Great book for a day skipper looking to firm up their understanding of the basics of sailing. This book is great at taking complex elements and making them relatively easy to understand

I got this book because I had started sailing by trial and error, and I wanted to find out what I was doing right, and what I should do differently. What a gem of a book. This is a thin book, but the amount of clear and simple detailed information is incredible.

Nice primer

Lots of small insights and invaluable learnings. A few chapters (trailer sailing etc.) not so applicable that left me feeling lost. Otherwise glad I read.

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 before going sailing when it's been a while since my last trip. A great book that I will keep on my shelf for many years to come.

Excellent intro to sailing with lots of great illustrations. A lot of good information.

This is a great book for an introduction to sailing- the standard issue manual for Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats SAILNOW program.

A great beginner's book about sailing. Line drawings and sketches that a child could understand, but they are very professionally drawn, complete, and pleasing to look at. Most of my questions were answered right there. It is well-written, at times even poetic. This guy really loves sailing and boats. A friend is going to start teaching me this weekend, and I can't wait to learn how to sail! I feel like I have as much as I need to get started from this book alone. (I read several others, this is by far the best.)

A very good resource! I don__t think you can really learn sailing from a book, but if you could, this would be the one. Actually the illustrator (Kelly Mulford) deserves as much credit as the author (David Seidman), for illustrations that illuminate and clarify__and thankfully putting individual aspects of sailing on the same page, so you don__t have to go thumbing through the book to find what you need.

If I were to make any additions, it would be a glossary (seemingly a thing of the past in manuals such as this) and a section not on what to do in an emergency, but spelling out what a ship__s responsibilities are to other ships in distress. I__m guessing this is codified somewhere either in law or etiquette, but I didn__t find it here.

Excellent single source for sailing knowledge, covering every imaginable topic. Made even better by the excellent illustrations, which are whimsical yet quite educational.

This is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to get a better grasp on sailing basics. I've been sailing for two years now, and I found that I was learning a lot -- or finding that I was gaining a clearer picture of concepts I already understood. The language is down to earth and accessible, and the illustrations are whimsical and very fun. I also give this book credit for having one of the clearest eye-splice directions and illustrations out of any book I've read so far. I wouldn't reccomend this for people looking to expand their knowledge of marlinespike seamanship, but if you want a good grasp of wind direction, basic sailing terms, and the purpose of sails this would be the one.

"Highest Storm Rating: Swear Oaths you will not keep once back on land."

11/10 advice, great book. Feel like I could sail the seas now... if I didn't live in a landlocked area.