Buy used:
$16.74
FREE delivery May 20 - June 5. Details
Used: Very Good | Details
Sold by Bahamut Media
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comment: Shipped within 24 hours. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Nicola Rodriguez
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Sail Away: How to escape the rat race and live the dream Paperback – January 9, 2012

by Nicola Rodriguez (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 69 ratings
See all formats and editions
You long to escape the daily grind, buy a boat and sail away. This book will inspire your dreams and show you how to turn them into a reality – be it an extended cruise or years away. Written by a yachting journalist who has sailed away for 8 years, together with the contributions of 100 other blue-water cruisers, there are tales a plenty of what it is like to do it from around the world – west, east, north and south. There is also practical advice on everything from choosing a boat to crossing oceans. You’ll be guided through each step of the preparation before casting off on your adventure of a lifetime. There’s information on everything the would-be blue-water sailor needs to consider, including safety, communications, children, ocean passages and budgeting. Learn about routes and destinations around Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific and beyond to help you cruise the Mediterranean or Baltic, cross the Atlantic or circumnavigate the world. Colour photographs and charts will inspire and inform in this essential guide for the 21st century blue-water sailor.

Table of Contents

1 Turning the Dream into Reality

2 Saving Up to Sail Away

3 Choosing & Equipping Your Boat

4 Children on Board

5 Time to Go

6 Life Aboard

7 Deciding Which Way to Go

8 Blue-Water Sailing

9 Cruising the Caribbean

10 Hurricane Season

11 The Pacific & Beyond

12 Sailing Back

Picture Credits

Further Reading
Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Fernhurst Books
  4. Publication date
    January 9, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    6.67 x 0.61 x 8.19 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0470979763
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0470979761
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must for all aspiring ocean adventurers"
Yachting Monthly

"A bright cheerful paperback… an easy and absorbing read. "
Little Ship Club

From the Back Cover

There is practical advice on everything from choosing a boat to crossing oceans. You ll be guided through each step of the preparation process before casting off on your adventure of a lifetime. There s information on everything the would-be blue water sailor needs to consider, including safety, communications, children, ocean passages and budgeting.

Learn about routes and destinations around Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific and beyond to help you cruise the Med, cross the Atlantic or circumnavigate the world. Colour photographs and charts will inspire and inform in this essential guide for the 21st century blue water sailor.

Nicola Rodriguez spent six years blue water cruising with her husband John and their two children. She shares her own experiences and those of the hundreds of sailors she met along the way, providing advice that s been tried and tested. She is a yachting journalist and writes for magazines including Yachting Monthly, Yachting World and SAIL magazine.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fernhurst Books; First Edition (January 9, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0470979763
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0470979761
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.41 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.67 x 0.61 x 8.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 69 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Nicola Rodriguez

Nicola Rodriguez

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
69 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Greta G
5.0 out of 5 stars No Nonsense Cruising
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2012
Perhaps it was the beautiful pictures of azure seas, white sand beaches, and smiling faces that first drew me to this book. However, as I casually flipped through the pages--admittedly a bit skeptical about how this could answer questions about long range cruising--I found myself settling in so I could read each chapter. As I progressed through the book, I thought of additional questions and was delighted to find that they too were answered in the ensuing chapters. By the time I completed reading "Sail Away," every thing I needed to know, including superstitions of the sea, was either in the body of the book or in the resources section at the end.

Ms. Rodriquez did an excellent job of compiling first-hand, comprehensive and practical information that was easy to read and, best of all, entertaining. The questions posed in the book were answered in easily understandable terms. Also, frequent references to the experiences of other cruisers/sailors did a great job of substantiating those facts.

I highly recommend "Sail Away: How to Escape the Rat Race and Live the Dream" to anyone who is considering both long and/or short term cruising.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
B Dorn
5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Global Travel Content, Superb! Excellent Nonfiction Book -- How Anyone Can Travel The World On Their Own Sailboat!
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2013
SAILAWAY: HOW TO ESCAPE THE RATE RACE AND LIVE THE DREAM, by Nicola Rodriguez, is the #1 nonfiction book available on the world market today on how anyone can travel around Earth on a sailboat. Very well-written, entertaining, packed full of every bit of information on the topic of ocean travel on a sailboat, this book has just about everything one would need to travel around the world on their own sailboat. Nicola Rodriguez (author), a respected yachting journalist, traveled around the globe with her husband John, and their two small children. Years on end, this family crisscrossed the ocean water(s), visiting numerous continents, countries,cities, ports, and/or several water routes.

