The Offshire Racer

The opening story in this book is of two maximum size ocean racing yachts surfing down mountainous seas on the trans-pacific race. This graphic scene sets the tone for a remarkable introduction to offshore racing, where the emphasis is on skippers and crews rather than boat technology. The offshore racer, says Ted Jones, starts at the bottom and works up. If you really want to race offshore there is no other way to begin. So in "Getting a berth", the reader learns how an airline employee on a concessionary ticket from Britain to Miami, got a crewing job which has taken him racing to Hobart, Copenhagen, Hawaii and Rio - and there are amusing accounts of less successful "would-be seafarers" (w-b s's!). In a similar readable but highly authorative style, the author covers personal equipment, crew organization, cooking at sea, navigation, race strategy and offshore helmsmanship. Of even wider interest to all who sail are chapters on handling, safety, health and survival storms. Appendices summarize weather information, the navigator's check list and recommended menurs. Towards the end of the book, the author in "What's it like" and "A philosophical view" injects stories of the world's principal races and a feeling for racing at sea, which is unrivalled in the literature of yachting. Illustrated.mark on back cover.Couple to small tears to edge of D/J.