Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A few of the other customer reviews have pointed out that the author may not be the most experienced sailor in the world, and that her circumnavigation experience was limited to relatively non-dramatic tradewinds sailing. While this may be true, what I found most helpful about this book was the author's open-minded analytical approach to the issues, and the fact that she backed her opinions up with her surveys and "research" results. She also presents various alternative solutions to the reader- for example when she specs out how a cruiser can be outfitted in either a simple, a moderate, or a complex way. This is very helpful in a field that tends to be dominated by more "fundamentalist" writers such as the Pardeys or the Dashews who bring their own conclusions very much to the table when they share their experiences. In that sense, I think her relative lack of experience can be a virtue, in that she seems to have kept an open mind.

This book was by far the most complete guide to cruising and living aboard that I was able to find. As long-time charter boat people, in mid-1999 we purchased a sailboat in France and sailed to the Caribbean, where we now live. Before leaving, we read everything we could find for advice. This book was far more complete than anything else we could find. We found that we had much less experience and knowledge than we had thought before we read it. No book has ALL the answers for living aboard and sailing, but this comes the closest.

We bought our cruising boat one year ago. Three years before that we started buying/reading every cruising "how to" book out there. Tania Ebei's book, Maiden Voyage, got the whole dream thing started, and this book finalized it. You'll find each chapter complete and filled with relevant and detailed information. I have yellow highlights throughout the entire book. I refer to it monthly, especially the monthly maintenance section. It got to be my bible, until my husband thought he'd explode if I offered "Beth said..." during any of his projects. OK, so I gave some other books a shot, some written for the woman cruiser, and I joined cruising associations, but none of them have come close to the first rate information Beth provided. As detailed and meticulous as you could ask for. Before I start a project for the first time, I still take Beth out and read her chapter on whatever it is, and believe me, she addresses it all from the cost of cruising, what equipment you need and what it will cost, what each piece of equipment will draw from you batteries, how to provision, how to package the foods to prevent moisture and cockroaches etc...Buy this book!

For anyone contemplating crossing an ocean in a small boat, this is the most informative book available on the subject. Leonard successfully combines the experience of her three-year circumnavigation with the analytical skills of a high-powered business consultant--the job she abandoned. Because she was a total novice when she initially set off, she looks at voyaging through fresh eyes, no small advantage in a field too often ruled by dogma. Voyager's Handbook addresses every imaginable aspect of offshore cruising. I found the book to be extremely well researched, and Leonard's recent firsthand experience makes it authoritative. Definitely two thumbs up. I recommend it without reservation. --Don Casey

I bought this book about 3 years ago as it was by far the most detailed and easily read book on the topic of blue water cruising. The book is filled with factual information as well as opinions based on the authors experiences. The first chapter covers the psychology profile of successful voyagers. This section is a must read for couples condsidering a live aboard lifesyle. The remainder of the book covers all the information required to live and travel safely on your sailboat. PS when you buy this book don't lend it to anyone it took me 6 months to get it back from a friend.

Beth Leonard, the author of this book is an MBA and it shows in the organization and structure of her book. In parts, much like a textbook, "The Voyager's Handbook" lays out useful information and facts in well researched tables, charts, and diagrams. Interspersed with these data driven sections are numerous vignettes and personal accounts from Leonard's 3 year circumnavigation. Her often poetic descriptions contrast nicely with the drier facts that make up the more technical side of cruising. Overall, a detailed combination of "here's what I experienced" and extensive research.

I am new to sailing. None of the "fundamentals of sailing" books answer any of my questions about the decision and preparation required to travel the world on a sailboat. Nor do those books adequately describe the "best practices" for a successful journey. This one does.

Apparently, the author was a management consultant prior to her long voyage and it shows - she does an excellent job of distilling and summarizing relevant information by use of word, diagram, and especially charts and tables, which I found to be enormously informative. But it's not just facts and figures, there is also a wealth of anecdotal information from not only her own voyage but also from the voyages of others whom she met.

In summary, it is a great read even if you just skim it first and then read it later in detail, or if you just want to use it as a shelf reference. I am learning a lot about what I want in a boat and what I want to do with one and this book deserves all the credit for making me think and consider all of the many options available.

I hope you enjoy it too.

This may be the best reference book ever for anyone going anywhere in a boat. Beth Leonard answers all the questions, and then raises and answers more. Well written, and spiced with actual experiences in the open ocean when knowledge is not optional. Plenty of easy to understand tables so you can compare equipment and techniques to see for yourself. This book should be packaged with the hull of the boat.

To sufficiently prepare for, what we plan will be at least five years of ocean voyaging, we have purchased and read more than 20 books, in addition to subscribing to Seven Seas Crusing Association and reading greater than fifty online articles, user forums, blogs and websites. The Voyager's Handbook, is by far, the single best resource for preparing to sell out and sail off. The book is extremely well organized and conveniently offers topic specific browsing or cover-to-cover reading. We each read the book, with great appreciation, the first week it arrived. My husband and I have raced sailboats and cruised both sail and power boats for over twenty-five years. We have cruised and raced offshore. We have owned thirty boats. I mention this only to demonstrate that we are experienced boaters. We were thrilled at the quality and scope of this publication. We were seeking a comprehensive checklist/action plan and gained much more. We would have saved countless hours and over $500 if we would have found this book first. Neither of us know the author or anyone financially benefiting from the sale of this publication. We took the time to write only to help others prepare more efficiently, as we have benefited from the comments of both readers'and professional reviewers.

First of all, I am not a child of 13, this was the only space I could find to write this review. As a matter of fact, I am a grandmother and I have recently return from a two year, double handed, Atlantic circle. I have sailed all my life.

Beth Leonard has produced the most valuable book I have ever seen for cruisers of any level. I wish I could give it to everyone I've met along my voyages. I can't think of anyone who would not benefit. Certainly not a frilly coffee table item, instead, something of real value. An encyclopedia of research and a dedicated documentation of pratical information.