"An invaluable resource. [Vigor's] practical wisdom gives you the know-how and confidence to prepare your boat for the sea."--Cruising World. Here is the book that answer the sailor's fundamental question--"Can my boat take me offshore safely?"--then shows how to make it happen.

“Vigor is one of the finest boating writers of our time.”--Cruising World“You name it, it’s in here. Covers every boating situation. This book is both informative and entertaining.”--Latitudes & Attitudes“John Vigor is the answer guy if you’re having onboard arguments about nautical terminology or the science of sailing in general, and his new book lives up to the promise in its title.”--Good Old BoatWhether it’s boat main...

The only rules-of-thumb compendium for boaters, updated with 45 new entries to delight, entertain, and most importantly, inform. These are tried and tested rules of thumb--the distilled essence of centuries of seafaring experience--providing succinct answers to the questions most-asked by boaters."The perfect, practical gift to give or receive." -- The Ensign"...reads like a lively conversation with a friendly, seasoned pro." -- Lakeland Boating

"Secrets' is the modern Bowditch, written so clearly that navigation and seamanship will be comprehensible to anyone . . ."-- Dave and Jaja Martin, circumnavigators and authors of Into the Light: A Family's Epic Journey"It's a great book. The prose is simple and clear . . ."--John Vigor, author of The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat"The nautical tips and techniques presented are encyclopedic, ye...

Learn the easy and humorous way about some serious topics. These non technical chapters will provide a light hearted but informative understanding of the topic. Many many suggestions for making your life at sea (or anchor) more comfortable and fun.

This book won the Dan Poynter 2011 First-place GOLD Global eBook Award in the Non-Fiction/Sports categorySome time ago, Gene Grossman signed on as a crew-member with some friends of his who were delivering a large sailboat with no navigation electronics from Marina del Rey California, through the Panama Canal, to a charter company's tropical island location.On the evening of departure, Gene asked the young skipper (Ron) which crew-member was going to be acting as navigator....

Aged just 23, and already set on a life of adventure, Roger Taylor signed up as an able seaman on the square-rigger Endeavour II, bound from Australia to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. It was the realisation of a boyhood dream. The dream was cruelly shattered when the ship was caught in a fierce tropical storm off the coast of northern New Zealand. For several days, the young crew fought in horrific conditions to keep the ship off the hostile cliffs to leeward. Their efforts were in ...

A hippy Sell Up and Sail , this entertaining and inspiring book is more than just a cruising narrative - it is an instructive account showing how anyone can circumnavigate (or even sail for an extended period) without huge funds. Lars Hassler originally set off intending to sail for three years, but by judiciously using his funds, and topping them up by taking charter guests on cruises, he sailed around the world for ten years. Woven into the book is advice on costs, distances, timing, pow...

Les Powles only had 8 hours of sailing experience when he decided to sail solo around the world. Many novices would be content to just dream of such an adventure, and maybe get as far as a solo Channel crossing a couple of years down the line. Not so Les Powles, one of the twentieth century's most extraordinary and eccentric sailors.Les was in his 50s when he built himself a yacht with little prior knowledge of boatbuilding. Remarkably he made it across the Atlantic, though his nav...

A single-handed voyage on a small sailboat from Key West Florida to Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Turn a run-down fiberglass boat into a first-class yachtSince it first appeared in 1991, Don Casey’s This Old Boat has helped tens of thousands of sailors refurbish older fiberglass boats and has become a revered classic among boat rehabbers.This second edition is revised from first page to last with new information on electrical systems, diesel engines, refrigeration, resins, plumbing and more. Plus, more than 600 newly created illustrations enhance the b...

In 1986, seventy-one-year-old Edgar Whitcomb faced a crossroads in his life; he needed a new direction. Th at venture became an epic journey, as this retired Indiana governor embarked on what would be a solo, 30,000-mile, six-year sailing trip. With virtually no previous sailing experience, he and his thirty-foot sailboat, the CILIN II, traveled around the world.In this travel memoir, a chronicle fi lled with danger and adventure, Whitcomb narrates the details of his explo...