One Hand for Yourself, One for the Ship: The Essentials of Single-Handed Sailing

One Hand for Yourself, One for the Ship is a course on single-handed sailing by the man most qualified to give it. It is a highly personal perspective on both the science and art of this ultimate challenge, and it bears the unmistakable stamp of one who has lived on and for the sea.

Table of Contents:
Author's Note 1. The Wind of the Sea 2. Prepare for Sea 3. Freud Was Not a Sailor 4. Single-Handed Sailing--the Art 5. Rigs and Rigging 6. Self-Steering--Electronic and Manual 7. Accommodations 8. Scraps of Navigation 9. Celestial Navigation 10. Emergency Gear, tools and Spares 11. Anchors and Ground Tackle 12. Heavy Weather and Other Hazards 13. A New Mast 14. Staying Alive 15. Fiberglass in Plain English 16. Outboard Motors 17. Small-Craft Cooking 18. Catching Fish Epilogue List of Recommended Books Index

About the Author :
Tristan Jones was born aboard his father's sailing ship as it rounded Cape Horn. He grew up in Wales and later joined the Royal Navy. After he left the service, he began a career of yacht deliveries and, aboard his own yachts, undertook some of the most ambitious small craft journeys ever made. He has written many books about his incredible adventures and is one of the best-loved nautical writers today. His collection of stories Yarns is also published by Sheridan House.

Review :
A reference handbook of the essentials of single-handed sailing written for novice and experienced sailors. Jones offers information and advice on the science and art of solo sailing with humorous anecdotes and details. Topics range from accommodations and small-craft cooking to celestial navigation and hazardous conditions Tristan Jones needs no introduction to anyone interested in sailing and yachts. He has logged more miles and more adventure sailing alone than any other person alive in our time. He has crossed the Atlantic many times, often alone and has circumnavigated the globe in small boats. As such, One Hand for Yourself, One of the Ship, sub-titled The Essentials of Singlehanded Sailing is a course on singlehanded sailing by the man most qualified to give it. There are of course numerous books on singlehanded sailing, but few so readable and full of sheer commonsense and experience, laced with the highly personal perspective of a man who has lived his life on the sea. The book encompasses arguably every aspect of preparation, fear and technique needed for a person to sail alone, from rigs and rigging to catching fish; celestial navigation to stay alive. He even goes into great detail on the importance of taking along materials so that one can make an emergency mast in the event of demasting and tells you how to construct one. His advice regarding self-steering is something all cruising sailors should consider very carefully, His own vast experience has led him to believe that for serious cruising you should fit a wind-vane, preferably, in his own words, the Rolls-Royce of wind-vanes, the Aries. He says no electronic or electrical device that he has sailed with has proved 100 percent reliable and that in nine-tenths of the ports of the world, the hopes of finding someone who understands these things is about as realistic as the hope of getting Colonel Qaddafi to adopt the United States constitution. An invaluable book, written by a man described by the American magazine Motor Boat and Sailing as the Joshua Slocum of our age.