Perfect First Mate: A Woman's Guide to Recreational Boating

The position of First Mate is often less than glamorous, especially when serving with a strong-willed captain who has more boyish enthusiasm than organizational skills. After more than 30 years of sailing with Captain My Way,' Joy Smith shares the hard-won secrets of keeping both boat and crew shipshape. She has fully updated the book for this second edition.

From packing and planning for needs aboard to enjoying life at dock or anchor and ashore, The Perfect First Mate helps boaters streamline tasks and maximize efficiency, safety and comfort, while above all leaving plenty of time for pleasure. Contents include storage issues, moving and sleeping comfortably below decks, keeping the cabin warm/cool, counteracting boat odor, mold and mildew, and dealing with trash, laundry, and marine toilets. One entire section is devoted to food: provisioning and storage, equipping the galley, and cooking, with original recipes included. The author also provides in-depth discussions of how to protect against the elements, avoid injury, and deal with the logistics of sailing, from planning/navigation to performing First Mate duties on deck.

The ENSIGN

[Smith] provides new first mates with practical, time-proven advice that takes the grief out of boating and makes it relaxing and pleasurable.

Joy Smith is a correspondent for The Ensign and a contributor to SAIL, Latitudes and Attitudes, and other boating periodicals. She is the author of Kitchen Afloat (published by Sheridan House) and The Empty Nest Cookbook. She and her husband/captain have owned six sailboats, several dinghies and a Boston whaler. They now sail a Farr 50 yacht, cruising the Caribbean in winter and returning to New England waters each spring. Smith currently lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut.