Showing posts with label offshore cruising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label offshore cruising. Show all posts

Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing Review

Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I first read the prior edition of this book in the 1970s. When a new edition came out, I purchased it, knowing that I would probably not have a chance to read it again for a long time. In a nutshell, this is one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read. Period. The author communicates his subject matter concisely, clearly, comprehensively. The book is not meant for those without some technical or mathematical interest in sailing. Not that the reader needs to be an engineer -- you just need to have an interest in the way an engineer thinks. The author will explain it to you in non-engineering terms (with the tehcnical back up right there, too). There are a lot of formulae, but one can read the narrative description of the meaning of the formulae without parsing the mathematical statements. I agree that the "1" or "2" ratings tried to evaluate the book as something it is not (it is not an intro to sailing theory meant for those without some mathematical inquisitiveness).
After reading this book you will understand, in (either or both, reader's choice) mathematical or common sense terms how a sail boat works, the interaction of wind & sail, hull and waves/water.
In my view, this is a masterpiece.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing



Buy Now

Click here for more information about Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing

Read More...

The Sailing Bible: The Complete Guide for All Sailors, from Novice to Expert Review

The Sailing Bible: The Complete Guide for All Sailors, from Novice to Expert
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The Sailing Bible has a lofty title and it certainly lives up to it. This comprehensive book effectively covers all aspects of sailing and so it should. The authors are experienced sailors and writers who present the information in thorough and concise manner. I can see this book becoming a standard reference on all cruising yachts and sailing clubs.
However, I got the American edition printed by Firefly. For some unknown reason the publishers took it upon themselves to localize the content for the American audience. Clearly, this is an English book and why the publishers chose to translate it is beyond me. I suspect that it the translation is the partial cause of the problems with the book. Columns of test are truncated, the beginnings and endings of paragraphs are missing, information appears on the wrong page, and there is missing content. Clearly, no one at Firefly bothered to review the proofs before going to print. Of the many tens of thousands of books that I have read this is certainly the worst as far as printer error is concerned. At $40.00, this is an unacceptable level of errors. Also, if there was a problem with the source document they should have spotted at least of the above mentioned issues. This is the second cause of the problem. This book is printed in China.
Despite the above comments, I still recommend this book. However, get the UK edition. Hopefully it does not have the same problems the American edition has. I have learned a lot from this book. The biggest lesson is never buy a book printed in China.
Now, who do I see about a refund?


Click Here to see more reviews about: The Sailing Bible: The Complete Guide for All Sailors, from Novice to Expert



Buy NowGet 24% OFF

Click here for more information about The Sailing Bible: The Complete Guide for All Sailors, from Novice to Expert

Read More...

Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear Review

Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
In The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat, author John Vigor covers the requirements for any sailboat venturing beyond coastal waters. He first defines what makes a boat suitable for offshore sailing, then provides a virtual checklist of improvements that can "harden" a boat in order to meet the requirements for heavy weather sailing. In one chapter there is are 56 questions to test the fitness of any boat. The final score on this test helps the sailor determine whether or not a boat is blue water capable. He also addresses the operation of a boat on a long voyage, and what should be expected in the way of weather. Provisioning is also addressed in this book. An appendix covers the Catalina 27, a model that has over 6000 boats manufactured. His assesment is that this boat is the "Volkswagen Beetle" of the boating world, and is a very seaworthy choice for it's price and size. He tells of Patrick Childress making a solo circumnavigation in a Catalina 27. Any boat owner contemplating a long offshore cruise would be well advised to read this book before venturing out without making the improvements suggested.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear



Buy NowGet 33% OFF

Click here for more information about Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear

Read More...

Storm Tactics Handbook: Modern Methods of Heaving-to for Survival in Extreme Conditions, 3rd Edition Review

Storm Tactics Handbook: Modern Methods of Heaving-to for Survival in Extreme Conditions, 3rd Edition
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This book is essentially about one thing: how to create the "Von Karmon Vortex Street". What the authors have done is taken a scientific approach to storm-survival and have gathered evidence both ancient and modern to support their thesis.
It turns out that a sailboat's anatomy - high wind exposure even running bare poles and a deep keel - can be used to defeat the underwater component of a breaking sea, rendering it harmless foam. The key, of course, is knowing how to stabilize the yacht in relationship to wind and water.
Using various sail configurations and/or anchor chutes and by simple tests like dropping bits of paper into the water, the boat may be kept within the confines of its own self-created safe haven.
This is not a "best-kept secret", but rather something that has been discovered and rediscovered in a fairly random and haphazard manner over time. Most sailors can't confidently say why certain storm strategies worked in some cases and others didn't. The authors have not taken lightly the presentation of this material to the boating public. We are all indebted to their work and insight.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Storm Tactics Handbook: Modern Methods of Heaving-to for Survival in Extreme Conditions, 3rd Edition

In a storm at sea, luck is highly biased toward the sailor who has a plan. So write Lin and Larry Pardey in this, the third edition of their highly regarded Storm Tactics Handbook. As in the first two editions of this book, they describe their concerns about the tendency of modern sailors to discard the classic methods used to bring sailing vessels of all sizes from vast clipper ships to tiny yachts through amazingly strong winds and heavy seas. There is only one storm tactic that has the ability to sap the power of breaking seas, they explain. With clear and concise diagrams, they proceed to show how heaving-to works and how even the most modern of yachts can be made to heave-to, whether with only sail power or with the assistance of a sea anchor. A discussion of the many ways heaving-to can be useful at sea as a way to help the crew keep well rested, to effect repairs, to steady a vessel should outside assistance ever be necessary will convince even those who plan to run before their imagined ultimate storm that heaving-to is still a must know. A series of user-friendly checklists will help sailors from the moment they start looking for their perfect offshore boat, through outfitting, and as they encounter their first storms at sea. Highly readable stories of the Pardeys encounters with storms, and of experiences related by several other modern sailors, help illustrate and expand the points made in this book. Since writing the previous edition of Storm Tactics Handbook, Lin and Larry have voyaged an additional 35,000 miles. This has taken them as far north as Norway, twice across the Atlantic, south to Argentina, into the Pacific, around Cape Horn against the prevailing winds, and then on a circuit of the North Pacific. With insights gained from these recent voyages, they have fully revised and expanded this text by more than 40 percent, including nine completely new chapters. New material includes:Lessons from Cape HornAn interview with the late Sir Peter Blake, on storm survival and heaving-toHeaving-to using a Galerider on 55-foot Morgan s CloudAdding rudder protection stops Discussions on avoiding chafe, building and using storm staysails, choosing storm gear, deploying para-anchors, avoiding the worst areas of cyclonic storms, and many more have been expanded to answer many questions posed by readers and seminar attendees.Mario Vittone, a U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer for 14 years, in an unsolicited testimony, wrote: I have been on several rescues (and heard of many more) that would have been completely unnecessary if the sailboat captains aboard would have . . . practiced the skills taught by Lin and Larry Pardey. Not knowing how to heave-to in bad weather is as inexcusable as not knowing red, right, return . Previous editions of Storm Tactics Handbook have sold more than 32,000 copies worldwide. As recently as November 2007, the second edition ten years after its publication was consistently #1 on Amazon.com for instructional sailing books and #2 for atmospheric science. The companion DVD, Storm Tactics is also available through Amazon

Buy NowGet 33% OFF

Click here for more information about Storm Tactics Handbook: Modern Methods of Heaving-to for Survival in Extreme Conditions, 3rd Edition

Read More...