The Coast of Summer: Sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod [Hardcover]

Anthony Bailey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994

The New England coast, a small cruising sloop, warm winds--and Anthony Bailey's seductive storytelling powers. An account of a season afloat and an autobiography of half a lifetime spent sailing New England waters.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though he moved back to England in 1971, Bailey and his wife Margot return to the U.S. nearly every summer to cruise the New England Coast. Here Bailey ( Inside Passage: The Outer Banks ) gives an engaging account of their 1991 cruise in Lochinvar , a 27-foot fiberglass boat. He sets out on a shakedown voyage from his home port of Stonington, Conn., to some old haunts in Long Island Sound. In August, he and Margot head northeast to Block Island, the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod, stopping at boatyards, towns, coves and beaches. On this leisurely cruise, they visit old friends, swim and walk the beaches. Homeward bound, they encounter Hurricane Bob, but only after Lochinvar is safely tied down and they are ashore. Readers familiar with the area--its shorelines and waters--will savor every word.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Richly descriptive and only occasionally delivering barrages of sailing terminology that will befuddle the uninitiated, this is a wonderfully evocative look at the author's explorations around the southern coasts of New England and Long Island. Englishman Bailey (Major Andre, LJ 6/15/87) tells of spending summers sailing about the watery nooks and crannies of the historically and geographically rich (and, in some cases, "wealthy rich") coastal regions of New England along with his wife. What is most impressive, as conveyed by the easy, pleasant writing style, is the diversity of the Baileys' seagoing experiences. They also seem to know the most interesting people, which, added to the whole, makes this an entertaining and educational travel book. Whether writing about Plum Island, New York; Point Judith, Rhode Island; Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts, or myriad other places, Bailey makes the reader yearn to be there. Highly recommended for New England public libraries and for any libraries where good travel/sailing books are shelved.
David M. Turkalo, Social Law Lib., Boston
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061180041
• ISBN-13: 978-0061180040
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,040,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely essential to get a sailor through the winter, September 21, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Boston, MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Coast of Summer: sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod (Paperback)

Anthony Bailey has somehow bottled up the smell and feel of July and August on the waters between Cape Cod and the tip of Long Island, an archipelago not only of little islands, but welcoming harbors, sandy beaches and private coves - not to mention fascinating histories. The Coast of Summer is like the first sip of a cool drink after a day's sail, the anchor set and the boat made secure for the night. Every cruising sailor stores these moments away forever.

Read it in the winter when snow on city streets has turned black as the early night, or, even better, read it in the cabin of your own boat on a rainy day with your feet up on the settee, your back against a cushion and everything dry and comfortable below, your vessel yielding gently back and forth to the weather.

Read it, for that matter, anywhere you want to - but read it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Coast of Summer, April 18, 2001

By 

Eric S. Posmentier (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Coast of Summer: sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod (Paperback)

This delightful account of a summer of sailing along the Southern New England coast is a must-read for any cruising sailor or sailor wannabe. It is the story of the normal events of coastal cruising, from anchoring to meeting old friends ashore, from monitoring the weather to cooking on board, told in a prose which flows as easily as the tides. The personal memories and reflections, and the historical notes on the many harbors along the route, are as thoroughly engrossing as the 80-foot waves, pirates, and seamonsters of most adventure books. Perhaps it is the reality of planning such a cruise for yourself that makes the book even more captivating than the more unlikely tales of life-threatening ordeals in violent seas. This book informs, entertains, and gratifies almost as well as the sea, itself.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on the area, August 29, 2000

By 

BOB WILLIAMS (Oyster Bay, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Coast of Summer: sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod (Paperback)

I am now reading this book for the 4th time. You easly place yourself rght in the cockpit with them. Going day to day, harbor to harbor. A must read !!!!!