We just received our first shipment of Dave Perry's new edition of "Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing through 2012". As I mentioned in an earlier posting, Dave's book is my bible on the rules and I wouldn't be without it. Indeed, I can't imagine any serious racer not having a copy. As he does in his rules seminars, Dave brings the rules to life with his writing. When combined with the simple-to-understand illustrations, you have the perfect recipe for digesting a tough and sometimes hard-to-understand entree.
The book takes each of the rules apart, piece by piece and explains what they mean and how they work. He often gives an historical perspective e.g. it used to be this way, now it's that way and cites ISAF cases by number where they help clarify a situation. You come away not only knowing the rule but often how it ended up saying what it says.
In the same blog posting where I referred to Dave's book as my rules bible, I recommended a book by Bryan Willis (2009-2012 The Rules in Practice) and called attention to the different perspective used in the Willis book. I think that someone who is serious about the racing rules should own both of them. There is no such thing as too much knowledge of the rules and I for one intend to read them side by side. IMHO a good understanding of the rules is worth two or three places in every major regatta you sail in.
Both books are in stock and available at the UK-Halsey store. The prefect gifts for the sailors you know!
7c1b510a-d858-49df-94eb-b78a113c7d7a|0|.0