I really like Basic Seamanship and Navigation. by Edmund A GIbson.
It’s from 1951, found it in a used book store. I credit the book as helping me getting promoted from AB to third mate when I was sailing with MSC. The mate came up to me one day and asked me if I had a book on seamanship with me, captain wanted to know.
I gave the mate my copy to give the the captain. Got it back a couple days later. Got promoted to third mate a week or two after that.
Agree, although out of print, I borrowed it from a friend decades ago. Another book by Capt Plummer “Ship handling in narrow channels” was a gem. I talked to a few pilots in Texas that knew him or knew of him. Said they never knew what he would do next “Experimenting”. It is in my meager library to this day. I would recommend both books to aspiring and current sailors.
I would love to find a copy of that book, but it’s incredibly hard to find and when you do, it’s horribly expensive. Last one I saw online was over $300.
There is a reference to Texas Chicken. Bow cushion, stern suction, turn at the same time approaching each other at a combined 20 knots or so… The guy nailed it. On spot steering skills… Hope you can find one sir at a reasonable price. Sabine, Calcasieu,and Houston Pilots all learned from him. Many other ports benefitted as well from his detail regarding meeting and overtaking in narrow channels. Not just USA.
