Dinghy Sailing

Full colour with 150 fantastic, clear illustrations and 150 photographs, Dinghy Sailing: Start to Finish gives the reader a thorough, complete and visual guide to life on the water.

Packed with expert advice from the professionals at UKSA, the book covers:

Basic Principles

• Parts of the boat - exploded illustrations of a dinghy and components
• How a boat sails - Sailing theory explained
• Points of sailing - Sailing a dinghy at different angles to the wind
• Choosing a dinghy - Types of boat and their suitability
• Preparing to sail - Safety afloat, practical clothing, rigging to launching.
• Knots and Ropes - Practical illustrations for basic knots and splices
• Transporting dinghies -Road trailer to roof racks
• Sailing for the first time - Balance, sail trim
• Rowing and paddling
• Rules of the road - Avoiding other boats, Rights of way, Basic racing rules
• Understanding tides and currents
• Weather forecasting - How to spot tell-tale signs of change in wind and weather

Basic Techniques

• Tacking
• Gybing
• Beating to windward
• Reaching
• Running
• Spinnaker handling
• Capsize and recovery
• Returning to shore
• Packing the dingy away
• Maintenance

Advanced Dinghy Sailing

• High performance dinghies and catamarans
• Trapezing
• Asymmetric spinnakers - Setting, handling and gybing
• Singlehanded sailing - dinghies and catamarans
• Tuning - dinghies and catamarans
• Heavy weather sailing - dinghies and catamarans

The Basics of Racing

• The start - Practical lessons and rules explained
• First leg tactics - Practical lessons and rules explained
• Reaching - Practical lessons and rules explained
• Running - Practical lessons and rules explained

Glossary of Terms