and performer. In 1999, while booked at the Strictly Sail show, he met Bob Bitchin of Latitudes & Attitudes magazine. The magazine was just starting out, and Eric was singing about the very things Bob was writing about. The match proved excellent for both of them: Eric continued to perform at Strictly Sail shows and at Cruiser Parties sponsored by Lats and Atts.

I first heard Eric at Strictly Sail Philadelphia on a freezing Saturday in January. He was working the show as a one-man band near the Lats and Atts booth, doing sets with electronic backing tracks. It didn't take long to realize that Eric had a good sound, but it wasn't until I bought his "Scuba Tunes" one and two that I realized he is an outstanding lyricist. Eric writes about the same sorts of situations that Jimmy does, but Eric tends to have his tongue more firmly planted in his cheek. Eric may have missed a pun or two along the way, but it's not for lack of trying.

I later saw Eric with his full band in Annapolis, Md., and got the total Stoner experience. When he is with the band, Eric has the serious power chops to drive a full-bore party. It is definitely worth trying to find him in concert. His Web site, www.boatsongs.com, lists upcoming performances and even lets you know if he will be solo or with the band. While you are there, check out his video for "Meet Me In Mooloolaba." It helps if you can put on headphones and power up. Even streaming over the Internet, the song will get your pulse going.

EILEEN QUINNPerformer Eileen Quinn.EILEEN QUINN

Eileen is another singer/songwriter, but except for a couple of drivers like "Power," Eileen tends to be more contemplative and personal than Eric Stone. Eileen started playing when she started cruising, as a way to put the emotions she was feeling into a format she could express. Eileen sings about the emotional side of cruising, both the personal – fear, joy and sadness – and social – anger, hurt and love. Of course, Eileen also knows her way around a pun or two. In fact, "Miss Inclined," the title track from her latest CD, may set some sort of record for puns, including a particular groaner about a sailor trying to find "true luff." When Eileen is silly, she sets the standard. However, when she is sensitive, she can bring audiences to tears. On at least two occasions, I have seen her bring the crowd at the Annapolis Sailboat Show to its knees with her song, "My Grandma and Grandpa Went to Sea."

For several years, Eileen did the cruiser conch circuit, performing wherever she happened to be in the islands and hitting the Annapolis Sailboat Show, where she delivered a cruising seminar put together from her songs and pictures. She and her husband, David Allester, are very active members of the Seven Seas Cruising Association, and her annual Annapolis Gam performance tended to be the highlight of the day. Unfortunately, Eileen and David have, temporarily, I hope, swallowed the hook and are living in a cabin in Canada, while Eileen reconnects with her family and works on recording some of the tunes she wrote in the last couple of years.

Eileen's Web site, www.eileenquinn.com, lists her five CDs and a new songbook of her songs, with guitar instructions, sheet music and MIDI files to play along with. Although she hasn't updated her site recently, it does provide a nice insight into her music and her cruising philosophy, as well as giving the lyrics for some of her songs. While not as "professional" as Eric Stone, Eileen is the sort of singer you'll find yourself agreeing with as you sing along.

MYSTERY TRAMPTravis of Mystery Tramp.TRAVIS OF MYSTERY TRAMP

Travis may have a last name, but in the cruising world, last names tend to disappear in favor of boat names, and so Travis and Emily are "of Mystery Tramp," a self-built, 44-foot steel cutter. Travis started out as an ironworker, then fished commercially in Alaska and bummed into Costa Rica before deciding to return to California. The West Coast sensibility comes through in Travis' writing and performing, and his songs tend to a "slow down and smell the ocean" message.

Also, unlike Eileen or Eric, Travis' music seems more of a collaborative effort, since both he and Emily are performers. Travis just has one CD, "The Ocean is a Woman," but he also appears on the collaboration CD "Songs for Sailors #2," put out by the Lats and Atts people as part of a three-CD series.

Travis' Web site, www.mysterytramp.com, is more than just a music site – it's a compilation of his lifestyle. On it, you can find his and Emily's writing, photographs and even recipes – well, one recipe anyway. Travis may have slipped out to sea, but he has left behind a fine collection of songs.

SARAH DASHEWPerformer Sarah Dashew.SARAH DASHEW

Sarah is the opposite of the other singer/songwriters here. Eric, Eileen and Travis started in the "real world" and went cruising. Sarah started out cruising and ended up... well, maybe not in the "real world," but somewhere near it. Sarah is the daughter of Steve and Linda Dashew, one of the early cruiser couples from the '60s and '70s who created the "family cruising" lifestyle. Sarah and her sister grew up sailing around the world and, cut off from television, had to create their own entertainment. Obviously, they were very good at it.

Sarah does not restrict herself to cruising songs, but her background and the occasional nugget make her inclusion here mandatory. "Storms," from her "Music for Cruising" CD, will break your heart, and she has the sort of acoustic sensibility that makes you think that this is what Carole King would sound like if she were a sailor.

Sarah has a Web site at www.sarahdashew.com where you can get listen to clips from both of her CDs as well as get a feel for her background. However, the best way to get the most up-to-date information is to check out Sarah's MySpace page. Sarah is leading us into the next generation of cruising performers.

CD BABY AND ITUNES

All of these performers can be found at CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com), which I think is the best spot on the Web to find independent music. Most of the world still hasn't heard the call of the sea enough to let Eileen Quinn fill a stadium or Eric Stone live a life of decadent wastefulness (though, actually, Eric recently moved to the BVI, so maybe). All of the performers have a link on their Web sites to CD Baby, and once you are there, it is worth poking around, if you are willing to spend $15 on an experiment. If you don't want to pay for an entire album, most of these songs can also be found on iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/), where you have the option of buying a single song or two. Of course, you have to have a computer and some quality gear to listen to the songs, but the ease of purchase makes it worthwhile to give it a try at least.

As another option, check out the Lats and Atts store, www.latsandatts.net/store/home.php, where you can follow the CD link to the Songs for Sailors collections. Although Eric is the only performer to show up on all three CDs – he put them together, after all – any one of the three will give you a taste of the "warm and sunny," which goes well when the wind is fresh and the sails are up, and even better when the weather's cold and the nights are three weeks long.