Scenario 1: Leeward boat (Red) plays the winning move by shutting the windward boat (Blue) out.

With a well-timed tack just barely on, or slightly shy of the layline, Red can force the windward boat (Blue) to tack shy of the layline, shutting out Blue from the mark. This can end badly for Blue, who has to either slow down and unhook to tack behind, or jibe around. Either way, they lose significant distance, and worse, they are now well in the zone on port. This is not a good look if there is a wall of starboard tackers coming.

But it’s not so easy for Red either. To make it stick, first, they have to tack in just the right spot— shy of the layline and close enough to just make it. This is not without some risk. If they tack too shy, they won’t make it either, and there will be two boats trying to tack or jibe onto port in the zone. We know how messy that can get. 

Rules matter here, too, so as soon as Red starts their tack (passes head to wind), Rule 13 says they are the give-way boat until they complete their tack (are on their closehauled starboard course.) Rule 10 (port-starboard) says they now have the right-of-way. But Blue need not anticipate or take any action until the tack is complete. And even then, Red is not completely in the right yet. Rule 15 says that once they acquire right-of-way, they need to give Blue room to keep clear. In short, Red needs to get onto a starboard closehauled course with enough time for Blue to get out of the way.

Correctly played, Red’s powerful offensive move effectively shuts the door on Blue.

Scenario 2: Leeward Boat (Red) Delays Tack or Overstands, Allowing Blue Inside Overlap

Red may not be savvy to the above shut-out move and sail too far, or they may know the move and just misjudge and leave room for Blue to tack in there. I won’t spend much time on this because either way, Red just plain blew it. As long as Blue can tack to leeward without breaking the rules, and they can lay the mark, they should be able to round. Red has no choice but to keep clear as a windward boat and because Blue has mark room. Blue wins that chess exchange.

Scenario 3: Windward Boat Executes the Shutout

The third scenario is my favorite; it’s the “shutout” move where Blue takes full control of its destiny well before the layline, and well before either boat tacks. Blue needs to be thinking a few moves ahead and recognizes that Red, if they tack in that perfect tight layline spot, could shut them out (as in Scenario 1).  

The shutout begins with Blue aggressively bearing off to a position still to windward, but much closer to Red, preventing Red from completing its tack without fouling. By the time Red would start its tack, Blue would already be in a position where Red could not finish the tack while providing room to keep clear (Rules 13 and 15).

An important practical consideration during this maneuver is communication. Since Blue’s move might catch Red by surprise (as Red is likely focused on the starboard layline, approaching boats, or the mark itself), it’s smart—though not required by the rules—for Blue to hail, “Don’t tack too close!” with enough time for Red to see and digest the situation. This hail alerts Red to Blue’s presence and intention. Red should realize they have no viable option but to wait for Blue to tack, then tack and follow them around the mark.

The bear-away is the key to success; it has to be done right. Blue needs to do it soon enough to leave time to communicate, and close enough to be effective, but not so early and close that they risk slowing considerably in Red’s backwind.

Now let’s add the next layer of complexity: we’re in the zone. If Blue tacks outside the zone, as in our example, they have mark room and can aggressively use that (short of tacking) to get around the mark. But when Blue tacks in the zone, Rule 18.3 puts significant limitations on their actions. Even though they don’t have mark room, they are leeward boat (Rule 11) and Red can’t bear off on them to prevent them from going in there. But Rule 18.3, puts significant limitations on Blue’s actions, they can’t head Red up above closehauled. In a subtle update for the 2025-2028 rules that came out this year, this applies whether or not the original leeward boat, Red, tacked before or in the zone. In short, if Blue tacks outside the zone, Blue can do just about anything it wants to (short of tacking) to get around the mark making Red’s job of shutting them out harder. But if Blue tacks in the zone, Blue’s options to head Red up are limited, making it easier for Red to shut them out.

Occasionally, I use the shutout in the open course, not just on a starboard layline. Suppose I want to lead Red back, but I don’t want to tack just yet because of traffic or something like that, I can then hold them off from tacking for a bit. Wherever used, I love this move because Blue uses the rules to successfully reverse the control dynamic and put themselves in the drivers seat.  It’s a cool move to have in your tactical toolbox.

The post Tactics: Shutout at the Weather Mark appeared first on Sailing World.

