Jimmy Cornell and What Makes a Good Sailor

by Nancy Knudsen on 29 Nov 2007 Are YOU a 'good sailor'? What comprises a 'good sailor' anyway? One who has sailed further? Safer? In bad seas? With the best techniques? Unless you're racing, it's certainly not faster... Searching for an answer, I put the question recently to one of the world's most respected and famous cruising sailors – Jimmy Cornell.

This three times circumnavigator and guru of world cruising has no hesitation about the answer: 'Actually,' he confesses, 'I have just written a new book (his thirteenth on sailing) where I discuss that very thing.'

... and Jimmy's qualifications to express an opinion on what is likely to be a controversial subject can't be denied. The new book 'A Passion for the Sea, Reflections on Three Circumnavigations' is just out and is based on his extensive knowledge of offshore cruising gained both from his more than three decades and 200,000 miles of experience sailed in all oceans of the world.

As the founder of the ARC transatlantic rally, as well as several round the world rallies, Jimmy Cornell has come into contact with many thousands of cruising sailors. This has also been a valuable source of knowledge of the cruising scene.

In his amazingly varied sailing career, Jimmy also found time to start the world's most valuable resource website for the long range cruising sailor, www.noonsite.com , the first choice for most sailors looking for up to date destination information on the web.

His book 'World Cruising Routes' is the bible for sailors intending to cross oceans, and this together with his eleven other books on ocean cruising, when put together, make an essential resource for any long range cruiser.

But this new book is different from the others...

In contrast to the previous books, it is a personal memoir and features many anecdotes and incidents from Jimmy eventful life, both afloat an ashore. Of course it's not just full of personal anecdotes – approximately two thirds of the book deals with technical matters, and is ideal for the cruiser who is just planning to go long range cruising for the first time. 'I've made it the kind of book which I wish I had had when I first started ocean sailing.' he tells me with a smile in his voice.

But, after all that, back to the question – 'What makes a good sailor?'

What he finally tells me is, like many great truths, amazingly simple.

'Briefly, there are two main criteria.' he says,' for anyone to become a good cruising sailor:

'First, to be a good sailor you must start with a love of the sea. You must be there for the right reasons – because you want to be on the ocean for its own sake, not because you want tour the world cheaply or carry your house on your back like a snail.

Second, you must respect the ocean and be a bit humble in front of nature, not be arrogant, and not be cocksure, because nature and the ocean are much more powerful than you are.'

Jimmy Cornell has much more to say in his book about this subject, and it's bound to be a great read. You can obtain it right now directly from the Noonsite website: www.noonsite.com .

What a great present for a sailing friend for Christmas or New Year!