The leeward gate, or leeward mark, is the biggest pinch-point on the race course. There’s a huge opportunity to climb up a big ladder if you execute a solid strategy…
Andy Rice
5 expert tips: How to be a world-beating tactician
For Zajac, tactics start long before the starting gun. His first step in any campaign is always to research key venues in as much detail as possible. But you also…
How to optimise your boat’s performance under IRC – and beyond
Maximising the benefits of your training time is one of Stu Bannatyne’s mantras. Drawing on his wealth of offshore racing experience, he likes to bring the highest level of preparation…
Can smart systems save club racing? – The latest technology that could make yacht racing faster
We’re all time poor. The word ‘pastime’ is barely still in modern usage, because we simply don’t need ways of passing the time – instead we’re seeking to carve out…
5 Expert tips to improve your two-boat tuning
Before he specialised in foiling catamarans, John Gimson was long-time tuning partner to Iain Percy and the late Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson in the Star keelboat, playing a key role in…
How to win at double handed sailing: Expert tips
The team dynamic in double-handed sailing is very different compared with fully crewed boats, says Pam Lee. “In your classic IRC team you really need to have a clear hierarchy,”…
Expert navigator tips: How to master weather models for a winning edge
When he’s working up a weather and routing plan for an offshore race, Will Harris likes to build up the information in layers. The work can start weeks in advance…
5 expert tips: How to make the best of crew dynamics
During the build-up to the 2024 America’s Cup, inside the INEOS Britannia team we came up with a set of team values that we ran our daily lives by,” says…
Five expert tips for the perfect start: Dylan Fletcher’s guide to time, distance, and risk
Starting has always played a disproportionate part in the outcome of a race. The shorter the duration of the race, the more this is true. Dylan Fletcher knows this very…
5 expert tips: Your guide to navigation fundamentals
I was navigating on the 80-footer Beau Geste on the Round New Caledonia Race, steaming towards a reef system when suddenly all the systems went down. We were on a…
5 expert tips: How to be a yacht’s watch leader
Although he’s the crew boss and watch captain of 100ft Maxi yacht Scallywag in his own right, Pete Cumming is always eager to learn from the best. After operating as…
5 Expert Tips: How to recover from a bad race
You learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. But when you’ve had a bad result, how do you get past the negative emotion and start turning that into…
5 expert tips to help you better understand sailing heel angles
Keelboat sailors obsess about maintaining the optimum angle of heel. According to Chris ‘Twiggy’ Grube, it’s a good obsession to have, and keeping consistently to that ideal heel is a…
5 Expert Tips: Your complete guide to mainsail trimming
Experienced sailor though he may be, Alain Sign has had his hands full getting to grips with the role of mainsheet trimmer in a fleet as competitive as the Cape…
5 Expert tips: How to perfect a time on distance sailing start
When I go out on the Solent to go racing, I often see a lot of boats not even doing a single practice run before the start,” says Ian Williams.…
5 expert tips: How to hold a lane upwind
Learning to live in a thin lane is one of the key skills that separate the great from the good. As Henry Wetherell explains, having boats tight to windward and…
5 expert tips: A professional’s guide to weather routing
Whether you’re preparing for a race or even just a leg of a longer race, there’s always a process for planning your routing, says Si Fi. “I’ll start looking at…
5 expert tips: How to prepare for a cold front when sailing offshore
Hugh Brayshaw wasn’t long into his offshore career before he encountered the importance of negotiating a cold front in the right way. “It was the first leg of the 2017…
How to use deck chutes for improved spinnaker handling
Paul Larsen was converted to the appeal of deck chutes on a particular day aboard Sir Peter Harrison’s 35m maxi yacht Sojana. “You’d be racing into the leeward mark with…
5 expert tips for catamaran racing
Modern cruiser/racer multihulls have a high level of safety provided you know what you’re doing. Helena Darvelid has taken all of her experience from world record-breaking passages in all-out speed…