Racing sailors frequently encounter situations where port and starboard tackers converge on the open racecourse. While the rules clearly give right of way to the starboard tacker, there’s often a calculated game of chicken that can happen during these encounters. Understanding how to navigate through the intersection can make the difference between maintaining your tactical advantage and losing critical boatlengths.

Tack or Cross? It’s Starboard’s Decision

When two boats are approaching on opposite tacks, the starboard-tack boat has right of way while the port tack boat must keep clear. We all know the rules are as simple as that. However, the starboard tacker may have a tactical or strategic play to make: maintain the right of way by making the port boat tack or duck, or waive that right and allow the port boat to cross.

When the port-tack boat hails and asks: “Tack or Cross?” What’s the starboard tack’s boat best course of action?

“The short answer is, ‘It depends,’” explains Sailing World Racing Editor, Mike Ingham. “But I love hearing that hail as a starboard tacker because that means they’re deferring to me for my choice. So, I can either say, ‘tack,’ and I can keep going that way…or I say ‘cross.’”

This decision often comes down to the starboard boat’s broader race strategy. If the starboard tacker wants to continue in their current direction, having the port boat tack in front can be detrimental, forcing the starboard boat into dirty air or requiring a double tack to escape.

“Often when I want to keep going, the last thing I want is to get stuck in somebody’s dirty air or have to double tack if I want to keep going,” Ingham notes. In such cases, allowing the port boat to cross means giving up a small immediate advantage for a larger strategic gain.

Tactical Considerations for Starboard Tackers

The key consideration is whether the port tacker could execute a successful lee bow tack if forced to tack. This maneuver, where the port boat tacks in front and to leeward of the starboard boat, can significantly disrupt the starboard boat’s progress.

“Let’s say you lose a half a boatlength in the tack,” Ingham explains. “That means they’ve got to be at least halfway in front of you, a half a boatlength in front of you. If it’s a full boatlength loss per tack, they have to be almost crossing to pull off a lee bow.”

In most cases where a port tacker asks “tack or cross,” the situations involve small ducks that cost the starboard boat very little while preserving their tactical plan. The starboard tacker might lose less than half a boatlength but can continue sailing in their preferred direction.

Clear Communication is Critical

The language and timing of communication between boats is paramount in these situations. Port tackers must hail early and clearly to give starboard boats time to assess and respond.

“You better say it—you can’t just say it once quietly, and you can’t say it late,” Ingham emphasizes. “Very early, you have to repeat yourself…‘tack or cross, tack or cross.’ Maybe even sooner.”

Body language also plays an important role. “When I’m doing it, if I’m in that port boat, I am looking straight at them, and I’m also taking my arm, and I’m pointing through…You hear a hail and see my arm, you know I’m asking, even if it’s noisy.”

For larger boats with crews, preparation is essential. The entire team should be ready for either scenario before the hail is even made.

“If they say ‘tack or cross’ or don’t say anything at all, the starboard tacker has no obligation to respond,” Ingham points out. “If I’m the port tacker, it’s a courtesy, and I am fully ready to do that tack instead, and the team knows that.”

Taking Control as the Starboard Tacker

Rather than waiting for the port tacker to initiate the conversation, experienced sailors often recommend that starboard tackers dictate the action.

“I’ve done that a lot,” says Ingham. “I’m the starboard tacker. They don’t say anything… I’m like, well, I really don’t want them to leebow. And I’ll just say, ‘cross, cross, cross.’”

This proactive approach gives the starboard boat control of the situation. If the starboard tacker wants to go right, they might prefer to force the port boat to tack, effectively taking their lane and bouncing them to the left side of the course.

“If you don’t do that, it might look like this: you tack instead of pinging them, you want to go right… and maybe you pinch them off eventually, or maybe you’re now at their mercy,” Ingham explains. “Much better off flushing them out early. It’s a really nice move to essentially take their lane and leave yourself options.”

Understanding the Rules and Cultural Norms

Interestingly, the racing rules don’t specifically address this practice of asking “tack or cross.” As Ingham points out, “The rule book has no provision for this directly. There’s nothing that says if you waive your rights, then this happens. So this is purely a cultural thing in our sport that’s practiced quite regularly and efficiently.”

