Getting started sailboat racing

By Laurence *****
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
There's no better introduction to sailboat racing ever published. Many sailing books suffer from a surfeit of jargon, incomprehensible amateur prose and cute inside references...at least, that would be true for most of the dozens I have attempted to read. Cort and Stearns assume you have basic sail handling skills, such as the ability to tack, gybe and fly a spinnaker. Other than that, they start from scratch. They do a beautiful job of explaining each phase of a race--start, windward leg, mark rounding, downwind strategy, finishing--in clear and simple language. Every element is covered logically and with easy to follow examples drawn from their own extensive experience. The diagrams are simple enough to follow, but don't leave out anything. It's a brilliant piece of instructional writing that can be read over and over again, and I have given copies to each one of my own crew. If you want to race and want to win, get this book and read it many times. And don't skip the Epilogue, which is a poetic description of why we sail that has restored my sense of proportion more than once.

0 out of 5 starsThis is the ticket to winning races

By Patrick J. Nowak *****
Format: Paperback
Stearns and Cort do a great job explaining sailboat racing with clarity and brevity and a dash of humor. I've read Melges, the Colgates, Stuart Walker and those are all fine authors. But I think "Getting Started.." is much easier to understand. The little quizzes with their answers right after the questions at the end of each section hammer home the essential principles.