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Winning in One-designs
Long considered one of the best books about sailboat racing by competitive racers around the world, Dave Perry's Winning in One Designs covers every aspect of racing. Perry explains in detail how to sail fast, reduce mistakes and make use of the most advanced tactics from start to finish. Perry's expert advice, clear and often humorous explanations, and numerous tips, offer invaluable instruction to sailors at all levels of competition and in all sizes of boats, whether racing one-design or handicap.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 26, 2025
I’m a foredeck guy and not a skipper, but this book was passed along to me by someone I’ve crewed for, with the comment: “You read a lot; here, read this.”
So I did, and clearly Perry is a solid resource with a wealth of knowledge to impart. While he’s probably a better sailor than a writer, he does manage to keep up an engaging tone throughout the book. He writes like a coach talking to the team on the field, or in this case, at the dock. There’s plenty of instruction by anecdotes (“…the time we were racing Lasers at the Worlds in Australia…” (p. 124);“…in one race at the 1979 Soling North Americans…” (p. 165)), some of it is common sense, and there’s a surprising amount of social engineering (“…talk with the best sailors in your class and … look over their boats. (p. 56); “…seek out the best local sailors … and take them out for a couple of beers.” (p. 133)).
But his advice largely boils down to the obvious suggestions like practicing more; going over what went well and what didn’t in earlier races; watching regattas and studying what the winners did; etc. He gets a bit more extreme on occasion, with recommendations to practice sailing without a rudder and/or blindfolded to get a feel for the boat (ch. 11).
The level of knowledge assumed for the reader is a bit inconsistent. He expects readers to know basic sailing terminology and racing mechanics, but while he carefully defines some things that he apparently thinks we might not know (“The guy is what we call the spinnaker sheet that goes through the end of the pole…” (p. 53)), he then assumes everyone knows what “footing off” is (I’ve always just used “falling off”), and what it means to “lee bow” another boat, for example. He gives advice like “…work the waves and puffs to your advantage…” (p. 166) without saying exactly how to do it.
There’s also some confusion when he uses the terms “port lay line” and “port tack lay line” - the first is clear enough to me, but for the second, does he mean the one you’re approaching on a port tack (the starboard lay line) or the one you sail to the mark on a port tack (the port lay line)? The diagrams are nicely done, and they do a lot to clarify the language used in the text, although there are places where he could have included a diagram but didn’t.
Reading this book probably explains why I’m generally satisfied to just show up and crew in a race now and then, ending up with mostly middle-of-the-pack finishes, rather than participate in a serious campaign to become a rock star sailor and win, win, win at all costs. It’s because pursuing this kind of ambition is a ton of work, and for me, that would likely suck much of the enjoyment out of the activity.
But for those who have the desire and the drive, I’d say that if you manage to read, understand, remember, and exercise the suggestions here, there’s no doubt you’ll improve your racing performance.
So I did, and clearly Perry is a solid resource with a wealth of knowledge to impart. While he’s probably a better sailor than a writer, he does manage to keep up an engaging tone throughout the book. He writes like a coach talking to the team on the field, or in this case, at the dock. There’s plenty of instruction by anecdotes (“…the time we were racing Lasers at the Worlds in Australia…” (p. 124);“…in one race at the 1979 Soling North Americans…” (p. 165)), some of it is common sense, and there’s a surprising amount of social engineering (“…talk with the best sailors in your class and … look over their boats. (p. 56); “…seek out the best local sailors … and take them out for a couple of beers.” (p. 133)).
But his advice largely boils down to the obvious suggestions like practicing more; going over what went well and what didn’t in earlier races; watching regattas and studying what the winners did; etc. He gets a bit more extreme on occasion, with recommendations to practice sailing without a rudder and/or blindfolded to get a feel for the boat (ch. 11).
The level of knowledge assumed for the reader is a bit inconsistent. He expects readers to know basic sailing terminology and racing mechanics, but while he carefully defines some things that he apparently thinks we might not know (“The guy is what we call the spinnaker sheet that goes through the end of the pole…” (p. 53)), he then assumes everyone knows what “footing off” is (I’ve always just used “falling off”), and what it means to “lee bow” another boat, for example. He gives advice like “…work the waves and puffs to your advantage…” (p. 166) without saying exactly how to do it.
There’s also some confusion when he uses the terms “port lay line” and “port tack lay line” - the first is clear enough to me, but for the second, does he mean the one you’re approaching on a port tack (the starboard lay line) or the one you sail to the mark on a port tack (the port lay line)? The diagrams are nicely done, and they do a lot to clarify the language used in the text, although there are places where he could have included a diagram but didn’t.
Reading this book probably explains why I’m generally satisfied to just show up and crew in a race now and then, ending up with mostly middle-of-the-pack finishes, rather than participate in a serious campaign to become a rock star sailor and win, win, win at all costs. It’s because pursuing this kind of ambition is a ton of work, and for me, that would likely suck much of the enjoyment out of the activity.
But for those who have the desire and the drive, I’d say that if you manage to read, understand, remember, and exercise the suggestions here, there’s no doubt you’ll improve your racing performance.
April 9, 2024
I find this to be a good book for the basics but sometimes lacks the depth I would prefer.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews