A Sail of Two Idiots: 100+ Lessons and Laughs from a Non-Sailor Who Quit the Rat Race, Took the Helm, and Sailed to a New Life in the Caribbean

by Petrillo, Renee

• ISBN13: 9780071779845
• ISBN10: 0071779841
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-06
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press

Summary

"It was the best of dreams, it was the worst of dreams, it was an age of consulting the nautical experts, it was the age of landlubber foolishness, it was the epoch of determination, it was the epoch of despair, it was the season of hurricanes, it was a spring of beachcombing..." If you dream about chucking it all away and sailing toward an island life, read this first Renee and Michael didn't have any boating experience and when their plans to remedy that fell through the two had to learn everything the hard way. Despite themselves they managed to get from Miami to Grenada, eventually dropping the anchor of their cruising catamaran at the island of their dreams. Determined to save future sailors from themselves, A Sail of Two Idiotsincludes lessons Renee and Michael learned and shares them with you as examples of what and what not to do. This a how-to guide wrapped in a funny storykind of like getting your serving of vegetables from a slice of pizza. Read this and make your dream of sailing away a reality.Includes: "What Broke?" sections explores the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of a cruising multihull "Island" section provide assessments of the islands of the Caribbean

Author Biography

Renee D. Petrillo's professional career began as a technical writer before awakening from her slumber and deciding to head for the high seas. She has been published in Caribbean Compass and writes a monthly blog (www.islandbabble.blogspot.com) with than 4,000 visitors a month.