Succinct, well-written, the 281 narrative is essentially the tale of how one family traveled around the world on the water, in their own small sailboat. It describes this exciting adventure, while also teaching the reader what is required to accomplish the same feat. Chapter one: Turning the Dream into Reality explains why one might want to create a coherent, detailed plan first then goes into why you would want to sail around the Earth on your own sailboat. What questions you might need to answer: who you might want to partner with. Furthermore, chapter one provides great insight to all the relevant internet information on how to become even more educated on the topic of sailing. The blogs and/or websites that provide great insight, i.e. [...]. What classes the potential sailor might want to enroll within, i.e. found within the Royal Yachting Association ([...]). Plus, you learn what other book(s) you might want to read, information provided from many forms, i.e. The Cruising Association ([...]). Any potential sailor(s) outline, personal goal(s) in becoming a global mariner, is disclosed to the reader in the first chapter. Basically, what do you want, how long do you want to go, how far you want to go, what is required to accomplish this task, taught wisdom, information that is needed.

Global adventure, and fun! Chapter two then goes in depth to answer these necessary inquires. How to save up and/or get enough money to finally set out and sail your own sailboat around the world. It provides excellent insight, on how to save up, rent, sell things, stretching your equity, selling items, credit, sharing, packing, chartering, sabbatical, health check up(s) -- getting your dream rolling. Plus tips on storage. Chapter three investigates the choice(s) of finding the right kind of boat, vessel, sailboat. The equipment that you will need inside your boat,plus on the outside of the boat. Pages 35-65 is the most important portion of the nonfiction book! It should be required reading for any likely ocean mariner. You learn how to buy a boat, equip a sailboat that will meet your need(s). Using your budget to buy the ideal vessel: what you do want, what is ideal. You learn the right kind of boat to buy, classifications, wind force, wave heights, hull and keel. Great yacht brokers to buy from, i.e. The International Yacht Council ([...]), and many others. The YSDA survey that is needed to find a functional vessel (the test it will need to be an operational boat on the ocean). Chapter three then concludes with the hundreds of required items you will need to supply within your sailboat. Ranging from life-jackets, cabin equipment (i.e. Navionics Charts), and other communication equipment. GPS information included, plus much - much more! Cockpit equipment, dinghy trappings, electronic gadgets, first-aid supply, safety equipage. How to find these fittings, through sales is then learned! Nothing is left out to the reader. Chapter three is the most ESSENTIAL part of the entire nonfiction book. It concludes, with where you can find the right boat, sale(s), plus how to buy everything and/or find a good bargain.

Compelling, enticing and/or very stimulating story, stellar information. It is not just a guide-book, it is a narrative by the author on her own experience(s), as she traveled around the world in her own sailboat with her husband John (who took exceptional photographs that are filled within the book), and their two small children. Chapter four is more about Nicola Rodriguez (author), her family. Their experiences in how live on a sailboat with two small children, how to get them accustomed to social skills, school them, play time, also what you may consider if you take your pets along your sailing adventure. Chapter five is about taking all the information consumed (so far), and getting yourself ready to castoff. Will you consider taking a crew, those costs? How to deal with the acquisition of possible sea sickness. The recipes-diet, habits, things to do, avoid if you don't want to become a sea sick person. Became versed on learning the theorem of weather, sails, winds, in great detail. Plus, where to familiarize yourself with even more depth information on these topics (i.e. [...]). Plus, how to keep in touch with the outside world when on the high waters is examined in great detail. Chapter six discusses what life abroad is like, the author and/or her families - wonderful travel experiences on their small sailboat. Maintaining their boat, recipes for optimal health, how they stocked their boat. How too maintain exceptional health on your boat, while traveling. Explores, whether or not you want to invite guests on board (based on their previous junction). "Fish and visitors smell after three days," --Poor Richards Almanac 1736 (page 124).

Loved reading this outstanding nonfiction book, very well-written. Chapter seven advanced into the direction of where you might want to travel on your sailboat. Which way you may want to go to get there, mapping, so forth. From the authors' own experience(s),illustrations' of her route(s) of world travel (oceans, waters), which way is the most efficient. Page 140 diagrams the port(s) were the author and/or her sailboat-family were able to travel in the Mediterranean Sea. It was awe-inspiring! They had access to visit over a hundred cities in only a few weeks. Chapter seven was very informative on teaching the potential ship traveler on deciding where you might sail toward, where to port and/or how to get there. Chapter eight: blue-water sailing, crisscrossing the large oceans, charting the world. How the sailor can transport their ship on a massive cruiser(s) and/or fly up to meet it (shipping it). Additionally, how to sail it through rallyers (clusters of other sailboat travelers who travel together over great distances). Chapter nine: cruising the Caribbean was my favorite chapter in the book. The author's own experience(s) in the region, excellent photographs are illustrated along with wisdom on the best locations. Page 176, sapience of the Windward and Leeward Islands. That is a region, I know I must visit someday (the region of islands from the Virgin Islands down south into Barbados). Charting, the Atlantic, tips of south America sailing, commenced the chapter.

