Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Studio: Bennett Marine Video
• VHS Release Date: January 22, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F95A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,597 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Reading the what?, June 2, 2000

By 

Roger Jones, Jr. (Reno, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reading the Wind [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This tape has nothing whatsoever to do with the skills involved with reading the wind. Shifts, direction, duration, puffs, lulls, etc., aren't even discussed. It deals only with how to run a genoa -- way too elementary and mindlessly obvious to anyone who's ever been near a sailboat. It's hardly worth paying the money to get tips like, "...use a big headsail in light air and a little one in heavy air..."

It's a sad commentary on the retirment of America's Cup skippers to see Robbie Doyle waste his time making garbage like this. You can get better instruction on reading the wind by watching Murphy Brown re-runs than you can by watching this video.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misleading title, October 4, 2007

By 

WG (Fairport, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: READING THE WIND. (DVD)

This is a short dvd on some very basic, beginners' aspects of sailing. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with "reading the wind". I can't even recommend it for beginners who are learning to sail because it's pretty unfocused and doesn't cover much material.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Valuable for Prospective Sailers (even if mis-titled), July 18, 2006

By 

Andrew J. Vanabs (Canaan, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reading the Wind [VHS] (VHS Tape)

While the prior scathing review for this video accurately states that it has nothing to do with "Reading the Wind", that review seriously under values the content. Not everyone is an expert sailor like that reviewer. It's definitely not for experienced sailers, but is interesting and informative for the intended audience.

The tape does have good, clearly presented, introductory material for anyone just starting to sail. Like other videos in this series, it is very basic, exactly what my wife needed after trying the "hands on" approach for a while. Robbie clearly explains terms and functions of basic sail handling processes and equipment. Taken for what it is, I'd recommend it to anyone just starting out, particularly if their sailing partners are "old salts" and take everything for granted.