IMPROVE YOUR RACING SKILLS - Boatspeed requires a combination of sail trim, accurate helming, and good balance and trim. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
Settings for a particular wind speed in flat water won’t work in big waves, nor in light airs.
Just like riding a bike you need to be able to change gear to suit the conditions.
Acceleration gear is used when...
Windward mark layline mistakes, unfortunately, are very common and can be extremely costly. Laylines & Getting Them Right.
One of the most common things that sailors get wrong is getting to the layline too early. If you get to the layline too early, you can no longer play the shifts and you also lose tactical options.
More often than not it is...
Step 1. Work on your weaknesses. Steps to Winning a Regatta
We all have different strengths and weaknesses, for some, it is light air and flat water, for others they are faster in a big breeze and boisterous seas.
It is fun to practice in your favourite conditions but you need to get out of your comfort zone and spend more...
Racing in Big Fleets
With national championships and annual long-distance races fast approaching, we need to turn our minds to sailing in bigger fleets than we have been racing in all year.
Racing in big fleets requires a number of different disciplines to think about and master. In general, you can take more risks in a small fleet and if you...
To Improve - Get Back To Basics. The best sailors are those who understand the importance of solid boat handling skills as the foundation for performance.
What Can Improve Our Performance on The Water
A question that we should always ask ourselves is, what would make the biggest difference to improve our performance on the water?
The answers we give ourselves range...
Avoid Sailing Mistakes - An important ingredient to winning a yacht race is to make fewer mistakes than your fellow competitors.
Because of sailing's complexities, even the best sailors will make mistakes but it is the avoidance of the major ones that are the most telling, minor mistakes will make a difference but should not be sweated over.
I have...
Whether it be a single race or a regatta, you need to develop a race day routine if you want to be successful. This is not only for those in Fantasy land at the back of the boat but everyone onboard needs to be included. This ensures that every crew member understands their position, duties and what is expected...
Often too much significance is attributed to sailing tactics and tactics only become the most important factor if you are sailing at a very high level. Sailing Tactics Be Better Than The Competition
For most of us, it’s better to invest in training time, concentrating on sailing technique and boat tuning. As a word of caution though, you can't manage...
Be Consistent in Big Fleets
Being consistent is especially important in big fleets where a small mistake can lose you plenty of places. With a large number of fast boats in an international championship, the chances of getting those places back is highly unlikely.
Great boat handling is particularly relevant and practice is an easy way to ensure that small but...
I have copied below parts of an interview I did with Rob Brown on Strategy and Tactics
Rob is one of Australia’s absolute sailing treasures and a regular nice guy.
Rob is one of those special sailors who has done more than most of us could ever dream of achieving in our sport and is completely humble and down to earth....
