Customer Reviews

Fundamentals of Sailing, Cruising, and Racing

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the best books on general sailing that I have ever read. It comes in second only to 'Sailing For Dummies' and that is just by a very slim margin. I have both books in my sailing library and between them, I have more than enough reference material to cover almost any sailing situation. This book should satisfy both beginning and experienced sailors alike. Good job...

Colgate provides ample detail and dramatic anecdotes about sailing to illuminate the intricacies and dynamics of sailing a sailboat. I am a beginner and only came to sailing last October at the age of 51 and he made such a difference in my confidence and ability to ask the right questions and articulate.

He clarifies how the forces work together, the water and wind. He does so with professionalism and a sense of objectivity without glorifying himself, telling stories of things that went wrong and how he overcame the problem. His little graphs and simple stick-man type drawings make it simple although some of the concepts with trapezoids seem a bit hazy to me, going back to geometry in the early 1970s!

This was the first time I bought a used book. It worked out very well because I originally took out the book from the local public library and now I have a reference copy of my own. The condition was advertised as good and the book had some notes in the margins but provides me with the information I need and expected. I will use this again and saves some cash.