Customer Reviews

World Cruising Essentials : The Boats, Gear, and Practices That Work Best at Sea

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

 

 

Cornell offers his own viewpoints as well as those of others, does a good job of labeling facts vs. options, and answers a lot of questions I had about cruising. Safety equipment, storms, piracy, dangerous areas, firearms, and communications are all covered well. Common equipment failures are given, along with statistics to back them up. For example, how often does the mast of a cuising yacht really fail, and how?

I am not a world cruiser and have only ventured a few miles from shore and then not too far from the other side of the sound within which we sail every summer. This book was a disappointment. It is basically a distillation of the periodic surveys the author conducts of people who cruise in small yachts either on their own or as part of an offshore rally such as the ARC. The problem for me is that the book amounts to a collection of advice, not from people who necessarily know that much about cruising, but instead from those it was convenient for Cornell to interview. It's like a Zaggat guide, filled with lots of pepole's opinions but not necessarily people who know anything about food. Frankly, I don't know enough to judge whether this interviewees ideas are right on, or that interviewees ideas are nonsense-- that's not my point. I was looking for a single authoritative voice, not a report on what a collection of people with the funds and gumption to cross oceans happen to believe. This one is going back.

I was disappointed buying and reading this book. From its name, I was sure that the book tells you what BEST WORK AT SEA. I found it gives statistics of many boaters most of them amateurs, using this or that equipment. Implying, that what all amateurs and others are doing is the best. I bought the book to know what Jimmy cornell thinks is best. The problem with amateurs, and I am one of them, that we get fludded by info from manufacturers, and "Friends". There is a lack of professional advise in these areas.

Dan

I am very happy with this book. It is well written and I have confidence in the author.