Skipper's Library
4 total works
You long to escape the daily grind, buy a boat and sail away. This book will inspire your dreams and show you how to turn them into a reality - be it an extended cruise or years away. Written by a yachting journalist who has sailed away for 8 years, together with the contributions of 100 other blue-water cruisers, there are tales a plenty of what it is like to do it from around the world - west, east, north and south. There is also practical advice on everything from choosing a boat to crossing oceans. You'll be guided through each step of the preparation before casting off on your adventure of a lifetime. There's information on everything the would-be blue-water sailor needs to consider, including safety, communications, children, ocean passages and budgeting. Learn about routes and destinations around Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific and beyond to help you cruise the Mediterranean or Baltic, cross the Atlantic or circumnavigate the world. Colour photographs and charts will inspire and inform in this essential guide for the 21st century blue-water sailor.
This is an A-Z of seamanship skills for multihull sailors. There are many textbooks on the market which detail general seamanship principles. This is not one of them. Multihull Seamanship is about sea-going catamarans and trimarans and the skills needed to understand and enjoy them to their utmost. Both racing and cruising yachts are catered for, as are trailer-able multihulls. Seamanship is not a black and white skill. It is an evolution of knowledge; a building of information through experiment, thought and experience. There is no definitive word on an evolving skill. Multihull Seamanship started as Dr Gavin Le Sueur's personal index of `how-to's. It has grown through experience and others sharing their knowledge. It should be on the book shelf of every catamaran and trimaran. This book is for people who are already multihull sailors, or for those who are contemplating multihull sailing. It has served this community for over 20 years and this second edition is fully updated. It is illustrated with delightful line drawings by Nigel Allison.
While relatively few cruise single-handed, many sail short-handed. It may be a couple sailing together or indeed a skipper with a novice crew - he may have lots of people onboard but, in terms of the sailing, he is probably short-handed. They soon discover that there is so much more to short-handed sailing than a lack of crew. It demands a different approach, a new mindset. The skipper has a much greater workload but there are also fewer people, sometimes no-one at all, to consult during the decision-making process. Under these circumstances fatigue can be as dangerous as heavy weather: it creeps up on you, often unnoticed, destroying your morale and ability to make rational decisions. And when short-handed, the crew's limited physical resources must be watched over and zealously guarded. In this heavily illustrated book Alastair Buchan passes on the lessons of his hard-won experience gained short- and single-handed sailing in coastal, offshore and ocean waters. It will show you everything you need to know about handling a boat alone or short-handed, from choosing a suitable craft to passage planning, manoeuvring, sleep management and watch keeping.
A lot of people are drawn to the sea, and for good reason - it's the world's last wild and largely unspoilt wilderness. But to properly enjoy the sea, and to do so safely, you must have the skills, knowledge and confidence to plan thoroughly and stay one step ahead of the game.
This book is thoughtfully written to help yachtsmen do just that. It's not another navigation textbook; it's written by a mariner for other mariners. It's well-informed, easy to read and honest about the author's triumphs and disasters over a lifetime's navigating.
He has a unique perspective having navigated in many parts of the world from high up on the bridge of a warship, close to the water in a cruising yacht and at depth in a submarine. After his navy career he was Chief Executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), often dealing with the consequences of poor navigation.
The author brings the subject to life in a book that is designed to help yachtsmen refresh their knowledge of, and their enthusiasm for, the timeless skills of navigation.
It is packed with hundreds of illustrations - colour photographs, charts, diagrams and tables - making the text easy to understand. The book is part of Fernhurst Books' Skipper's Library series of practical books for the cruising sailor.
This book is thoughtfully written to help yachtsmen do just that. It's not another navigation textbook; it's written by a mariner for other mariners. It's well-informed, easy to read and honest about the author's triumphs and disasters over a lifetime's navigating.
He has a unique perspective having navigated in many parts of the world from high up on the bridge of a warship, close to the water in a cruising yacht and at depth in a submarine. After his navy career he was Chief Executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), often dealing with the consequences of poor navigation.
The author brings the subject to life in a book that is designed to help yachtsmen refresh their knowledge of, and their enthusiasm for, the timeless skills of navigation.
It is packed with hundreds of illustrations - colour photographs, charts, diagrams and tables - making the text easy to understand. The book is part of Fernhurst Books' Skipper's Library series of practical books for the cruising sailor.