The Voyager's Handbook: The Essential Guide to Blue Water Cruising

Beth A. Leonard and her partner, Evans Starzinger, left high-powered international management consulting jobs in 1992 and set sail aboard their Shannon 37 ketch, Silk, on a circumnavigation that they completed 35,000 miles and 3 years later. Within a few months of returning to shore they realized they could no longer fit into their old lives. What was to have been a sabbatical became instead a permanent new life. It took them 4 years to build an aluminum sloop capable of sailing the high latitudes, and they spent the next six years sailing Hawk to the ends of earth, from the high Arctic to Cape Horn. They have won awards from the Ocean Cruising Club (UK) and the Cruising Club of America, and were members of U.S. Sailings Safety at Sea committee from 2002 through 2004.

Foreword by George DayPrologueIntroductionPart I: The Essential IngredientsChapter 1. Committed CrewChapter 2. Bluewater-Capable YachtChapter 3. Financing the Dream: The Bottom LinePart II: Equipping the Yacht for Bluewater VoyagingChapter 4. Sails and Sail HandlingChapter 5. Ground Tackle and Anchoring ArrangementsChapter 6. Other Essentials: Self-Steering and DinghiesChapter 7. Additional Equipment: Convenience Versus ComplexityChapter 8. Moving AboardPart III: Liveaboard SkillsChapter 9. Better BoatkeepingChapter 10. GalleywiseChapter 11. Water, Water, EverywhereChapter 12. Nor Any Drop to DrinkChapter 13. Staying Healthy: Being Your Own DoctorChapter 14. Staying Challenged: Following Your HeartChapter 15. Staying Safe: Our Lessons LearnedPart IV: Shorthanded Passagemaking SkillsChapter 16. Weather WisdomChapter 17. Preparing for PassageChapter 18. Basic Passage RoutinesChapter 19. Toward SeamanshipPart V: Foreign SavvyChapter 20. Dealing with BureaucracyChapter 21. Getting Your BearingsChapter 22. Enjoying Being ThereChapter 23. Keeping the FaithAppendicesAppendix 1. Galley Substitutes and EquivalentsAppendix 2. Offshore Medical KitIndex