Steve Sleight

Steve Sleight was an author, broadcaster, sailor and boat builder with an infectious enthusiasm and a passion for the very latest “bleeding edge” technologies.

After a degree in economics and sociology he became a yachtmaster instructor and coach at the National Sailing Centre, based on the site that’s now UKSA in Cowes. He then wrote the best-selling Handbook of Sailing, which he swiftly followed with a further a further five titles, as well as producing ITV’s The Boat Show series.

He left the National Sailing Centre to work as a producer and sponsorship consultant to Worldwide Television News, before focusing on the sponsorship field for more than a decade, working with clients including Federal Express, VISA, Nissan Europe and America’s Cup challenger Peter de Savary.

He returned to Cowes in the late 1990s to write four more books for Dorling Kindersley, including The New Complete Sailing Manual, a title that has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has been translated into numerous languages. He also wrote Information Technology, Moving to E-business, and the KISS Guide to Sailing at this time, before taking the helm of the monthly marine title All at Sea. Steve was an avid and accomplished sailor, gaining at least one national championship title.