Howdy All - I'm a huge fan of Don's book. I had bought others before coming across his, but couldn't understand those others until after I bought and studied Don's book. Each spring when the ice on the lake starts to melt, I pull out Don's book and re-read it _several_ more times to get it back in my head for new season. I make a little list of things I want to try next time out. The question always comes up, should I buy the Chart or the Book? Gosh, buy both, of course! ;-) I suppose it depends on your learning style. I'm the type who has to really understand how things work. The book gives me that. All sailors will know at any given instant if they would like to try to get more power or less power from the sails. I like to know what each control does to give me more or less power and adjust the controls accordingly. The Chart tells you what to do and when, but I personally feel much more secure knowing how and why. Another way I look at it is that there are maybe 10 common controls on the boat to learn. However, there are _dozens_ of combinations on the chart! Actually seems simpler to me to study the book. The way I use the chart is to study it and work backwards, and explain to myself why each control should be set as he says. If I can't justify the setting, I write to Don and ask for the details. Don's extremely generous with his time as you can see on this forum, but I do suggest we get our questions in now before he finds a good price on a C34! Welcome back, Don! ...RickM...
