Around the World Rally
By Jimmy Cornell

What works and what doesn't?

This is the mantra of every sailor - and every boating book at least touches on it. Gear breaking, things failing in remote areas where they cannot be fixed; this is the nightmare of the cruising sailor.

This book recounts the adventures and joys, highs and lows, of a group of racer/cruisers who sailed together on a rally. Lin and Larry Pardey, who cruise as cheaply as they can, were probably appalled at the amount of money casually thrown around here. They claim in their book, 'Cost-Conscious Cruiser' that information in this book supports their thesis that cruising simply, without fancy equipment, is the way to go.

Well, if you believe them, read this book. Overall, the folks here seem delighted with their fancy gadgets. Those whose gadgets failed are not looking to simplify next time; instead, they'll buy higher-rated brands.

Cost-conscious cruising received a real blow in this book - the winner of the race was the fellow who said in the beginning that he would spend whatever it took to win. He did. He won. No fairy tales here.

So if you want to save a few bucks when cruising, buy this book, benefit from what these nice rich people found out, and follow the Pardeys' sage advice, as given in their book: Never, but never, ever, attend a cruising rally.

Do you love the glitz and gloss of sailing? Do you love seeing a massive 67 foot sailboat in all its complexity, with all its elaborate motors, generators, autopilots, power systems, rigging, radars and such discussed, dissected and explained? If so, there is literally no book better for you than this one.

The fact that the average person could no more afford something like this than he could a trip to the moon has little to do with the enjoyment the Dashew's explanations can give. And we have good news: The closest equivalent to the satellite navigation system he carried ("inexpensive" at $ 1,600, as another review somewhat cattily pointed out) can now be had for around $ 139.95 at your local store.

This book is great for arousing the techno-lust that lives in the breast of many men. (I mean that literally; women seem largely immune). But it also has great solid information, and a lot of it tells you how to get great value for your money. This was written by a couple that was about as far from any kind of financial want as you can get - but they retain a friendly down-to-earthness, as they recount both their best moments and their worst mistakes.

Do you love the utter simplicity of sailing? Do you love thinking about a small boat, alone in a quiet cove, run by a person who's doing his best to live the natural, contemplative existance?

Yes, this is the perfect down-to-earth counterpart to the Dashew's book. In fact, its book review section contains the review alluded to above - which instantly made me think the Dashew's book should also be on my shelf.

I think the two books are most effectively owned as a pair. The Dashew's book reminds you of the glories of doing things the large-scale way, while this one tells you how to live small and love it anyway.

This is the result of a survey of cruisers, complete with pie charts and graphs, showing what people thought of their boats and various systems. Buy it to unearth fascinating tidbits, like 49% of world cruisers have bit the bullet and gotten a generator. Most encouragingly to those who want to think small, those with small to mid-sized boats who spent relatively little seem to be happiest with their cruising experience, although somehow I don't think they interviewed the Dashews.

This book has an excellent explanation of the workings of fiberglass construction; after I read it, I felt like I really had a good idea of how things worked - and broke.

Note that the author does not consider this a substitute for a survey. The similar book Inspecting the Aging Sailboat seems more thourough.

Review pending; first impression is that the book has some very useful statistics on things like generator running power, but is highly dated and therefore not as useful as it should be.

It does, however, have excellent explanations of bonding systems, which I got a decent understanding of through reading it.