Invitation to Sailing

This has to be one of the better books that I have read written for someone new to the sport, covering the basics of both sailing and seamanship all the way to starting in racing to intermediate helmsmanship. The opening words of the dedication "...to Junior Sailors everywhere..." basically says it all. Brown's objective was clearly to provide a training manual for Junior Sailors and even included a section on how to develop instructors. If you already know how to sail the first half of this book is a good refresher. The later sections are an excellent primer for the sailor who wants to start getting involved in racing. The chapter ending tests are a little tedious if you already know how to sail. Though this book doesn't cover the material at the level of say Richard Creagh-Osborne's "This Is Racing" it does cover most of the same information in a much more digestible manner. Osborne's book is a masterpiece all in and of its own but he is writing for a more advanced sailor then Brown is addressing with "Invitation To Sailing". Brown's diagrams are much easier to understand on a first reading. He covers the topics at hand selectively whereas Osborne's diagrams are extensive covering too much and jam packed with many possibilities. Reading the two in conjunction with each other will provide an excellent foundation in both the aspects of seamanship that are missed in most other books and racing from beginning to intermediate and advanced levels.

In-depth, even includes boat care and tuning. But the part of the book that struck me the most was chapter entitled 'What Makes a Sailboat Go' which included demonstrations helping to explain how a sailboat moves in the wind.