Product Description

• Making the boat seaworthy
• Avoiding the worst weather
• Handling the boat
• Dealing with emergencies
• Using outside assistance
• Surviving in the liferaft

One day, this book may save your life ...

It also manages to be entertaining, readable and comprehensive.

Many sailors dread the day when they find themselves caught out at sea in a gale. But if you are well prepared and know what to do, there is no reason why heavy weather should be a nightmare. You may even find it rewarding!

Drawing on his vast experience at sea in all types of weather, Tom Cunliffe shows you how to prepare for the worst, making sure the boat and crew are ready for anything the wind and sea may throw at them. He looks at specialised boathandling and navigation techniques and at tactics: what to do when the storm hits you, and whether to head for shelter or ride it out at sea. He also takes a critical look at the design of some modern yachts: how will they perform when the going gets rough?

Finally, Tom Cunliffe looks at what you can do if the unthinkable happens. He explains how to deal with emergencies ranging from dismasting to man overboard, how to collaborate with the Air and Sea Rescue Services and how to survive in the liferaft.

Recommended for the RYA Basic Sea Survival Course.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54699 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

From the Publisher
How to cope with sailing in heavy weather
Tom Cunliffe explains how to cope with everything that the weather can throw at you. Includes how to deal with emergencies and launching a liferaft. It covers the RYA Sea Survival Course.

From the Back Cover

• Making the boat seaworthy
• Avoiding the worst weather
• Handling the boat
• Dealing with emergencies
• Using outside assistance
• Surviving in the liferaft

One day, this book may save your life ...

It also manages to be entertaining, readable and comprehensive.

Many sailors dread the day when they find themselves caught out at sea in a gale. But if you are well prepared and know what to do, there is no reason why heavy weather should be a nightmare. You may even find it rewarding!

Drawing on his vast experience at sea in all types of weather, Tom Cunliffe shows you how to prepare for the worst, making sure the boat and crew are ready for anything the wind and sea may throw at them. He looks at specialised boathandling and navigation techniques and at tactics: what to do when the storm hits you, and whether to head for shelter or ride it out at sea. He also takes a critical look at the design of some modern yachts: how will they perform when the going gets rough?

Finally, Tom Cunliffe looks at what you can do if the unthinkable happens. He explains how to deal with emergencies ranging from dismasting to man overboard, how to collaborate with the Air and Sea Rescue Services and how to survive in the liferaft. 

Recommended for the RYA Basic Sea Survival Course. 

About the Author
Tom Cunliffe has been a professional yachtsman for 25 years. He has taught offshore sailing at the National Sailing Centre, is an RYA Yachtmaster Examiner and has lectured extensively in Britain and the USA. he has cruised with his family from the Arctic to Brazil and from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean.

Customer Reviews

A good primer
The book offers a good introduction to sailing in rough weather and sea survival. It covers these subjects in a fairly clear and concise fashion. Much of the content concerns what to do before the worst happens (i.e. abandonment), rather than afterwards (a la RYA sea survival syllabus). Perhaps one of the mild criticisms that could be levelled is that it is not Adlard Coles' `Heavy Weather Sailing', although it would make a good companion to that book.

I also find that I must disagree with the other reviewer. As a look through Amazon's preview will show, the language used in the book is neither obscure nor unclear. The reality is that nautical terms have evolved for a reason, namely that they offer clarity where `ordinary' English might lead to confusion. It may sound a little harsh, but perhaps a yachtsman who has not yet acquired a working knowledge of the terminology would be well advised to steer clear of situations where heavy weather might be a possibility.

Heavy Weather Reading!
I approached this book as a sailing novice, hoping to learn something useful about the subject. Unfortunately, the author seems to have written with his sailing peers in mind. The language used means that the learning sailor, even with access to a Glossary of Nautical Terms, misses a good part of the message. I read and re-read this book and spent more time referring to the glossary than taking in the subject. Even some of my more experienced sailing friends could not readily translate for me. I know that novices must learn sailing terms. Every enterprise has its own language. But surely, when one is trying to learn the subject, the teacher could at least ensure that the pupil is able to grasp the lesson.
Unless you are fluent in nautical language, this book is not for you!