Table of Contents

Lessons	p. viii
Nautical Mumbo-Jumbo	p. xii
Preface	p. xiii
Contemplating the Plunge
Whose Idea was This Anyway?	p. 3
Monohulls vs. Catamarans	p. 6
Monohulls
Catamarans
Safety for Catamarans and Monohulls
Still Not Sure?
Let's Buy a Boat	p. 13
Research Makes Perfect
Who's Paying?
The Process
So What Happened Next?
The Best-Laid Plans	p. 26
Ahoy, Matey!	p. 29
What's in a Name?
Thanks... I Think
Final Preparations
Casting Off
And We're Off-Not	p. 35
Need Fuel?
So Thirsty
Energize Me
Bahamas Here We Come!	p. 39
Tacking
Back on Track
Exploring the Islands
Welcome to the Bahamas!	p. 45
Great Sale Cay
Allans-Pensacola Cay
Green Turtle Cay
What Do You Mean You're Leaving Us?
Who's in Charge Here?
A Quick Note About Charts and Navigation
Becoming Green Turtle (Abacos) Bahamas Residents	p. 53
Who Anchored This Thing?
If One Anchor is Good, Two is Better, Right?
Making Friends
Brrrr on Green Turtle
Not Again!
Thankful on Thanksgiving
The Whale (Cue the Suspense Music)
After the Whale
What Did We Learn Here?
Breaking Free!	p. 69
Ping-Ponging Around the Rest of the Abacos
Becoming One with the Abacos
You Can't Go Home Again	p. 77
Back to the Abacos: Practicing and Fixing, Fixing and Practicing	p. 79
Sailors in Training
Fixing Things in Exotic Locations
I See Another Pep Talk Coming
Final Days in the Abacos
Good-Bye, Abacos, Hello, Exumas (in the Central Bahamas)	p. 88
Royal Island
Allen's Cay
Hawksbill Cay
Warderick Wells Cay
Compass Cay
Big Majors Spot and Staniel Cay
Black Point Settlement, Great Guana Cay (Yes, Another One)
A Milestone is Reached-George Town (Bahamas)	p. 97
Long Island
George Town-Part II
Guess It's Time to Stop Pussyfooting Around and Get Out of Here
Who You Calling Chicken? Bahamas, Stage Left	p. 106
What Broke?
Turks and Caicos-Definite Possibilities	p. 109
East Caicos
Grand Turk
Big Sand Cay
What Broke?
The Dominican Republic-Island A+, Anchorage F-	p. 114
Life on Luperon and Beyond
Road Trip!
Who Invited Hurricane Dean?
Break Out the Tissues
Hurricane Season? What Hurricane Season? We're Leaving
What Broke?
Our Longest Sail Ever-Adios, Dominican Republic!	p. 127
Hola, Puerto Rico! The United States on Island Time	p. 131
A Tour of the Southern Coast- First Up, CaboRojo
La Parguera
Coffin Island
Salinas
Puerto Patillas
Cayo Santiago
Isla Palominos
What Broke?
Let's Talk Anchor Rode
If We Can't Be Virgins, Then Let's Go to Them (the Islands, That Is)	p. 138
Spanish Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
Gobble Gobble on Tortola
Final Moments with the Virgins
What Broken?
Bonjour! Welcome to St. Martin (and a Quickie to St Barths and Anguilla)	p. 151
St. Martin: The Prequel
St. Martin: Redo
Work, Work, Work
Play, Play, Play
Back to Work
What Broke?
Island Hopping to Saba, Statia, and St. Kitts and Nevis (Islands That Brush the Clouds)	p. 160
Saba
What Broke?
Statia (St. Eustatius)
What Broke?
St Kitts (St. Christopher)
Nevis-The First Time
Back to St. Kitts
What Broke?
Nevis as a Launching Pad to Antigua
What Broke?
A Stowaway on Antigua	p. 168
What Broke?
Graffiti and Guadeloupe	p. 174
What Broke?
Oh When Des Saintes	p. 177
What Broke?
Lush-Ous Dominica	p. 179
What Broke?
Martinique Gets a Quickie	p. 183
What Broke?
Was That St. Lucia?	p. 186
What Broke?
Reverse Course-Back to Antigua!	p. 187
Dominica
Guadeloupe
Antigua
What Broke?
And Back Down Again on the Jacumba Express	p. 190
What Broke?
Coo-Coo for Carriacou	p. 192
From Miami to Grenada: Who'd Have Believed It?	p. 194
Island Fun
Hauling Out and DIY
What Broke?
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Otherwise Known as Paradise	p. 198
Carriacou
Sandy Island
Back to Carriacou
Union Island
Tobago Cays
Canouan
Bequia
Mustique
St. Vincent
Bequia (Again)
Tobago Cays (Again)
Union Island (Again)
Mayreau
St. Vincent (Again)
What Broke?
Solo Sailor on Grenada	p. 208
And He's Gone
A Trinidad Quickie
Backto Grenada
Solo Sailing
He's Back
Waiting Out Hurricane Season
A Brief Respite
It's Time
What Broke?
The Final Run	p. 220
The Grenadines to St. Lucia
Dominica
Les Saintes to Guadeloupe
Montserrat
Nevis and St. Barths
What Broke?
Hurry Up and Wait	p. 225
Is This It?	p. 227
Onshore
A Visitor!
Work, Work, Work
Maybe, but Let's Go to Barbuda for a Look-see	p. 231
What Broke?
It was a Bad Sail; It was a Good Sail	p. 233
Spinnaker R.I.P.
Landlubbers Again
You're Hired, We're Home (Sort of)	p. 239
Back On Board
What Broke?
Sell, Sell, Sell!	p. 242
Who's at the Helm?
Meet Ana and Bill
Happy Feet
Sold... Based on Survey	p. 248
Another Survey Story
D is for Deflated, Dispirited, Depressed	p. 252
Change That to Delighted, Delirious, Disembarking!	p. 253
Our Last Tropical Storm!
Our Last Shark Sighting!
Our Last Boat Bottom Scrubbing!
Our Last Deck Scrubbing!
Our Last Intruder!
Our Last Peeping Toms!
Our Last Boat Payment!
Our Last Night of Lasts
Where are We Now?	p. 257
Now It's Your Turn
Time to Take the Plunge	p. 261
Observations and Lists	p. 263
General Thoughts
Tips
The End
Appendix: How We Chose Our Island	p. 279
Acknowledgments	p. 286
Index	p. 287
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