We all need help to overcome emotions when having a bad day. On occasion, all of us let a poor performance on the water affect the eventual outcome of a race or regatta. Your emotions in the heat of battle will determine your success.
How Do We Turn The Tide In Our Favour
If you are competing in a multiple-race regatta and after a few days of competition, you find yourself well down in the standings, it is hard to be optimistic about the final outcome.
What you and your team need to do is ask yourselves the question, what can we do to turn the tide in our favour? Don’t throw in the towel.
The first thing that you need to do is work past your emotions. Evaluate each race and note where mistakes were made. Be honest, sometimes one simple manoeuvre has set off a series of events that compounded that problem.
Once you have identified the issue, work out what you can do in the following races to make sure you don’t repeat it. Talk through with the crew what you are going to do differently when that situation occurs again.
Go Back To Basics – Overcome Emotions
When you are having poor results, don’t be too shy to go back to basics. Think back to past regattas where you enjoyed more success. You need to be consistent and not take major risks to try to salvage the event.
Reevaluate how you are steering, how your team are sheeting the sails, and how you are setting the rig. Often when having a bad regatta, many competitors make major changes, looking for the magic bullet.
In nearly all cases it’s been losing sight of the basics that has caused the issue.
Having a better second half of the regatta is the reward for regrouping and keeping emotions in check.
For instance, try a more conservative start. When you try for the very best position on the line, you risk failure.
Sail more freely and put the bow down when appropriate. Don’t pinch to be the highest boat in the fleet. Sometimes when we are struggling in fleet races, we blame our lack of height for our poor results. Often the cause was not allowing the foils to have the requisite flow to get you the same height as everyone else.
When you are behind off the wind, there is a temptation to sail low to gain on the boats in front. A short sugar hit when looking forward at your initial angle soon turns to dismay when you reach the leeward mark having lost distance. This seldom works and you must maintain VMG in order to be competitive.
You must not believe that you are beaten and should sail enthusiastically and hard right to the finish. Because of the nature of our sport, there are always opportunities to improve your placing right up to crossing the line.
You can’t always make a comeback but you should work toward improving your sailing every day. If you separate your emotions and think about specifics you will always have a chance of improving your fleet position.
Because Sailing is a complex sport, it’s easy to get obsessed with little things that don’t really matter. I have listed the key areas to work on that you should attend to, to ensure success.
Your Attitude
Self-confidence like most things in life is a major key to success. Listen to what others say but make sure that you map out your own plan.
You will find fellow competitors may try to psyche you out. Ignore those tactics and be confident in your own abilities and skills.
It is your effort on your boat that determines your results.
Manage Your Time
We all have interests outside sailing, but we must be careful to not let the myriad of things going on in our lives interfere with our thinking when we race.
If you have a crew, divide those jobs up between the team and don’t try to shoulder the load on your own.
Use all your energy to work on the main things that will get the biggest result and then attend to the minor items when time permits.
Use a list, and set it up in order of priority. Set times that each task must be completed in order to keep yourself accountable and to keep an eye on progress towards your goal.
Equipment Preparation – Key Areas To Work On
In order to succeed, your boat and all its gear must be at least equal to that of your competitors. If you sail a dinghy, the hull finish must be smooth foils need knicks and gouges repaired and the slot gasket must be in good shape.
If you sail a keelboat the hull smoothness is also very important to reduce drag. All winches, cleats and turning blocks need to be serviced regularly.
At the end of the day’s sailing, repair anything that failed during the day.
Leaving it as a “to do” until the following week in many cases means it gets forgotten. This not completed task becomes a booby trap waiting to scuttle your next race.
Keep all your gear up to date and don’t dally when sails have outlived their best shape. Bite the bullet and buy new sails before the current ones are completely shot.
Feel
Predetermined settings are great for getting you in the zone but a great feel is often the last 5% you need to win.
Time on the water and time in the boat is what you need to develop a feel. That acquired feel will give you that final per cent.
Don’t wait until you are going slow to make changes to see their effect.
