Offshore Sailing: 200 Essential Passagemaking Tips

Good book for anyone wanting to either learn from the basics, or to polish up some holes in their skills.

To preface this, I knew the lead author in college. He was very bright, personable, independent, self-confident, a leader, not afraid to challenge authority, and possessed a great sense of humor. That was a long time ago and we've had no contact since, but obviously nothing's changed. Well, that's not quite true, as Bill now looks much older than I do and also has used the intervening years to learn MUCH more about boats and sailing.This book sets a new standard for sailing "how to" books. It doesn't try to be everything to everyone, and assumes both that readers aren't sailing neophytes and have a working vocabulary and knowledge base that extends past the 8th grade level or what one generally sees on TV. The information is highly accessible. The book is not a technical treatise, but treats both the material and the reader seriously. There's no "fluff" or padding or generalities here, just a lifetime of hard-earned knowledge about sailing and sailboats, condensed down to some core tips that, if followed, will likely be instrumental in keeping both coastal and offshore sailors safe, sane, and happy they're sailing.This book is a classic, and a lot of fun. It's truly a "must read" and "re-read" for anyone planning or considering an offshore voyage or serious coastal sailing, as well as those just dreaming about the possibilities. Seifert and Spurr have truly outdone themselves, and I can only hope they pick their brains a bit more and come up with a sequel, perhaps something like "Joy of Sailing: Philosophy and 200 A Little Bit Less Than Essential Tips".

Good book overall.Very small ineligible print in hose connector / pipe sizes etc.Not much up-to-date on electronics (year of print 2000, Radio Shack mentioned often)

This is truly one of the great yacht-prep books out there, period. I would put it in my top 3. A wealth of great tips and tricks in a small package. Highly, highly recommended.

I've been a boater all of my life, a sailor for the last 20 years, boat owner for 15 years, racer for the last 7 years and I'm ready to take my boat off shore to do the Newport to Bermuda race. For a costal racer there is a tremendious amount of boat preperation and this book has been my most helpful resource, lot's of great thought staters and direct solutions you can apply immediately without spending huge money. There answeres to questions I hadn't thought of yet and it was an entertaining quick read. I'm reading it for the 2nd time now and then will pass it among crew. I feel confident that you will agree that Bill Seiffert has been there and done that and can keep it from happening to you. Must have for any do it yourself sailor looking to prepare for an open water passage.

The 200 tips provided are awesome. While we are seasoned off-shore cruisers, there was still plenty of information in this book for us to think about. It is definitely worth the expense to find a couple of valuable passagemaking ideas. I purchased the eBook version to access without taking up space on our boat. Thanks for a good resource!

It has taken me forever just to get half way through because I have been taking so many notes. Every "tip" has been relevant, insightful, well thought out, explained and/or illustrated in layman's terms. Prepping my own boat for a circumnavigation I will be incorporating most of these during my next haul out. He doesn't just suggest doing a procedure but gives product names and recourses to save you time researching and finding some of these unique products. The time and money saved have more than paid for the cost of the book.

Many of the tips discussed in this book have been used on my boat which has successfully done the Marion to Bermuda race five times. Bill's experience is incredibly practical and well documented with useful pictures and diagrams. The advice can be universally applied to almost any passage making yacht. These words of advice obviously come from actual years of hard-won experience. I cherish my copy of the book and have given copies to friends who I know could benefit from it. - Mike LaBrie

Good reading

fantastik puts all the must important safety aspects right up on top to survive any have see's a bible to any yachtsman

Excellent book. Incredibly valuable bite-size pieces of concise tips conveniently organized into topics/systems. Very readable for anyone who is busy - a few minutes at a time is all u need to get through this book

A+, cannot stop to read and re-read it. Very useful reference.

The author is extremely knowledgeable and practice.Good book.