Sail Away

You long to escape the daily grind, buy a boat and sail away. This book shows you how to turn your dreams into a reality. There is practical advice on everything from choosing a boat to crossing oceans. You'll be guided through each step of the preparation before casting off on your adventure of a lifetime. There's information on everything the would-be blue-water sailor needs to consider, including safety, communications, children, ocean passages and budgeting. Learn about routes and destinations around Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific and beyond to help you cruise the Mediterranean, cross the Atlantic or circumnavigate the world. Colour photographs and charts will inspire and inform in this essential guide for the 21st century blue water sailor. Fully updated for 2019 with a new section on visiting high and low latitudes.

Praise for Sail Away

"A fascinating read – a combination of inspirational memoir and practical how-to guide for those tempted to give it a go."
— Salisbury Journal

"Documents everything you need to consider from saving to buying, equipping, re-fitting and setting off, to maintaining, exploring, crossing oceans and becoming a true liveaboard long-distance cruiser… Cleverly uses anecdotes from a wide variety of international long-term cruisers to illustrate the various sections of the book, which makes it both interesting and entertaining to read."
— Noonsite

"An inspirational and practical guide which shows you how to turn your dream into a reality. It's packed with useful information."
— Lifeboat

"A must for all aspiring ocean adventurers"
— Yachting Monthly

"Full of all sorts of useful advice from pointers on routes to take, what boat to select, you name it, it's all in here."
— Sailing Today

"Great guide to realising the blue water dream."
— Practical Boat Owner

About the Author

Nicola Rodriguez dared to dream the impossible. She wanted to see the world with her family. She wanted to have her own adventure, a taste of paradise, and most importantly – freedom. Freedom from the demands of life, and time out to explore on every level. With careful planning (and the gift of yachting equipment), her dream came true, allowing her to travel, escape and explore the world by yacht for 8 years, 4 while raising her family.

She is a yachting journalist and has written for magazines including Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Blue Water Sailing and SAIL.

About Fernhurst Books

Fernhurst Books was founded in 1979, initially publishing books related to dinghy racing. The list soon expanded to include cruising and other watersports. In 2006 the business was sold to John Wiley, but in 2013 a group of sailing enthusiasts (including the original founder) bought the list and name back, once again creating an independent nautical publisher owned and run by sailors. Fernhurst continues to publish books that instruct, inform and inspire those with a passion on, in or under the water. Their 140+ titles range from how-to guides to narrative to coffee-table books, covering sailing, surfing, canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, swimming, diving and fishing.