Even when you make a change and it slows you up, make a note. This is another lesson and helps with your list of things to do when you are looking for speed.
Boatspeed
Calibrate your boat and make notes in your notebook or electronic device of what works in which conditions. Refer back to these notes regularly and make additions and subtractions whenever you learn something new.
Before each race, scope the day’s forecast and look back at your notes. See what worked and what didn’t in similar conditions.
It’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere so there is no better time than now to talk about cold weather sailing. For our friends in the Northern Hemisphere, even though I am jealous of your current temperatures, you too will again get to “enjoy” colder weather sailing in the future. What to wear in cold weather sailing.
I recently read an excellent article written by Quantum Sails and have copied below a couple of really interesting facts and tricks. Some are obvious and some are not so obvious but all are worth noting.
Keep Dry by Having Reliable Outer Gear – Dry = Warm
What to wear in cold weather sailing.
There is a lot of great gear available at a wide range of prices and styles. These include spray-tops, offshore jackets, waterproof bibs, dry-suits for dinghy sailing, and gear designed specifically for women.
Invest in outerwear that will not only keep you warm and dry but will last for more than one sailing season. Talk to sailors in your area to see what they recommend. Depending on where you are on the continent there will be different conditions to contend with.
If you don’t have the right layers to keep you warm, you will also be miserable. Have merino wool or synthetic blend base layers, wool socks, insulating mid-layers, mittens, and maybe even a heavy layer.
A good wool sweater is warm – wet or dry – and cozier than a synthetic top. Because of the nature of wool, it has greater bulk and can retain more heat. It’s also moisture-wicking and can absorb a third of its weight before it feels wet.
Avoid cotton against the skin. Cotton is not moisture-wicking, so as you begin to sweat, you want to keep that moisture away from your skin.
Vests keep your core temps up and help your extremities stay warm. They’re a lightweight and incredibly packable option for a very warm mid-layer. They are also easily removed if you start to get hot.
Toe and Hand Warmers
Disposable hand warmers are available at your local hardware or sporting goods stores. Toe warmers have a sticky back so you can stick them in other areas like your neck or chest. A word of caution though stick them to your clothes, not bare skin.
For your hands, use commercial-grade insulated rubber gloves, 3mm neoprene dive gloves or leather utility gloves from the hardware store.
Neck and Face Guard
Neck gaiters such as the ones used in summer to protect from the sun are very effective. Another effective trick is to use a synthetic towel or chamois cloth like a scarf. When it gets wet, simply wring it out and tuck it back in.
Eye Protection
Cold air and wind make your eyes water. Sunglasses aren’t always enough and can sometimes be too dark on a bleak day. Ski goggles can work really well and the right coloured/polarised lenses can help you to see the wind on the water.
If coloured lenses are a hindrance, clear lenses are great for stopping your eyes from watering at night.
Avoid Large Meals.
Eat a lot of little snacks. A big meal takes more energy to digest, and this will make you colder. Keep your energy levels high with small snacks that are high in protein and are digested more slowly.
The best way to get rid of the moisture is to leave your clothes on when you sleep. Remember, your body runs at 98 degrees – that is a great drying agent.
Remove your boots though and put on a pair of dry, warm socks when you go to sleep to help retain body heat.
Empty Your Bladder
Your body uses energy to keep the liquid in your bladder warm. Go when you have the urge, and it will help you stay warm.
Drink Warm Liquids To Stay Hydrated
Even if you’re not a coffee drinker, there are plenty of other options that are easy to make on the water. Grab a thermos and fill it with a hot beverage of your choice.
Stay Active
Whether you are cruising or racing, if you stay involved in the sailing and/or racing of the boat, it will help keep you warm. . Help your body stay warm by keeping your blood flowing.
Most times you get cold when you’re sitting around and not exerting any energy.
Sailing is a sport where lack of preparation in any one of the four main areas has the ability to ruin your race day. Below, you will find some (but by no means all) must-do preparation activities.
Training Preparation
Use training to change ingrained bad habits and to make sure that all manoeuvres become second nature. Repetition is your friend here.
