Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die

Most sailing bucket lists come from glossy magazines — pretty, vague, and useless when you're deciding where to actually point a boat. Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die, from Abrams, fixes that by going straight to the source: championship sailors, offshore racers, and lifelong cruisers who know these waters by feel, not by stock photography.

Author Chris Santella built this book the way he's built every title in the beloved Fifty Places series — by interviewing the people who live inside the sport. The result is a curated guide that reads like a long conversation with someone who has already made every mistake worth making and found every anchorage worth anchoring in. Whether you're planning your first blue-water passage or looking for a reason to finally book that Mediterranean charter, this book gives you fifty well-argued reasons to go.

• Fifty destinations selected and championed by elite sailors — racers, cruisers, and offshore veterans — not editorial staff or travel writers.
• Part of Chris Santella's Fifty Places series, a consistently well-reviewed collection covering the world's best destinations across fishing, skiing, diving, and more.
• Published by Abrams, known for high-production-value illustrated books that hold up as coffee-table display pieces as well as practical references.
• Each destination profile is anchored in firsthand experience, offering context that standard travel guides — and most sailing forums — simply can't replicate.
• Covers a global range of sailing environments: open-ocean passages, sheltered island chains, famous regatta courses, and less-traveled coastal waters.
• Written in an interview-driven format that makes each chapter feel personal and specific rather than generic and encyclopedic.
• Serves equally well as a gift for the sailor who thinks they've been everywhere and as a planning tool for someone mapping out their first serious voyage.

Care & Cleaning: To keep your copy of Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die in good condition, store it upright on a shelf away from direct sunlight, which can fade the cover and spine over time. If the book lives aboard — on a chart table or in a nav station — keep it in a zip-close bag or a dry storage bin to protect it from salt air and humidity. Wipe the cover gently with a soft, dry cloth if it picks up dust or light smudging. Abrams books are produced with quality binding and materials, but like any illustrated hardcover, they'll last longest when handled with reasonably dry hands and shelved flat only if stacking is absolutely necessary. A well-kept sailing book has a way of becoming a planning companion you return to for years.