Peter Isler's Little Blue Book of Sailing Secrets

Peter Isler

Description

From one of the world's most respected sailors-the knowledge and secrets every sailor needs

Peter Isler, two-time America's Cup winner, has sailed in and won hundreds of races over the last forty years. In that time, he has acquired a vast array of knowledge about sailing techniques and tactics, not to mention a boatload or two of entertaining stories along the way. In this book, he brings them all together into a single guide to help you make the most of your time on the water, whether you're going for a leisurely sail with friends or competing to win.

• Filled with tips and secrets every sailor craves, from the international competitor to the weekend dinghy sailor
• Includes wisdom and advice gleaned from Peter's time spent sailing with top international sailors, from America's Cup veterans Ted Turner, Dennis Conner and Russell Coutts to and three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie
• Covers a range of important sailing topics, including understanding the inner game, leading a team, reading the wind, preparing your boat (and yourself), and much more

 

Filled with information that will help you become a better sailor, Peter Isler's Little Blue Book of Sailing Secrets is an invaluable source of guidance you'll rely on every time you set sail.

The Sailing Life.

Secrecy vs. Sharing.

The Rules.

Keeping It Real.

The Fine Art of Jury-Rigging.

Head Games.

Sailing between a Reef and a Hard Place.

In Their Own Words: Buddy Melges.

Leadership: Different Strokes.

Preparing to Race.

How to Read the Wind.

Racer's Rules: Tom Whidden.

Feel the Heel.

Motivation: Getting 110 Percent from Your Team.

When the Going Gets Rough.

Communication.

Sail Trim Fundamentals.

Why I Sail.

Commitment to the Commitment.

Big Joe's Top Five Sailing Mistakes.

Bird's-Eye View.

Is the Race Over or Not?

Killer.

Racer’s Rules: Dennis Conner.

Revel in the Routine.

Hitting the Corner.

Sail Care: Maintaining Your Boat's Engine.

The Inner Game.

A Salty Sea Story.

Always Carry a Knife.

Racer's Rules: Roy Disney.

Just for the Fun of It.

The Art of Steering.

Adrift.

Local Knowledge: Handle with Care.

Sailing at Night.

The Physics of Sailing.

In Their Own Words: Jonathan McKee.

When to Hold and When to Fold.

Testing.

How to Be the Ultimate Offshore Shipmate.

The Racer's Edge.

Naviguessing.

Racer's Rules: Chuck Robinson.

Used-Car Salesmanship.

Choosing the Right Crew.

Playing by the Rules.

Learning from Your Mistakes.

Marshmallows and Avoiding the Hex.

Embracing Change.

Hurricane Sailing Sea Story.

Clear Air and Clean Lanes.

Coaching.

What's in My Seabag.

Keeping It Cool On Board.

KISS.

Getting Kids into Sailing.

In Their Own Words: John Bertrand.

This Is Supposed to Be Fun.

Choosing the Right Sail.

Three Essential Knots.

Copy the Experts.

My Gurus.

Finding the Edge.

Racer's Rules: John Thomson.

Weather Signs.

Living the Dream.

Steering in Waves.

My Five Favorite Places to Sail.

Pimp Your Boat.

Tragedy Hits Home.

Leave Your Ego on Shore.

Boat-Handling Perfection.

Do Your Homework.

Boat Speed Magic.

In Their Own Words: Ben Ainslie.

Shorthanded Sailing.

Perfect Practice.

Learning from Maritime History.

Conservative Sailing.

Time for a Swim.

Hyper-Focus.

Making Your Move at the Turn.

Positive Thinking.

Staying Warm If Not Dry.

The Best Nautical Joke.

Keep It Rumbling.

Haven.

Digging Deep.

Safety.

Keeping Your Boat Afloat.

Maintaining Yourself.

Sailing on a Wing.

Winning the Cup.

Acknowledgments.

Index.

Sujets

• Bateaux
• Bateau
• Coupe de l'America
• Ted Turner
• Russell Coutts
• Dennis Conner
• Ben Ainslie
• Recreation
• Sailing
• America's Cup
• Copa América (regata)
• Sports
• Water Sports

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 16 février 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470950876
• Langue: English

Extrait

Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
1: The Sailing Life
2: Secrecy vs. Sharing
3: The Rules
4: Keeping It Real
5: The Fine Art of Jury-Rigging
6: Head Games
7: Sailing between a Reef and a Hard Place
8: Leadership: Different Strokes
9: Preparing to Race
10: How to Read the Wind
11: Feel the Heel
12: Motivation: Getting 110 Percent from Your Team
13: When the Going Gets Rough
14: Communication
15: Sail Trim Fundamentals
16: Why I Sail
17: Commitment to the Commitment
18: Big Joe’s Top Five Sailing Mistakes
19: Bird’s-Eye View
20: Is the Race Over or Not?
21: Killer
22: Revel in the Routine
23: Hitting the Corner
24: Sail Care: Maintaining Your Boat’s Engine
25: The Inner Game
26: A Salty Sea Story
27: Always Carry a Knife
28: Just for the Fun of It
29: The Art of Steering
30: Adrift
31: Local Knowledge: Handle with Care
32: Sailing at Night
33: The Physics of Sailing
34: When to Hold and When to Fold
35: Testing
36: How to Be the Ultimate Offshore Shipmate
37: The Racer’s Edge
38: Naviguessing
39: Used-Car Salesmanship
40: Choosing the Right Crew
41: Playing by the Rules
42: Learning from Your Mistakes
43: Marshmallows and Avoiding the Hex
44: Embracing Change
45: Hurricane Sailing Sea Story
46: Clear Air and Clean Lanes
47: Coaching
48: What’s in My Seabag
49: Keeping It Cool On Board
50: KISS
51: Getting Kids into Sailing
52: This Is Supposed to Be Fun
53: Choosing the Right Sail
54: Three Essential Knots
55: Copy the Experts
56: My Gurus
57: Finding the Edge
58: Weather Signs
59: Living the Dream
60: Steering in Waves
61: My Five Favorite Places to Sail
62: Pimp Your Boat
63: Tragedy Hits Home*
64: Leave Your Ego on Shore
65: Boat-Handling Perfection
66: Do Your Homework
67: Boat Speed Magic
68: Shorthanded Sailing
69: Perfect Practice
70: Learning from Maritime History
71: Conservative Sailing
72: Time for a Swim
73: Hyper-Focus
74: Making Your Move at the Turn
75: Positive Thinking
76: Staying Warm If Not Dry
77: The Best Nautical Joke
78: Keep It Rumbling
79: Haven
80: Digging Deep
81: Safety
82: Keeping Your Boat Afloat
83: Maintaining Yourself
84: Sailing on a Wing
85: Winning the Cup
Acknowledgments
Index

