Synopses & Reviews
Each year, adventurous cruising sailors from around the globe, drawn by the promise of balmy breezes, picture-perfect scenery, exotic cultures, and unparalleled sailing conditions, set sail for the region lying between latitudes 23.5 degrees north and south of the equator. But the majority of cruisers hail from higher latitudes, and while many are accomplished temperate-water sailors, few are prepared for the unique weather patterns, living conditions, and navigational hazards they'll encounter in the tropics.
Tropical Cruising Handbook provides you with the knowledge and skills needed to meet those challenges. Drawing on their years of experience living in and cruising the tropics, Mark Smaalders and Kim des Rochers have written an accessible, easy-to-understand, yet comprehensive reference covering weather and sea conditions, tropical seamanship, visual and intuitive navigation, anchoring among reefs, passagemaking, and dealing with heavy weather, as well as boat maintenance in tropical environments, prevention and treatment of major and minor tropical illnesses, avoiding injury from hazardous marine life, safety and comfort in port, and dealing with officialdom. You'll also find helpful guidelines on how to enjoy yourself without harming or offending the environments and cultures you'll encounter. Finally, there is detailed, region-by-region coverage of tropical cruising grounds for use while planning a voyage to rough out itineraries around the vagaries of wind and weather.
Whether you want to circumnavigate the tropics or simply gunkhole the Bahamas, Tropical Cruising Handbook arms you with the expert advice and information you need to plan, prepare for, and realize your tropical cruising adventure.
"What strikes me most about Tropical Cruising Handbook is not so much the wide knowledge and hard-earned experience that inform every page, but the smart, straightforward writing. This book clearly demonstrates that sensible, safe voyaging in the tropics is an achievable goal."--Tim Queeney, editor, Ocean Navigator
The only comprehensive guide to mastering the challenges of low-latitude cruising
Tropical Cruising Handbook provides cruising sailors the knowledge and skills they need to master the challenges of sailing the topics. With the help of more than a hundred illustrations, Mark Smaalders and Kim des Rochers fill you in on
- Weather patterns and sea conditions, generally and region by region
- Reef navigation, anchoring, and other key tropical seamanship skills
- Tropical passage planning and passagemaking
- Equipping a boat for tropical sailing
- Maintaining gear in tropical environments
- Preventing and treating common tropical illnesses
- Avoiding injury from hazardous marine life
- Dealing with officials
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Part 1: Tropical Environments
Chapter 1. Introduction
Our Approach
Tropical Environments
Tropical Seamanship
Life in the Tropics
Finding Your Own Way
The Perfect Boat
Desirable Features of a Tropical Cruising Boat
What Will It Cost?
Cruising Lightly
Chapter 2. Tropical Environments
Coral Reefs
Mangroves
Threats to Tropical Ecosystems
Chapter 3. Weather in the Tropics
Tropical Weather Basics
Highs and Lows
Ocean Currents
Tropical Disturbances
El Nino, La Nina, and the Southern Oscillation
Tropical Cyclones
Part 2. Tropical Seamanship
Chapter 4. Navigating in Tropical Waters
Use Your Judgement
Charts and Pilots
Aids to Navigation
Visual Piloting
EPs and Fixes
Putting It All Together
Chapter 5. Tropical Anchoring
Anchors and Ground Tackle
Tropical Anchorages
Anchoring
Retrieving the Anchor
Anchoring Variations
Chapter 6. Sailing in the Tropics
Sails
Sail Construction
Downwind Sailing
Reducing Sail
Light-Air Sailing
Chapter 7. Route Planning
Cruising Seasons
(and more...)