For novices, I think the best book to get some theory in your head is Rick's Catamaran Sailing for the '90's. He also offers a series of videos (now on a DVD) with lots of the basics plus racing skills covered.

As previously mentioned "The Catamaran Sailing" DVD is an extremely well put together production...while it does cover lots of basics, it also has a lot of advanced skills/tactics. A novice might not get the most out of this for a few years.


Reading/watch vids or others sailing can only get you so far. Racing is an excellent way to measure your performance against like boats and to accelarate the learning curve by immediate on the water feedback on tuning changes and during before/after racing discussions with those more experienced.

Also try to get onboard as crew for a more experienced skipper.

Mike.