Gone are the amiable old days when a skipper of a racing yacht thought chiefly of sailing his own vessel as fast as possible round the course while keeping out of the way of his opponents. Racing, now, is grown ruthless, pugnacious, and extremely scientific. ... Modern yacht-racing, in which mere sailing is of less importance than the harassing of opponents, offers as many opportunities for testing tempers as are offered by contract bridge. Dr Curry illustrates about a hundred problems of attack and defence, and gives reasoned answers to them. ... and at the end of the book is an awe-imwspiring page giving a record of his own successes during the last ten years. No author writing on such a subject could have better credentials.

[Arthur Ransome in The Manchester Guardian, 13 July 1932; reproduced in Christina Hardyment, Ransome on blue water sailing, p. 65].