From a racing master, all the knowledge you need to make your boat go faster and safer in any condition In Performance Sailing and Racing, Steve Colgate explains how to improve your sailing and push your boat to higher but safer speeds. He shows you how get your boat to perform as it was designed--with grace and an ease of motion--and to sail at a fast speed that can get you out of situations more quickly and arrive at your destination sooner. Used as one of the text books at the many branches of the Colgate Sailing School, Performance Sailing and Racing will help you get started in racing and improve as you learn. Even veteran sailors will pick up some new tips and tricks to becoming a successful racer. End-of-chapter quizzes reinforce what you learn so you can use your knowledge confidently on the water. Sail faster and smarter: Get the picture with clear, colorful photos and graphics Master vital topics relating to boat speed--sail trim, sheet lead angles, steering differences in light and heavy air Learn even those daunting topics, including using a spinnaker and understanding polar diagrams With this master teacher's wisdom on all the factors that make your boat sail better, you'll win the next race or just blow past the other boats in the outer harbor.

The groundbreaking reference on high speed racing techniques--the bible for racing sailors of all levels and abilities from dinghies to the America's Cup. High Performance Sailing has become the standard reference work on high speed racing techniques. Groundbreaking in its thinking on boat speed, strategy and tactics, and timeless in its application, this second edition has been brought right up to date with new information, the discoveries from new boat testing and new developments. Some people like to sail. Some people like to sail fast. This is a book about sailing faster. During the past few decades there has been a revolution in the way some boat designers and sailors have thought about, designed, built and sailed their boats. 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. "It is the cheapest bit of go-faster gear you can buy..."--Robert Lloyd, Island Sailing Club "One of the most readable books on the complex subject of sailing faster, and without doubt, a must for every racing sailor"--Yachts and Yachting

'Monumental!' - Bob Ross, Australian Sailing High Performance Sailing is now regarded as the bible of racing sailors and carries a string of endorsements from high achievers. Since its publication in 1984, racing yachts and dinghies have developed out of all recognition - a new high-tech breed of 'apparent wind' fast racers has claimed the water and so far no-one has applied themselves seriously to analysing what makes these boats sail fast (and what will make them faster). This is Frank Bethwaite's ground-breaking achievement in Higher Performance Sailing. By means of extensive research, and working with sailors of different racing calibre, Bethwaite analyses how to harness the apparent wind for increased speed and better position on your rivals. Higher Performance Sailing will provide the key to racing sailors' dreams. Praise for Bethwaite's High Performance Sailing: 'It represents a breakthrough...It is a book that my Olympic squad will benefit from.' Rod Carr, former British Olympic Sailing Team Manager 'Allowed only one "if only" in yacht racing, it would have been to have read Higher Performance Sailing years ago.' Bob Fisher, journalist, broadcaster and international championship winner

A groundbreaking technical analysis of yacht design based on cutting edge research in the field of aero-hydrodynamics.

From the author of the bestselling High Performance Sailing and Higher Performance Sailing comes the first scientific analysis of what makes fast sailors fast. Eschewing the idea that luck or innate talent are the keys to success, Frank Bethwaite shows how knowledge truly is power. Making use of video cameras aligned to GPS read-outs to track the fastest racers, he meticulously analyses what winners do and how they do it, to show the rest of us how to get the best out of a racing craft. Frank Bethwaite's previous books were groundbreaking bibles that applied scientific theories to how sails and hulls interact with wind and water to influence boat speed. But whilst they applied scientific theories to boat construction, they didn't apply science to practical boat handling. This book fills that gap, and then goes further. Budding racers of all levels will welcomethis unique book as a godsend. It will inform, instruct and enable them toemploy the techniques (and timing) of the most successful racers, and make racingmore competitive for participants, and more exciting for those of us watching.

New boats - New courses - New challenges - New problems - New solutions. The new asymmetric boats and the new short courses demand new skills, techniques and strategies to win. Nobody has adapted better than John Merricks and Ian Walker. In this book they pass on the knowledge and secrets that have helped them achieve such outstanding results in the traditional classes (such as the 470) and the new flying machines. Their clear thinking will enable you, too, to master your boat...and the competition. Preparation (boat, foils, mast, sails, body and mind) Boathandling Boatspeed Racing strategies Planning for success