03/10/2026
Years ago, when Larry and I were writing the first edition of our book, Capable Cruiser, I read the following letter in Latitude 38 magazine. I immediately contacted the author and asked permission to use it to introduce the seamanship section of the book. It is still included in the 4th Edition of Capable Cruiser because I think it is just as relevant now as it was when I first read it.
THE FIRST RULE OF SEAMANSHIP:
The man who lives and works in the city develops skills to allow him to survive in the city. If he is sufficiently good with his skills he may accumulate enough money to buy a boat. After he has the boat his inclination will be to operate the boat the same way he operated in the city; his cars, his house or apartment and his business life. Few people seem to know that they need a new set of skills to survive at sea. Perhaps a better way to say it would be they need a new awareness.
When a man learns to fly the first thing he learns is that he and the plane are perfectly safe—even upside down and backwards—as long as the plane stays away from the land. A boat is the same. The greatest danger is close to land. Rule number one for the sailor should be: beware of the land.
This is where the transition begins, for the landsman has this belief that there is security in being close to land. When a man becomes a sailor he will look askance at the land for he knows it to be his foe and its proximity will cause him to be always on guard. The sailor’s eyes see differently from the landsman’s. Don’t take your landsman’s eyes to sea.
- Paul Stead. Sausalito, California