This does create a gray area if conflicts arise, however. If a starboard tacker allows a port boat to cross but then a collision occurs—perhaps because the starboard boat couldn’t bear away quickly enough—the basic right-of-way rules still apply.

“For the most part, I think that the starboard still has right of way,” notes Ingham. “So, really, you’re taking a little bit of a chance if you’re the port tacker doing this, but it’s tried and true. I can’t think of a race day that I don’t use it.”

These interactions build the community aspects of racing. When you allow another boat to cross, you’re creating goodwill that might be returned later.

“It’s a little bit of a live and let live sort of thing,” Ingham observes. “If you just wave somebody through, they’re pretty happy… And next time that crossing comes and it’s your turn, they’re more likely to say, ‘cross, cross, cross.’ He let me through once.”

This reciprocity benefits everyone on the racecourse, making for better racing and fewer conflicts.

Advice for Less Experienced Racers

New sailors sometimes feel intimidated when more experienced competitors hail “tack or cross.” Ingham emphasizes that the hail is merely a request, not a demand.

“I ask all the time. And I’m never trying to make them do something they don’t want to do,” he clarifies. “I’m always trying to give them an option, and I’m not expecting them to give that to me. And I’m certainly not angry with them if they don’t.”

Understanding this can help newer sailors feel more comfortable making their own tactical decisions rather than feeling pressured to comply with more experienced racers.

The post Tack or Cross or Game of Chicken? appeared first on Sailing World.

Many sailors believe that it’s best to avoid the port-tack layline whenever possible, simply because the rules are tricky. More often than not, the port-tacker leaves the protest room disappointed. But that doesn’t mean the port-tack approach is off the table. Top tacticians use it as a way to get a quick jump at the top of the beat. It’s either gain or pain; what’s your preference?

When I think back to all of my riskier weather-mark port-tack approaches, I usually think of gaining nicely on the fleet (happy times), but I recently made a mistake, and the ­penalty was painful. I’ll also never forget when one of my skippers recently asking me why we don’t approach on the port-tack layline more often. He said that he had seen our competitors taking advantage of it and coming out strong. His question surprised me because most skippers don’t like being guided into the weather mark on port—with no rights and everyone yelling at them not to do it.

When the opportunity does present itself to do so, however, there are a few considerations that will help you get in and out clean and free. First, let’s briefly touch on the rules that come into play when tacking in the zone, keeping in mind that the rules are created to discourage boats from jamming in at the weather mark. We’ve all seen how ugly that gets, especially in big fleets.

If you approach the top of a beat on port tack and inside the three-boatlength mark zone, know that the rules are stacked against you. No one else around? All good. But if there is a starboard-tack boat already in the zone and fetching the mark, you’re not allowed to tack too close. If you do pull off a clean tack, you cannot then force the starboard tacker to sail above a closehauled course.

That second part is what makes it so risky. Even if you pull off a clean tack and they luff above closehauled because they think you were too close, you will most likely lose the protest. There is a nuance of the rule, however. If two boats approach on port tack, inside the zone, and they both tack from port to starboard, it’s OK if the trailing boat has to go above closehauled after the tack because you both have tacked in the zone.

OK, enough of the rules. Let’s get into it.

To help convert your port-tack approaches into gains instead of pain, there are three big considerations. The first is a concept I’ve adopted called “Tim’s Lane.” The second is what I’ll call “Three Versus One.” The third consideration is how to identify when to apply the ­previous two. 

First to Tim’s Lane. I was once fortunate to be on a US Sailing Team conference call led by Tim Wadlow, a two-time Olympian and College Sailor of the Year. He spoke for 45 minutes on this exact topic, and a big takeaway was to approach the weather mark at the 4- to ­6-boatlength zone, which takes away any potential rules issues. In Tim’s Lane, there is often space beneath starboard tackers that are overstood. Even if you tack below a few starboard boats in this area, you have only a few lengths to sail in bad air before rounding the mark, which is definitely better than coming in late to a wall of boats.

The Three-Versus-One-Tack philosophy takes into consideration how boats are stacked up on the starboard layline. Imagine a line of boats, all overstanding the mark, hipping up on one another like geese flying south for the winter. That last goose is always way overstood. Tactics 101 tells us that the earlier we get to the starboard-tack layline, the more things can go wrong. If we get headed, we might not lay the mark, and when it later comes time to tack, there’s nowhere to go, so it requires two quick tacks to get around the mark, which is slow. If we get lifted when on starboard-tack layline, we overstand. Finally, if another boat crosses and tacks on you early on the starboard layline, you have a long way to go in bad air with no escape.

