A Sail of Two Idiots

How did you respond to a midlife crisis?

For Renee and her husband, Michael, the answer was to buy a boat and sail around the Caribbean. As the back cover notes, “ this is the true story of how two landlubbers cruised to the Caribbean without any sailing experience and lived to tell about it.”

If you are looking for a book that can help you take an arm chair tour of the islands, this probably isn’t your best choice.

There are no pictures and the stories about each island visit are meant more for the boating crowd. But, if you have any salt water in your veins, and know what a spinnaker is this may be the 285 pages that get your feet (and the rest of you) wet.

In addition to stories about all of the islands and all the experiences Renee and Michael had as they sailed their boat, Jacumba, there are over 100 lessons – everything from how to buy a boat to how to not irritate your anchor-neighbors by being too loud.

There are pages of advice on what to do about all the practical things that make up life: health care, staying in touch with your family, cooking, even what to do with the garbage, and how to act if you are caught by the Coast Guard without your bathing suit on.

There is information on learning to navigate, using the VHF radio, and when to trust the sailing guides and when to use your own common sense. Learn how to correctly drop anchor (yes there is a right way), become fast friends with people in all sorts of situations from lots of different cultures. And, importantly, learn when it is OK to simply stop and enjoy your life instead of worrying about constant repairs and upkeep.

If you are serious about the boating life, A Sail of Two Idiots may be the perfect book to get you going. Oh, and in case you are wondering, Renee and Michael finally settled on the island of St. Kitts after experiencing the boating life.

Author: Renee D. Petrillo

Paperback: 290 pages

SKU: P7242