Don’t always practice the things that are easy or fun. For instance, practice heavy air gybing even if you know you may end up in a tangle or worse, capsize.
In your keelboat, to prepare for an overnight or longer race, go out after dark and put a few hours carrying out different things like sail changes, gybes, tacking and watch systems.
Create a situation where something has gone wrong and then practice how to remedy it. As an example, in a dinghy, it may be a kite sheet under the boat or in a keelboat, it may be a wineglass around the forestay or a spinnaker that has ended up in the water.
Find a fixed mark and practice your time on distance. Use a starting sequence to make sure you are able to speed up or slow down at the appropriate times to get to the mark exactly on zero.
You will never win if you don’t put in the time training and practicing separately from racing.
Equipment Preparation – Four Parts Of Preparation Before You Race
Prevent losing through equipment failures and carry spares such as short lengths of rope, Duct or electrical tape, spare shackles, sail repair tape, a multitool or assorted tools if space and weight are available.
Make sure everyone is aware of where the spares and tools are stored.
Mark all sheets, control lines, halyards and things like travellers and jib cars. After each race or training session, make notes on what worked and what didn’t.
Before leaving the beach or dock, make sure every shackle and fastening is tight.
Check all sheets, halyards and control lines for wear and repair or replace where necessary
Mental Preparation
Being mentally prepared before a race is essential. Go over the upcoming event in your mind taking into consideration wind and wave conditions and the people that you will be sailing against.
Get to the boat early and get in the zone. Forget about work, the upcoming party or social event and just do a rough plan in your head about how you see the day unfolding.
Set your boat up early and then relax, don’t get too involved in the boat part banter and frivolity.
Stress in a race is your greatest opponent so if something goes wrong, do your best to take a chill pill, calm down and then reset.
Physical Preparation – Four Parts Of Preparation Before You Race
For Dinghies, it is essential that you can hike for extended periods. You need to be able to do this without muscle pain or cramps and if can’t, you will lose concentration. Those competitors that are hiking as hard in the last 100 metres as they were at the start will beat you every time. Explain what you do in your boat so your trainer can develop a relevant training regime for you.
On Keelboats, the control lines and sheets have a far greater load than in a dinghy. You will need more emphasis on upper body strength in the shoulders and arms. If you don’t have the knowledge, find a good trainer and explain what it is that you do and get them to design a program for you. Longer offshore races require stamina. Before leaving the dock, make sure you are well-rested. As well, ensure you have appropriate food and drink available throughout the event. Keep fluids up throughout the race to aid concentration.
Some Information from Nick Craig’s brilliant book “Helming To Win” distributed by Fernhurst books from their SAIL TO WIN Series. https://www.fernhurstbooks.com
In most classes, boatspeed can be summed up as 5% static settings, 20% dynamic settings and 75% technique. When you hear talk around the boat park prior to leaving to race, nearly every discussion is about the static settings. Let’s talk about each and its effects.
Static Settings –
You set up these settings on shore such as mast rake, rig tension, spreader angle and poke. Some classes do have the ability to alter rake and tensions whilst sailing but these are the exception. In the case of these classes, you need to have marks or gauges that help you get to the correct settings for the right conditions.
For all other boats getting the settings wrong on the day means that you risk being slow. In most classes, class champs or the favoured sailmaker will be able to let you know what the settings are for each set of conditions. The alternative is a ponderous two-boat tuning exercise to get to the fast settings.
These are settings that you can change on the water. This is where changing gears fits into the boatspeed matrix.
Knowing when and how to implement these is very important. In most boats, the key dynamic levers are sheet tension, boom vang, cunningham, traveller, centreboard position (being rake or depth) and jib car position for those boats with headsails.
Every class is different though so once again, experimentation with two boat tuning and observing or speaking with the class front runners is essential to speed up your racing improvement. Trial and error during racing will lengthen the learning process and add to your frustration.
If you don’t have the luxury of two-boat tuning, you can learn a lot about your boat by experimenting. Start initially with a wide range and adjust one control at a time to see what effect it has.
When experimenting, make this change across a range of conditions because the effect will vary depending on the amount of wind or sea state.
