The psychological side of sailing is hugely important – once you get to a certain level improvements in this area can be even more important than improvements in equipment or technique. And yet we rarely pay much attention to this area.
In some ways this is good news – it means that there is scope to gain an advantage on the competition. But finding books on psychology for sailing isn’t that easy – there simply aren’t that many around. Fortunately, the ones that there are are pretty good, and there are a few non-sailing-specific books that will help sailors nevertheless. This is a selection of the very best available.
Books on Psychology for Sailing
Mental and Physical Fitness for Sailing
Read my full review of
Mental and Physical Fitness for Sailing here
“Mental and Physical Fitness for Sailing covers the psychological and physical aspects of sailing very well, especially for aspiring club sailors”
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Go for the Gold
by Garry Hoyt
As far as books on psychology for sailing go, Go For the Gold has to be among the best. It is pretty hard to get hold of a copy now, so keep your eyes peeled as it comes highly recommended (like an Olympic Silver medallist, for example…).
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Sail, Race and Win
by Eric Twiname
Read my full review of
Sail, Race and Win here
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Psychology of Sailing for Dinghies and Keelboats
by Ian Brown
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Winning: The Psychology of Competition
by Dr Stuart Walker
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In Pursuit of Excellence
by Terry Orlick
Although this book isn’t specifically on sport psychology for sailing, it does get mentioned a fair bit in relation to our sport – just see the two articles below. It is also widely recommended by the more general sporting community as a go-to work for helping to improve your mental game, and has been recently updated too.
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- A sailing psychology article that recommends In Pursuit of Excellence
- An article in which Terry Orlick talks about winning in 49ers
In the Zone
by Clyde Brolin
In the Zone may not be specifically on psychology for sailing, but it does have a section that looks at Ben Ainslie’s psychological approach to sailing and racing, touching on his battles with Robert Scheidt and Jonas Høgh-Christensen. This is, of course, both interesting and useful, but the rest of the book has much more on the approach of top level athletes and sportsmen, and is full of interesting and applicable insights.
Well worth a read.
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The Inner Game of Tennis
by W Timothy Gallwey
I’ve written briefly about how good The Inner Game of Tennis is for sailors before, so I won’t add too much now. The truth is, though, it is one of the best books about how to create the right mindset to improve physical skills, like tacking or gybing, or S-curving or sailing through waves.
This is a book that will pay you back many times over with some exceptional, practical advice.
