The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing

David Seidman

McGraw Hill Professional, 1995 - Education - 208 pages

The Complete Sailor takes the reader from the first sail to a mastery of small-boat handling. Weaving his writing around 600 drawings by noted marine illustrator Kelly Mulford, David Seidman has created a book in which each double-page spread invites the eye and communicates volumes of information. The Complete Sailor goes beyond other learn-to-sail books to cover navigation, boat design, and seamanship. Encyclopedic in scope yet warm in style, it conveys the magic as well as the techniques of sailing. Among the other topics covered: anchoring, ropework, rigging, weather, fog, squalls, currents and tides, rules of the road, trailering, and working the winds. The book is a gentle introduction for those just starting out, and a guide to new horizons for those who already sail.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - afderrick - LibraryThing

I received this book after taking a sailing class. I have not actually read through the entire book from beginning to end, but have found it to be a great resource and something I often refer to ...

User Review -

If you want to learn to sail, I highly recommend this book. If you've done a lot of sailing it might not contain much new information.
"The Complete Sailor" turned a few a few hours of sailing instruction, mostly in 420 racing, into knowledge broad enough that, when I bought my first boat, I felt surprisingly confident operating the 1500 pound vessel. David Seidman taught me sailing and seamanship, and I was ready to confront the summer boat traffic as well as the winds and waters, because I could always rely on his guidance. The book continues to be a valuable refresher after long frozen winters. I find that it agrees with virtually every reliable source of sailing information, and corrects many inaccuracies I often hear bandied about at the city sailing dock. I consider it the single most valuable book to have read on the general subject of sailing.  

Contents

• WIND SENSE: 10
• 2 Land and the Wind: 16
• GETTING UNDERWAY: 30

About the author

David Seidman (Oak Beach, NY) has spent a good portion of his life finding his way around the world. He has crossed oceans, toured central Asia and Mongolia without a map or the ability to speak the language, and found a Mayan ruin in Guatemala. He is the author of The Essential Sea Kayaker, The Essential Wilderness Navigator, and The Complete Sailor and a former editor of Boating magazine.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing
• Author: David Seidman
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional, 1995
• ISBN: 0070571317, 9780070571310
• Length: 208 pages
• Subjects: Education / Physical Education; Sports & Recreation / Boating; Sports & Recreation / Sailing