The other approach is to plan out three tacks: tacking 50 to 100 meters below the starboard-­tack layline, sailing up to the top of the triangle with more options, and then completing two more tacks to get around the mark as you get closer to the mark. I have noticed that the good teams most often opt for the three-tack approach versus one. This is especially true in boats that tack efficiently and quickly. If your boat is slow to tack and accelerate, one tack versus three might be the smarter play.

Because the three-tack option is often best, it’s important to have solid tacks. With great boathandling, you can three-tack without much of a loss. The only downside is that the rules come into play if your third tack ends up being in the zone. The no-stress gain-potential strategy in a big fleet is usually the three-tack approach—putting that second tack into Tim’s Lane.

Are there times when you can approach right on the port-tack layline and actually tack around the mark in the zone? Absolutely. Feel free to do so when you’re in the front of the fleet or in the very back where the traffic is likely clear. Also, sometimes a gap will magically appear, and tacking around is drama-free. These gaps often present themselves at the front of the fleet or on the second lap, when the fleet is more spread out.

In a big fleet, the first weather mark is where port-tack trouble often appears, especially if you are in the middle of the pack. Here, you have to make the difficult decision of when and how to insert yourself into the lineup. Consider traffic density on the starboard-tack layline, and what might happen when other port-tackers eventually come knocking and looking for a hole. When you get to the top of the course, take a good look around for groups of boats and consider how they are all flowing into the top mark from both directions. It helps to visualize this from a drone perspective to picture how everyone will come together.  

If you have a few hundred meters to go before getting to the top mark and you tack—let’s say 80 meters below starboard layline—you can look over your shoulder and watch the gains happening as boats stack up and start slowing down one another, pinching, overstanding, and sliding sideways. Typically, any boats that are crossing ahead of you in this situation will continue all the way to the starboard-­tack layline, giving you a free lane all the way up the beat. As they drive themselves into the traffic, you can instantly make big gains. The key is to keep monitoring the starboard layline, making your move before it’s too late.

Ultimately, if you find yourself approaching at the top of the beat near the port-tack layline and the nearby starboard layline area looks crowded, the best thing you can do is identify the safest spot to insert, and if it’s back a few boats in the parade, do an early duck and then turn back up so that you are closehauled before you engage the boat you need to leebow.

What often gets people in trouble is sailing to starboard layline, realizing there’s no space, bearing away hard, then sailing downwind looking for an opening. When it does finally come, they have to do a 180-degree turn, which almost always results in a terrible leebow tack or ­fouling another boat.

The smarter move is to look under the boom, identify the boat that you want to leebow, bear away early before you get to them, and then head back up into a nice, smooth high-speed turn into the tack.

No matter what you do, commit to getting around the weather mark clean, with no penalties, so you can live to make your gains later in the race. A sacrificial duck of a few boatlengths will always be faster than a pair of penalty turns. Plus, you don’t want a reputation as the one who sticks it in at the weather mark every time, causing nothing but pileups and flaring tempers.

The post Port Tacker’s Guide To The Weather Mark appeared first on Sailing World.

The above video illustration shows the steps of a proper reach-through escape. The windward boat (blue) is jammed up on the hip of the red boat and going slow. A viable escape option is to bear off and reach through the red boat’s wind shadow, passing behind and into a clear lane to leeward. To make it work, blue should aggressively reach, quickly passing close to the red boat’s stern where the wind shadow is narrowest. Once clear of red’s wind shadow, blue can head up again to its close-hauled course. As long as blue’s apparent-wind direction (as shown by its telltales) is pointing below and not at red, blue’s air is clear. This new clear lane below is surprisingly close, only a boatlength or so to leeward of red.

How to Escape

With a quick look, you see a gap below the leeward boat. This is where the reach-through escape becomes invaluable. Instead of suffering in dirty air or tacking into a mess,  you can bear off, pass behind the leeward boat, then reestablish yourself in a clean lane to leeward. 

