Customer Reviews

The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book, as well as "Sailing for Dummies" and "Learning to Sail - the Annapolis sailing school guide for all ages", and I have to say, the Complete Sailor is the worst of the three, at least for someone who has no previous knowledge of sailing. It was an interesting book with a wide variety of topics covered, but I think it would be better suited to someone with at least a basic knowledge of how to sail. If you truly want to LEARN to sail, the Annapolis book is the best and simplest of the three, particularly if you're learning on a dinghy like me.

After sailing for 30 years, I was looking for a book for my children to use to give them a solid foundation. I ordered another 5 star book recommended by sailing schools, but ran across this one at the library.

This book is head and shoulders above the other. It covers all the basics in an easy to read style, and the huge number of detailed drawings are both beautiful and incredibly informative.
In addition to the basic stuff you need to know to sail a small boat, it also has a wealth of deeper information, about everything from bouyancy and balance, to boat construction and history.

I'm buying a copy for each of my kids, and recommending it to my sailing friends. As for the other books, I will probably either return them, or leave them to gather dust on a shelf.

this is it!

If you are looking for a book that will give the basics of sailing, this book has it.

If you are looking for a long-term reference to remind you of the details, this is it.

If you are looking for a book to have on-board for novices during bareboat cruises, this is it.

If you are looking for a book that the novices could use to critique your skills, this is it.

Unfortunately, I purchased this book after going through ASA sailing school. I have read the ASA and the US Sail course books to the bareboat chartering level. From a sailing skills point of view, this book beats them hands down.

The illustrations are enchanting. They draw the reader into each topic. At the same time, the concisely present the key information needed to grasp the topic.

This will be coming with me on all of my bareboat trips!

Anyone got a scuba book like this?

I wish I had gotten this before I bought Sailing For Dummies. Sailing For Dummies somehow left me with a lot of unanswered basic questions about sailing. Complete Sailor answered those questions. Complete Sailor also has more illustrations that provide a clearer understanding of just what the heck the author's talking about.

A few years ago, I became interested in sailing, and came across this book at a local bookstore. I'm glad I did; it's a great introduction. It includes a lot of useful information presented in a straightforward manner, and also gives a good feel for nautical tradition (without being the least bit preachy). I've since done a bunch of sailing. I still think highly of this book, and have occasion to refer to it on questions of nautical terms and techniques.

The best introduction to sailing I've found. The illustrations- cartoons, really- are attractive, and clearly show exactly what you want to know without excessive detail or abstract diagrams. Along with instruction from a friend, this is the book that taught me how to sail my little Potter 15. Recommended for all beginning sailors, and those who are intersted in learning more about sailing.

With superb illustrations and minimal text, this superb primer is the basic text for our sailing school (Orca Sailing). We emphasize key concepts, and this book is perfectly aligned with that intention.

There are a few historical sections and small boat pages we ignore in our larger boat cruising classes, but after 10 years of reading everything about sailing (and often feeling disappointed), this is the one!

We operate a sailing school (Women In The Wind) here in Minnesota. Because of how this book is written, for the past two years we've selected it to be included in a packet of information we present to our students.

Our classes are taught "hands on". That is that the studnets learn by doing. Therefore we don't use a "text book" as such. We do, however, encourage our students to read The Complete Sailor, at their leisure; to use it to refresh their memories of what they experienced and learned; but most of all, to ensure their view of sailing remains always challenging, and always positive.

It's as if this book were written for us. Perhaps it was.

As I said, I own many sailing books, but this is my favorite. It teaches while still catching the essence, the soul of sailing. (so many sailing books of this type are so dry).

The Complete Sailor is a very good reference book for advanced beginners and intermediate sailors. The title of the book is a bit exaggerated, as the book, being concise as it is (approx 200 pages), cannot possibly aim to turn one into a complete sailor.

The most outstanding feature about the book is the illustrations. For intermediate sailors who are not yet completely familiar with sailing vocabulary (such as myself), the illustrations make it very easy for one to understand what is being exposed. The book is divided into small topics, each ranging from 2 to 4 pages, which allows the reader to get a good glimpse of many topics, learning the basics and some of the wisdom of longtime sailors without having to get the bad experience.

The Complete Sialor is a good reference book for intermediate and advanced beginners -- advanced sailors will not be satisfied by the shallow descriptions and early beginners will not be able to appreciate most of the insights.