Dear Herb: I've read your stuff over the
years, and it seems to me that telling people how to anchor is a lot like O.J. Simpson
lecturing husbands on domestic relations. My questions are: 1) How am I supposed to
put my trust in advice given by someone who's dragged all over the Pacific, the Atlantic,
and the Caribbean?, and 2) by the way, have you made a list of all the places where you've
dragged anchors? -- Faithless in South Hampton
Dear FISH: Good questions. The answer is
1) you can't, and 2) no, but here are some instances I remember.
Herb Payson has distilled over 20 years of sailing experience into
the perfect compendium for those who are contemplating liveaboard cruising, sailors with
some experience in weekend and day sailing, and all those sailors who read for information
and fun.
The book loosely follows a questions and answer format that allows
the author to range over a broad spectrum of cruising topics. Herb Payson has held
numerous seminars at boat shows and as a result knows the real concerns of the average
sailors, as well as the questions they are most likely to ask.
In 50 chapters, the author covers everything from Really Getting
Started to What Is It Really Like Out There?, from Different Rigs
to Motor Mechanics, from My Wife Doesn't Want to Go to Cruising with
Kids, from Anchoring to Weather . . .
Herb Payson's practical advice is sprinkled with philosophical
asides. On lightning: "Where there are challenges at sea or at anchor, Nancy
and I work hard at achieving and maintaining confidence. There's a direct ratio
between knowledge and confidence. In the case of lightning, however, you soon
learn the difference between the meanings of confidence and faith. Confidence comes
from belief in things that have been proven empirically. Faith is belief in creative
guesswork . . . People who insist they know the whole truth about lightning have given
rise to the phrase 'nuts and bolts'."
Advice to the Sealorn is written in the same charming and funny
style as Herb's previous stories and the result is a book as entertaining as it is
instructive. You won't want to go cruising without it.
From their first seven-year voyage throughout the Central and South
Pacific, to their 26,000 mile trailersailer cruise of North America, to their nine years
spent cruising the East Coast and the Caribbean from Canada to Brazil in Red Shoes,
Herb and Nancy Payson have grown from stumbling neophytes to experiences sailors.
Herb was a professional musician before retiring (ha!) to cruising.
Nancy gave up house, job, and all familiar safety nets to join him as a voyaging
partner. They've been regular contributors to SAIL Magazine for 24 years and Herb is
presently editing the popular SAIL page "Things That Work". Herb has
published two humorous books Blow Away and You Can't Blow Home Again,
covering their early cruising adventures.
Unlike most authors of boating books, Herb Payson doesn't pretend to
know it all (ergo, he's believable). If you always thought that in order to go
cruising you had to be capable of stripping an alternator and reassembling it in 17
minutes, Herb says it ain't so. Bless him. What he says you do need are a
sense of humor, and an appreciation for the value of a life not wasted--your life!
Fire your therapist, buy this book, and go cruising with the money you save. -- Daniel Spurr, Practical Sailor
No other writer can capture the cruising life--the drams and
reality, the heartaches, the humor, and even the philosophy--the way Herb does. With
his ever-valiant wife, Nancy, Payson has cruised the South Pacific in a wooden ketch, the
Caribbean in a fiberglass cutter, and North American lakes in a trailersailer, and in this
book, he delivers a lifetime of cruising wisdom. From selecting the right boat to
dealing with storms, guns, money, and other uncertainties, Payson will calm your fears as
he revs up your cruising dream. -- Tom Linskey, SAIL Magazine
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