High Performance Sailing

by Frank Bethwaite

"Nothing could be more different than downwind speeds of 6 knots and 12 knots. But I have watched helm after helm settle for 6 because it never occurred to them that 12 was available. This 'mindset' - the conviction that there is only one best way to handle a boat and that we already know it - appears to affect the crews of all classes, from dinghies to 12-Metres. So often, what holds us back from achieving what we want to achieve is our own rigidity of thinking.
The purpose of this book is to open a few windows."
The text above, demonstrates Frank Bethwaite's original and innovative concept of yacht racing today. This book is the result of many years painstaking research and his intuitive deductions will influence almost every aspect of the sport.
During the past two decades there has been a revolution in the way some Australian skiff-class designers and sailors have thought about, designed, built and sailed their boats. These classes are free from all restrictions and so create an environment in which new materials and technology can be tried, developed and optimised. The combined effect of these changes has been to achieve a spectacular increase in performance. This book is about the new ideas which have led to these greater speeds and the faster sailing techniques which have been developed to achieve them.
In suitable conditions some high performance boats can now sail around a course at an average speed faster than the wind. The new ideas and handling techniques which have developed around these boats are proving faster when applied to conventional boats also. This 'spin-off' can help everybody sail faster.

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1993

Reviews

[Curtis Woodford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who wants to understand how sailboats, especially dinghies, work on a basic level needs to read this book and come back to it often. All of the complexity of sailboat racing is not dumbed down, which to some may make it boring. I found it exciting to finally understand why the top of the fleet says to sail a particular way rather than taking their advice at face value. If you want to get better at filtering out spurious advice on how to get faster, this book is all you need to dismiss the old wives tales that sailors repeat without thinking. It is no substitute for getting in a boat and experimenting yourself, but it will accelerate your acquisition of boat speed by providing you with a solid knowledge foundation about what you should be trying on the water.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

not boring. if you want to go faster start here.