Navigation
Will your tablet still work offshore?
Understand stored charts, position sources and the failures two screens can share.
Research dated October 18, 2026 · source notes updated November 6, 2026
DeCaptain · Books & practical sailing knowledge
Stories from a life under sail.
Explore Lance Gettler’s sailing books, then follow the questions that matter aboard: preparation, navigation, equipment and life at sea.
Nine book records. Two complete educational articles. SailingQuotes.NET companion in preparation.
Start with a question
What would you like to explore?
Safety & preparation
Who receives a distress alert?
Read the existing guide to the different jobs of EPIRBs, PLBs and AIS man-overboard devices.
Research dated October 18, 2026 · source notes updated November 6, 2026
Voyages & experience
Questions from a life at sea
Begin with Lance’s questions, photographs and stories from sailing around the world.
Original book · retailer availability unverified
Lance Gettler’s bibliography
Choose a book by the journey.
Practical guides, ocean passages and a Spanish-language gear guide. These records describe the original editions; revised editions are in development.
Showing all 9 books.
Practical guide · Historical Kindle edition
25 Things Every Sailor Needs (and why)
A compact guide to the personal equipment a sailor should consider carrying from a day sail through an extended passage, with practical context for why each item matters.
Voyage writing · Historical Kindle edition
Ask Me Anything About Sailing Around the World
More than 185 questions and answers, stories, and over 85 photographs drawn from a circumnavigation, years living aboard, yacht-delivery work, and offshore fishing.
Practical guide · Historical Kindle edition
Offshore Sailing - 100 Point Pre-Passage Inspection for Sailors
A structured preparation and inspection aid designed to help sailors remember important checks before a trip or passage.
Practical guide · Historical Kindle edition
Fishing to Live
An offshore-fishing guide for sailors who want to catch fish from a sailboat during day trips or longer passages.
Voyage writing · Historical Kindle edition
Sailing the Pacific Ocean - Blue Moons Don't Come Cheap
An account of a two-person passage from Oahu to Seattle, roughly 2,500 nautical miles, illustrated with 40 photographs.
Practical guide · Historical Kindle edition
Nautical Flags
An illustrated introduction to maritime signal flags and the NATO/ICAO phonetic alphabet for sailors, families, and new learners.
Voyage writing · Unpublished record
Born a Sailor Part 1
The first installment in a planned series, beginning with the decision to buy a sailboat sight unseen, prepare it, and sail toward Panama.
En español · Historical Kindle edition
25 Cosas que todos los marineros necesitan
The Spanish-language edition of the personal sailing-equipment guide and its practical rationale for the core items.
Voyage writing · Historical Kindle edition
Nothing Goes To Weather Like a Delivery Crew
A first-person account of delivering a three-year-old Hallberg-Rassy 40-foot sloop across the Pacific.
Eight retailer identities have dated source matches. Current purchase availability is unverified. Born a Sailor Part 1 is an unpublished record with no purchase link. Read the edition notes.
The literary companion
A quotation carries a whole story.
SailingQuotes.NET is the literary and history companion to DeCaptain. Its public companion pages are in preparation.
SailingQuotes.NET companion in preparation
Meet the author
Lance Gettler
Ocean passages, equipment and life aboard connect this nine-title sailing bibliography.
Read about Lance and his books