Waypoint staff recommends...          If there's one book I'd like to see in my Christmas stocking, it's the Boater's Pocket Reference.  It's compact--just the right size for a sea bag, and gives the lowdown on virtually every boating topic imaginable from knot tying, boat handling, navigation, charting, GPS, and much more.  We have a copy at the counter on display, and can't stop looking at it; we find something new every time we look.      Waypoint staffer Diana Jessie has more years of boating and world cruising experience than twenty of us put together.  We were thrilled to see the second edition of her book, Cruising Women's Advisor, added a new chapter on powerboat cruising to supplement her sage advise on how to prepare for the cruising life.  Be more than just a good first mate!      Celebrate the lives and times of two outstanding naval architects.   With the passing of Olin Stephens, the world lost one of the greatest designers of all time.  Read about his amazing life in his own words in All This and Sailing, Too.  Always opinionated and entertaining, Robert Perry revolutionized the cruising world with the Valiant 40 and continues to offer insight on design in his inimitable way in Yacht Design According to Perry.      Enjoy a good mystery?  Bestselling author Linda Greenlaw (featured in The Perfect Storm) offers a skillfully penned mystery filled with off-the-wall eccentric characters in Slipknot.      A sailor's worst nightmare makes a gripping story in Left for Dead.  Author Nick Ward survived against all the odds after he was abandoned, unconscious, with another crew member who later died on the infamous 1979 Fastnet Race.           It's not too early to think about the passage to the South Pacific.  Diana highly recommends Guide to Navigation and Tourism in French Polynesia.  It's a beautiful book, with some of the finest charts of the area we've seen--beautiful reproductions of the French Hydrographic (SHOM) charts that are the gold standard for the area.  Information is current, and pilotage is detailed.      Shirley teaches sailing and navigation to both recreational boaters and commercial mariners.  She recommends that all boaters have a Coast Pilot on board.  Surprised?  You shouldn't be.  A Coast Pilot contains a wealth of information that's valuable to any mariner.  It's updated regularly, and corrections and amendments are made available weekly. And, for the scope of the publication, it's a bargain!      Another great stocking stuffer or grab bag gift is A Comprehensive Guide to Marine Medicine.  It's a great little book, chock full of medical advice for your next adventure on the water.  It's not too technical to be easy for the layman to understand, but it's thorough enough to help you do more than apply a band-aid.  It includes some slick improvisational techniques for when you're limited on supplies and gives "when to worry" tips for guidance on when to seek professional assistance.