After leaving the Merchant Navy Kevin Cooney started out on his own with a humble back-garden engineering shop. A chance encounter led him to specialise in manufacturing stainless steel components for yachts, and it wasn't long before he caught the sailing bug himself. Thanks to ingenuity, determination and a great deal of hard work, Kevin managed to pilot Cooney Marine successfully through the difficult decades of British industrial strife and build it into the largest independent supplier of stainless steel rails and fittings in the UK. Now semi-retired and with his son at the helm, Kevin is free to indulge his passion by sailing the oceans and even crossing the Atlantic several times. This book is based on the diary he has been keeping for more than 40 years.ÿ

By focusing on "wind awareness," Plain Sailing will help all sailors better understand the principles and practice of sail trim--how to adjust sails so they interact most efficiently with the wind. There is a direct relationship between sailing efficiency and sailing fun. Knowing when, how, and why to trim your sails is the essence of sailing. If you understand trim, you understand sailing. Beautifully written, with complicated sailing jargon kept to a minimum.

This book engages with current issues in developing materials for language teaching.

A guide for racing covers the principles of sail trim, crew movement techniques, maneuvers, and control systems, and gives advice on adjusting to special conditions.

Editor Ken Textor is a writer and sailing enthusiast.