There are many frustrated sailors out there and with the baby boomers starting to retire many finally have the freedom to indulge their sailing dreams. This book is intended to guide them. Aimed at sailboat owners of all kinds, this reference book contains 200 entries packed with solid practical advice and valuable tips. The reference format offers the reader opportunities to open the book at any page and browse endlessly. Cartoons by SAIL Magazine cartoonist Tom Payne enliven the text. A comprehensive appendix covers some 50 technical topics.

With a Foreword by Don Casey, Aimed at sailboat owners of all kinds, this reference book contains 200 entries packed with solid practical advice and valuable tips. Each entry is categorized alphabetically and prefaced by an arresting statement such as "People always lie about how fast their boats are." The reference format offers readers the opportunity to open the book at any page and browse endlessly. Cartoons by SAIL Magazine cartoonist Tom Payne enliven the text. A comprehensive appendix covers some 50 technical topics ...it is always interesting and very readable. (Sailing) Filled with practical advice, this book is a winner. (The Ensign) Vigor, who's written for several boating magazines, has brought his experience and sense of humor to bear on the less than ideal experiences of sailing--and he's even alphabetized them...It's fun to page through and you just might learn a thing or two. (Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal) This book is easy to read. It imparts some very valuable information in a fun package. (Good Old Boat) This is a great reference book for those just entering the world of sailing, and entertaining. (Latitudes & Attitudes) "Vigor, who's written for several boating magazines, has brought his experience and sense of humor to bear on the less than ideal experiences of sailing--and he's even alphabetized them...It's fun to page through and you just might learn a thing or two."--Soundings Galley mailing to trade publications and long-lead media • Promotion on NetGalley • Select author appearances • Finished book mailings to national and regional print, digital and broadcast media • Outreach to major national and regional boating and sailing media such as Yachting Journal, Practical Sailor, Boating, Latitude 38, Cruising World, Sailing World, etc.

John Vigor had it all: a loving family, a remarkable career as a columnist syndicated throughout South Africa, and a comfortable home in Durban, one of South Africa's most beautiful cities. But an apartheid regime, and a clampdown by government forces on the people's freedom of expression, made John decide to leave the life and country that he loved. Together with his wife and seventeen-year-old son, John prepared to give up their life of security and contentment and voyage to America aboard their thirty-one-foot sloop, Freelance.

Small Boat to Freedom details a journey of conscience and courage that took John and his family from Durban, past the aptly named Cape of Storms, around the treacherous Cape of Good Hope, and across the open Atlantic and the equator to a new home in the United States. After making land in Florida, John and his family eventually made their new home in beautiful Washington State, sailing the waters of Puget Sound.

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

""All in all it is refreshing, and it is often a giggle. But most importantly, it is always helpful--very helpful."" -- SA Boating

About the Book
A concise, alphabetically organized reference for sailors and boaters. New edition includes over 460 concise entries on diverse topics such as: hull thickness, estimating distance, anchoring rights, making a rum punch, stability as assessed by roll times, and hallucinations, occurrence of. This updated to provide a new generation of boaters with an instant reference like none other. This is either the most useful boating book ever designed to entertain, or the most entertaining book ever designed to be useful.

Features Unusual, engaging, and practical collection of information not found anywhere else Format is concise and trim, and packs well aboard, as a print book or ebook Alphabetic organization makes navigation easy, as does the exhaustive index Wit and wisdom of some of the entries ("Fear, Widespread Occurrence of" and "Useless Articles on a Boat, the Three or Four Most") combines nicely with practical emphasis on others ("Fiberglass, Drawbacks of,") Comprehensive appendix of useful forms, tables, and measurements (tank capacity, rope strength, power of attorney for a cruising couple) Includes Vigor's now, well-known and often referenced "Black-Box Theory"

About the Author
A journalist who has worked for major daily newspapers in Great Britain, South Africa, and the United States, John Vigor is a former managing editor of California-based Sea magazine. A certified sailing instructor and a former national dinghy-racing champion in South Africa, he has raced, cruised and written about boats for decades. He has sailed more than 10,000 ocean miles on small boats and in 1987 voyaged from South Africa to Florida with his wife and teenage son in a 31-foot sailboat. He is the author of 12 boating books, including "Small Boat to Freedom" (Sheridan House) and "Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Sailing" (Sheridan House), national winner of the prestigious John Southam Award, "The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat" (McGraw-Hill), and "The Practical Encyclopedia of Boating" (McGraw-Hill). He lives in Bellingham, Washington. He writes a blog which can be found at http: //www.johnvigor.com/.

An invaluable resource. [Vigors] 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 sailors fundamental question--Can my boat take me offshore safely?--then shows how to make it happen.