Spanish for Cruisers - a must-have for roving yachties

by Capt. Pat Rains/Sail-World Cruising on 30 May 2009 As a very large section of the world's favourite cruising grounds are Spanish speaking, having a little book that translates the TECHNICAL terms for cruising is sure to be a winner. From Spain to the Canary Islands, across the entire Caribbean, and much of northern South America - even across as far as Galapagos, the language of choice is often Spanish, with English sometimes running a poor second.

Kathy Parsons has just released a second edition of 'Spanish for Cruisers' , which is is expanded and improved. So whether you are just going bare-boat chartering for a couple of weeks, or preparing for that cruise of a lifetime, the book will be handy in your cruising library.

Subtitled 'The Boater’s Complete Language Guide for Spanish-speaking Destinations,' this handy little book now contains 368 pages and is better organized for quick reference. Parsons said she incorporated a lot of boaters’ feedback received from her first edition.

The book is divided into four sections: basic, cruising, ashore and technical. I like that about 120 pages are devoted to the technical stuff of cruising that’s difficult to find elsewhere. For example, I learned that a through-hull is a 'pasacasco,' and to plug something in is to 'enchufar.'

Within the book sections, you’ll find useful headings such as Sentence Starters, Talk on the Radio, Official Paperwork, Give Your Location, Docking, Provisioning, Parts and Repairs. Black and white illustrations range from technical diagrams of hull and rigging to humorous cartoons of boaters with toothaches or dangling from pilings, plus line drawings of everything from chicken parts to injector fuel lines.

On most pages, the left column presents the particular word or phrase in English, the Spanish translation is in the middle, and the right column is a pronunciation guide for that word or phrase. If you follow the author’s pronunciations, you’ll sound almost like a native Spanish speaker.

'Spanish for Cruisers' received great reviews from the Seven Seas Cruising Association. It is published by Aventuras in Texas, which also handles Parsons’ other book, 'French for Cruisers.'

The second edition of this book still has the plastic spiral binding with a wrap-around cover that serves as a quick reference page index and bookmark. The price has gone up a little, but at $31.95, I think it’s a great deal.

'Spanish for Cruisers' is available online at www.SpanishforCruisers.com.