Swan: The Second Voyage

Rating:
Summary: A great read for anyone interested in bluewater sailing!
Review: I found this gem by accident on the shelf of a secondhand store, along with several other books on the subject of cruising (which I also bought). This was by far, the best written of the bunch! They say the key to being a good author, is finding your "voice" on the written page, and Jim Moore has certainly done this. Jim has a narrative style that is entertaining as well as informative. He seemlessly blends together the tale of an adventure and lifestyle story that is full of amusing anecdotes, along with truely useful information about sailing, navigating, and living on a sailing vessel. I also appreciated Jim's ability to maintain continuity throughout the book (something not common in the others I've read). Read it the first time for the shear enjoyment. Read it the second time using a highlighter (if you ever plan to go cruising)!

Rating:
Summary: A great read for anyone interested in bluewater sailing!
Review: I found this gem by accident on the shelf of a secondhand store, along with several other books on the subject of cruising (which I also bought). This was by far, the best written of the bunch! They say the key to being a good author, is finding your "voice" on the written page, and Jim Moore has certainly done this. Jim has a narrative style that is entertaining as well as informative. He seemlessly blends together the tale of an adventure and lifestyle story that is full of amusing anecdotes, along with truely useful information about sailing, navigating, and living on a sailing vessel. I also appreciated Jim's ability to maintain continuity throughout the book (something not common in the others I've read). Read it the first time for the shear enjoyment. Read it the second time using a highlighter (if you ever plan to go cruising)!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and educational
Review: I'm sorry to say, I haven't read Moore's first book, but I can certainly recommend this one (after reading it twice). Moore has a down to earth writing style and is a real thinking sailor. By that, I mean that he has come up with a lot of good solutions to sailing problems, and he shares them in this book.

Besides a running narrative of his experiences, some of which have little to do with cruising, he shares what he has learned about seamanship and life on a boat. He demonstrates how to make a boat leakproof, how to anchor properly, and how to avoid a knockdown while you're sleeping. He throws in a few fishing tips as well, including one that involves vodka (a surprisingly useful tidbit).

In comparing this to a similar book, Lin Pardey's "Cruising in Serrafyn", I'd have to srongly favor Moore. Pardey wrote intirely too much about personal relationships and not enough about sailing.

I've read some pretty negative reviews about Moore's first book, but, IMHO, this one is worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and educational
Review: I'm sorry to say, I haven't read Moore's first book, but I can certainly recommend this one (after reading it twice). Moore has a down to earth writing style and is a real thinking sailor. By that, I mean that he has come up with a lot of good solutions to sailing problems, and he shares them in this book.

Besides a running narrative of his experiences, some of which have little to do with cruising, he shares what he has learned about seamanship and life on a boat. He demonstrates how to make a boat leakproof, how to anchor properly, and how to avoid a knockdown while you're sleeping. He throws in a few fishing tips as well, including one that involves vodka (a surprisingly useful tidbit).

In comparing this to a similar book, Lin Pardey's "Cruising in Serrafyn", I'd have to srongly favor Moore. Pardey wrote intirely too much about personal relationships and not enough about sailing.

I've read some pretty negative reviews about Moore's first book, but, IMHO, this one is worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Cruising in the Pacific and around North America
Review: Jim Moore takes us on Swan his home made 36 foot sloop in the pacific and then around North America. You learn about Molly the Mate, Vane the proud wind vane, CN (Cool Navigator) the smart allec Sat Nav and other picturesque characters. You will travel to places you will not want to leave. You will also find some of the lessons that the author learned on sailing, cruising and fishing.

Rating:
Summary: A sailing adventure with cruising tips.
Review: SWAN - THE SECOND VOYAGE chronicles a two-year, 10,000 mile voyage from Hawaii to North Carolina that my wife Molly and I made in our 36 foot sailboat, SWAN. It is, in some ways, a sequel to my first book, BY WAY OF THE WIND, which is an account of our four-year, 40,000 mile circumnavigaion made earlier in SWAN. But it is also a "nuts and bolts" book in which I pass on to the reader tips on boat building, sailboat management in a storm at sea, living aboard, anchoring techniques (we never dragged anchor once during 50,000 miles of cruising), and living aboard; things that worked well for us that might also be useful to anyone planning long-distance cruising, or for the weekend sailor. The book takes the reader on a passage from Oregon to Hawaii, then from Hawaii back to the west coast and south to Baja California where we spent seven delightful months diving, fishing, and enjoying cruisng camaraderie in the sparkling Sea of Cortez, one of the finest cruising a! reas one could hope to find. Reluctantly, we bid our friends goodbye and sailed south to Panama, evading the "perils of the Tehuantepec" en route, and transited the Panama Canal. From the canal we made a rough windward slog north to Grand Caymen Island where the author narrowly escaped a rendezvous with the Grim Reaper while foolishly diving alone on a barrier reef. The voyage ends at Beaufort, North Carolina with Molly contemplating whether we should sail across the Atlanic Ocean to check out the Mediterranean or, perhaps, stay North Carolina and get a dog. Life is full of hard decisions. The book contains photographs and pen and ink drawings of "sure fire" trolling rigs, fuel tank innovations, preventing deck leaks, proper propane hose installation, heaving to, and other information of general interest to the boater, sail or power.