First Sail

This entertaining and beautifully illustrated book introduces children to the basics of sailing. Adam, a young boy from the city, yearns to learn how to sail. When his aunt and uncle invite him to visit one summer, his cousin, Beth, takes him out in her sailboat. As they head for Dutch Ship Island, Beth shows Adam many of the things he will need to know to become a sailor--skills he must put into action when a thunderstorm arises. Here is a delightful adventure story that holds young readers' interest while they absorb from labeled drawings many of the fundamentals necessary to begin sailing: basic nautical terms, points of sailing, channel markers and buoys, safety equipment, a few knots and bends, something about clouds and weather, anchoring, handling sails, and even crew overboard procedures. Middle grades-ages 10-13.