Volume 11, Issue 2
31
Physics of Sailing Subject area Physics Description A book covering the basic physics of sailing a small boat. Author John Kimball Publisher/Supplier CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group) <www.crcpress.com> Date/Edition 2010/1st edition ISBN 978-1-4200-7376-8 Level Layman, undergraduate, sailor Price ÂŁ31.99
This book will appeal to the Summary Review scientists and non-scientists alike who have ever wondered exactly how a sail-boat can sail range: * poor to ***** good into the wind. Written by a keen Academic content **** sailor from University of Albany, Usefulness to student **** New York, Physics of Sailing attempts to explain the basic Usefulness to teacher *** principles of fluid mechanics Meets objectives **** and how they conspire to push Accuracy **** a modern sailboat through the water. The author attempts to avoid much of gory detail of the mathematical formalism (although not always succeeding) and highlights the underlying physics. Overall the book largely succeeds in its goals, making a perfect text for a first year university course and providing sailors with plenty of stories and explanations to keep fellow crew members entertained during days at sea. The style is informal and engages the reader throughout. The challenge of a book like this is how to explain the large array of physical principles that contribute to sailing, while keeping the attention of the less-prepared reader and still satisfying the reader with a background in the physical sciences. The mix of equations and an appropriately chatty text does a good job of satisfying these diverse audiences and only seldom will the physicist-sailors find themselves craving just a little more detail. The book opens with a fascinating history of sailing, before several chapters explain the physical principles of sailing up and down wind. These early chapters are a mix of basic physics and sailing terminology and there is plenty of material to satisfy the very curious. Later chapters cover topics like wind, wakes and waves, together with a more in-depth chapter on fluid dynamics. In some sense this is the least satisfying chapter of the book, with a (understandably) fairly brief explanation of some of the more sophisticated topics. Finally, the book ends with a chapter on sailing strategy. Overall the text is well written and entertains the reader, but in some places the technicality of the physical ideas, threaten to overwhelm the less prepared reader. Overall, this attempt to explain the physical principles behind sailing a small boat is a pleasure to read and helps to demystify this complex area. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not perfect, but given there are very few books on this topic around, this book is very welcome.
Robert Appleby School of Physics and Astronomy The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL October 2010