“It was the best of dreams, it was the worst of dreams, it was an age of consulting the nautical experts, it was the age of landlubber foolishness, it was the epoch of determination, it was the epoch of despair, it was the season of hurricanes, it was a spring of beachcombing...” If you dream about chucking it all away and sailing toward an island life, read this first Renee and Michael didn’t have any boating experience and when their plans to remedy that fell through the two had to learn everything the hard way. Despite themselves they managed to get from Miami to Grenada, eventually dropping the anchor of their cruising catamaran at the island of their dreams. Determined to save future sailors from themselves, A Sail of Two Idiots includes lessons Renee and Michael learned and shares them with you as examples of what and what not to do. This a how-to guide wrapped in a funny story—kind of like getting your serving of vegetables from a slice of pizza. Read this and make your dream of sailing away a reality. Includes: “What Broke?” sections explores the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of a cruising multihull "Island” section provide assessments of the islands of the Caribbean

The idea of learning to sail excites the imagination with fantasies of a carefree, simple way to relax. But in reality, a lot of work goes into mastering the technical aspects of sailing and learning how to get from one place to another without ending up in the water. Other sailing books go into more detail than the casual learner wants or needs. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Sailing gives readers just what they need to know to get started and enjoy their time on the water. In it, readers get: A primer on the different types of sailboats and tips for buying or renting. Detailed descriptions of the parts and controls of a sailboat. The roles and jobs of sailor and crew. How to get the boat into the water (if it isn't already). The mechanics of sailing. Departing, anchoring, and docking. Handling, navigating, and weather. Sailing safety and emergency preparedness. The rules of the sailing road. Backup plans: engines and oars. Storing, hauling, and maintaining a sailboat.

For thousands of years, man has sailed into battle, sailed for rumored wealth, and sailed for pure adventure. And for nearly as long, stories about the sea have entertained, intrigued, and inspired readers. The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told brings together some of the most compelling writing of the millennium. Here is Peter Goss's wrenching narrative of incredible courage in the world's most desolate ocean along with Ernest Shackleton's understated and awesome account of one of the most daring small-boat journeys ever taken, where failure meant certain death for his long-suffering crew. But sailing is much more than headlong dashes into roaring seas. You'll also find William F. Buckley Jr. on idyllic cruising; James Thurber on the arcane and often impenetrable language of sailors; and the legendary Joshua Slocum on sailing alone around the world. The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told is a treasure trove: tears, adrenaline, laughter, and adventure abound. With contributions from: - James Thurber -William F. Buckley Jr. - Ann Davison - Sterling Hayden - Ernest Shackleton - Tristan Jones - Samuel Eliot Morrison - Joshua Slocum - E. B. White - C. S. Forester - Cleveland Amory - Weston Martyr - Peter Goss - David Kasanof – and many others.

The modern cruising catamaran has arrived The arguments are over and the verdict is in--cruising catamarans comprise a rapidly growing percentage of the cruising fleet worldwide. Their advantages of space, stability, speed, and handling under power are truly compelling, and modern cats are every bit as reliable as monohulls. This long overdue, in-depth guide will help you choose and cruise the right catamaran for your needs. “An authoritative guide for novices and experienced sailors; the best book written on the subjects since the early 1990s.”--“Trimaran” Jim Brown, renowned multihull designer “In Catamarans, Gregor Tarjan shares his enthusiasm for yachts with two hulls, based on years of sailing all types. An excellent introduction.”--Dick Newick, legendary catamaran and trimaran designer “If you are contemplating spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a cruising catamaran, the small price of this book is probably the best investment you could possibly start with.”--from the Foreword by Charles K. Chiodi, publisher of Multihulls Magazine

As founder and editor of the highly successful magazine Latitudes & Attitudes, Bob Bitchin surveys and comments on the good and the bad, the funny and the sad, the practical and the theoretical of the sailing scene. This is a collection of his editorials and other writings.

Who hasn’t sometimes wanted to change their life and start over? When Robyn Flemming left Australia to wander the world as a nomadic freelance editor, she was single and nearing sixty. It wasn’t the first time she had shed an old skin for a new one in the hope of changing who she was on the inside. Was her decision to risk everything yet again an act of faith or of folly? Was she running from the truth about her dependence on alcohol, or running towards a solution? In this captivating recovery and travel memoir, Robyn finds the courage to change not only her surroundings but herself. Finally, she can be at home in her own skin as well as in the world. Skinful is about the questions we ask at life’s turning points: Who am I? What life do I want to live? This heart-warming, sometimes heart-wrenching, memoir sends a strong message of hope: it’s never too late to make a new path to a different future.