Answering all of the important questions, this book shows not just how to sail an ocean for the first time, but also how to enjoy it. There are insights into the social as well as nautical reality of preparing the boat, the comfort of having highly detailed plans, the inside story of life with a crew, coping with unexpected gales and calms, the live-or-die decision to keep watches or not and the ports of call from Spain to Tobago via the Atlantic islands and West Africa. This fourth edition has been substantially expanded, with extra information on: - types of boat, anchoring, sleep and watch keeping - weather and climate, and the impact of Atlantic weather systems on timings and conditions of crossings - latest developments in technology (navigation, self steering, equipment) - alternatives to the standard routes across - sailing back from the US to the UK - this edition will get you home! 'I shall enjoy dipping into this dream maker, time and again...an excellent guide to the planning of your Atlantic crossing. Read all the other books but keep this one beside you' Cruising Association 'Offers down to earth advice based on hard-won experience' Yachting Monthly 'Covers everything the novice sailor needs to know for a voyage across the Atlantic' Practical Boat Owner

Answering all of the important questions, this book attempts to allay any novice's fears - not just about how to sail an ocean for the first time - but also how to enjoy it. Here are insights into the social as well as nautical reality of fitting out, the comfort of having highly detailed plans, the norm of impulsive decisions, the inside story of life with a crew, coping with unexpected gales and calms, the live-or-die decision to keep watches or not and the ports of call from Spain to Tobago via the Atlantic islands and West Africa. Your First Atlantic Crossing combines practicalities with experience, and is now established as an essential read for ocean novices and dreamers. In colour for the first time, it is the book Les Weatheritt wishes he could have read before his own Atlantic crossing. 'I shall enjoy dipping into this dream maker, time and again...an excellent guide to the planning of your Atlantic crossing. Read all the other books but keep this one beside you' Cruising Association 'Offers down to earth advice based on hard-won experience' Yachting Monthly 'Covers everything the novice sailor needs to know for a voyage across the Atlantic' Practical Boat Owner

This is a book of practical experiences gained from Atlantic crossings with advise based upon authentic decisions, experiences, pleasures and pains. Intended for novices, unsure whether they will live up to life offshore, to experts, interested in how others handled ocean conditions and with what success, and, to dreamers, who one day might make the big leap. Here are insights into the social as well as nautical reality of fitting out, the comfort of highly detailed plans, the norm of impulsive decisions, the inside story of life with a crew, coping with unexpected gales and calms, the real meaning of GPS, the live-or-die decisions to keep watches or not, close encounters with dolphins, whales and unlit fishing boats, the dreadful pulse of rhythmic rolling and the ports of call from Spain to Tobago via the Atlantic islands and west Africa.

Originally published in 1975, Voyaging Under Power created a revolution in small-boat cruising. Until then, essentially all long-distance cruising was done in sailboats because there simply were no production powerboats capable of crossing oceans. Author Robert Beebes book showed for the first time how to cruise under power, covering boat design, engine selection, outfitting, and operations. The result was the birth of a new market, served by a whole new industry of power cruiser designers, builders, equipment manufacturers, and magazines.