Cruising Guide To Abaco 2007 Includes 55 updated charts and maps based on original hydrographic research, clear and concise cruising directions, color aerial photographs, progressive harbor entry photographs, complete GPS waypoint system with proven course lines, helpful local advertising and business directories for Abaco communities.
Customer Review: Actually this is the 2007 edition.
For some reason the graphic and description have not been updated. However, if purchasing through the two providers currently available on this site (Boaters World or EAngler) you actually will receive the updated 2007 edition.

Cruising Guide To Western Florida Most comprehensive and in-depth account available of waters from Cape Sable to Carrabelle. Provides a close up look at the Ten Thousand Islands, Pine Island Sound, and Tampa Bay as well as many ports along the western shoreline. Features information on marinas, anchorages, shore side provisioning facilities and aids to navigation. Both Standard Mile notations and references to navigational aids locate cruising destinations directly adjacent to the ICW.

Ladies’ Schwinn 26″ Roxie Cruiser Customer Review: Adorable and affordable
I just purchased this bike, and I love it.

Pros: “hey nice bike!”. Comfortable seat, good white and pink color contrast, handles nicely, easy to shift, nice wide tires.

Great for city and neighborhood riding.

Cons: (what I can tell so far) It is noisy. Most gears I’ve tried it in squawk at me with the slightest bump or turn. Also, it seems to be better suited for a shorter person. I’m 5′ 11″ and I find it kind of uncomfortable to have the handlebars come in so close to me. Long arms don’t need long handlebars.

Otherwise it’s great. Don’t go mountain biking with it (like the other reviewer said), just “cruise” around town with it.
Customer Review: Bike Fit
I am an avid mountain biker and am looking for another city/cruiser bike. After reading some of the reviews, I cannot help but comment as it sounds like some ladies are not happy with the fits of their bikes, assembly, etc. There even seems to be someone dinging the bike (and its maker) for a flat tire issue …? These are common issues for those new to bikes and biking.

** Fit: Everyone fits a bike differently. Bikes also vary in fit from brand to brand. My second mountain bike is a Haro I bought new … It was $2,700. I can spend the same $2,700 (+/-) for a Specialized or Ellsworth and not like its fit. It has nothing to do with the model or the brand; those are fabulous makes of bike. It has to do with the fact that my body fits a Haro 16″ bike.

Before buying a bike on Amazon (or any other online retailer), go look at - and test ride! - as many bikes as you can. Record the make and model and buy it off Amazon or whoever you get the best price from. Just because your friend is the same hight you are does NOT mean you will be comfortable on the same size (or make) bike she is. Your torso, legs, arms, etc., might be shorter/longer …

** Assembly: Try to put it together. If you are successful, take it to your local bike shop and have them give it a once over. This will take care of any chain drag, shifting, etc., problems you might have. If you are not successful in putting it together, take it to your bike shop and have them do it for you. NOTE: All new bikes “settle in” after a couple weeks of steady riding. Chains stretch, things loosen, shift, etc. It will need a little fine tuning after you’ve ridden for a while.

** Flat tires … (?) OK … Every biker on the planet has flat tires from time to time. I went 3 years without a one; I’ve had two in the past year and count myself lucky: One was on singletrack (mountainous cross-country trail riding over roots, etc) and just got my second yesterday on a ride on dirt and road. Glass, roots, pokey things happen. Your tires are not armour plated. Always carry an extra tube, repair kit, CO2 pump, and know how to use them. That’s biking 101 and (most likey) has nothing to do with the manufacturer. Most bike shops offer basic bike maintenance classes - take one.

** The bike/cost. Bikes are no different than a car. You get what you pay for. Don’t expect a $100 bike to ride (or hold up) like a $2,000 bike. If you are just cruising a couple times in the summer, $100 will suit you fine as an entry bike. Step up to someting better when and if it makes sense to you, but don’t ding the bike (or its maker) for providing you with cheap, fun, healthy entertainment for $100 when it doesn’t ride like a bike costing 10-50 times that.

Schwinn is a good brand. If this bike fits you well (determined by test ride), then you will probably have many years of cruising enjoyment on it.

(I am rating this bike a 3-star because I can’t post this w/o a rating. I don’t want to over or under rate it, so am striking the middle - I don’t own it, so won’t officially rate it)

Catamarans

The modern cruising catamaran has arrived

The arguments are over and the verdict is in–cruising catamarans comprise a rapidly growing percentage of the cruising fleet worldwide. Their advantages of space, stability, speed, and handling under power are truly compelling, and modern cats are every bit as reliable as monohulls. This long overdue, in-depth guide will help you choose and cruise the right catamaran for your needs.

