If you're out on the water when an emergency crops up, there's no time to wade through a medical encyclopedia – even if you had room for one on board. Nor is there time to browse the Internet looking for treatment options. You need answers fast!

Emergency First Aid On Board by Richard Clinchy is part of the Captain's Quick Guide series. Fourteen color panels give you the lowdown on diagnosing an injury or illness; dressing, wounds, burns and other injuries; and treating minor ailments and stabilizing major ones. You'll find everything you need to know as far as what to do and how to do it for the most common at-sea emergencies – everything from a simple burn to a heart attack or even a severed body part. And it's all packaged in a hinged, laminated, waterproof book that's about the size of a business envelope.

Clinchy, a PhD, has almost 50 years in the emergency medical services field as a paramedic, military and EMS medical equipment consultant, and emergency medical care educator. He is the founder and former chairman of the American College of Prehospital Medicine and the former Chief, Department of Education, US Coast Guard Auxiliary. He is also the author and/or editor of seven books on diving and emergency medical care and has had over 150 articles published.

Emergency First Aid On Board was first published in March 2007 and is available through Amazon.com or your local bookstore.

- Linda Hoff