Once you work out what makes your boat quick, keep notes and refer to them regularly until making fast adjustments becomes second nature.
One of the main reasons that most champions seem to be able to sail fast in any class is a good technique.
Good technique means being able to sail the boat consistently flat and balanced as the wind speed, direction and sea state change with minimal use of the rudder.
To be in the groove your boat needs to be sailed flat. When training, and maintaining a flat boat initially you may find yourself to be slow because you will be concentrating on this rather than the telltales, waves or approaching gusts and lulls. Once sailing flat becomes a habit, it becomes a lifetime skill that will give you an edge over almost everyone in your class.
Tiller movement should match the pattern of the wind and waves on the day. When the waves are short and choppy and the wind is gusty, tiller movement can be more dynamic. If the water is flat and the wind is steady, tiller movements need to be minimal.
In waves, body movement is the key to maintaining the best speed. Most upwind body movement is through moving the upper body, forward and backwards in time with the waves. For really big waves you will need to move your whole body fore and aft matching the size and frequency of the waves.
Effective fore and aft body movement means that you need to steer less around waves which results in more speed and height.
Psychology Of Winning – We need to understand the psychology of winning to become truly great in our sport.
Should We Chase The Latest Go-Fast Gear?
Too many of us chase newer and better boat designs, faster sails, and the latest go-fast gear and techniques. Perhaps the most important factor to sailboat racing success is psychology.
Not to take anything away from expert technical skills or impeccable boat handling. It’s the sailor who has not only mastered these but has control of their thoughts and emotions that wins.
When you come up against that sailor, they always win a tactical battle making you feel as though you are slow. This is another instance of when psychology has beaten you because that was the outcome you already expected.
They seem to combine incredible luck with moderate boat speed.
These sailors tend to be quiet thinking sailors but the real reason for their outstanding results is just that – thinking ahead. These sailors treat the race as a game or a problem to be solved, they are psychologically strong.
Anyone can be “lucky” like this and if you want to win you need to study the game. It needs to be studied as a whole and develop the right mental approach to the problem.
Don’t allow emotion to influence your decisions. Letting your fear of light air, tough competition, unstable wind or a multitude of outside factors cloud your thinking.
If it is the tough competition that concerns you, look for their weak points. Know that they are beatable and use a little psychology to get it into your head that you can do it. But above all, you have to have the will to win.
Learn the rules so that when you meet the class heavyweight on the course you will not meekly surrender.
Many sailors don’t have the confidence to challenge someone who they think is much better than them. This happens even if they know they are in the right.
Knowledge, that gives psychological strength will enable anyone with a competitive boat and crew to win any race anywhere.
I interviewed Mike Holt about how to start well every time starting, Mike is a three-time World champion in the high-performance International 505 when he was in Adelaide Australia competing in our 505 National championships.
Mike has competed in a huge number of 505 events all around the world, he is by no means a one-class sailor. Mike has sailed 49ers, Melges 24, Mumm 36. Offshore he has competed in the Transpac a number of times aboard Merlin, a ULDB 68 owned by Bill Lee out of Santa Cruz on the west coast of the USA.
Starting well is one of the skills that will give you the greatest single advantage in any race if your boat is set up correctly and on the pace.
Mike, can you describe your overall starting strategy in the 505 race? Now I understand we have gate starts, and you do a lot of line starts, as well? How do you start well every time?
Mike: Yes, for a gate start, obviously we try to check out what we see going on, whether it has more pressure, where there are any currents, and so forth. Then before we would start, we would have an overall game plan. Whether going left or right, generally, play the shifts and note what the forecast is.
Is the forecast is tending left, or tending right or just oscillating. So the plan is not finalised until we’ve got a big picture and what we feel the plan is for the conditions.
And then, with a gate start in particular whether we start early or late, with a line start you might pick an end of the line, left end, right end.
With a gate start, you don’t have that choice. You really have a choice of starting early or starting late.
So we’ll be watching the wind, and we have a fairly straightforward technique. Somewhere around a minute before we start, we will sheet in at the start mark, go upwind, and see how the numbers compare to what we have seen.
