The title is relatively straightforward. First and foremost, everyone on the water wants to stay healthy. But his is not a first aid text. Rather, this book will help you understand how the nautical environment stresses your body and what steps you can take to deal with it - to hopefully avoid needing first aid. Life on the water is different in so many ways than it is on land. Whether it is avoiding seasickness or dealing with the heat and dehydration the more you know the happier you and your crew will be. Likewise staying warm in the cold will allow you to better cope and hence better perform. Unless we are sitting around thinking about our next adventure we are always performing something (i.e. fishing, boating, cruising, or racing). If you are going to enjoy your cruise you better know what to expect in terms of hazardous marine animals or likely environmental hazards, like malaria or yellow fever. Finally, if you are to have a safe and productive voyage or adventure you must understand how maximize those basic attributes of sleep, nutrition, and exercise to keep you healthy and productive. And of course, you need to keep your brain and mind healthy which is why the last two chapter are devoted to psychology; solos sailing, group behavior, and sport and exercise psychology. If even one or two of these topics change your understanding and your behavior then this book will have been a worthwhile investment.
Dr. Michael Martin Cohen is a practicing neurologist and author of "Healthy Boating & Sailing." His interest in nautical health and performance dates to an episode of severe seasickness in 1980 and led to the publication of the first edition of this book, entitled "Dr. Cohen's Healthy Sailor Book."
For almost 20 years Dr. Cohen was Chief of Neurology at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center and was Assistant Professor of Neurology at The Medical College of Pennsylvania. He has also been in private practice for 36 years with special interests in concussion and headache.
Dr. Cohen has been boating and sailing for the past 45 years and about 5 years ago he began to re-visit the topics he wrote about in 1983; the fruit of that labor is "Healthy Boating & Sailing." The guiding principle behind the book is that there is a great deal of information pertaining to boating health and performance but except for those in team sports (mainly sailing teams with coaches and trainers) there is no guidance to utilize the information. Primary care physicians in the United States (and probably elsewhere around the world) have neither the time nor the interest to assist the nautical community. So unless you are on the team and have a coach or a trainer you are basically on your own. This book fills that gap.
Whether you work, play, or compete at sea, this book will help you be the best that you can be.
