Foreword to the Manual of Seamanship


You can spot a seamanlike yacht from a cable away. Actually it’s easier to identify an unseamanlike one. Skippers unaware of seamanship have slack halyards and guardrails, the traveller and jib cars are in the wrong position, the jib sheets are frayed and attached to the wrong sail for the job. The crew is unhappy because the whole trip is taking longer than it should and below a cascade of clothing, coffee mugs and sleeping bags slide across the cabin at every tack. The chart table is a dumping ground for tools, lunch and other kit and last week’s soup provides an adhesive surface in the galley. Such skippers urgently need this book. For many years I worked with Tom Cunliffe training and assessing Yachtmaster Instructors. We sailed with some outstanding masters of the craft of seamanship. In the hands of these experts the whole job of taking charge seems easy. It isn’t, but they made it look that way by being one jump ahead. I think that they are all secret worriers wondering what they are going to do if the visibility drops, the wind veers or the hull strikes a semi-submerged container. They take the pragmatic view that seamanship is about saving yourself work. It is much less effort to prepare for the storm before it arrives. My wife regularly reminds me that no one has to go sailing. We do so for work or pleasure because we love the sport. A seamanlike yacht is a happy ship and a “seaman’s eye” greatly enhances safety and efficiency on board. This book provides a wealth of information for both newcomers and experienced hands who wish to improve their knowledge, understanding and enjoyment.


There can be few authors better qualified to write on this subject than Tom Cunliffe who has a lifetime not only of skippering yachts but also imparting those skills in a clear informative and inimitable style.


James Stevens FRIN RYA Training Manager and Chief Examiner (Retired 2010)


MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP | 3


Manual of seamanship


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