A book by Joy Smith

The following is an excerpt of a review Joy Smith received for her book "The Perfect First Mate" from The ENSIGN, a national boating publication:

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Joy Smith became the perfect first mate the hard way—by learning from scratch. In her book, she provides new first mates with practical, time-proven advice that takes the grief out of boating and makes it relaxing and pleasurable. Smith and her husband started with a small boat and progressed through a series of larger boats to their current Freedom 45 yacht, Joy For All Seasons, so she has helpful hints for those with all types of boats from pocket cruisers to spacious yachts.

In her book, Smith covers provisioning, storing food, bedding, wet and dry clothes, avoiding undesirable odors, the stove, the ice chest, and the essential head. She also discusses cooing on board in calm and rough seas, entertaining guests on a rainy weekend, choosing foul weather gear and boating shoes, avoiding and/or surviving seasickness, and the desirability of having pets on board.

Smith, who has many years of boating experience, stresses the need for the first mate to become comfortable with the boat. She recommends that the first mate take USPS boating courses and perhaps a hands-on course given for and taught by women. The first mate needs to be comfortable handling the wheel or the tiller, reading a chart, and boating in fog. Docking or catching a mooring is always a challenge, and Smith provides some helpful hints to lessen the anxiety connected with this task. And, most important of all, she discusses how best to relate to the captain, especially during times of stress.

All in all, The Perfect First Mate is a book that all first mates can learn from—whether they are novices or old hands at boating. This would make a great holiday gift from the captain. First mates, if your captain is not inclined to read reviews, highlight this one and leave it where he will see it. If that doesn’t work and your husband needs more than a hint, buy it yourself and tell him he gave it to you. You will both find that the knowledge contained in this book will make your boating experiences much more pleasurable.

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Joy Smith Bio

A burning desire to share her hard-won boating solutions and cruising adventures compelled Joy Smith to begin writing. Her experiences have resulted in two information-packed books: "The Perfect First Mate: A Woman’s Guide to Recreational Boating" and the forthcoming "Kitchen Afloat: Galley Management and Meal Making."

Joy’s articles have appeared in several national boating magazines including Latitudes & Attitudes, The ENSIGN, and SAIL. Joy writes regularly for SailNet (www.SailNet.com) and Long Island Boating World newspaper. She is the former editor of the award-winning Hartford Power Squadron newsletter and was a major contributor to Captain's Seaside and Restaurant Guide 2000.

Over the past 25 years, Joy Smith and her husband, Gil, have harbor hopped their way throughout east coast waters, enjoyed annual charter vacations in exotic ports, and completed several offshore passages. Whenever Joy is not cruising, she can be found pounding out her experiences on her computer (flanked by her two cats), or sharing some great conversation with her friends.

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Joy's Web site: http://hometown.aol.com/jsmith6568/myhomepage/index.html

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