Outstanding worldwide water tour, global travel adventure. Page 210: "June too soon, July stand by, August come it must, September remember, October all over." A Mariners' rhyme that is a useful verse and provided grasp - overture -relevance - leading into chapter nine. A cadence to remind the reader about Hurricane activity, what too look for, be aware of. October, November is seen as hurricane activity, by any ocean sailor. Nicola Rodriguez (author) shares with the reader her own families' mind-boggling experience(s) with hurricane season, what to be aware of, prepare for, how to deal with it. Chapter nine, finished with the author's traveling through the Gulf Stream. The IntraCoastal Waterway (ICW) is then written about: port destinations, experiences. Nothing is left out, in this water adventure story, by Nicola Rodriguez (author). All the relevant information in what is needed to see any place on earth by way of water is mentioned. [...], [...], show the reader how they were able to exit the Cabot Strait (northeast Canada) by way of Mobile Bay (southern Mississippi). You also learn that there are several firms that truck any vessel, from the West cost to the East coast, if you do not wish to sail, the distance around such landings, formed the culmination of chapter ten.

Easy, fun to read. An in depth analysis: The Pacific and Beyond, is the edifice of chapter eleven. Cherished, page 246: "In his book, Riding Rockets, Astronaut Mike Mullane, describes flying at five miles a second looking out over the Pacific from the Space Shuttle. He states: "I was looking to a horizon more than a thousand miles distant and could see only the unrelieved blue of the Pacific. In each passing second that horizon was being pushed five miles to the east but nothing changed. There was no vapor trail of jet-liner, or wake of a ship, no cities, no glint of Sun from a piece of glass or metal. No signature of life on Earth." This quotation begins the second-to-last chapter of this superlative nonfiction book. How to sail the humongous -- Pacific Ocean. How to get through he Panama Canal from South American into the South Pacific and/or beyond the Pacific. Over 3000 miles of sailing for the author-her family! The story enabled the reader to sail, learn how to stretch form the Panama Canal to Chile to the Galapagos Islands, to finally reach Marquesas Islands (first South Pacific land-post), French Polynesia, and beyond to Australia, up into Asia. This book covers every aspect of world travel, what to expect in each city, region and/or continent. How to get there, what it is like, every detail is explained in specification.

Flowed well, very sharp content, chapters. Sailing Back, chapter 12, was the final chapter, it was a culmination. Chapter twelve: what to expect, how to maintain your boat (leasing, renting). The most extraordinary - worldwide -- travel adventure is presented in clear, concise manner. The global experience(s), the technical know-how, small talk, the wonderful journey of world travel. Felt like I traveled around the world with this family, upon conclusion. Sound advice on everything, that is relevant: choosing a vessel, equipment, route passages, budgeting. Everything that is needed to castoff and.or travel the world's oceans, cities, ports. Make the dream a reality with this book! Money well-spent, how too world travel in your own sailboat! Nicola Rodriguez (author), definitely, showed me how to do it. Very entertaining tale of Nicola Rodriguez (author), a worldwide respected yachting journalist, as she traveled the world with her husband John, their two small kids -- years on end, while at the same time teaching the reader how to do the same! Enjoyable story, plus it provided excellent advice and/or information on the topic of global water-adventure-travel. Highly recommended, for anyone interested in the topic of travel, adventure!
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
ztennyson
3.0 out of 5 stars Glossy and pretty, but lacking info.
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a nice book, but you won't find a lot of info. The pictures are beautiful and there is quite a lot of information about destinations. More of a guidebook than a "how to". Not a waste of money, but if you are looking for detail, you won't find it here.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Caroline Salzmann
3.0 out of 5 stars a good read
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
Very good in sections but too general in other areas. Tried to cover too wide an area. Should have focused on starting, the sail to the Caribbean, the Carribean, then the return home.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Daniel Swart
1.0 out of 5 stars It had good info but was marketed on how to make the ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book was misleading. It had good info but was marketed on how to make the money to escape the race and live on a boat. It did basically everything but that
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Mike Hatherall
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it - a true sense of where to begin and how to find out more ....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
I loved this book - it covered almost everything I was looking for it doesn’t go into massive detail but it tells you where to go for further reading , I have dreamed and do dream of sailing off around the world - it’s not a pipe dream it’s a plan - and this book really gives you a sense of where to start , I had the book today and I read the whole book in one evening - I am gonna go back over it and make notes - but it was brilliant .
One person found this helpful
 Report
Sabine
5.0 out of 5 stars schönes Buch
Reviewed in Germany on September 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
war ein Geschenk für unsere englisch sprachigen Freunde, die Infos sind spannend und es ist sehr informativ
ein schönes Geschenk für Leute die gerne Segeln
Report
jep17
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting combination of practical information and personal stories
Reviewed in Canada on August 8, 2013
Verified Purchase
With an interesting combination of practical information and personal stories, I found the book well balanced and useful. I will leave it in the boat library for future reference.
Report
Denis
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on February 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
Love it
Report
Pip R
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book - whether your're just daydreaming or actually setting sail
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
We love this book! I doubt we'll ever actually sail off into the horizon but we constantly dip into this book. It's full of the most fascinating information & handy tips.

I'd highly recommend it to anyone, either just as a lovely book to read & dream over or as a practical accompaniment to a round the world trip.
Report