Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die: Sailing Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations [Hardcover]

Chris Santella (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Landlubbers joke that sailors are always wanting to head off to the ends of the earth, but Chris Santella takes that life-changing desire very seriously. In this, the third installment in his immensely successful “Fifty Places” series, Santella assembles a crew of the world’s greatest championship racers and professional adventurers and persuades them to disclose their favorite destinations around the globe.

Interviewees include some of the best-known men and women in the sport: Tom Whidden and Gary Jobson (members of the winning 1987 America’s Cup crew), Jeff Johnstone (of J-Boats), award-winning sailing writer Lin Pardy, and many others. The amazingly diverse places they’ve selected range from clubby East Coast ports (Marblehead, Annapolis), to idyllic tropical refuges (Ilha Grande, Brazil; the Polynesian atoll of Mopelia), to some of the most hair-raisingly treacherous waters on earth (Cape Horn).

Coastlines around the world—even Antarctica and the Arctic—are represented, and the chosen spots include some spectacular inland waters, such as the Bras d’Or Lakes and the North Channel of Lake Huron. For each of the 50 places, the sailor recommending the venue spins an entertaining yarn about his or her experience there, and each description is accompanied by a "make you want to go there now" photograph.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

CHRIS SANTELLA is a freelance journalist and the author of STC’s Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die, and Fifty Favorite Fly-Fishing Tales. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and two daughters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584795670
• ISBN-13: 978-1584795674
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Boating
  • #45 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Sailing

More About the Author

Chris Santella is a freelance writer and marketing consultant whose work has appeared in the New York Times among other publications. He is also the author of Stewart, Tabori and ChangÂ’s Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die, Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die, and Fifty Favorite Fly-Fishing Tales. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing hotchpotch of general information, February 27, 2008

By 

S. Rakoczy (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die: Sailing Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations (Hardcover)

We cruise extensively in Australia and on the Med. We bought the book hoping that it would introduce us to new, exciting sailing grounds. Sadly, the book largely fails to do so.
To start with, it lists the locations in alphabetical order: California, China, Chile, Colorado etc instead of geographical grouping. The individiual sections are crammed with general information to fill the pages. Twenty percent of each section is typically dedicated to the writer's CV! Very little information is specific to sailing conditions.
For example the Antarctica section doesn't say a word about the special cruising challenges. The Fremantle/Australia section describes how the US won the America's Cup here - but not a word about the magic beaches and crystal clear waters.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 6, 2008

By 

C. Landes (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die: Sailing Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations (Hardcover)

Obviously, Chris is not a sailor and was not intending for this book to purchased by sailors. There is not much information that sailors would find of importance such as the coordinates, good anchoring spots or even the nearest harbor. I received this as a gift, I never would have purchased it for myself. Photos are great, but lacking good information.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Idea; Mediocre Execution, December 28, 2007

By 

A. Courie "Treb" (Freedom's Fortress) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die: Sailing Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations (Hardcover)

Chris Santella`s "Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die" is an interesting but ultimately disappointing book. Although the idea of a collection of unforgettable places to sail is an excellent idea, this book is one of unrealized potential.

The author contacted and interviewed famous sailors from around the world - racers, charterers, instructors, photographers, etc. - for their favorite places to sail. For each great sailing area, he wrote a 3-4 page blurb about the area, and included a small bio of the expert along with some basic information about how to travel to the area, when the best sailing season is, and information about local accommodations and charters.

Unfortunately, Santella does not sell these sailing locales. I expected a book on great sailing areas to include numerous dazzling photographs of each area, but most of the sections include only one picture from the area (some none). Too many of the write-ups focus on the history of sailing an area or other trivia instead of the reasons to sail that area now, and there are no maps to give one a flavor of the area - another must, to me, in a book about sailing locations.

Despite these drawbacks, there is still some interesting information in this book and the sailing locales are a nice sampling of different types of sailing locales. Ultimately, although this book did not give me a burning desire to travel to many of these places, this book is still a worthwhile purchase for anyone with a love of sailing.