- It is so refreshing to pick up a book that is fresh and full of original content, not hashed

together from course theory material and referenced material from multiple sources,

too many technical authors these days are lazy publishers of others' material - that is

so not the case with Frank Bethwaite. Not a Yorkshire reservoir sailor as his name

may suggest but an inspirational sailor, pilot, engineer, boat designer, instructor, coach

from NZ.

- Sailing always at the edge, steer for balance set the stability limit, perhaps not for

cruisers but the theory of combining rudder position and sail trim is just as valid but

harder to feel on cruisers resulting in often sub-optimal speeds, how often do we lazily

sail along at 5knts when with better handling 5.5 or 6 might be possible.

- This is a book about what sailing should be about, feel, not stats and theory and

standard settings but feel, sure there is a lot of science in here but it is there I feel, no

pun, to back up the author's assertion that there is no one size fits all approach and

that sailing on the edge is about feel and confidence.

- Well that was what I thought until I hit chapter 2 when the science hit

- 20 years ago I sailed with an instructor in Greece at a rather shabby sailing school,

Rory's advice on sail trim for the ISO we were sailing was flat/full/flat, it always made

intuitive sense but I never really knew why, Frank eloquently explains why, in light airs

when the water is glassy, it is not that there is no wind but that there is thick laminar

boundary layer and you and your boat are in it! The only useful wind is at the top of

your sails so concentrate on the sail shape at the top by flattening and twisting the

sail.

- Too much curve and the air travelling either side of the sail will suffer 'laminar

separation' and the sail and boat will stall, why flat and twisted well I'll leave you to

read, the logic is well set out and illuminating, it's all about the difference in apparent

wind speed with height above the water.

- There is no doubt that this book is hard going in places but if the reader has a

technical background, races high performance dinghies/skiffs or just sticks at it there

is a lot of insightful content.

 

ISBN number: 978-1408154168