May 15, 2024 The start of any race is a critical moment that can have a big effect on your potential success in that event. If you get off the line cleanly with clear air and good speed, heading to the favored side, you’ve made a great first step. But if you end up going…

May 1, 2024 Your goal at the start: The measure of a good start is not whether you’re ahead at the beginning of the first leg, but how well you’re doing at the end of it (i.e. at the windward mark). Obviously, you don’t have to win the start in order to win the race…

Apr 17, 2024 No matter where you are on the race course, strategy almost always comes before tactics. First you make a strategic plan for where you want to go (in the absence of other boats), and then you use tactical moves (if necessary) to help you implement your strategy in the midst of a…

Apr 3, 2024 The title of Dennis Conner’s popular book offers great advice for your mental and physical preparation. The basic idea is this: Before the start of every regatta or race you should eliminate any reason why you might not win that race. Paul Elvström, the Great Dane, offered similar advice when he said,…

Mar 6, 2024 Change gears – early and often!When the wind or sea conditions change, as they always do, you must promptly make corresponding changes to your boat and sails by ‘changing gears.’ This process is critical for maintaining good speed over the course of a race. The fastest sailors are skillful at sensing changes…

Jan 31, 2024 Here are dates and topics for three new webinar series I’ll be running this winter and spring. As you can see below, these webinars will cover a wide range of critical and useful topics. In ‘Lessons From Above’ we’ll analyze a bunch of aerial videos taken by drones to see what worked (and…

Jan 17, 2024 It’s still the winter; unless you are heading south, racing isn’t real for another few months. Studying continues. Last issue we looked the longer tack with questions 6 through 10.  The SMARTS section of the test is critical – if you go fast in the wrong direction, or if you let other…

Jan 3, 2024 It’s still the winter; unless you are heading south, racing isn’t real for another few months. Studying continues. Last issue we looked at the starting line – now we will look more closely at the racecourse with questions 6 through 10. The SMARTS section of the test is critical – if you go…

Dec 13, 2023 It’s the winter break, so let’s see what we have learned from a year of racing and studying. There are two sections in the test, which will likely run into several issues. We are starting with SMARTS. It’s great to have boat speed (we will eventually get into SPEED in a second…

Nov 29, 2023 Just because you break a rule every now and then doesn’t mean you aren’t sportsmanlike. All sailors make mistakes, and sometimes these errors include rule infringements. This is not a problem as long as you take an appropriate penalty for each breach. But do you know which penalty is appropriate? Below are…

Nov 15, 2023 Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule, they will promptly take a penalty or retire. – Basic Principle Should you file a protest? In the sport…

November 1, 2023 Good sportsmanship might be much more evident in racing if winning didn’t seem so important. Without the expectation and pressure to perform at a high level over and over, competitors would be much more relaxed. They could devote a lot more time and energy to the many other reasons why most people…

October 18, 2023 One of the best sail shape tools for a jib trimmer are telltales placed on each side of the sail along the luff. The position of these telltales varies slightly from boat to boat, but usually they are located about 8 to 12 inches aft of the luff of the sail. Three…