“Adlard Coles’ Heavy Weather Sailing” by Peter Bruce
This was my kind of book! I loved the content, it was super dense and technical, and it just went on and on and on.
The practical tips on sail and rigging adjustment for heavy weather was worth the cost of the book (although I got it from the library). Then there was the chapter on the meteorology of heavy weather, and how you detect and track it. Then there was the super awesome chapter on sea anchors and drogues. Add to it the chapter after chapter of case studies, research reports, famous disaster analysis, and recaps from individual sailors and my brain just exploded–in the good way.
I think the biggest thing I got out of the book was that it pays to learn the basics. The boat will take care of itself. You, as the skipper, have a fairly simple checklist of things to do before, during, and after the storm. Yes, freak conditions occur and the unexpected happens. But all the same, I feel much more confident in my own sailing ability now that I’ve read this book, and I’ve been taking the opportunity to practice the techniques.
This is one of those books that you talk to people about and they go, “duh, everyone knows about that book, it’s a classic.” Now I know why.