The single manufacturer one-design (SMOD) Laser, launched just over 50 years ago, has now been renamed the ILCA and moved to multiple licensed builders. To reflect this change, the leading book on Laser sailing since 1979, The Laser Book, has now changed its name to The ILCA Book and moved from a single to multiple authors. In this latest edition, ILCA guru and multiple champion Jon Emmett has updated Tim Davison's seminal text to make it completely relevant to today's ILCA sailors. All th...

Sailing for Kids is aimed at children aged 8-15 who are taking their first steps into the fantastic world of sailing. Packed full of colour photographs and diagrams, this straightforward and easy-to-understand guide is the perfect introduction to the sport. It is based on the Optimist dinghy, which is the most popular children's sailing dinghy worldwide, and endorsed by the UK Optimist Class Association. Topics covered include what to wear, setting up the boat, sailing and safety. For thos...

This beautiful full-colour book covers knots, splices and whippings. It begins with the ten knots everyone should know. The other knots are grouped by use so that if, for example, you want to make a loop you have eight knots to choose from. Each stage of each knot is illustrated and its uses, strong points and weak points are highlighted.

This book will give a flying start to your competitive sailing career. Whatever class of boat you sail and whatever your experience, these principles will ensure you are at the front of the fleet and better prepared than the opposition. The book is illustrated with stunning step-by-step photographs, and common racing pitfalls are highlighted. Starting with the basics of choosing which boat to race and where to race it, you will be introduced to the rules of racing and learn about rigging, ...

For most sailors, boat tuning may seem a mystery understood only by sailmakers and the like. In this book, sailor, chandler and championship winner, Ian Pinnell, unravels this daunting subject and will help improve your boatspeed as a result. Since most races are won or lost by a difference of less than 2% of racing time, you will soon be moving up the fleet. With hundreds of photos and diagrams to illustrate every point, the book clearly explains what each control does and how to set it u...

For a modest man, Tim Davison has done quite well for himself in the sailing world. He has won National and European championships from the 1970s to 2020s, has skippered his yacht from the Baltic to the Mediterranean and has written over 20 books on sailing. Maintaining that sailing is too important to be taken seriously, he has used the bluffing skills described in this book to help propel his racing boats to the front of the fleet and his cruising boats to the warm waters of the Med – an...

Going aboard a sailing yacht for the first time is an exciting experience, but it can be a bit daunting. It introduces you to many unknowns: terra firma is left behind, the boat is propelled by something you can't see (the wind), there are ropes everywhere and a whole new vocabulary opens up! Your skipper will brief you on the key things you need to know, but this book is a great opportunity to learn a bit beforehand which will give you the basic knowledge to work the boat, be safe, have f...

Fernhurst Books' compact, handy guides to navigating at sea, nautical calculations and passage planning bundled together in e-book form for the first time. The perfect quick reference guides to keep on your phone or tablet, easily accessible when you are on board. They contain all the essential information for when you need it most about navigating and passage planning. The Navigation Companion covers all the navigation essentials: charts, compass, tides, standard and secondary ports, dead...

The Proper Golfing Handbook uses words, photos and videos to explain all the key skills. The idea is to understand the theory first, then see it in action. This is a book that can be taken with you onto the golf course in your golf bag for when your game needs that instant fix. If you are a complete beginner the early chapters give a firm base on which to build your game: grip, stance, set-up and a relaxed swing. These are the foundations to which you must return before each shot, and are ...

The Mirror dinghy was a significant factor in the boom of dinghy sailing in the 1960s, introducing thousands to the delights of sailing. While sailing has come a long way since then and there have been a lot of far more exotic craft launched, the Mirror remains a fantastic boat in which to learn to sail and to compete at the highest levels. With this second edition, The Mirror Book has been bought into the Start to Finish series format alongside such revered books as The Laser Book, The To...

The Skipper's Cockpit Racing Guide is an at-a-glance reference for dinghy and yacht racers, covering everything they need to know to improve their performance – and win. From those in their first year of racing to old hands wondering why they're not winning, this guide covers an enormous amount of detail in a simple, easy to follow format.Topics are broken down into photo sequences, boxes, flowcharts, hints and tips, and cover:- setting your goals- assemblin...

Skippers and crew have very different agenda, and nowhere does it become more evident than in their secret innermost - but not very often expressed - thoughts about the other.This brilliantly original humour giftbook has two beginnings. Opened one way it sends up skippers (from the crew's point of view). Flipped over and opened the other way it sends up crew instead (from the skipper's perspective). Bringing into play all the scenarios that cause stress, hilarity, scorn, angst and ...