The Blue Book of Sailing by Cort, Adam;

Short description:

An essential companion to help sailors master the basics of sailing, beginning a lifetime of adventure and enjoyment.

Long description:

Become an instinctive sailor

Beneath the vast surface details and nuances of sailing are 22 elements. Understand these core principles and you are on your way to sailing mastery. For example:

• It's easier to master the nine ways of shaping a mainsail when you understand the principles of sail shape.
• It's easier to master a sailor's knots when you understand what makes a good one.
• It's easier to diagnose sluggish performance when you know how lift is developed by the rig and keel.
• You'll sail faster and with less effort when you understand the principles of helm balance and can steer with the sails alone.
• And it's easier to take the helm of any boat, no matter how unfamiliar, when you can judge its sailing qualities by its appearance.

The Blue Book of Sailing grounds its lessons in the timeless traditions and romance of sail while illustrating them with contemporary boats, rigs, and stories. This is the book that delves beneath the what's and how's to explore the why's. When you understand these 22 essentials, you will have exchanged the memorized responses of rote learning for the effortless mastery of an instinctive sailor. You will always be in tune with your boat.

Become an instinctive sailor

Beneath the vast surface details and nuances of sailing are 22 elements. Understand these core principles and you are on your way to sailing mastery. For example:

• It's easier to master the nine ways of shaping a mainsail when you understand the principles of sail shape.
• It's easier to master a sailor's knots when you understand what makes a good one.
• It's easier to diagnose sluggish performance when you know how lift is developed by the rig and keel.
• You'll sail faster and with less effort when you understand the principles of helm balance and can steer with the sails alone.
• And it's easier to take the helm of any boat, no matter how unfamiliar, when you can judge its sailing qualities by its appearance.

The Blue Book of Sailing grounds its lessons in the timeless traditions and romance of sail while illustrating them with contemporary boats, rigs, and stories. This is the book that delves beneath the what's and how's to explore the why's. When you understand these 22 essentials, you will have exchanged the memorized responses of rote learning for the effortless mastery of an instinctive sailor. You will always be in tune with your boat.

Table of Contents:

1.Knowing the Angles
2.How to Make a Sailboat Go Where You Want It To
3.How to See the Wind
4.Catching the Wind, or Why Sails Are Curved
5.Steering with Your Sails
6.The Anatomy of a Rope
7.The Anatomy of a Knot
8.The Simple Secrets of Docking Under Sail
9.The Simple Secrets of Docking Under Power
10.Reading a Sail Plan Drawing
11.Keels and Rudders
12.Why Sailboats Don?t (Usually) Tip Over
13.Design Ratios and Boat Speed
14.The Nuts and Bolts of Design Ratios
15.Sailing Faster Using Telltales
16.Leaving a Dock Using Spring lines
17.Handling Heavy Weather
18.Why Sails Are Shaped Like Triangles
19.Why So Many Boats Have Two Sails
20.Tuning the Rig
21.What Makes a Good Boat
22.How Modern Boats Are Built
23.Keeping from Running Aground
24.Where Are We?
25.How Racing Tactics and Strategies Can Make You a Better Sailor
26.The Art of Avoiding Emergencies and the Tao of Handling Them
27.Why We Sail