''The Handbook of Sailing'' provides a full-scale 'how to' course in all the essentials. Bob Bond, formerly training manager to the Royal Yachting Association and now principal of the Plas Menai National Water Sports Centre has compiled the work so that it can be used by anyone who thinks of taking up sailing, whether in earnest or just as casual means of weekend relaxation. It is also an invaluable source of reference for the more experienced sailor, who may need to improve and up-date his technique. The book provides essential information would-be sailors need to know from the moment they first set foot in a boat in sheltered water to the time when they might be in mid-ocean in a force-eight gale.