{"id":664,"date":"2016-07-21T05:18:42","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T05:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/?page_id=664"},"modified":"2016-07-21T05:18:57","modified_gmt":"2016-07-21T05:18:57","slug":"no-two-races-are-won-the-same-way-but-sticking-to-this-six-point-plan-will-help-you-win-regattas-from-the-experts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/no-two-races-are-won-the-same-way-but-sticking-to-this-six-point-plan-will-help-you-win-regattas-from-the-experts","title":{"rendered":"No two races are won the same way, but sticking to this six-point plan will help you win regattas. “From the Experts”\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span> Andy Horton With Dave Powlison<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

Good coaches in any sport usually advise<\/strong> their charges to focus on just a handful of ideas when they compete. This advice is especially potent in sailing because there are so many variables. Try to focus on them all, and it\u2019s easy to get overwhelmed. Putting your emphasis on what\u2019s important will keep you at the front of the fleet. Here are six general rules I keep in mind whenever I compete.<\/p>\n

1. Stay in line at the start<\/strong>
\nGenerally, the worst starts are a result of getting to the line too early. All of the other boats are just behind you, and when you slow down to avoid being over early, the trailing boats overlap you and steal your speed and maneuverability. At the gun, you\u2019re in the front row, but going nowhere, and everyone else leaves you in the dust. Conversely, if you get behind the line of boats that set up 50 to 20 seconds before the start, you may never get through\u2014especially in light air\u2014and find yourself sucking bad air off the line.<\/p>\n

Try this: When everyone starts to line up, get in there and keep your bow even with the other boats. Focus half of your energy on staying in line with the other boats and the other half on determining whether the line of boats is early or late. If you can\u2019t determine where the line of boats stands relative to the starting line, when the guy next to you sheets on, do the same. Nine times out of 10, if you\u2019re in the line of boats and sheet on at the right time, you\u2019ll be in better shape than if you try something else.<\/p>\n

** 2. Develop an anti-pack mentality**<\/strong>
\nPacks of boats go slow. This is especially true in light air. On the starting line, stay to the edges of the packs: maybe it\u2019s just to leeward of a group of boats fighting for position at the committee boat, just to windward of a pack trying to win the pin, or on either side of a pack in the middle of the line. Staying on the edge keeps your options open and, more importantly, keeps you from being controlled by other boats. Plus, it usually keeps you in clean air at a very crucial time.<\/p>\n

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The same principle applies on upwind and downwind legs. When you see a pack forming, get to one side or the other. Tactical issues, such as trying to hold the inside position at an upcoming mark rounding, may determine the side you choose. Regardless, avoid running with the herd.<\/p>\n

3. Stay lifted<\/strong>
\nThis is Racing 101, and I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve read or heard this nugget of advice a million times, but it\u2019s always worth repeating. Stay on the lifted tack as much as possible. It\u2019s very difficult to predict the wind. The key is to take a little bit of a gain whenever you can and minimize the risk. Sailing on the lifted tack\u2014the one where your bow points more toward the mark\u2014always makes your VMG to the mark, at that moment, at least as good as any other boat out there.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re on the headed tack, you should have a good reason to be going that direction, such as better pressure or a known geographical shift. While you\u2019re on the headed tack, however, anyone on the lifted tack is making better progress toward the mark. There are a lot of reasons to sail a 5-degree header, but there are few good reasons to sail a 20-degree header.<\/p>\n

4. Take the under<\/strong>
\nIf you\u2019re contemplating a tack, and there are boats coming the other direction, the smart move is to leebow instead of crossing, or letting them cross and tacking on their windward hip, or \u201chipping up.\u201d The boat to leeward, and ahead, always has cleaner breeze. The boat to windward, and behind, is always in a compromised position. There\u2019s also a psychological advantage to being the leeward boat. Seeing a boat in the window of your sails tends to make you pinch and go slower.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking about tacking because you\u2019re getting headed or approaching a layline, you\u2019ll want to lead the other boat to the next shift. If you cross them, or let them cross you, before tacking, you won\u2019t be leading your opponent to the next shift. You\u2019ll be following them. An exception to this would be when you\u2019re sailing the lifted tack. If you leebow a boat that\u2019s sailing on a headed tack you\u2019ll obviously end up on the headed tack, too. Then, once the wind shifts and starts to lift, the boat you leebowed will gain because they are closer to the shift.<\/p>\n

5. Plan ahead<\/strong>
\nBefore you round a mark, determine in which phase the breeze is in and use this information to formulate your plan for the next leg. For example, if you\u2019re on the lifted tack as you come into the windward mark, you\u2019ll want to think about jibing after rounding the mark. And if you\u2019re coming into the leeward mark on a headed port jibe, you\u2019ll want to get on starboard tack as quickly as possible after rounding the mark. Make sure to discuss these plans with your crew before you begin any preparation for rounding. Then execute the rounding that best fits your plan. That means before the crew begins preparing for the spinnaker set while going upwind, and before the takedown begins going downwind. If you decide to continue on starboard jibe after the windward mark rounding, you don\u2019t want to get caught low immediately after the mark and risk a trailing boat sailing high and stealing your breeze.<\/p>\n

6. Warm up right<\/strong>
\nA common rule of thumb for sailors is to get to the racecourse at least an hour before the first start, giving you time to learn the course, work on your boatspeed, plan your start, etc. But there\u2019s never enough time to do everything. So you must plan your warm-up time to suit the conditions.<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s really shifty, sail upwind and focus on learning the maximums and minimums (high and low headings) on each tack, and whether there\u2019s a pattern to the shifts. Sail through a whole phase on one tack, from all the way headed to all the way lifted. When I sailed collegiately on upstate New York\u2019s Lake Seneca, we would have races with 40-degree shifts. On one tack you\u2019d be sailing toward the mark, and on the other you\u2019d be sailing away from it. In such shifty conditions you\u2019re better off spending your warm-up time on learning shifts than on boatspeed. Conversely, if the conditions are such that one side is usually favored, and there might be just a small shift or little bit of a pressure difference, 90 percent of that race, assuming you\u2019ve had a good start, will be boatspeed related.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re slow, there is no way you can have a great race. In this scenario, use your warm-up time to focus on boatspeed. Try to tune with one of the best teams. When they tack, you should do the same to stay with them. Make sure you start the race with a good idea how to set up your boat for the conditions. While doing this, however, keep an eye on the shifts. A timed split with another good team is one quick and effective way to learn the subtleties of the breeze. In those conditions, knowing that passing lanes will be few and far between, I would also practice starting, focusing on details such as accelerating off the line.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a favored side, practice a start that will set you up for that side of the course. The general idea is to pick an important factor for the upcoming race and practice that beforehand instead of, for example, something more general like spinnaker takedowns or roll tacking. Ideally, by the time you\u2019re on the course, you\u2019ll have those key basics down, and you can focus on what\u2019s most important for the prevailing conditions.<\/p>\n

Like anything in sailing, this list is far from foolproof. It\u2019s all about playing the percentages, and avoiding unnecessary risk. Stick to this list\u2014write them down on your deck or review them before each race\u2014and more often than not, you\u2019ll benefit. They will not win you every race\u2014they may not win you any races\u2014but they will prevent you from making many regatta-losing mistakes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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TAGS:<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andy Horton With Dave Powlison\u00a0 Good coaches in any sport usually advise their charges to focus on just a handful of ideas when they compete. This advice is especially potent in sailing because there are so many variables. Try to focus on them all, and it\u2019s easy to get overwhelmed. Putting your emphasis on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-664","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":666,"href":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/664\/revisions\/666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kerikeriradiosailing.co.nz\/iom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}