It was interesting listening to you and Rob talking about the tide and current and how it influenced your start strategy.
Mike: Well, we dropped a water bottle, we three-quarter filled it up with water, so it floated fairly low, threw in at the gate mark. Then watched which way it was drifting for a minute. It went two boat lengths in that minute, so that’s a pretty strong tide.
With a 10-minute beat, that’s two boat lengths every minute on the upwind leg, that’s 20 boat lengths.
So what are the most common ways competitors get into trouble on the start line? Comparing gate to line starts, how do you start well every time?
Mike: To me, the stress is very similar. I think you want to make sure that you’re controlling your destiny. And I think you quickly see boats that are, and boats that aren’t.
Selfishly, I’m looking for victims. I’m looking for people who are in the wrong position. When I’m, in those last seconds leading up to the start, and then you’re getting that space.
I’ve created space for myself while taking them out of the picture, and then when the boat comes through, they get flushed. I’ve got a clear lane. So I’m looking for a fast exit so I’ve got room to leeward I can control the path.
What do you see as the crew’s role in the start sequence? What happens on your boat for instance?
Mike: So I think our division of labour is such that I’m positioning the boat. We talk about where we want to be, and then I’ve gotta get the boat in that place.
I’m then saying, “Speed on, speed off. Get forward or not.” And you do the big call in the boat because we’re racing. Which means, full speed up the race track.
So we called that today. Twenty seconds before we started we knew we were in trouble, and we were trying to get back to the line.
One of the problems a lot of other people have is holding their lane once they get off the line. What do you do to hold your lane?
If you’re happy that the boat is set up and you’re competitive, the key thing is to make sure you got your lane. If you don’t have a lane, you’re going to get flushed.
Even the very fastest boats, can’t hold a lane, if they’re being squeezed, they’re going to get out of it. There’s no way out of that so make sure the boat is set up well and that you’re confident.
I think we all recognize when the boat is going well, and we’re high, and we’re not…as long you’re talking. If you’ve got runway under you, as a helmsman, you can see that position.
What you can’t see is what’s happening behind you. So the crew’s job, once we’ve started, is to give me the information. Primarily about the boats above, but also to tell me if we’re going high or low, slow or fast.
If I get a high fast, coming from the crew, things are fantastic. That means we’re doing great.
When I get a high slow, my next thought is, is the boat above the problem?
We talk about that and if we’re low but the speed is okay, I’ve got to work to get the height back up. So based on what I’m getting, I’m adjusting what I’m doing.
The key is to keep sailing the boat fast. If you miss a couple of waves, you don’t put enough out on the mainsail or back in, you’ll have lost that runway.
The first minute and two minutes are everything. Because once you’re out the back it’s compounded really fast, really fast.
When I watch the racing, I wonder why boats that are getting flushed, aren’t doing something about it.
As soon as you’re getting flushed, you want to tack. You need to find yourself a new piece of real estate to go sailing.
Sailing in bad air is the ticket to a long day.
That brings me to the next question. What do you do to recover if you get balked or get a far from a satisfactory start? How do you start well every time?
Mike: Which we did today.
As soon as we crossed the line, we tacked and followed the pathfinder out. But our game plan, was to go right anyway so we still executed the plan we had.
That certainly worked today, going out to the right but you had already thought about the current?
Mike: Because we were stuck behind the pathfinder, and he was going very high. When you’re in bad air, you can’t match height so I just put the bow down and sailed low and fast.
If you’re in that and you are looking for your next opportunity. So you get a header, and you can get set back up into a better position, take that.
If you’re convinced you’re going the right way, push on.
So when you’re looking up the course prior to the start, you’ve worked out what the tide was going to be today, and what was the current. What else do you look for? It’s patchy out there at the moment, and this morning, but it dropped off pretty quickly. What did you look for up the course?
Mike: So first we look at the geography, in Adelaide, there are hills to our south here. And it goes flatter this way. So we figured that the wind would be steadier to the left, shiftier to the right.
