For National Safe Boating Week (May 17-23) we’re revisiting some of the best safety stories, recommendations, and gear from our sister publications. Today, from Power & Motoryacht magazine, a potentially life-saving excerpt from The Ocean: The Ultimate Handbook of Nautical Knowledge by senior editor Chris Dixon and Jeremy K. Spencer.
Several years ago, I had the great fortune of sitting down for a post-surfing breakfast with a waterman and author named Jimmy Buffett. When Jimmy asked what I’d been up to, I told him I’d been thinking about writing a book. “Poseidon’s Bible,” I said, “a guide to all things ocean that’ll be fun to read in a hammock strung between two Margaritaville palms—but could also save your ass in a pinch.”
Rather than sourcing dated, or unreliable knowledge, the idea was to hit up actual experts on—fishing, surfing, sea surviva,l and of course, boating. Jimmy chuckled, nodded sagely, and said, “The stuff you only really learn from time on the water.” He then unspooled a veritable who’s who of guides, sailors and surfers he’d learned from over the years. I was glad I had a notebook.
Thanks in part to that brainstorm, thousands of hours of interviews and work came to fruition with Chronicle Books’ The Ocean. The Ultimate Handbook of Nautical Knowledge. With the recent influx of new boaters in our sport, and a belief that you’re never too experienced to learn something new, we’ve compiled some of the book’s most important safety advice. We hope you might share these lessons with any new or future boaters you know (like the grandkids). It might just save a life.
To read the excerpt, which includes bite-sized advice for averting and addressing a range of critical scenarios, click here.
For more information and resources relating to National Safe Boating week, click here.
