With little money and even even less nautical experience they leave their small-town home in Arkansas to embark on an adventure they hope will last for a year or two but which evolves into a quarter-century voyage of discovery spanning half the world. Come along with Randy and Cheryl as they cruise their small boat to intriguing destinations that you won’t find in any tourist brochure. Along the way they discover the best and worst the sailing life has to offer as they visit twenty-nine countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America and the South Pacific. Their adventures and misadventures include encounters with hurricanes, thieves, drug smugglers and a disastrous tsunami as well as lasting new friendships formed with local people and fellow sailors all along their route. Cruising under sail is a lifestyle like no other and though there are sometimes hardships, those who take the plunge will be rewarded with a life of adventure and freedom that may be impossible to find any other way in the modern world.

    Alone at sea for 310 days on his 37-foot cutter EGREGIOUS, he covered 38,000 miles in five difficult passages. He became the first American to round Cape Horn alone, complete one of the longest solo passages of all time, and make the fastest solo circumnavigation ever in a monohull.He writes at the outset: 'I will know defeat, despair, fear, beauty, serenity and peace. I will be tested far beyond anything I have ever imagined.' And tested he was--by storms, three capsizes, hurricane force winds, cyclones, week-long calms, sleet, snow, frostbite. He endured to experience exhilaration and accomplishment in solitude , and the peace of being in supreme harmony with the sea-world around him."STORM PASSAGE is about the first of legendary writer/sailor Webb Chiles' now five circumnavigations, all made without sponsorship, shore teams, PR agents, or any means of calling for help. Many talk loosely about living on the edge. Webb Chiles has for decades.

    It could be you want to work on a cruise ships, you want to or have taken a cruise, maybe you are looking for tips on cruising or maybe you just like fun stories about cruise ships. If you are interested in any of those items I just listed, then this book is for you. Before we begin our journey, I guess I should tell you a little bit about myself and why I have written this book. For my cruise ship experience, I worked about 12 years on cruise ships around the world and 2 years working in shore side offices in Florida. I worked with 4 different cruise lines and worked as a scuba instructor/dive manager, shore excursion manager and then in the shore side offices as an IT geek, and finally a few years as an IT officer (yeah, I know, scuba instructor to computer geek, what can I say, it has been an interesting journey). Stories in this book include ones about: Getting a job on cruise ships Life on board ships On board romance Hurricanes Running aground Adrift at sea Kick backs Falling overboard Living on a tropical island Crazy things the crew and passengers do and much much more........................ I also have photos about my life at sea that can be seen at: www.cruiseshipstories.com Looking at these photos will bring my sea faring stories even more to life.

    Working as yacht delivery crew. Near shipwreck on Spain's 'Costa da Morte'- the Coast Of Death. Fire onboard in the Atlantic. Engine failure in the Mediterranean. Then he decides to sail his own tiny boat across the Bay of Biscay.It doesn't go well.This is a book not just about sailing but about life. It's about what happens at the very limits of physical, emotional, and mental capacity.Ultimately it's about how personal tragedy led to a life-changing discovery - The realisation that hidden deep inside of us all is the perseverance and passion needed for achieving long-term goals.It's a book that might just start you on your own Foolish Voyage.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING"I really enjoyed this book. I started reading it for the "sailing adventure" aspect....but ended up getting so much more out of it." B.RICH"First book I've read in years that I literally couldn't put down - great story." AMAZON CUSTOMER"Simple honesty of the best and rarest kind. If this book were a bell it would ring loud and sweetly and our hearts would resonate just as sweetly, just as poignantly. This book is the story we need to hear. A story of hope, of failure and the truths that only failure brings, and of hope regained and triumph on one's own terms." KEN STEPHENS"I read it in one sitting, and if there's an ounce of longing for freedom and adventure left in your heart, so will you." BORDER CORSAIR"I have a feeling reading Neil's book will be a life changer for me. He is right, there is more to life than this." R.N.SCOTT

     With their incurable curiosity and desire for adventure, they sold all their belongings and flew to America in search of a boat. The pull of the ocean was too strong to ignore any longer. Four years prior, they circumnavigated the globe on their thirty-three foot boat, Mariah. Now they wanted a new challenge. From the perils at Pitcairn to the grand statues of Easter Island, Jackie and Noel set sail south to the remotest inhabited island in the world. Along the way, they lose a friend and come nail-bitingly close to losing their new boat, but they gained so much more: a voyage that left them breathless from fear and a journey of not only travel but of two truly nomadic gypsies. This is a story of storms of emotions and oceans, travel, love and relationships, and two people figuring out life and fulfilling their need to move and be challenged.

    We usually only read about the best - about the bravery, the courage and the sacrifice of mountaineers who risk life and limb to achieve excellence for themselves and others. But there are other mountaineers – the charlatans, the conmen, the bullies, the petty-minded and narcissistic - who prefer to sacrifice others to their obsession to reach the top of Mt. Everest. This book is about one of the worst! In 1996, the deadliest year in the history of climbing Mt. Everest, both types were on the mountain. But in a cruel twist of fate the good guys died while the bad guy not only reached the top, but lived to prosper from it. In a piece of top class investigative journalism Ken Vernon delves into the guts of one dysfunctional expedition that, despite being supported by the iconic Nelson Mandela, became an international laughing stock. Everest ‘96 also peels back the layers of deception surrounding the fantastic past of the man who became the most reviled in mountaineering lore. Ken Vernon is an Australian journalist with decades of experience covering stories ranging from the African wars of Independence to the climbing of Mt Everest.

