An important skill in downwind sailing is prioritizing weather to sail the boat flat or healed to windward by the lee referred to as kiting, Sailing by the lee means that the air is flowing into the sail from the leech towards the mast as opposed to normal sailing when the air is flowing from the mast towards the leech of the sail
There is a considered observation that we either have high mode or low mode sailors at the top of any fleet. Sailing high or low mode has individual advantages in different conditions, so we have to look carefully at what we mean by high or low mode. The purpose of this blog is to discuss sailing styles and blow some setup myths apart.
Any national team will benefit if the federation takes an active role in supporting development sailors. The jump from development to senior is always large and a trial for the sailors, so that to be in the system with a continuity of coaching methods and systems is a big advantage for the younger sailor.
We have all read copious amounts of wisdom about sailing being a matter of coaxing the boat through various conditions, listening to what she wants to do and then using some kind of gentle psychic powers to magically steam ahead of all the opposition and win. This blog is about the brutal truth. Understanding... Continue Reading →
The spinnaker is a sail which many misunderstand, and few master. In this blog we show that it isn’t a black magic sail and you don’t need a doctorate to appreciate what it can do. The blog is written at what seems like a basic level. All we can say is that speed is basic, whether its advanced or beginning - the same rules apply.
Until around four decades ago hiking was viewed as a low returns skill to be treated with some cynicism as it was too physical to be a valued part of the art of sail racing. Yes, people hiked, but not with anything like the intensity that they do today. Hiking technique has become increasingly important across the classes, and certainly in the Olympic/WS development fleets Laser (so reliant on physical skills!), 470 and 420 are always seeking new levels to get the maximum leverage possible.
Top sailors spend a lot of time practicing and training on their own. This is against so many “words of wisdom” that the former ISAF give to emerging nations. In fact we can see that young sailors who spend a lot of time training alone are often successful.
Whilst many asymmetric kite boats struggle to reach effectively and the reaching legs have been dropped from their courses, the skills of reaching are still very important for traditional classes such as Laser, 420, 470 etc. This blog is aimed at those classes, and hopefully some of the information here will also help our asymmetric sailors when they have overlaid a downwind mark! The potential losses and gains on a reach, particularly rounding the top mark and approaching the reach mark are huge.
Racing involves going around the course - strength is required upwind and down. There is no point in being a star going upwind without the ability to come downwind with similar abilities. Whilst technique is really critical to success, very often tactical decisions are able to get you back from an impossible position and back into the race. Whilst there is undoubtedly more gains to be made in skiff sailing with asymmetric spinnakers, the gains that can be made in conventional boats are huge
Consolidation: Safe or Stupid? To consolidate a position, whether it be in business or sport, is a well known play to minimize risk of loss. Usually we throw a little profit away to protect a larger gain. Sometimes we are lucky and can keep all the profit whilst securing the gains. In sailing consolidation is... Continue Reading →
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