Bearing off, you want to use that reaching speed to pop through quickly so you don’t linger in the leeward boat’s wind shadow too long.  Aggressively bear off with both tiller and body weight, make sure the vang is set right so that you don’t twist the mainsail too much, then ease the main and jib to match your sailing angle.  The whole process should take just a few boatlengths.

Timing is critical. You have to bear off while you can still duck close behind the other boat’s stern where the wind shadow is narrowest. If you hesitate and wait too long passing further back, you will need to sail through a much larger wind shadow. If you pass through close and quickly, you may lose only a half a boatlength. If you wait longer, the losses will be significant. If all goes well, you’ll end up approximately two boatlengths to leeward (the distance needed to clear the wind shadow) and about one and a half boatlengths behind.

How do you know when you’ve successfully cleared the wind shadow? Your telltales, masthead fly, and the feel of the wind on your face provide the answer. What you care about is where your apparent wind is. If your apparent wind points below and in front of that boat, you’re free.

There are three options when you are stuck above a safe-leeward boat, and all of them have a loss associated with them.  Sticking it out is a slow burn loss.  Stay there for 30 seconds and maybe you lose a boatlength or two before.  A double tack, even executed perfectly without traffic considerations, could well cost you a boatlength each tack. Tack into traffic and you could lose many boatlengths.  The half boatlength loss of a well-executed reach through does not seem so bad in comparison.

Assuming you want to continue on, the strategic advantages of the reach-through extends beyond the immediate position gain. You clear your air quickly, avoid getting tangled in fleet traffic, and maintain your preferred strategic direction. Most importantly, you regain the ability to put your head down and sail at full speed.

The post The Reach-Through Escape: How to Get a Better Lane appeared first on Sailing World.

We were in a bad position off the start. The wind unexpectedly shifted in the wrong direction, and we were immediately at the back of the fleet. I could sense anger building in my head, and I was struggling with how to deal with the “unfair” bad break we’d been handed. The leading boats all looked to be well ahead, and it appeared that there would be no coming back. I went dark.

One of the crew saw my ­emotional state, came aft, and said to me, “If anyone can get us out of this, it is you.”

Really? I thought.

At that moment, my sour mood shifted, and I asked myself, How can we recover?

Snapped out of my misery, I went to work. Over the next four legs of the windward-­leeward racecourse, we connected one favorable windshift after another, and focused on staying in stronger wind while the leaders inevitably missed a few shifts while tacking on one another. At the final leeward mark, we had sailed from last up to second place in the eight-boat 12-Metre fleet, and as luck would have it, the leader overstood the finish line, and we won the race.

Overcoming an emotional setback is difficult, but recognizing in the moment what we can and cannot control is essential to influencing the outcome. I was reminded of this recently during a late-autumn daysail in Annapolis, Maryland. The afternoon sun was fading, and I found myself racing to get to the Spa Creek drawbridge before it closed for the afternoon rush hour between 4:30 and 6:00. The same helpful crewmate from my earlier 12-Metre experience happened to be on board with me. My watch read 4:03. We had 27 minutes to reach the bridge for the final opening, and yet we were 3 miles away, with the wind slowly fading. Making matters worse, my electric motor wasn’t working.

I must have displayed the same negative emotion I had during that 12-Metre race because my crewmate squared his shoulders and said, “I bet you will find a way to make the bridge.”

The pressure was on to make it through on time. It was another challenge, and once again, I went to work. I asked him to sit to leeward to induce heel. I adjusted the sail controls for light wind. I studied the water and took advantage of every puff and windshift. With 7 minutes to go, we were still a third of a mile away. Just when we needed it, a miracle gust accelerated us toward the bridge, and I called the tender as we neared. The bridge deck opened at exactly 4:30, and we sailed right through.

These two moments reinforced the notion that we can overcome emotional setbacks and gain confidence, but in order to do so, we have to first recognize that the emotion is real and to transform negativity into a ­challenge that can be overcome.

Overcoming negative emotions is difficult in every sport, including sailing. Coaches, weather experts, and tuning gurus are helpful with the technical aspects of sailing, but in recent years, high-level sailors have turned to sports psychologists to help hone the mental part of the game and build ­confidence. Dr. Tim Herzog, an Annapolis-based sports psychologist, method performance coach and founder of Reaching Ahead, is one who has worked with top-level sailors. I recently sought him out to learn how he instills confidence and clarity in those who seek his help.

