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| Complete Yachtmaster: Sailing, Seamanship and Navigation for the Modern Yacht Skipper | 
 enlarge | Author: Tom Cunliffe
Publisher: Adlard Coles Nautical
Category: Book
List Price: £19.99
Buy Used: £9.89
You Save: £10.10 (51%)
New (21) Used (9) from £9.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 221373
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 5th Revised edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0713676167
Dewey Decimal Number: 797.1246
EAN: 9780713676167
ASIN: 0713676167
Publication Date: January 10, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Excellent learning tool, informative and interesting June 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Tom Cunliffe has a certain writing style that some have not taken to but I have to disagree. From a sailing novice to a now yachtmaster I have learned much from his books and frequently commend it to other keen-to-learn sailors.
I find his style of writing, with personal anecdotes both interesting and, crucially, memorable. Learning can be rather "dry" but when subjects are brought to light and illustrated with personal examples then I, for one, find that my learning is more effective.
I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone wishing to improve their sailing and skippering abilities.
 Self-promoting gloss - may offend September 11, 2007
18 out of 22 found this review helpful
Cunliffe, yet again promoting himself with one personal photograph after another. How annoying it is to find you've wasted money on such a potentially useful book - Cunliffe constantly embellishes his methodology with personal politics that most often offend if not bore the reader. He dedicates a whole page to a mid-chapter portrait of himself, others of friends or students, smiling from the galley, Cunliffe, smiling from the chart table/hauling an anchor. In another of Cunliffe's photos, entitled "keeping the crew informed helps build moral" a well-tanned Cunliffe is holding a black box (possibly a GPS) in front of two students who smile with no relevance. One of his paragraphs begins with a patronising tale about beginners "In my years as Yachtmaster Examiner...." before making fun about how they can't tack yet attempt to follow a traditional style laid down by no-one more than Cunliffe. In another paragraph he insults women with a blunderingly uncomfortable proclamation that they may not be the strongest to haul an anchor... Unfortunately, I too bought Cunliffe's book over Alison Noice - Yachtmaster for sail and Power as I had never heard of her. Noice's book has the clarity of Tim Bartlett's Navigation Handbook but is far clearer whilst in depth, accessible and focussed on the real subject. Even if you are at the very beginning of navigation or the Cruising Scheme, buy Noice's Yachtmaster for your Dayskipper - it's so well laid-out you'll need nothing else and it will serve you right into your Yachtmaster. You'll fly through your theory with the right book, and, when you get to Yachtmaster Ocean, you can get everything from Langley-Price and Ouvry's Ocean Yachtmaster - all authors whose agenda is to demystify a subject others attempt to scare you by.
Just add experience... September 1, 2007
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Tom Cunliffe is a well known yachting author, and will be well known to anyone who reads the sailing press as he is a regular columnist in a number of the magazines, and South Coast sailors will know him through his invaluable Channel Pilot. While Cunliffe is the first to say in his introduction that this book isn't intended to be complete (there's nothing on maintenance for example), it covers everything you need to get through the Yachtmaster exam (and be a better skipper).
Cunliffe has an informal style of delivery and I can understand why some reviewers dislike it. Personally I'd find a dry and anonymous text on the subject very dull to work through, and it's Cunliffe's salty phrases, rich way with anecdotes, and humour that in my opinion make the key lessons much more memorable.
To address a couple of specific points mentioned in other reviews: I had no problem with the illustrations or graphics. To say that the publisher/author assumes far too much of its potential readers rather misses the point that the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster ticket is the pinnacle of UK sailing qualifications. This book is for already experienced skippers who want to make sure they're ready for the exam. While the basics are covered in this volume it's done quickly, and beginners or intermediate sailors might be better off with a book aimed at their level.
In summary a rare book that entertains as much as it informs, and is highly recommended.
 The Complete Yachtmaster January 8, 2004
27 out of 36 found this review helpful
An obviously witty author who offers a reasonable book for someoneone who is about to partake in a Yachtmaster course. However it is severely lacking in diagrams/visuals to aid a student or even someone with such a qualification. I feel the author/publisher assume far too much of the potential reader/purchaser of this book.
 Do you need to be over sixty to understand this ? December 28, 2002
32 out of 41 found this review helpful
Although this book is regarded as one of the most popular texts for aspring skippers, it is severely let down by the way the author chooses to express himself. If clearly explained, the subject matter can be easily understood, but the author writes as if he is talking to some adoring pupils sitting in the warmth of the local pub with a few pints. Some simple concepts are rendered almost incomprehensible by the author's penchant for using euphemisms and colloquial terms from the 'good old days'. At times I felt reading this book was like having my Grandfather explain how to crank start a T-Model Ford. Rather than relying on commonly accepted terminology, the book employs old fashioned slang which some readers may come across if they are lucky, but which are not in common usage by the majority of the population. In one paragraph the anchor is described using three different terms and this reader was never quite sure if they all refered to the same thing.
The effect of this sloppy langauge is that one is constantly trying to decipher the arachaic text before the concept being explained can be understood. Compared to official RYA publications, this book leaves a lot to be desired. If you are over sixty and have lived the life of a sea dog, you will probably breeze through this book. If you are any younger, even if you have significant sailing experience, you may struggle.
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