“An authoritative guide for novices and experienced sailors; the best book written on the subjects since the early 1990s.”–“Trimaran” Jim Brown, renowned multihull designer

“In Catamarans, Gregor Tarjan shares his enthusiasm for yachts with two hulls, based on years of sailing all types. An excellent introduction.”–Dick Newick, legendary catamaran and trimaran designer

“If you are contemplating spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a cruising catamaran, the small price of this book is probably the best investment you could possibly start with.”–from the Foreword by Charles K. Chiodi, publisher of Multihulls Magazine
Customer Review: Stunning photography, wonderful text
I own many sailing books (including books that specialize in multihull sailing), but this one makes you want to jump through the pages onto the boats. What wonderful photography. This is not said to take away from the wealth of information written by Gregor Tarjan, just to tell you what a joy is has been to read (drool) my way through this book. You will not be disappointed.
Customer Review: Beautiful photography and interesting text
This book is an excellent addition to the stable of books dealing with cruising catamaran sailing. It’s a heavy hardback with beautiful photography, an attractive layout and good diagrams. Picking up this book after reading Charles Kanter’s ‘Cruising in Catamarans’ or its recent update published as ‘Cruising Catamaran Communiqu?’ you wonder how two books on the same subject with similar ideas behind them could be so different!

This book is beautiful and would make a wonderful coffee table book as well as an interesting read. There’s some great photography often in beautiful locations. There are also photographs and plans of different catamarans and the text is helpful. Tarjan doesn’t spend too long on the old chestnuts of catamaran vs monohull and will they capsize but he gives a good overview of general principles of catamaran sailing, heavy weather tactics, manufacture, some technical information on hull shapes, rigs, keels vs daggerboards and benefits/downsides of different configurations.

It becomes clear very quickly when reading this book that Tarjan tends to spend time on larger cruising catamarans. Here in the UK most Cats vary from 26ft - 40ft; most that I see are probably 35ft or less. Tarjan mentions the 34 foot Gemini 105MC in his text but most of the cats he discusses/photographs are whoppers, 45-60 feet. Perhaps these are more common in America but for sailors in UK waters they might make your own boat look a bit weedy.

Tarjan also is keen on speed. He perhaps affords it more importance than many cruising sailors would and there’s plenty of discussion about how useful speed is to get you away from bad weather, but the text reads very much as if the cruising cat owner is really also a racer and I would imagine this is not very often the case. Charles Kanter’s contention that most cruisers aren’t speed freaks seems more likely to me and his more thorough and detailed treatment of catamaran sailing is perhaps more useful to the novice than in this book where less time is spent on multihull seamanship and more of that time on trimming sails for maximum speed.

However despite these reservations this book is a great read and good value for the price. It has at the end the apparently obligatory list of current multihulls (including one that’s 100ft long!) with a very short amount of copy on them and a couple of photos. There are some helpful appendices with the Beaufort scale, a long-range cruising equipment checklist and other stuff and the photo credits, much appreciated because of the quality throughout of the photography and printing. The downside of this book? This author, although interesting, doesn’t grab your attention in the same way as Charles Kanter. I think this makes another excellent addition to my cruising catamaran bookshelf but I wouldn’t choose it over Charles Kanter’s ‘Cruising Catamaran Communiqu?’ if I could have only one book because that has more information for the medium sized cat owner to find helpful (by this I mean the 30-40 foot range). But it’s still a great book and worthy of five stars.

The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice: Tools and Techniques for Modern and Traditional Rigging

Combining and updating the renowned Rigger’s Apprentice and Rigger’s Locker, meets the changing face of modern materials and technology while remaining true to rigging’s best traditional principles and practices. It’s much more than a knot book, though the knots a sailor needs are all here. It’s a book for sailors who want the satisfaction and hard-cash savings of stepping their own masts, inspecting and maintaining their own rigs, and turning their own tailsplices and wire eyesplices. It is for boatowners who want to replace an entire gang of rigging themselves–measuring, choosing appropriate wire, turning soft eyes, leathering, and serving. It is for bluewater voyagers who want to feel secure in the knowledge that, should a shroud carry away far at sea, they will be able to repair it.