I also thought that there was potentially more wind on the left because the hills slowed it down.
We also thought that was going to create a bend along the shore because the wind coming up the shore is going to try to parallel the shore.
We figured that chances were there would be a starboard lift coming to the mark.
Ultimately there was less current on the shore, and we would more than likely get a starboard lift coming in. So that was our reason to go that way.
As part of a team in a multi-crewed boat Teamwork in Sailing Ensures Success
Multi-Crewed Boats
Sailing in multi-crewed boats is a team sport and the crew that knows each other and works together well will get the most out of their boat and enjoy more than their fair share of podiums.
What is seen on some boats which are unsuccessful is when one or more of the team is adversarial. The same person quotes superior experience, knowledge or talent, belittling their teammates.
All the energy, knowledge and talent should be directed toward racing. Other energy should be directed to those who are less experienced to help them learn.
Nurture New Team Members
By nurturing newer crew members you will guarantee that the team gets better with each outing. Not only will the team enjoy more success but everyone will have more fun as well.
When one person starts blaming others for things that go wrong or starts talking to them in a condescending tone, the atmosphere aboard is not pleasant. This will affect everyone’s performance and lessen their enjoyment of the day.
A great method to lower anxiety on board and keep the racing performance up is to discuss what everyone is going to do before the race begins. Another way to avoid anxiety onboard is for everyone to know what their job is but to understand what is required in each other position on the boat also.
Training Exercise
A worthwhile training exercise is for every crew member to sail in every position on the boat. This should be done from time to time so everyone can understand what is required of the sailor normally in that spot. This is not an exercise for race day and is best done during practice and training sessions.
A debrief after the training when the team has been in different positions is important. This gives each sailor the opportunity to discuss what they experienced during the session. The discussion needs to be frank, with egos being kept in check so that everyone can get the most out of the exercise.
Chatter during a race should be kept to a minimum and should be only about the race. The skipper and tactician need to let everyone know what sort of feedback they want.
The sort of things that they may want to be relayed is boatspeed, pointing, waves and the position of other boats. Other things include changes in wind speed and the need to alter rig or sail settings.
In a large crew, such as found on a Maxi an example, there may be teams within teams. Each group would have a spokesperson to pass on information. The key to giving information is to make sure that everything that is said is useful.
Well-defined roles with those jobs being communicated clearly prior to hitting the water. This means that team operates efficiently and at the highest possible level of achievement.
Not enough sailors use Different Steering Techniques For Different Winds.
When Wind Speed Changes
When the wind speed changes you need to focus on heel and pitch angles, adjusting each for the optimum boatspeed.
As the wind builds, you use heel angle as a guide using the sails to keep the boat on its feet. It’s good to have rules of thumb to help you sail the boat as fast as possible in all conditions.
For lighter winds, telltale sailing is appropriate. The helmsperson works hard to stream the telltales at all times for maximum speed. The crew then moves their body weight to create the fastest heel angle.
In overpowered heel-angle sailing conditions, the helmsperson can steer much more freely. Focus on a consistent heel angle while the crew hikes hard. For light air, it’s all about maintaining speed; and in a breeze, it’s all about the heel angle.
Light Air Conditions. Different Steering Techniques For Different Winds
The angle of heel is controlled by the crew, communication from the helmsperson or mainsheet trimmer is essential to coordinate the team’s movements. In really light conditions, tell the team just how much heel is needed to make the boat feel as fast as possible.
The jib trimmer needs to be to leeward, playing the jib and when shifts come. The helmsperson needs to sail deeper to gain speed, and the jib trimmer is there to trim or ease. What the steerer is trying to achieve is to sail straight with minimum rudder movement, and keep maximum speed. Too much rudder movement creates drag.
Slow crew movement affecting the heel encourages the helmsperson to head up in puffs and bear away in lulls. This wastes power in puffs and height in lulls, and reduces speed. Sailing straight, as opposed to heading up in a puff, or bearing off to pick up speed connects the wind to the jib and it never stalls.
