The textbook for the Offshore Sailing School's Learn to Sail course, taking you from beginner to intermediate level.

From a racing master, all the knowledge you need to make your boat go faster and safer in any condition In Performance Sailing and Racing, Steve Colgate explains how to improve your sailing and push your boat to higher but safer speeds. He shows you how get your boat to perform as it was designed--with grace and an ease of motion--and to sail at a fast speed that can get you out of situations more quickly and arrive at your destination sooner. Used as one of the text books at the many branches of the Colgate Sailing School, Performance Sailing and Racing will help you get started in racing and improve as you learn. Even veteran sailors will pick up some new tips and tricks to becoming a successful racer. End-of-chapter quizzes reinforce what you learn so you can use your knowledge confidently on the water. Sail faster and smarter: Get the picture with clear, colorful photos and graphics Master vital topics relating to boat speed--sail trim, sheet lead angles, steering differences in light and heavy air Learn even those daunting topics, including using a spinnaker and understanding polar diagrams With this master teacher's wisdom on all the factors that make your boat sail better, you'll win the next race or just blow past the other boats in the outer harbor.

The learn-to-sail book for when you are in a hurry to gain your sea legs At the Offshore Sailing School, the Colgates havetaught more than 100,000 adults how to sail. Now theyare making their proven instructional methods availableto you so you can fulfill your sailing dreams in little time.Though designed around three days of intensiveinstruction, the book adapts easily to any learning pace.You can master the fundamentals inthree days--or over a summer of leisurely sailing.

In the realms of both the marine industry and competitive sailboat racing at its highest levels, few if any couples have matched the accomplishments of Steve and Doris Colgate, the longtimeproprietors of the world-renowned Offshore Sailing School: With over 150,000 graduates, noone has taught more willing novices how to sail than Offshore. A scion of the Colgate family ofColgate-Palmolive fame, and the daughter of a famed, award-winning scientist, respectively, atfirst glance the Colgates seemed an unlikely match.The founder of the National Women's SailingAssociation, among other yachting-industry initiatives, on countless fronts Doris was a pioneerin a world usually dominated by men. Their shared tale is fascinating on several levels: as aninsider's take on yacht racing at its top ranks; as a case study in a remarkably unique andsuccessful business; and, finally, as a good old-fashioned love story.

Learn how to handle a cruising sailboat in as little as seven days—even if you’ve never sailed before! Who says you have to be an experienced daysailor before you can think about cruising? Steve and Doris Colgate know that most of us don’t have that kind of time. At the Offshore Sailing School, the Colgates have helped more than 100,000 adults—three-quarters of whom started as beginning sailors or complete newcomers--take the helm of a midsize cruising sailboat. Now Fast Track to Cruising offers these proven instructional methods to all aspiring sailors with big dreams and little time. This is the very first guide that teaches sailing and cruising together, taking you from your first sail to independent cruising in one leap. You can make that leap in as little as seven days—as in the Colgates’ “Fast Track to Cruising” course—or you can get there at a more leisurely pace. Either way, no other book will take you from your first tacking or docking maneuver to a mastery of navigation and diesel engines as efficiently as this one. "America's most experienced sailing instructors present a thorough and easy to understand look at cruising. Leisure time is precious. Safety is paramount. The Colgates will help you maximize your time on the water."--Gary Jobson, ESPN's lead sailing analyst and editor at large for Cruising World and Sailing World “Doris and Steve Colgate understand that people want to reach their sailing goals as quickly as possible and they've built the excellent Fast Track program to accomplish it.”--Bernadette Bernon, former editorial director of Cruising World magazine "Together Steve and Doris Colgate have been teaching beginners to sail for over half a century. In Fast Track to Cruising they have included every concept and procedure you need to get yourself from a want-to-be sailor to one who is knowledgeable and competent to take the helm--with confidence and a smile."--Charles Mason, Executive Editor, SAIL magazine

The what, how, why and when of sailing, cruising, and racing by the head of the famous Colgate Offshore Sailing Schools.

Sailing Smart is for every sailor who wants to increase his or her knowledge, understanding, and sailing expertise: the local day-sailor who wants a firmer grasp of the fundamentals, as well as the serious competitor who wants to be up on the latest, most innovative sailing techniques and racing strategies. Buddy Melges, one of the world's best-known sailors, has at last set down his highly original thoughts on how to sail well. He covers the full range of sailing experience, from the general to the specific, the basic to the highly sophisticated. Melges's message is delivered in a bright, uncluttered manner by way of applications from his own sailing experience and through step-by-step instructions on everything from basic boat handling to expert on-the-course tactics and maneuvers. This book is expertly illustrated by the noted sailing artist Ted Brennan, and each drawing is accompanied by a cogent, in-depth explanatory caption.