Getting Started in Sailboat Racing, 2nd Edition

by Adam Cort, Richard Stearns

Overview

Everything you need to race your way up through the fleet

If you sail--even a little--you’ve probably thought about trying your hand at racing. Now you can stop thinking and do it. Getting Started in Sailboat Racing makes this endlessly fascinating lifetime sport accessible to anyone who wants to give it a try, whether you own a sailboat, are hoping to crew, or spectating from a nearby perch.

This complete course in racing fundamentals breaks the racing experience down into bite-size pieces, making the process easier to understand and reflecting the leg-by-leg nature of a typical race. With scores of helpful illustrations, this user-friendly manual takes you around the buoys, explaining new rule changes and tactics that apply to each part of the race.

You'll learn how to:

• Execute quick, competitive starts
• Maximize speed and efficiency on the windward leg
• Maneuver for position around the windward mark
• Take full advantage of downwind and reaching legs
• Handle the spinnaker (even when asymmetrical), and beat the crowd at the jibe and leeward marks
• Eke out every last bit of speed as you sprint to the finish

There are few things in this world more satisfying than racing a sailboat. Get in on the action and find out what you've been missing. All you need is a competitive spirit and a little help from Getting Started in Sailboat Racing.

"Cort and Stearns deftly break down racing, from start to finish, into basic elements, making the sport more accessible by giving the novice a strong understanding of the fundamentals . . . this book should be required reading for anyone wanting to get out on thecourse. The book goes into enough detail on tactics and sail trim to make the average sailor not only comfortable on the racecourse, but competitive, as well." -- SAILING

"With Cort and Stearns' enthusiasm for the topic and straightforward advice, it's hard not to read this book without picturing yourself rounding the buoys just ahead of the rest of the fleet." -- Soundings

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780071808262
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	05/17/2013
Edition description:	List
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	362,717
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Adam Cort is a former editor and regular contributor to Sailing magazine. He is a lifelong sailor, has cruised extensively, and has sailed and raced dinghies, maxis, and most boats in between.

Richard Stearns is an America’s Cup veteran and career sailor, sailmaker, boatbuilder and boat salesman. He has participated in 39 Chicago to Mackinac races winning 5 times, competed in 5 Olympic campaigns, won multiple North American championships and competed in Worlds and hemispheric championships around the world. Stearns has compiled an impressive record of international victories including three wins in the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit (SORC). Rich has won championships in boats form the 11 foot Penguin dinghy to 70-foot yachts.

Richard Stearns is an America's Cup veteran and a career sailor, sailmaker, and boatbuilder. He was both a crewmember and the sail coordinator for the Heart of America America's Cup campaign in 1986-87 and has participated in 28 Chicago-Mackinac races, finishing first overall on two occasions. He has won many prestigious regattas including the SORC regatta in Florida on three occasions, and the Chicago and Detroit NOOD regattas. During 25 years of sailmaking he has been the owner of Hood, Sobstad, and Doyle franchises in Chicago. He is also a principal owner of the LS-Boats boatbuilding company.HOMETOWN: Chicago, IL

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition vii

Introduction ix

1 Welcome to the Racecourse 1

A Hypothetical Race

The Course

Flags, Guns, and Other Signals

The Rules

Q & A

2 Starting 18

Basic Tenets of Starting

Starting Strategies

Q & A

3 The Windward Leg 35

Sailing Smart on the Windward Leg

Playing the Shifts

More Tips/Rides for the Beat

Q & A

4 Windward Mark Roundings 52

The Rides at the Mark

Approaching the Mark

Boat Handling at the Windward Mark

Q & A

5 Downwind Legs/Reaches 66

Sailing Dead Downwind

Reaching Legs

Rules for Sailing Downwind

Q & A

6 Leeward Mark Roundings and Finishing 88

Rules at the Leeward Mark

Strategies at the Mark

Finishing

Q & A

7 Basic Tactics and a Few Tips 106

Smart Port-Starboard Crossing

Covering and Passing Downwind

Knowing Where to Go

Q & A

8 Weather 119

How Weather Works

Weather Sources and Race Day

Q & A

9 Boat Speed, Part 1: Sail Controls and Concepts 131

Balance

Sail Shape: The Jargon

Sail Controls

Mast Tuning

New Sails: How Do You Know Your Sails Are Good Enough?

Q & A

10 Boat Speed, Part 2: Sailing to Windward 148

The Way Sails Work to Windward

Putting Sail Controls into Action

A Quick Look at Keels

Q & A

11 Boat Speed, Part 3: Sailing Off the Wind 164

Sail Trim to Leeward

Spinnakers

A Quick Downwind Trimming Guide

And Now…For the "Disappointment"

Q & A

12 Getting Involved 185

Kinds of Racing

Finding a Fleet

Yacht Clubs: Should You Join?

Buying a Boat

Q & A

Epilogue: Some Final Words from Your Long-Winded Authors 198

Appendix 200

Resources

Glossary

Index 209

Editorial Reviews

Just the tutorial you are looking for.....Cort and Stearns deftly break down racing, from start to finish, into the basic elements, making the sport more accessible by giving the novice a strong understanding of the fundamentals from which to build. This book should be required reading for anyone wanting to get out on the course. ...the book [will make] the average sailor not only comfortable on the racecourse but competitive as well.” --Tm Gregiore

Sailing

"An excellent resource."

Sailing World