Sailing & Boating Magazines

[John Casey]

It would be a good idea to have a sticky here for an enduring repository of Sailing & Boating Magazines.

Mods?

[zeehag]

those are e xcellent for the adverts.

[avb3]

I'm not sure what he means by "enduring repository". An archive? I note that he has a link of numerous magazines on his site, does he thing we should replicate that?

[John Casey]

He? If you'd like to ask me something go ahead.

Repository/archive/big-long-list, yes that's what I mean.

Thanks for looking at our site. I have started to accumulate whatever I came across myself in forums and blogs, but since my blog is mainly for us (and no one reads it anyways ), it's not going to do anyone any good there, but perhaps such a list would be helpful here for those that are just starting out.

[rob67]

Hi John
I was on your blog and I loved your section on books, I'm not much of a magazine fan.
Would you recommend the mariners weather hand book ?
I downloaded the pdf but would prefer to get a hard copy if recommended, also any recommendations on navigation books especially celestial navigation
I think a designated area for books and magazines for newbies is a great idea.
Rob

[snort]

That's a pretty well thought out website! I like the idea.

[John Casey]

Thanks for visiting the site.

I do recommend the Deshew's books, but I think what you will get out of them will depend greatly on your current understanding of the weather as they can be both pretty large/overwhelming reads.

Even though Christa and I are just starting out with the aim of getting to a cruising life, I've got lots of experience with the weather as I'm a helicopter pilot. Now, that being said, I was far from an expert in avn weather and I would rate myself as just on the + side of "knowing enough to be dangerous" when it comes to maritime weather, but I do have enough of a base to understand what the books are talking about, and to head out on my own.

I would recommend reading Surviving The Storm first, which may seem counter-intuitive, as you may think you need the theory before reading other's personal experiences, but I think if you read through it quickly, more so as you would something for entertainment/interest, making note of those items you don't understand, and then have that with you when you read the Mariner's Weather Handbook, I think you may retain/learn more since it will create a link to the previous book. The .pdf are both hyperlinked through the TOC, so easy to use as a reference.

Another one that may help you before you tackle the Dashews is Handling Storms at Sea from Hal Roth. It is not very big, uses personal and other's experience to lay out his 5 steps of what to do when the weather gets progressively worse. I also have the Pardey's Storm Tactics, but I haven't read it yet.

Again, there may be some things that you won't understand WRT the vessel and weather depending on where you're starting from, but as before, make a list, keep reading, ask question to those you have access to personally and via fora like this one, and eventually you have to go out and experience it first hand

There are lots of other books about sailing and weather obviously, and someone is likely to pipe in here to suggest some. (Perhaps better to start a new thread lest the mods get upset with us)

Check on Amazon and the like, and you can also look to US Power Squadrons: www.usps.org; and Canada Power and Sail Squadrons: www.cps-ecp.ca; (who uses a lot of the same manuals); as both have weather courses either in house or self-study.

Royal Yachting Association (RYA), American Sailing Assoc (ASA), Sail Canada, etc will all have courses on weather and navigation with access to an instructor, or at least a person of experience, which may be appropriate for you. Especially navigation/piloting which I think requires practical time and someone there to guide/mentor/teach/instruct as you go. I'm sure someone will argue otherwise, but it's better to learn form other's mistakes/experience than to have to make them all yourself, hence my recommendation for actual instruction (or supervision) and course. Even if only self-study, a course may serve as the motivation you need to stick with it and learn towards the testing requirements.

I don't know a thing about celestial navigation I'm afraid, so I can't help you there. I would just look online as you are for any recommendation. I will eventually get to it before we venture too far off shore. The aforementioned organizations can help you there as they can for weather.

Good luck, have fun as you go, and we'll see you out there.

[MarkSF]

The simple answer is that there are hardly any good magazines left, anyway. Small Craft Advisor is still work reading. The rest seem to have gone to the dogs.

[John Casey]

What about Practical Sailor, who claims to not accept any advertising dollars?


I'm waiting for my first copy to arrive.

[John Casey]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

The simple answer is that there are hardly any good magazines left, anyway. Small Craft Advisor is still work reading. The rest seem to have gone to the dogs.

That looks like a neat little magazine, thanks for mentioning it. Another one for the list...

Even though they themselves admit to hyperbole, I'm not sure I understand why, "anything much larger than a 25 borders on ostentatious."

[MarkSF]

So my 31 is ostentatious? Actually, I'm quite pleased about that. It's never been called that before.