Earning the Golden Sail: It is the goal of many of us--retiring from the rat race, buying a sailboat, and sailing off into the sunset. But the questions loom large. What type of boat? Where do we sail? How will we manage?

These are all questions sailing contributor, Matts Djos and his wife Jeanine, faced when he retired in 2006 and his search for answers is recorded in his new book, "Sailing Out of Retirement."

Starting with a trailerable Balboa 26, Matts and Jeanine move up to a Mariner 31 ketch, which they restore and fit out for cruising. Some of the...

CRUISING THE WEST: FIFTY YEARS OF SAIL presents a fascination selection of the voyages, challenges, and and new horizons which Matts and Jeanine experienced during the past half century on the water.

This book recalls some of the most memorable, comic, and difficult of those moments, whether long ago when they were innocent and unsuspecting or during the last quarter century when they refined their skills and explored the Pacificd Northwest, Canada, Mexico, central and southern California, and the Great Southwest.

Each chapter will carry you a little further down the years as...