Want to know how to get out there and STAY out there?

“Why do I do live like this?”

I'm writing this from the cockpit of my sailboat home, currently docked on Florida's Gulf Coast. A great blue heron is across the way, exercising tremendous concentration as he (or she) fishes for dinner. Earlier today, a couple of manatees visited as they made their way slowly around the inlet where we are tied. The sun is just starting to go down, and it promises to produce yet another beautiful light show to end the day. My husband Skip just handed me a glass of chilled chardonnay and is settling in to enjoy the view from our “porch.”

Do you know what really makes me sad? It's when I see someone who wants to cruise, does all the research, spends every spare moment preparing, and then never goes. Or when I see a someone cut their cruise short because unanticipated circumstances arise that could have been avoided.

Yes, it's true that transitioning to a cruising life requires planning and preparation, but when it comes down to it, it’s really a matter of untying the dock lines, taking a deep breath, and heading over the horizon. There is just no way you can cruise from your home dock.

And it's true that unforeseen situations can crop up that impact the cruise, but many times I've seen the plan abandoned because it hadn't been crafted to accommodate the individual circumstances of the skipper and crew.

In fact, unrealistic preparation has tripped up people who gave up cruising after taking the advice of some of the big names in the fleet. They tried to emulate others and worked hard to “do it right” rather than really examine how the cruising life fits their own particular circumstances and define the specifics they needed to attend to in order to take off sooner rather than later.

If you are one of the ones that has made it out onto the waves and is loving it, congratulations. But for each one of you, there are at least ten others who haven’t been able to make their dream a reality. I’ve seen many plans go down the drain because of unexamined assumptions or unfulfilled expectations.

I am here to making your cruising dream a real thing.

In my booklets (and the CDs and tapes that will soon be offered), you'll find the tips, techniques, and strategies used by all sorts of cruisers around the world. I want you to find out what you need to know and do to join them. Using the information and resources here, you will be able to:

• Identify the assumptions you and your partner have about cruising.
• Articulate your expectations and gauge how realistic they are.
• Plan your cruising life to match your expectations and circumstances.
• Apply the core principles of cruising boats to the vessels you are considering.
• Understand the whats and whys of cruising equipment.
• Determine the kind and make of equipment will work best for you.
• Avoid some of the more common traps of provisioning and save money!
• Make the right choices about how you will manage personal, family, and money matters while you are cruising.
• Understand some of the most common health and medical issues of the cruising lifestyle.
• Fit out a great medical kit without spending lots of dough.
• Think ahead about issues related to returning to shore so you can be prepared.
• Make sure the first mate is fully involved in the cruising plan and is prepared for a fulfilling experience.

As an experienced cruiser and first mate I can tell you that there is a mountain of information about boats, equipment, and lifestyle available to you. Everyone who has been out on the water for just a few months has opinions about every aspect of cruising, and the longer and farther they go, the more opinions they have. But those of us who write how-to-cruise pieces simply cannot tell you how your cruising life should look. That is up to you. We can’t do it for you.

Now don't get me wrong. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t avail yourself of every bit of information you can get your hands on. Just remember that we tend to be an opinionated lot and may not have a clue about what works for you. A circumnavigator isn’t the best source of knowledge for a Great Lakes sailor, and vice versa. A boat that works well for Pacific passages may not be the choice for a cruise that focuses on the Bahamas and Florida Keys.

So if you are looking for someone to tell you the specific boat to buy, the itinerary you should follow, or exactly what you can expect, you've come to the wrong person. I'm not going to prescribe what's best for you.

But if you want some knowledge nuggets from someone with broader cruising experience than most, you are in the right place. The tips, techniques, and strategies I mentioned above are focused on bringing up the kinds of questions that you need to answer to plan most effectively and to have the most satisfying cruising experience.

I want your cruising reality to match your cruising dream.

There are literally hundreds of different ways to cruise on a boat. You will learn how I’ve done it, what mistakes I’ve made, and what has worked best for my style and personality. I will take you step-by-step through the different aspects to consider and plan for, and I will also share some of the pitfalls to beware of.

I'll show you how get that dream afloat and will cut through the fog to get you where you want by the quickest route.

The Take Her Sailing Cruising Series

These ebooklets cover key aspects of cruising. Starting with the general subject of cruising itself, each booklet looks from an experienced first mate's point of view and offers a load of practical insights, suggestions, stories, and checklists. Though some of the material deals strictly with monohull sailboat cruising, most of the information I share is “engine/hull neutral,” and is applicable to cruising no matter what kind of boat you prefer.

Downloadable within minutes of purchase, the Take Her Sailing Cruising Series is written with both the skipper and first mate in mind, and is designed to help make cruising fulfilling for both of you. There is something of value for everyone in these booklets, and they are well worth adding to your library of cruising material.

Each booklet in the Take Her Sailing series:

• Is focused on a specific aspect of cruising. Choose the topics that interest you!
• Is priced at $11.97 and is downloadable within minutes of purchase.
• Starts off with a Cruise-Mo Quiz, a short questionnaire that provides insight into your own cruising style and that sets the stage for the information that follows.
• Gives facts in the forms of topics and practical suggestions.
• Tells my story through excerpts from my own cruising experiences.
• Shares my own opinions about the booklet's particular topic (with plenty of reminders that these are only my opinions!).
• Comes with a money-back guarantee. If you do not get value from the information I've shared with you, I will refund your money, no questions asked!
   

Here is What Other People Say

Jeff from Toronto, Canada:
I have been researching the cruising lifestyle for quite a few years. In honesty, I expected to read more of the same information in your ebooklets. And indeed, you do present much of the same factual information that I have read elsewhere, BUT...you touch upon subjects and present things from perspectives that have simply never occured to me, and you've made me think about things that I had never considered before.

Rick from Seattle, Washington:
You deliver new thoughts and fresh perspectives right out of the gate, in a candid and honest style. I am so tired of reading hype from people who do stupid things underway and live to "brag" about it, implying that you too should enjoy the "thrill" of being battered by a storm or running aground. It's refreshing indeed to see someone offer honest "permission" to dislike or even hate parts of the cruising lifestyle. On behalf of reluctant first mates and crew everywhere, I'd like to thank you for giving them permission to have their feelings!

Barry from Cornwall, United Kingdom:
Thank you for publishing your ebooklets. Your writing is refreshingly honest, well organized, cleverly presented, entertaining...and delivered in a style that will suit every reader's needs and wants. Cruisers and "wanna-be's" need factual information but they also need an honest perspective. You deliver the goods on both counts... and more. I heartily recommend your ebooklets to those embarking on their dream, and to arm chair sailors alike. Well done!

Booklet Summaries and Ordering Links

 #1 - Cruising on a Boat: Joining the World's Largest Village defines and discusses some of the most common assumptions and misconceptions about cruising.  It also puts the cruising life in the context of five core principles that are independent of boat, gear, and itinerary. The better you understand and embrace these principles, the more prepared you will be to follow through on your plan.

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#2 - Messing About with Boats, Part 1: Choosing a Cruising Boat shares my own boat buying experience (times three), and covers my 7 S-Factors of any cruising boat. These are principles that operate no matter where, how, or what you cruise. Master these principles, use them when you are researching and shopping for a boat, and you will think of things that wouldn’t have occurred to you otherwise.

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There are more booklets coming! They will cover provisioning, money matters, health, communications, and other subjects that affect the cruising life.

Sign up to be notified when a new booklet is available and get a special discount ONLY offered to notification list members!

I look forward to helping you go cruising sooner, not later!!

Trish Lambert
trish@takehersailing.com