Product Description

'The essential first step for all couples planning to sail away; this is a must-read' - Paul and Sheryl Shard, authors of "Sail Away"! '"Changing Course" is the first book that honestly evaluates the transition to life afloat' - Beth Leonard, author of "The Voyager's Handbook". Debra Ann Cantrell faced a dilemma when her husband proposed living and cruising on a boat. She would lose a career she loved and, she feared, everything by which she'd defined herself. She wondered how others had made the decision to go cruising and how their choice affected their lives. Her search for answers led her to more than a hundred women, over a five-year period, whose partners had proposed the cruising life."Changing Course" chronicles the odyssey of making a major lifestyle change from land to sea. This thought-provoking and highly personal book explores what women stand to gain when they set forth on such a journey - and what they stand to lose if they do not. 'Excellent preparation' - "48 Degrees North". 'A solid resource for cruisers...Cantrell's sensible advice is reassuring, positive, and affirming' - "Southwinds". 'Fresh and honest, and the author is warm, enthusiastic, and encouraging' - "Good Old Boat". 'Poignant and highly inspiring' - Women's Sailing Foundation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #153525 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
"Changing Course is first and foremost a primer in rational decision-making. The focus of the book is the question: to cruise or not to cruise, a question Cantrell considers most difficult for women. [But] the book is helpful regardless of who wants to go and who hangs back." - Points East; "Changing Course is aimed at the process of making this major decision about your life. Cantrell's professional skills as a counselor and educator are well exercised in this volume. Above all, she offers reasonable answers about challenges and risk-taking, Many readers will find a safety net inherent in her approach to cruising..." - 48[degrees] North; "Ask any couple living aboard an average-size cruising boat: men troubleshoot; women problem-solve. Men need to know what; women need to know why. Men prefer to learn by doing, figuring out things as they go along; women are more comfortable figuring out how things work before swinging into action." - Sailing

From the Back Cover

"The essential first step for all couples planning to sail away; this is a must-read."--Paul and Sheryl Shard, authors of Sail Away!

"Changing Course is the first book that honestly evaluates the transition to life afloat."--Beth Leonard, author of The Voyager's Handbook

Debra Ann Cantrell faced a dilemma when her husband proposed living and cruising on a boat. She would lose a career she loved and, she feared, everything by which she'd defined herself. She wondered how others had made the decision to go cruising and how their choice affected their lives. Her search for answers led her to more than a hundred women, over a five-year period, whose partners had proposed the cruising life. Changing Course chronicles the odyssey of making a major lifestyle change from land to sea. This thought-provoking and highly personal book explores what women stand to gain when they set forth on such a journey--and what they stand to lose if they do not.

"Excellent preparation."--48 Degrees North

"A solid resource for cruisers. . . . Cantrell's sensible advice is reassuring, positive, and affirming."--Southwinds

"Fresh and honest, and the author is warm, enthusiastic, and encouraging."--Good Old Boat

"Poignant and highly inspiring."--Women's Sailing Foundation

About the Author

Debra Ann Cantrell, Ph.D. is an adult educator who leads workshops and seminars for those seeking balance and wellness at work and play. She also conducts workshops for individuals and couples who are contemplating major lifestyle changes. She and her husband spend about six months of each year afloat.

Customer Reviews

Great book, packed with common sense and backed up by extensive research
D.A. Cantrell's book is a very good read for any couple wanting to spend time going cruising. Whilst it is aimed at cruising long term, it's very good for couples who just spend a week chartering together every year. Similarly, whilst it's aimed at the female partner, I suspect many male partners will learn a lot by reading this book.

She writes in a pragmatic and readable style. Vignettes about cruising couples are effortlessly combined with bullet pointed checklists. I also found the book to be very balanced - both the success stories (those who take to cruising like a duck to water) and the failures (those who take to cruising like a cat to water) are both described. I had hoped that the book would be more inspirational, but conceed that this would detract from its objectivity.