Copyright © 2011 by Isler Sailing International, Inc., and Peter Economy, Inc. All rights reserved
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
ISBN 978-0-470-90263-9 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-470-95087-6 (ebk.); ISBN 978-0-470-95088-3 (ebk.); ISBN 978-0-470-95089-0 (ebk.)
The Sailing Life
Who would have thought that a baseball-playing kid from Cincinnati, Ohio, would end up making a career out of the sport of sailboat racing? The bookies in Vegas would have lengthened the odds greatly after my first day at junior sailing class, when, sitting in a dinghy drifting backward with the sail luffing—fully embarrassed—my sailing instructor came over in his motorboat and said with a sneer at me, “You really don’t know how to sail, do you?” There was certainly a good measure of happenstance involved, but the bottom line is that I loved sailing from the moment I first tried it.
Emerging from college, I pursued a calling that was far from the typical career paths of my peers at Yale, many of whom became lawyers, doctors, investment bankers, and corporate executives. I mounted an Olympic campaign, and then worked my way from boat to boat—regatta to regatta—in a manner that made it clear to those watching that I had never considered coming up with a “five-year plan.” Some observers have probably thought of me as broad-reaching through life. So be it. I would not trade my life and experiences in the sport of sailing for all the baseballs made in China.
What was it that piqued my interest in the sport of sailboat racing? Even today, looking back, it’s hard to pinpoint. As a child I’d always been drawn to the water, and there are some beautiful places on this planet that you can only see by boat. I suppose, too, that I possess a competitive streak (mellowed over the years) that racing helped satisfy. Another contributory factor may have been the intellectual challenge of racing a sailboat, and the opportunity to learn about a variety of disciplines (teamwork, aerodynamics, meteorology, physical fitness, and seamanship, to name a few) and apply those lessons in a competitive environment. I’m sure another dynamic in play was my fascination (and friendship) with the people involved in this game of harnessing the forces of Mother Nature to make their boat go a little faster (and in a more clever direction) than their competition.
Looking back on a career that has moved into its fourth decade, I can’t help but be thankful that my mother moved my brother, sister, and me from Ohio to Connecticut when I was thirteen, thereby curtailing a baseball career that likely would have fizzled out long before it ever really got started, and opening up the door to a sport that I continue to learn about and grow with. My steps along the way all seemed clear enough at the time, but I was not following any well-trodden path. When I started sailing, a professional sailor was someone who worked on, maintained, or delivered boats or had a “real” job in the industry, that is, in sailmaking, boatbuilding, naval architecture, or a related profession. Today, a handful of us make a living racing boats. But even among that group, the variations on the theme are many.
My first sailing job was as an instructor at a junior sailing program at Noroton Yacht Club in Connecticut. As much as I loved to race, I found I also derived great pleasure in teaching racing and sailing to others. Over the years, I’ve taught clinics, given seminars, coached teams, written articles and books, and had countless informal dockside sessions spreading my knowledge of and love for the sport. At a fairly early point in my career, I decided that the sport of sailing had given me so much opportunity and pleasure that part of my life’s quest would be to share this penchant and skill set with others.
After my first America’s Cup victory (sailing with Dennis Conner and the Stars & Stripes team in Fremantle, Australia), that feeling of mission to help grow the sport of sailing strengthened. And in recent years, the opportunities for me to share the love have expanded, too—as an author, speaker, and even television announcer. And so we come to this book—an idea that took fruit in conversations with my friend Peter Economy as we discussed the deep wisdom and broad appeal of the classic golf book Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book . “How about a book like Penick’s, but about sailing?” asked Peter.
So herein the reader finds some of my experiences—the lessons I’ve learned from my life on a boat. Some of these are in the form of tips for racers, while others are broader principles of life that I discovered applied just as well in my sailing career. Some of my most unforgettable sea stories are in this book, and I’ve asked a few friends and fellow sailors who I greatly respect to share a salty tale or two of their own. In these short, bite-size chapters, my aim is to whet the appetite of someone who has never set foot in a sailboat, as well as to share some of my most treasured racing secrets with the inveterate sailor looking for an edge. My hope is that this book will in some measure be a match for Penick’s in drawing newcomers further into the sport, and entertaining and