“Training your brain should be no different than training your body,” he advises me. “Everyone will tell you that the mental part of the game is the most important. Some sports cultures perpetuate an attitude that one must take care of the mental part of the game by oneself. Yet, at the top levels of sport, we would not expect anyone to go without a strength and conditioning coach. Brain training is no different.”

We can’t control our ­initial thoughts when something goes wrong on the racecourse, Herzog says. It’s natural to become upset or emotional, but our next thoughts are important. “Center your thoughts on things that you can control,” he advises. “Accept your emotion. If you try to squash it, then it can get worse. Bring your thoughts to things that are controllable.”

My technique is to do two things: First, I say aloud, “OK, let’s have fun working out of this bad spot.” Using the word “fun” reminds me to put things in perspective—it’s only a ­sailboat race, and it’s supposed to be enjoyable. The second thing is to switch focus and try to sail the boat “by the numbers.” I try to be more pragmatic and think about how to make deliberate moves. Patience is an asset when we are behind because it’s rare to pass an entire fleet in one bold move. 

We can’t control our initial thoughts when something goes wrong on the racecourse. It’s natural to become upset or emotional, but our next thoughts are important.

Paul Cayard, one of America’s greatest racing sailors, once said, “It’s amazing how boats will get out of your way if you just stick to your game plan.”

He’s right, and to drive home this point, Herzog refers me to a diagram (opposite) he uses to illustrate things a sailor can control. He uses an acronym: USODA (which he points out does not stand for the United States Optimist Dinghy Association). He starts with an inverted “U” that is a graph plotted on an X-Y grid, with “performance” on one axis and “amped” on the other. The graph shows that we need to be “somewhat amped” to get the best performance, but if we get too amped, our performance will fall. The “S” is for “speed,” or how we set and tune our boat. The “O” is for “offense,” which he defines as “big-picture strategy.” The “D” is for “defense,” or short-term tactical decisions. And the “A” is for “agility,” which includes crisp maneuvers, being smooth on the boat, and steering well.

“If something goes wrong, replay it one time,” he suggests. “Don’t be hyperfocused on something negative. Instead, replay five times something that you want to do correctly. Bring your thoughts to the ­controllable. Little voices can be distracting.”

When asked how we build a desire to excel, Herzog says: “Readiness is important. Mental preparation is a big part of the game. Shift your attention away from the outcome and toward the process of the race. When you feel anxious, sad or angry, just accept the emotions, and then let them go. Again, work on the controllable things.”

I have found that thinking back to past successes has helped me overcome emotions at times. For lectures, I use fun stories about races that went exceptionally well, and a few races that went exceptionally bad but are good tales. The overall message is to use examples of victory and defeat to emphasize that comebacks are possible and disappointments are inevitable, but confidence is a contributing factor in either outcome.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of confidence is: “A feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances. Faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way.” Gaining confidence is an essential ­ingredient in achieving success. 

It is easy, however, to be overconfident—a trap that has ensnared many sailors. We want to feel confident that we have carefully prepared for a race, but as all sailors are aware, there are factors we can’t ­control​—weather, windshifts, the actions of others, equipment ­breakdowns, rushed decisions, and any number of unplanned ­mistakes and mishaps.

Take time after every race to debrief with the entire crew, and with yourself if singlehanding (a miniature waterproof notepad should be in every sailor’s pocket), and outline what went well and what can be done to improve. Make a list and write things down in a logbook when back ashore. When you review past mistakes, it will help you to avoid repeating them.

The best sailors embrace the attitude of improving with every race. Regattas are won by sailors who consistently sail with the best average. They rarely make risky moves because being steady pays in the long run. Prepare in advance by making sure that every piece of equipment is in good shape, the correct sails are selected, the afterguard understands the weather forecast, there is tactical knowledge about what the competition will likely do, that everyone is familiar with the Sailing Instructions and, most important, the crew is sure that everyone on the boat is ready to do their job.

If these pieces are in place, your crew will have the confidence that you will have a good race. When you find yourself at the back of the fleet like I was, that confidence can help you move to a better place on the amped axis, and what do you know? Your position on the performance curve, and in the fleet, will advance as well.

