New to sailing- looking for information

[alfordi22]

Greetings,

I have always been interested in learning about sailing, boats, navigating and the feeling of freedom upon my face. I intend to buy a boat as soon as the time is right, but for now I want to learn as much as I can. I thought about getting a few books to help me understand the basics. I also am planning on taking sailing lessons here in Boston just to start understanding the feel of a sailboat.

Right now I want to get a good book to start my education with. "Sailing Theory and Practice" by C.A. Marchaj looks very informative. Does anybody have any other ideas?

Thank you very much.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, alfordi22.

There’s no better source than C.A. Marchaj’s series of books, beginning with his classic tome Sailing Theory and Practice, or his more recent books: Aero and Hydrodynamics of Sailing, Sail Performance; Techniques to Maximize Sail Power; and Seaworthiness, The Forgotten Factor.

A good introduction to sail theory can be obtained in the work of Arvel Gentry, much of which is archived on a website that he maintains < www.arvelgentry.com > .

Also consider Tom Whidden and Michael Levitt’s book The Art and Science of Sails.

[FruiVita]

With all due respect to Gord, for someone who is brand new to sailing I would recommend something non-technical like "Sailing Fundamentals" by Gary Jobson. With that book you will learn the very basics (parts of a boat, various sailing terminology) as well as some rudimentary sailing skills that you can apply out on the water. This is the book most sailing schools use to teach the ASA 101 course - the first step in getting your bareboat certification. I would also recommend taking a half-day sailing lesson at a local marina on something like a Flying Scot or other simple rigged boat of nominal size. Do that before hopping into a 30'+ boat for the first time.

Another really good and entertaining book is "Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Sailing", by John Vigor. He mixes valuable, practical insight with a bit of humor.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, FruiVita.

I’ll have to agree that the titles that I and alfordi mentioned are highly challenging technical treatises; and that his (FruiVita) recommendations might be better introductory texts.