Good Technical Sailing Books

Here is a list of good books covering the technology, techniques and science behind sailing. This is by no means exhaustive but provides a good starting point.

Racing & learning to sail fast

• Start to Win by Eric Twiname. This should be on every racing sailor's bookshelf
• The Rules of Sailing. Everyone needs a copy. The current edition is 2017 - 2020 so will be re-issued in August time for 2021 - 2024 (although they may hold on the update until after the 2021 Olympics).
• High Performance Sailing by Julian Bethwaite. The bible of science & technology behind high speed sailing.
• Team Racing For Sailboats by Steve Tylecote
• Helming to Win by Nick Craig
• Crewing to Win by Saskia Clark
• Tactics to Win by Nick Craig
• Tuning to Win by Ian Pinnell & Tim Davison
• Tactics Made Simple by Jon Emmett
• Wind Strategy to win By David Houghton & Fiona Campbell
• Fitness For Sailing by Alan Begs & John Derbyshire
• The Laser Campaign Manual by Ben Ainslie
• Mirror Racing by Guy Wilkins

Interesting Reads

• Ben Ainslie - Close to the Wind.
• Golden Lily, Asia's first gold medal winning sailor by Lijiu Xu (Older teen & adult)
• The unlikely adventures of Jack de Crow by A.J Mackinnon

General Sailing Textbooks

• Sailing The Mirror by Roy Partridge (good if you have a gaff rigged Mirror)
• The Mirror Book by Peter Aitken & Tim Davison
• The Topper Book, Topper Sailing From Start To Finish by Dave Cockerill & John Caig
• RYA Optimist Handbook (G44). By Alan Williams.
• The Optimist Racing - A manual for sailors, parents & coaches. By Steve Irish & Phil Slater

Last updated 20:29 on 9 March 2026