The post A Mindful Approach to Better Results appeared first on Sailing World.

The 37th America’s Cup final between the Challenger, INEOS Britannia, and the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, is currently underway and revealing a few tactical trends over four races thus far. Let’s take a look at the key decisions teams must make and which strategies are being employed to attack from behind or defend when leading.

Pre-Start Positioning

At the press conference ahead of the 37th Match, a coin flip determined that Emirates Team New Zealand would start the first race on port, while INEOS Britannia would start on starboard. In the age of AC75s, where the priority is to remain on the foils, some of the traditional moves are no longer applicable.

In general, the boat that enters the start box on starboard 10 seconds later and from behind controls the pre-start and is better positioned to attack. Normally, if the starboard-entry boat executes standard pre-start maneuvers, it will end up to windward of its rival during the final starboard approach to the starting line. This gives it the power to decide how to proceed in the final seconds, based on its strategy and race plan.

Regardless of whether the boats approach from deep in the start box or higher than the starboard end of the line, the windward boat can choose whether to push the rival to bear away toward the leeward end, hook them from the leeward side, or stay far to windward to start on the right side, based on various tactical reasons. Only a few races in the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series saw the port-entry boat gaining decision-making power in the box, though this didn’t always materialize into a starting advantage.

After the start: Push to the Boundary or Split

Starting to windward generally provides control, allowing the boat to either sail on starboard tack and push the opponent toward the left boundary, or execute an early tack to head toward the right side of the course for a strategic advantage, such as more wind or shift. The latter option is typically favored in southwesterly Garbi sea breezes, where the right side of the course often proves advantageous.

On the other hand, starting to leeward reduces the risk of a poor start, as no other boat can disrupt acceleration or changes in speed at one of the most critical moments of the race. Once across the line, the leeward boat can control its sailing mode toward the left boundary until the windward boat tacks. However, the distance from the start to the left boundary is much shorter than the one the leeward starting boat will have to face after the first tack on the left boundary, all the way to the opposite one.

Consequently, after the tack, the boat going for the leeward start, must commit and be confident that after the first tack will achieve a comfortable relative position to sail potentially from boundary to boundary. Being lifted from leeward by the opponent early after the first tack could result on two extra tacks when close to the port side boundary, that could result on irreversible differences in a very early stage of the race.

In the Louis Vuitton Cup Final, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli often opted for a windward start, while INEOS preferred the leeward position. Both took advantage of their respective positions without much interference.

Upwind Tactics: Cover or Stay in Phase

Once a boat establishes a lead, the primary goal is to cover the opponent, either pushing them toward the unfavored side in terms of wind intensity, wind shifts phase or toward the nearest boundary, which could force them into two extra tacks on the upwind leg.

Meanwhile, the trailing boat aims to minimize damage by staying in sync with wind shifts and looking for an opportunity to create a split, either on the same upwind leg or during the top-mark rounding. Though a split often only requires one additional tack, if mistimed with the wind shift, it can lead to costly losses, so waiting for the right moment is crucial.

After the Top Mark: Downwind Tactics

Downwind tactics depend on whether the trailing boat rounds the same top mark as the leader or a different one. If both round the same mark, the leader can simply mirror the trailing boat’s moves and stay between them and the next mark. The high speeds of foiling boats also mean the boat behind cannot disturb the leader’s clean wind.

However, if the trailing boat achieves a split at the top mark, and both head toward opposite boundaries, the leading boat will have to execute at least one extra jibe to align and regain control. In conditions where wind pressure and shifts vary across the course, this is a common strategy. In contrast, in strong winds and choppy seas, minimizing maneuvers becomes the priority, allowing for sailing from boundary to boundary with minimal interference from the opponent.

The Final Stages

By the second lap, one boat is usually clearly ahead, while the other attempts to create a split to gain leverage and increase the chances of a comeback. In windy or rough seas, the leader often avoids engaging directly, focusing on sailing cleanly from boundary to boundary, minimizing extra maneuvers and concentrating on boat handling.

In more variable conditions, staying close to the rival becomes more important, even if it means executing additional tacks.

Racing these high-speed foiling boats requires thinking two to three steps ahead before execution and anticipating multiple scenarios that could unfold during critical moments, especially when crossing paths with an opponent, easier said than done when the world is watching, the racecourse is small, and the pace is rapid.

