For books, I'd recommend Dave Seidman's The Complete Sailor. I'd also recommend you go out with a friend who knows how to sail a bit, or take some basic lessons.
While learning yourself is a great thing to do, it is generally easier to do on a
dinghy, as many
dinghies have reduced numbers of controls and are far more sensitive to your actions and accellerate your learning.
Learning on a 30' keelboat may be a bit more difficult, as it is a bit harder to understand what the boat is trying to tell you. Also, any mistakes you make can be a bit more costly. Hitting a rock with $300 Snark, is not a huge problem, hitting same rock with a 30' keel boat can be very expensive.
__________________
Sailingdog
Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)
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