8 Ocean Sailing Books for Beginners and Professionals

For a deeper insight into sailing, the best sailing books is the key. If you’re interested in this activity, we have a list of the best sailing books.

Before you go sailing, there are so many things that you have to understand, from reading the map, compass, and natural signs. Learning how to tie the knots, maintaining the boat, and its equipment also very crucial. These things are very applicable and needed when you’re off to sailing.

You might decide to take a course or learn somewhere else, but the following sailing books can be very informative and helpful throughout your journey:

Product Names	Product Images	About this Product	Price
The Complete Sailing Manual		This book contains lots of sailing manuals, even for the smallest thing you have to know about sailing. The book’s explaining about the true and apparent wind motions, operating the single-handed dinghy, tuning the boat, bowline, asymmetric spinnakers, sail balance, and take off from the port. It’s an essential guide for sailing enthusiasts, almost like a sailing bible with lots of information and updates guide.
The International Marine Book of Sailing		Robinson is introducing readers from basic to advanced sailing techniques, based on the sailor's ideal learning curve. The book is also equipped with 1,000 color photos and illustrations to make it more attractive, informative, and highly accessible for those of you who love sea adventures. Many contributors took part in writing this book, and all of them are expert sailors and top sailing writers.
Sailing for Dummies		The Islers are sailing experts that taught and shared their knowledge on sailing to everyone who's attracted to the sailing world. Peter is also an Olympic level coach and one of the founders of the American Sailing Association. They wrote this book purposely for beginners. It contains the basics of sailing, differentiating types of sailboats and its parts, guides, and tips before you start sailing.
Sailing A Serious Ocean		The book was written by Mr. Kretschmer after his 300,000 miles sailing under very different weather from time to time. It has a lot of stories and advice from the expert, such as the whole process of choosing the right boats, outfits, and essential gears. It also guides you to plan the sailing route, navigating, even on how to face and handle the nuances while living at the sea. If you love new challenges and extreme adventure, you need this book as your guide to the wild ocean journeys.
Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual		Don Casey had decades of sailing experience, which makes him an expert in this field. His book called “This Old Boat” even helped thousand boatowners transforming their rundown boats to the first-class yacht. In this book, Casey’s writing is more than 2,500 clear and detailed illustration sailboat maintenance manual step-by-step. The book contains the procedure on evaluating boat conditions, repairing structural damage on fiberglass sailboat, improving/repairing sailboat’s electrical system, etc.
Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E		Calder is a well-known boat-system-maintenance writer with decades of experience in diesel, boat-building, cabinet-maker, and machinist. He’s also often contributing to boating magazines in the US and UK. This book by Calder is almost like a maintenance bible for boat owners or sailors. It’s containing various systems and technologies, such as types of batteries, electricity, improving energy efficiency, and many other mechanical and electrical manuals.
The Ashley Book of Knots		Learning how to tie the knots is crucial since many parts of the boat are connected with rope. It’s also quite helpful for rescuing mission. This book will introduce you to about a thousand kinds of knots and is equipped with art illustration to make it more readable. It also contains history and knowledge of knots. The process of writing the book took 11 years based on 40 years of Mr. Ashley’s adventure.
Escape from the Ordinary		Julie documented her sailboat journey through this book. It contains a lot of personal true story that will excite those of you who are eager to start your sailboat journey. Even though it is not a guide book, it can still be an excellent reference for sailboat enthusiasts.

Pro’s and Con’s of Each Sailing Books

A. Sailing Guide

1. Steve Sleight – The Complete Sailing Manual

Pros:

• Lightweight and handy.
• Very informative for both beginners and pros.
• Small boats such as dinghy and large boats were written in different sections, so it wouldn’t confuse the reader.
• Well illustrated and beginners friendly.

Cons:

• A large sailboat specification is not too descriptive.

2. William Robinson – The International Marine Book of Sailing

Pros:

• Lightweight.
• Demonstrating high performance to Olympic-class sailing dinghies to coastal and offshore cruising sailboats.
• A great book for self-teaching.

Cons:

• First-timers will hardly understand the book.

3. J.J. Isler & Peter Isler – Sailing for Dummies

Pros:

• Beginner-friendly.
• A lot of informative guides and tips, including predicting and responding to weather to operating the boats.
• Handy.

Cons:

• Quite heavy (15.2 ounces).
• Many sailing-related vocabularies that’s not familiar to beginners but still readable.

4. John Kretschmer – Sailing A Serious Ocean

Pros:

• It’s containing guide and tips on how to live in the wild oceans.
• Based on a journey in 20 transatlantic and 2 transpacific passage.
• Lightweight and handy.

Cons:

• Some of the stories quite old stories, so it’s not updated.

B. Maintenance

5. Don Casey – Don Casey’s Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual

Pros:

• Lightweight and handy.
• It contains a sailboat’s repairing and maintaining technique.
• Very informative and useful for boat owners.

Cons:

• Hard to understand for beginners since it’s containing lots of electric vocabulary.

6. Nigel Calder – Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual 4/E

Pros:

• Expert writer.
• It can be applied to various types of boats.
• Lightweight and handy.
• Up to date information.

Cons:

• Supposed for pro sailors.
• A great book for machines and electronics enthusiast, but beginners.

C. Operation

7. Clifford W Ashley – The Ashley Book of Knots

Pros:

• 3,900 different kinds of knots with 7,000 art illustrations.
• Based on the writer’s long adventure and knowledge.
• Handy.

Cons:

• A hard book for beginners.

D. Motivation Book

8. Julie Bradley – Escape from the Ordinary

Pros:

• It contains a lot of adventure in 16 areas and islands throughout the world.
• Informative and motivating.
• Top 10 best sailing books in 2019.
• Handy and lightweight.

Cons:

• Storytelling book can be quite boring for some people.

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