Author Description

Robert Bériault took up sailing 18 years ago and it changed his life forever. His new found love enabled him to discover the sailing community and make new friends, to live numerous adventures at sea, to provide him with many memorable holidays afloat and to allow him to explore some of the world's most beautiful destinations. In 2011 he told all his stories in his first book, Sailor Without a Boat: How I Sailed on Other People's Yachts and Lived to Tell About It. He's accomplished all this, without ever having bought a boat of his own, sailing on his club's sailboats, on other people's yachts and on bareboat charters. With this handbook, he shares his experience with you, so that you too, will be able to sail without the need to buy a boat, foregoing all the costs and inconveniences of boat ownership. He begins by introducing you to the world of sailing to give you a feeling for what sailing is all about. Then he explains the legal requirements for operating a sailboat and what courses are available in Canada, the US, UK and Australia. He provides ideas on how to short-circuit the learning process by joining organized sailing tours or tall ship adventures. You will then learn why there are so many boat owners looking for crew and how to use a variety of means to connect with them, including how to use the Internet for this purpose. You will also learn how to increase your sailing skills and to gather experience on different makes of yachts with different styles of captains in different parts of the world. Once you have found a prospective captain online, you will know what questions to ask before meeting him in person and what to watch out for when you meet him for the first time. You will also learn: - What to expect on a sailing holiday or a long sailing passage - How to arrange to rent a sailing yacht (bareboating) and what to check - What you need to know for renting a yacht in Europe - What you'll need to pack for your adventure - Precautions to take for your