A competitive racer, coach, judge, and perhaps most famously, author, Dave Perry has been involved with the sport of sailing since he was a child. His knack for making the Racing Rules of Sailing coherent and clear as they apply to a wide range of situations has made his Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing a must-have for the competitive sailor’s library.
From the North Sails website:
Dave Perry grew up sailing on Long Island Sound at the Pequot Yacht Club. Learning to sail in Sunfish, Blue Jays and Lightnings from his parents and in the junior program at the Pequot Yacht Club in Southport, Connecticut, he won the Clinton M. Bell Trophy for the best junior record on L.I.S. in 1971. While at Yale (1973-77) he was captain of the National Championship Team in 1975 and was voted All-American in 1975 and 1977. Other racing accomplishments include: 1st, 1978 Tasar North Americans; 5th, 1979 Laser Worlds; 1st, 1982, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2015 U.S. Match Racing Championship (POW); 1st, 1983 and 1984 Congressional Cup; and 1st, 1994, 1999 and 2003 Ideal 18 North American Championship.
Dave has been actively working for the sport since 1977. He has led hundreds of US Sailing instructional seminars in over 50 one-design classes; and has been an author and instructor for the North U Rules & Tactics seminars for many years. He is currently the chairman of the US Sailing Appeals Committee and a US Sailing National Judge. In 1992 he was voted into the Sailing World Hall of Fame. In 1995 he became the first recipient of US Sailing’s Captain Joe Prosser Award for exceptional contribution to sailing education. In March 2001 Dave received the W. Van Alan Clarke, Jr. Trophy, US Sailing’s national award for sportsmanship.
He was the Director of Athletics at Greens Farms Academy, a K-12 coed independent day school in Westport, Connecticut from 1986-2006; and the Rules Advisor to the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team in 2008 and 2012, and to two recent America’s Cup Teams (Victory Challenge (2007) and Artemis Racing 2013 and 2017.

Dave is author of the North U Rules and Tactics Seminar Workbook, North U Intro to Match Racing Workbook, Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing through 2020, Dave Perry’s 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes, and Winning in One-Designs.
Accomplishments and Honors
Year(s) Place Event
2015, 2011, 2008, 2006, 1982 1st U.S. Match Racing Championship
2003, 1999, 1994 1st Ideal 18 North American Championship
2001 W. Van Alan Clarke, Jr. Trophy, US Sailing’s national award for sportsmanship
1995 First recipient of US Sailing’s Captain Joe Prosser Award for exceptional contribution to sailing education
1992 Inducted into the Sailing World Hall of Fame
1984, 1983 Congressional Cup
1978 1st Tasar All-American (Yale)North Americans
1977, 1975

Service
• 2008, 2012 Rules Advisor to the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team
• 2007, 2013, 2017 Rules Advisor to two America’s Cup Teams: Victory Challenge (2007) and Artemis Racing (2013,2017)
• Has led hundreds of US Sailing instructional seminars in over 50 one-design classes
• Chairman, US Sailing Appeals Committee
• US Sailing National Judge
Selected Works
• Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing through 2020 (updated editions every rules cycle)
• North U Rules and Tactics Seminar Workbook
• North U Intro to Match Racing Workbook
• Dave Perry’s 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes
• Winning in One-Designs