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Foreword
Many years ago, not too long after I’d given up professional seafaring for a job as a
marine magazine writer, I exchanged a few complimentary words with Frank Sargeant at
the Miami Boat Show. I’d never met Frank before, and he’d just won the prestigious
National Marine Manufacturers Association Director’s Award, an honor bestowed upon a
marine journalist or scrivener each year for making a remarkable contribution to the
world of boats and writing about them.
Frank was a guy I admired and envied. He wrote for all sorts of popular publications,
from Sports Afield to Boating, and his name graced a whole raft of fishing how-to books I’d
seen on bookstore shelves in Florida and elsewhere. Frank was, in fact, one of those guys
who’d really made it in a realm I was only beginning to break into.
From the standpoint of personality, what most struck me about Frank at the time was the
paradox he projected. While the man was having undeniable success with the written
word, writing seemed to be rather secondary to him. Unlike many journalists who
describe the experiences of others secondhand, Frank was a consummate boatman first
and foremost—with his own experiences. He was one of those people who knows boats
intimately and is passionate about them, with the requisite talent and intelligence to be
able to simply and succinctly communicate to others his love for a rich, multifaceted
sport.
In later years, as I honed my own writing talents at Boating and Power & Motoryacht magazines,
I had the pleasure of working with Frank, editing his boat tests and stories, and
deepening my appreciation for his expertise, knowledge, and humor. I’ll never forget the
time, down in the Florida Straits, when Frank and I spent a couple of uproarious, hairraising
hours in a high-powered, high-performance, 40-some-foot speedboat, leaping
from the crest of one wave to the next, in sea conditions that were more like a washing
machine’s spin cycle than anything else. Frank’s professionalism, knowledge, and humor
that afternoon were both welcome and bolstering.
The same qualities are part and parcel of the volume you hold in your hands right now.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Boating and Sailing is an informed, cut-to-the-chase manual
for recreational boaters that’s written by a boatman who not only knows how to write, but
knows his stuff, from the proper way to jibe a daysailer, to replacing a spark plug in an
outboard, to navigating a runabout around a lake. Whether you’re a boating beginner or
an old hand, you’ll find this book a great read and a fabulous resource.
—Bill Pike
Former executive editor, Power & Motoryacht magazine