Wendy Hinman, Tightwads on the Loose ***

Tightwads on the Loose is a terrible title for this account of a Seattle couple's "seven year Pacific odyssey." Sure, they can just barely afford their sailboat cruising lifestyle and often need to economize. Their 31-foot boat they can afford is too small for the voyage and for her tall husband. However, financial difficulties are not a key focus area in Hinman's story. Other challenges are more prominent: enthusiasm leading to a lack of proper preparation; equipment breakdown; unpredictable conditions and schedules; differing travel styles and life goals.

The first half of the book consists of fairly typical cruising stories like those you would read in Latitude 38 (a publication that Hinman has apparently written for). They buy a boat, sail to Mexico with the Baja Ha-Ha, swap stories with other cruisers, continue on to the South Pacific, and watch America's Cup and Volvo Ocean races in New Zealand. Their voyage in the second half of the book is more unusual as they abandon the popular westward route and sail north toward Japan. The hinge between the two halves is an electronic "meltdown" that leaves them without navigational equipment; to pay for repairing the boat, they work for a couple of years (!) at mundane jobs on an American military base in the Marshall Islands.

What I appreciated most about Tightwads on the Loose was Hinman's forthrightness about the tensions between her and her husband. She is an extrovert who relishes the social aspects of cruising; he is an engineer who relishes tinkering with the boat. She wants to keep cruising forever; he is ready to move on to the next phase of their lives. The book addresses questions about the value of the cruising lifestyle by showing the couple's differing views on the subject.

The descriptions of sailing adventures and anchorages are serviceable. For me, the most vivid sequence came when they sailed Kanmon Kaikyo, the channel between the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Honshu. It's a busy thoroughfare with a strong current, so they had to make their move on the dying ebb. Their engine dies (again), forcing them to short-tack in the narrow area outside the shipping channel... and make a beeline across when they reach the narrowest point. Meanwhile Hinman is trying to explain their situation to the Coast Guard, pausing every couple of minutes to grind in the jib on the new tack.