Sailor's Start-Up

Rating:
Summary: Quick, Simple, Basic
Review: I am planning to take a sailing class and take up the activity as a serious pastime. So I purchased several books, including this one, to make sure I didn't go into things a complete ignoramus.

This book is designed as a quick read, and it is. It has anecdotal humor, and gets right to the point of teaching the simple concepts, components and jargon of sailing. I have good and basic understanding after reading the book of how and why a sail moves a boat so slowly when the wind is just pushing the boat directly downwind, and so quickly when moving perpendicular to the source wind. I understand the concepts of starting, stopping, tacking, jibing, and with little effort I understand the difference between a jib and a cleat, and a sheet and a sail.

The author hits all the basics, and he does it with brevity and light humor. I know I have to learn more, but before jumping into the complex physics of multiple sail vessels and weight displacement and so forth, this primer was a perfect start for a total novice like me, and I won't feel like a total dweeb in a sailing class. (Frankly, I feel like I could take a small sailboat out without a class after reading this, but because I want to graduate quickly to larger boats, I will finish a short class before hitting the water).