Helming in a building Breeze. Different Steering Techniques
With the crew now on the rail, trim the sails in a bit and steer up a little in the puffs. All the time communicating with the main trimmer to keep the boat on the best angle of heel. Be mindful that as the chop starts to increase, you can’t pinch up as much in the puffs.
In flatwater its acceptable to head up in the puffs a little to keep the heel angle down. Steer up just enough for a small amount of telltale lift which in turn should encourage the crew to hike harder.
Overpowered conditions. Different Steering Techniques For Different Winds
Overpowered is where the wind has built to the point where everyone is fully hiked and the traveller needs to be dropped or the mainsheet is eased depending on how your boat is set up.
As long as the boat’s moving at a decent speed, you can head up as much as you need to keep the boat flat.
In the breeze, even luff the leading edge of the jib when a big puff hits until you get sorted. Next ease the main, tighten the backstay or drop the traveller, whatever you have to do to depower.
If it’s breezy but the water is flat, you can pinch because there are no waves to slow the boat.
When you’re sailing in waves and pressing on the telltales to go faster, watch for flat spots.
In a blustery breeze, you can make big gains by balancing the concepts of sailing by the telltales and sailing by heel angle. Knowing what your desired angle to the wind is and then factoring in lifts and headers along the way.
There are plenty of ways that a beginner can become a winner.
There are an enormous number of ways that we can get better results out on the racecourse, not the least of which is time on the water. Unfortunately, time is not something that many of us have to spare in any great quantity.
I have laid out below a few basics for those starting out on their journey to improve and although the list is not exhaustive, I believe it is a great starting point.
Set your sails for the conditions before the start to make sure you are fast off the line.
Be sure that you note how the wind is shifting before the start.
Make sure that the helmsperson and crew work together through the tacks to maintain boatspeed.
Maintain clear air at all times.
Be constantly aware of where other boats are on the course – don’t be taken by surprise.
Calculating Wind Direction
Calculate where the wind is coming from by keeping track of your close-hauled headings.
Record the compass headings on each tack and calculate the wind direction as a midway point between the two.
keeping track of course headings and wind direction whilst in the heat of competition can get confusing so to get in the habit of practising this skill while you are out daysailing or cruising so it becomes second nature.
Rounding The Windward Mark.
Keep crew weight on the windward rail as long as possible.
Prefeed the spinnaker to help separate the clews.
Ease the main but only ease the headsail a little to help pull the bow down and also make it easier to drop on the deck.
During a gybe set with a symmetrical spinnaker, get the spinnaker drawing first then worry about the pole.
Spotting New Wind.
When you are looking for wind shifts and puffs, go with any evidence you can find. Patches of dark rippled water or whitecaps are good indicators.
Keep an eye out for other boats or indicators onshore such as flags, trees or smoke.
To get better at this skill, get in the habit of being on the lookout for new wind even when you are out for an afternoon sail with friends.
Downwind Sailing Tips.
Either you or a member of your team should keep looking astern for shifts or more breeze.
In light to moderate air, always gybe downwind to take advantage of apparent wind.
Generally depending on the type of boat you sail, dead downwind is slow, especially under 15 knots of wind.
Play the shifts so you are sailing on headers whenever possible.
Boats with asymmetrical spinnakers need to sail higher and hotter angles to get the spinnaker out from behind the mainsail.
Avoid a luffing match by being aware of other boats so you are not taken by surprise.
As other boats catch you or you catch other boats, think through your options. Anticipate the tactical situation that you are about to face and act decisively. If the competitor you are dealing with realises you are fully aware, they are less likely to take you on.
Sometimes it makes sense not to try to pass another competitor if it could slow you down allowing those behind to overtake you.
If someone tries to overtake, sail up a little to keep yourself between them and the mark but don’t sail as high a course as the competitor astern.
Leeward mark tips.
Always go in wide and out tight unless traffic does not allow this.
When coming around onto a beat, trim the main in first letting the jib lag to help bring the bow around so less rudder-induced drag is created.
If there is a crowd at the leeward mark it often makes sense to drop the kite early so you can look for a way to sneak around inside the gaggle.
