The Winner's Guide to Optimist Sailing [Paperback]

Gary Jobson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2004

Written by one of the best-known figures in all of sailing and a leading authority on Optimist sailing and racing, The Winner's Guide to Optimist Sailing is the ideal training manual for young skippers, their parents, and their coaches. The most comprehensive sailing guide to the International Optimist dinghy class features:

• Step-by-step instructions on every aspect of beginning sailing
• More than 100 stunning photographs and helpful illustrations
• Useful tips and winning tactics for competitive racing
• Special advice sections for parents and coaches

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Complete Instructional Manual for the International Optimist Dinghy Class

The International Optimist is the largest youth one-design sailing class in the world, with 400,000 boats registered in more than 95 countries. The Winner's Guide to Optimist Sailing is the most comprehensive guide to this popular boat ever written. Its step-by-step format is perfect for young sailors, and special sections offer advice for parents and coaches. Written by champion sailors and sailing coaches Gary Jobson and Jay Kehoe, The Winner's Guide to Optimist Sailing gives you everything you need to know about:

• Equipment, lines, and useful knots
• Basic sailing tips, including where to sit, how to launch and land, tacking, jibing, and Rules of the Road
• Weather awareness
• More advanced sailing skills--going faster!
• Racing, including starts, upwind tactics, finishes, and dealing with protests
• Practicing alone or in groups
• Opti events, including tips for parents, plus scholastic and collegiate sailing, and the Olympics

"A comprehensive guide for kids learning to sail and race in Optis."--Sailing World

About the Author

Gary Jobson has won ten national one-design sailing titles, the America's Cup, and many ocean races. In 1999, he received the U.S. Sailing Association's most prestigious award, the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy. In 2003 Gary was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame. He is an editor at large for Cruising World and Sailing World and has been ESPN's sailing commentator since 1985. Jay Kehoe has coached six U.S. Optimist Dinghy Association international racing teams and has served on the coaching staff of the U.S. Optimist National Team. Formerly head sailing coach at Yale University and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, he is now head sailing coach at Stanford University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (February 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071434674
• ISBN-13: 978-0071434676
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Teens > Sports & Hobbies > Sports

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very informative, July 29, 2000

By 

Christian (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Winner's Guide to Optimist Sailing: The Essential Manual for Parents, Coaches, and All Kids 8-15who Are Learning to Sail the Optimist, the Standar (Paperback)

I am an Optimist sailor. If you want to know how to sail or race competitvely read this book. It combines good racing techniques with Optimist basics. This THE book to get if you want to figure out what's what on any type of optimist. New or old. It has great illustrations and that depict how to sail well and get riggedthe right way. This book helped me get sixth place in the Junior Olympics in Island Hieghts, NJ. If you want to sail an opti Read this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NECESSARY!, April 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Winner's Guide to Optimist Sailing: The Essential Manual for Parents, Coaches, and All Kids 8-15who Are Learning to Sail the Optimist, the Standar (Paperback)

Contrary to another review, this book DOES tell a kid how to rig the boats, gives important information about doing so, as well as good guidelines for seamanship and racing tactics. An altogether readable, understandable guide for both kids and parents. If your kid is starting to sail, get them off on the right tack by giving them this book, and you as a parent should also read it. It's a sensible, easily-understood book, written with humor and plenty of information.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment, July 17, 2000

By 

G. M. Kingsley III (New Rochelle, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Winner's Guide to Optimist Sailing: The Essential Manual for Parents, Coaches, and All Kids 8-15who Are Learning to Sail the Optimist, the Standar (Paperback)

A book for Opti (ie, beginning) sailors shd have 3 sections: How to rig the boat, How to sail, and Racing techniques. Since there are a lot of good books covering the 2nd and 3rd topics, an Opti-specific book shd focus on rigging.

Jobson and Kehoe do a very poor job of describing how to get your Opti rigged and ready to go. The topic is broken up into 3 non-contiguous sections, with minimal illustrations. Some of the photos have wrong captions. And there is no discussion or even acknowledgment of the IOD 95 standard.

For example, at one point the authors stress the importance of the boom preventer -- but there is no drawing of this device, and no clear description of how a "twist" (or a "turn", in another place in the book) is to be managed.

There is no index and only a partial glossary of terms.

Of course, the sections on racing are very detailed. But I wish the authors had organized the material with beginning sailors in mind. What's missing is some kind of hierarchical ranking of what's important to winning. Kids need the important points emphasised. But this book makes no distinction between, say, starting on the favored end of the line versus keeping your air clear. And I don't think covering your opponent is mentioned at all.

I haven't gotten Slater's book yet, but it has to be better than this one.