Let’s Talk About Sailboat Racing Trim

North Sails has a series of books, CDs / DVDs, and seminars in their North U. Series.  I have found two books particulary useful.  They are Racing TRIM and Racing TACTICS by Bill Gladstone.  For a winter refresher, I thought it would be good to go through each of these books.  I’ll start here with the Racing TRIM book.  Every few days, I’ll post about a chapter or two.  This will be my short summary of what I’ve read.  You can read the posts to get my abbreviated summary; or you could read through the books with me.  Your comments can help point out what you find most interesting, or even poke fun at what I do and don’t know.  If you are interested in getting these books, you can find them in the online store section of NorthU.com for $25 each.

The first chapter sets the stage for what we will learn throughout the rest of the book.  Sailboat racing is discussed using a pyramid.  It shows that boat handling is the foundation of racing with boat speed in the middle of the pyramid with tactics at the top.  The guidance is that your tactics won’t be top notch unless boat handling and boat speed are spot on.  For this reaon, it is recommended that you read the TRIM book before studying the one on TACTICS. 

This chapter includes a quiz on strengths and weaknesses to highlight where you should pay most attention while reading.  There are also 20 “team building” techniques presented in a really sarcastic humorous format.  If you’ve spent much time racing at all, I bet you’ve encountered at least a few of the situations shared there.  The rest of the book is presented in an easy to read format with lots of pictures and humor thrown in to make reading go quickly. 

Hopefully, you’ll get as much out of reading this book as I do whether you’ve read it before or this is your first time.  Check back in a few days for Chapter 2.