Pacific Yachting

A practical guide from a seasoned bluewater cruiser, so there are concrete tips for avoiding bad weather. It's also got enough of the author's common sense to remind us that there's nothing we can do about the weather but to observe established patterns and respond to telltale signs.

The Log

If you would like just one book on the weather to keep aboard for reference, this may be the one. Most of the others are overkill, bogging down the reader with unnecessary detail. Williams is not a professional meteorologist, just a freelance writer with a lot of boating experience. She has done her homework and presents all of the scientific knowledge you need to know to understand how weather works in a simple and readable format.

A thorough reading of her book will give you a much better understanding of weather patterns, jet streams, high- and low-pressure areas, frontal systems and cloud formations than the average television weatherperson. In fact, after reading this book, you'll realize how little many of them know and you'll catch a lot of their mistakes in weather terminology.

The book explains how to read weather maps, how to use pilot charts, how and where to receive weather information on your radio, how to use other forecasting aids and how the Earth's wind systems are used in voyage planning. There is a lot of good information in this small package, in a format just right for the average boat owner.

Folding Kyaker

This book excels in two things: giving you a succinct but thorough primer on weather forces and helping you decipher what the weather is likely to do in the hours ahead after you have launched.

Williams' description of the forces is one of the best I have ever read. She covers the subject well and effectively in fairly limited space. Although the descriptions of winds, temperatures, humidity, clouds, fronts, etc. are brief, they are more than enough to understand these forces and give you the building blocks with which to supplement regular channels of weather forecasting.

Which brings us to the second part of the book predicting the weather that lies immediately ahead of you when you cast off. Williams wants you to become somewhat self-reliant. Sure, the weather radio and its marine weather forecasts are extremely important. But, often enough, they are too broad in the region they cover to relate fully to the developing patterns in the limited area you can paddle in a day. For such micro weather needs, you have to use your own noggin. In this second section of the book, Williams helps you be smarter in your predictions.

Coast Guard statistics indicate that more than half of boating accidents and fatalities are weather related. The figures cover all kinds of boats, mainly those a lot bigger than ours. I think we have an advantage over bigger boat skippers in that we are so vulnerable, we just have to be smarter and more aware. Williams helps you there.

The Ensign

There's nothing new in this book, but then again, there's nothing new about weather either. Suffice it to say that it's a small, easily stowed book, covering almost any conceivable weather situation. Divided into two sections, the first discusses the causes of weather and how to forecast it. The second explains how to deal with the weather when you're aboard your boat.

This pocket-size guide has clear and well-stated explanations. I give this work a high grade for treating a complex subject in a simple manner.

Marine Safety Council

Sooner or later everyone who ventures out on the water will encounter strong winds and confused seas, fog, thunderstorms or heavy rain. How dangerous any of these situations will be depends not only on the type of boat, but also on the experience and knowledge of those aboard. The weatherwise mariner has planned how to read the signs in the sky and on the water.

Ms. Williams acquaints boaters with the forces that shape weather and allows them to predict changes that can be expected.

Part I contains a logical explanation of climate and weather, concentrating on wind speed and direction, low visibility, thunderstorms, gales and hurricanes, the elements that affect the mariner the most.

The second part deals with the effects of climate and weather on the boater without delving into the whys and wherefores - a practical approach for those who want only the necessary facts.

Starboard Tack

This is an exceptionally clear and understandable treatment of what can, in the hands of most meteorologists, become a complicated and confusing subject.

Boating Industry

While it may take years to hone an accurate "weather eye", this book can start boaters on developing this important skill.