Recommended Reading (continued)

Since there are so many good books and articles on sailing, I've decided to continue using the blog title "Recommended Reading." I expect that it will reappear on this website over and again.

In a previous blog post, I suggested recommended reading for the beginner in a book titled The Complete Sailor. It is a wonderful text for an introduction to sailing and a great reference for novice and experienced sailors alike.

In an effort to increase my practical knowledge of sailing I continue to read other books on the subject. I have a keen interest in learning more about single-handing a sailboat. While I don't have plans for a singlehanded world circumnavigation, I fully expect that most of the sailing adventures for my wife and I will be limited to just the two of us or at best, a small inexperienced crew. Having a better understanding of single or shorthanded techniques and tactics could prove to be very useful.

I found just the right text in Singlehanded Sailing by Andrew Evans. The author is an accomplished
singlehanded sailor with extensive solo racing experience. As so artfully mentioned in the foreword by Bruce Schwab, "While a lot of jabber about singlehanded sailing can be found on discussion forums and the odd magazine articles, this is the first collection of varied aspects of the sport put together in one place. It takes thousands of hours of sailing to get the kind of knowledge contained in this book."

Evans includes chapters on subjects that range from mental challenges, singlehanded boat design, sail handling techniques, dealing with adversity, to racing. Much of the information is geared to long-range solo trips and racing. At first, I found some of those sections difficult reading, since that was not my personal interest. However, I found many gems in this discussion. It's often that techniques and tactics developed for extreme situations help those who are dealing with a much less stressful matter. By studying events and circumstances faced by professional singlehanded sailors, I felt as though I learned much that could be applied to my own sailing adventures with a small, inexperienced crew, or when taking an overnight shift by my lonesome.

If you plan to spend time on your sailing journey alone or shorthanded, I recommend that you read this book. The first-hand accounts alone have a certain entertainment value and are well worth the reading time, and the sage advice from seasoned professionals only add to the value.