    When they returned the next year, they were met with sticks and stones, stripped naked and sent home with red cheeks.Mark Horrell and his two friends Mark and Ian shared a dream to climb an 8,000m peak, but it seemed the gods were against them too. They had made no fewer than eight attempts without success (though they had managed to return with their clothes on).With towering ice walls, monsoon rainstorms, arm-twisting crevasses and – most dangerous of all – welcoming teahouses ready to entrap them, would it be different this time?

    A Race Too Far is the story of how the race unfolded, and how it became a tragedy for many involved.Of the nine sailors who started the race, four realised the madness of the undertaking and pulled out within weeks. The remaining five each have their own remarkable story. Chay Blyth, fresh from rowing the Atlantic with John Ridgway, had no sailing experience but managed to sail round the Cape of Good Hope before retiring. Nigel Tetley sank whilst in the lead with 1,100 nautical miles to go, surviving but dying in tragic circumstances two years later. Donald Crowhurst began showing signs of mental illness and tried to fake a round the world voyage. His boat was discovered adrift in an apparent suicide, but his body was never found. Bernard Moitessier abandoned the race whilst in a strong position and carried on to Tahiti, where he settled and fathered a child by a local woman despite having a wife and family in Paris. Robin Knox-Johnston was the only one to complete the race.It has undoubtedly become the most legendary of modern stories of men pitting themselves against the sea. Forty years on, Chris Eakin recreates the drama of the epic race, talking to all those touched by the tragedies surrounding the Golden Globe: the survivors, the widows and the children of those who died. It is a book that both evokes the primary wonder of the adventure itself and reflects on what it has come to mean to both those involved and the rest of us in the forty years since.

    A testament to endurance and adventure, this memoir recounts what life is like aboard a small sailboat during a 271 day voyage around the globe, alone and without stopping. One of the greatest challenges of both body and mind, the author will take you onboard during the good times and the bad. As one of only a handful of people to have ever succeed in such a small boat, this story is truly the adventure of a lifetime.

    Mark Nicholas has combined his experience of life aboard with the advice of other liveaboards, marina owners, technicians, boat manufacturers, and advocates in order to detail the challenges and offer real advice for success. This lifestyle, typically thought to be out of reach or for other people, is now available to all who dream. Essentials explains, among other things, how to: Figure out your needs Choose the right boat Buy your boat Choose the right marina Forecast your costs Prepare for the lifestyle Accommodate partners, children and pets Outfit your boat Plan for all climates Address safety and sanitation issues And more!

    This book is the sequel to The Self Sufficient Sailor. This is indeed the global bible of cruising sailors.

    Their boat handling, navigation, sail handling, anchoring and mooring skills all have to be carried out both efficiently and effectively, preferably with the minimum of physical effort (to conserve energy).But most sailing technique books assume a crew of 3 or 4, all willing to lend a hand. This book is therefore a first, addressing the most common sailing scenarios that anyone cruising will have to deal with, and providing clever, original, highly effective (and most importantly successfully tried and tested by the author) techniques and solutions for dealing with the huge variety of essential operations on a boat – from sail setting and reefing, to picking up mooring buoys in a variety of wind and tide situations, anchoring, berthing and leaving a pontoon shorthanded, picking up a man overboard, sailing in fog and heavy weather – and even going up the mast.This book will be a godsend to anyone sailing single or shorthanded – including couples with young children who need to be supervised by one parent whilst the other runs the boat.Organised into techniques for different cruising scenarios, the book features step by step sequential photos showing exactly how to approach each situation and carry out the task in hand.

    But what was once fantasy is now reality. With a growing glut of good used boats on the market, its possible to sail around the world in a boat that costs less than a car. In this fascinating book, well-known boating author John Vigor turns the spotlight on 20 seaworthy sailboats that are at home on the ocean. These are old fiberglass boats, mostly of traditional design and strong construction. All are small their sizes range from 20 feet to 32 feet overall but all have crossed oceans. Many have circumnavigated the world. And all are inexpensive. There are many hundreds of small cruising boats sailing the seven seas at this moment. They explore everywhere, from the ice-bound shores of Antarctica to the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Most, however, ply the tradewind routes where flying fish play. The water is warm, and coconut trees line calm lagoons bounded by beaches of pure white sand. But choosing the right boat to cross an ocean or go around the world can be a confusing and exasperating experience, particularly if your budget is tight. Its well-nigh impossible to find objective comparisons. Vigor sets out to remedy that in this book. He compares the designs and handling characteristics of 20 different boats whose prices on the secondhand market start at about $3,000. Interviews with experienced owners (featuring valuable tips about handling each boat in heavy weather) are interspersed with line drawings of hulls, sailplans, and accommodations. Vigor has unearthed the known weaknesses of each boat and explains how to deal with them. He rates their comparative seaworthiness, their speed, and the number of people they can carry in comfort. If you have ever dreamed the dream, this is the book that will turn it into reality.

    It is proving an immensely popular walk and in the first 18 months of its opening in 2003 it attracted almost 400,000 walkers.

    Readers will marvel at the warmth, generosity and wisdom the world had to offer them on this journey of a lifetime.What began as letters to family and friends ultimately became an engaging book that chronicles the realization of a lifelong dream of the author and his wife to explore the world on a sailboat and is a powerful testament to the life and love that flourished during their five-year “world-wind” voyage. The memoir begins with a flashback sequence as the reader is catapulted into a world of high-wind hurricanes and pirate-threats with adventures from Guantanamo, Cuba to Djibouti in the horn of Africa and nearly forty countries in between. From the joy of new friendships and landscapes to a broken autopilot in the middle of the Pacific, a four-day storm heading for the Southern Cook Islands, and the despair of running Skimmer on the rocks, the seven seas were great teachers and have never been so restless—or forgiving.