The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice is also a free-roaming collection of useful ideas and tips on everything from supplementing winches with block and tackle, to rigging snubbers at anchor, to using pantyhose for an emergency fanbelt. In short, it’s the definitive book on the art of rigging, written by its most entertaining practitioner.
Customer Review: Exellent teacher
There’s no reason not to buy this book, but a lot of them to buy it. Especially if you are into sailing and/or building boats.
Goes good with “Sailmakers’s apprentice”.
So buy them both. Why not?
Customer Review: The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice: Tools and Techniques for Modern and Traditional Rigging
to basic ok for sailboats not much for other rigging

Panama Canal By Cruise Ship: The Complete Guide to Cruising the Panama Canal (2nd Edition) One of the greatest engineering feats ever, the Panama Canal is becoming one of the world’s most popular cruise itineraries. Ports of call span the Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera, but the highlight of the cruise is the eight-hour transit of the Canal in which six massive locks raise and lower the ship 85 feet. Read about the monumental construction of the Canal as well as the history, culture, flora and fauna of this tropical region. Detail provided on popular ports, from Florida to California. Over 400 maps and photos most in color. Includes giant color fold out map of Panama Canal
Customer Review: A must for anyone going on a Panama Canal cruise!
I bought this book prior to a Panama Canal cruise not just for the cruise information but also because of the extensive amount of history covering the Panama Canal, including how it was built and the political involvement in making it happen. The details and background on the canal are outstanding.

What I didn’t expect to find was not only information about the ports of call in Panama, but information about every possible port of call on a Panama Canal cruise. Whether you sail from Florida to California or any other path, your ports are covered in this book. Know what to purchase in Costa Rica, know where to sightsee in Cozumel, and know where the locals will be waving at your ship as you pass through the canal. A must have guide for every canal cruise, and a great guide for the Caribbean and Mexico as well.
Customer Review: MIL seemed to like it.
Purchased this book for my mother-in-law. She seemed to like it. They are taking a trip there, so it made a good gift. Have not read the book myself.

Is anything more luxurious than taking a cruise holiday?  Traveling to exotic locations on a luxury ship, catching sunrays, and breathing the salty breezes can regenerate and replenish anyone, no matter how shopworn from the cares of employment.  However, a cruise holiday calls for planning in order to be the best it can be.  Check out these tips to have a cruise experience you will remember.

So where do you start when planning a cruise holiday?  First, what is your budget like?  Do you need to hold down expenses?  Then here are a few tips for economizing on your cruise holiday.

When scheduling your cruise holiday, you should be mindful that there are off season and on season dates, and that you want to schedule your trip in the off season to get the best deal.  What you might not know, however, is that cruise lines really change prices a number of times throughout the year.  Ask and find out when their utter lowest season prices are.  Additionally, keep your plans fairly flexible so that you can switch ships at the last minute.  Occasionally a ship is not filled to capacity, so the cruise line will sell the last few tickets at a genuine bargain.  It is always to their advantage to sail filled to capacity because people on holiday spend money on souvenirs, drinks, etc.  Use this knowledge to get a really great deal.

Where you cruise to on your holiday can make a large difference in your cost as well.  If you pick a favourite spot, you can travel cheaper than if you choose a less popular spot.  A different consideration is whether you really care about those ports of call.  If you just want to stay on the ocean liner and enjoy the luxuries, book a cruise that doesn’t stop anyplace.  These “cruises to nowhere” are just as deluxe as the others but cost less.

To be safe on a cruise holiday, don’t take a lot of expensive gear or jewelry with you.  Make sure your passport, health insurance, and other papers are up to date.  Be sure to ask about laws you may unwittingly be breaking when you get off the shore you are accustomed to.  Laws in ports and even in the water can vary, and you sure don’t want a big hassle with a foreign law enforcement agency.

To journey lighter, find out about equipment that will be acquirable on the ship.  For instance, if the cruise line provides irons or hair dryers, you won’t need to pack yours.  Also pack your own sample size shampoo, toothpaste, and other toiletries because these items will cost more in the gift shop.  You should have access to laundry facilities on your cruise holiday, so you don’t have to take a vast amount of clothing.  Pick a wrinkle proof lightweight outfit for every two or three days and pick separates in colors that coordinate so you can get contrasting looks.  Be sure to pack a formal and or semi-formal outfit if you will be taking part in these sort of activities on your cruise holiday.