Sailing Smart: Winning Techniques, Tactics, and Strategies

This book is a fast read, so it's easy to recognize (and reinforce) what you already know, while picking out the new stuff you didn't know that will help you race faster.As an example, here are three things that I benefited from immediately. After you read the book, you'll have your own list.1. The mental aspect of boat preparation. You have to do whatever it takes to KNOW that your boat is fast and ready to win. Otherwise, when you're going slow you'll be making excuses instead of finding what's wrong and fixing it.2. A killer diagram showing spinnaker pole positioning for reaching. This diagram makes it completely obvious what to do, but it's TOTALLY contrary to the "prevailing wisdom" among most of the folks I sail with. But the first time I used Buddy's position, boy did we point with that chute!3. A great description of "feathering" the boat upwind on the beat.As always, the winning combination is read, then sail, read some more, sail some more, then repeat. If you don't go on the water to practice, no book can help you.The downside is that the book was written before the new racing rules came into effect, so be sure you're fully familiar with the rules before taking Buddy's advice on tactics that rely specifically on rules for their validity. (For example, in one circumstance the advice to a leeward boat is to luff up quickly, and "tap" a windward boat, fouling them out of the race. You'll be on thin ice if you try this in the new rules, with their clear emphasis on the importance of avoiding collisions.)

Great book. Reads more like a conversation at times. A bit technical, too, probably not ideal for the newest of new racing newbies, but plenty to learn for racing sailors at any level.

I've been sailing for many years but I still learned several valuable "tricks" from this book, e.g. To windward in slop ..tight vang, little loose on main sheet, this will introduce a variable twist to the top of the sail when boat pitches up/down. The power on/off will be counter to pitch lessening the pitching! Neat trick can wait for the season to try it out:)BUT the publisher screwed up, Page 94 is missing, in it's place is is page 108. It appears 94 may have had good info, but instead I get two page 108s:( Come on Holt, one star.

We just got back from the 2010 Performance Race Week at Steve Colgate's Offshore Sailing School with North U. Bought the book by Buddy Melges looking for something to reinforce all that we learned in Florida. This little book did all of that and showed how a world class sailor takes his skills and the skills of his crew to the next level. There are other authors who offer great insights from their experience on the water, and we are reading them too, but before the season begins we will re-read this book by Buddy Melges one more time. Highly recommend you do too.

This is a great book that I borrowed from a national chamipion Catalina 22 sailor. I race/sail Snipes and Lasers and when I asked the ol' champ about what books he likes... he handed me this one. I took it home and read it and re-read it. I liked it so much I bought a copy myself. It's great reading. For ten or twelve bucks, you won't go wrong, it will do you more good than that carbon tiller youv'e been thinking about springing $200 on. Buy the book and learn how to use the tiller you have.

I purchased this book 6 months ago, but did not have the time to read it then. I started skimming through it recently, looking for the section on Preparing a Crew. Overall, it is a fantastic book, full of suggestions of drills and brimming with Mr Melges' experience. Unfortunately, page 94 of my copy is missing, in it's place is page 108. I'm wondering if I might be able to obtain just this page 94 from somewhere. Otherwise, an invaluable resource!

Easy to read, practical knowledge, still topical (except maybe the flannel shirts have been supplanted by modern gear). Head and shoulders above equally knowledgeable sailors who write as if they were writing a calculus textbook. Buddy you can immediately understand and commit the learning to memory without the complicated analysis. So you can use it while racing, rather than having your navigator do the calculations.

Not a great book after all. It's only about racing small boats, it has a rather lengthy autobiography, lots of psychological stuff like how to act on the pier in front of other competitors and other stuff which is totally useless for the casual sailor who is just trying to improve his sailing technique and doesn't care about winning races. There are a few useful tips though, but one really has to look for them.

Very different from all other books I've read, it's casting the light on many topics and facts other authors would never mention. This is not a handbook, but a source of enlightening ideas.Must read.

das buch hat zwar schon einige jahre auf dem buckel, aber ist mit seinen detailliert dargestellten taktik-ratschlaegen noch immer aktuell;vor allem als ergaenzung zum umfangreicheren und noch nuetzlicheren "Positioning: The Logic of Sailboat Racing" von walker sehr empfehlenswert;

Pretty good book with lots of great information , clearly written. Has all the necessary information to be a successful regatta sailor.

A good read for those that want to better themselves