Basic Sailing Skills

Basic Sailing Skills is a perfect manual to help anyone starting out in learning to sail. The original Basic Sailing Skills was written in 1974 by Don Giffin, an active instructor, Albacore racing competitor and dedicated volunteer. Over the next seventeen years it was used extensively by over 30,000 sailors as they were introduced to the jargon and theory of sailing.


In 1990 the Learn to Sail Committee of the Canadian Yachting Association decided to have Basic Sailing Skills rewritten to reflect changes which had taken place with national sail training standards over time.


Sven Donaldson, a Vancouver based sailing writer, was commissioned by the Canadian Yachting Association to write this next version of Basic Sailing Skills. Sven has two other sailing books to his credit (A Sailors Guide to Sails and the New Sail Theory) as well as many articles in Pacific Yachting Magazine, Sail, and Cruising World. In Basic Sailing Skills, Sven has simplified terminology so the reader gets a hands on appreciation of the enjoyment of sailing.


Cedric Burgers, formerly a CYA senior sailing instructor and University of British Columbia architecture student from Vancouver drew the illustrations. The illustrations provide a level of detail rarely shown in other sailing instructional books. The sequence of drawings for the step progression of skills should make it easier for anyone learning to tack or gybe.