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We are on port coming into the ­windward mark, and I know that the rules are not in our favor. “The starboard layline is crowded; it’s going to be messy,” my tactician tells me. I take a quick look ahead and to leeward to size up the situation, and indeed, it does look dense. Oh, boy. I return my focus back to sailing fast, absorbing what I just saw. Getting closer, my tactician paints the picture. “You have three boats to worry about: Bow 72 is short of layline, then bow 54 is on a tight lay, and 16 is overstood.”

I take a longer look to leeward, identifying those three boats as he continues, “It looks like you will cross 72, likely you will have to duck 54, then tack below 16.” Followed by, “It’s yours.”

“It’s yours” is a simple and clear explicit handoff from our tactician to me, the driver. Now it’s mine to execute. It needs to be mine, because in these moments, things are happening quickly, requiring split-­second decisions with no time for our tactician to micromanage. Besides, the driver is the only one who can possibly know what can and cannot be done within the inches that are necessary for success.

“Copy” is the required response, but it alone is not quite enough. “Copy, I’ll get past 72 and 54, then tack below 16” confirms that I indeed got the message, putting our whole team at ease. But if I missed something, it gives a chance for my tactician to correct me.

The explicit “It’s yours” and “Copy” handoff routine is peppered throughout the race as necessary, but during starts and mark roundings, the driver always takes the lead. These are implicit handoffs because it is always that way.

For starts, this implicit handoff begins at the warning and remains for the rest of the sequence. Because speed is not our primary concern during the sequence, I have plenty of bandwidth to focus on positioning and boat-on-boat tactics. Although ultimately it’s my responsibility, and I know I will have to make quick decisions, there is plenty of time for conversation. We constantly discuss things such as our distance to the line, finding just the right place to make the final tack, and how best to defend our hole. It’s a careful balance, and the tactician needs to know when I need to be left alone to execute without distraction, and when it is appropriate to interject. For example, when we are on the starboard-tack final approach to the line, if all is going to play, the tactician is mostly quiet. But if my time and distance are off, or someone is trying to poach our hole, the tactician better chime in and help.

At marks, the handoff happens just as we are about to round the mark. Unlike the start, where there is conversation, there is usually no time and I need to be left alone. To do that, I need to know the plan from my tactician well ahead of time. For example, before we enter the fray at the windward mark, I need to know if we want to do a straight set or jibe set.

If the tactician says, “We want to jibe as soon as possible after the offset,” he’s telling me that my job is to position our boat on the inside on the offset leg so that we can pull off a jibe. “Straight set” tells me to defend high. Even though it is implicit, the handoff can begin early, such as our example where the tactician paints the picture of the crowded starboard layline, then explicitly hands off the execution well before we get to the mark.

Occasionally I will take control when something unexpected happens and there is not time for my tactician to say, “It’s yours,” let alone paint the picture. This can happen because the tactician failed to look ahead, plan, and communicate.

“If bow 54 tacks, lead them back” prevents this sort of surprise. But something totally unusual could happen, such as a boat that capsizes in front of us, or their skipper drops the tiller and spins out. Either way, I will have to make my own quick decision, with no time for a handoff.

Similarly, anyone can chime in to avoid disaster. When I hear “Crash tack!” or “Duck hard!” from any team member, I react immediately, with no questions asked. Yes, it will be a bad tack or duck. The trimmer will need to sort out the jib, and all those hiking need to struggle to the new side, but it beats the alternative.

Whether explicit or implicit, the handoff is binding and absolute; only one person can be in charge. For example, if I hear, “Duck if you can’t cross; we want to continue on port,” and I respond with, “Copy, ducking if I can’t cross,” I can’t have any micromanagement from my tactician or anyone else because it’s too distracting. Likewise, when it is not my turn, my tactician is the boss, and aside from infrequent constructive information, I need to just do my job and drive fast.

Whenever I finish my duck, round the mark, or whatever the maneuver is, I don’t say something like “Back to you” to hand back the reins. It’s not necessary because it’s obvious to all when the maneuver is done. But I do like when the tactician makes it clear that they have things in hand, like, “We are still lifted on the long tack, no traffic and no plans to tack anytime soon.” That makes it super-clear that they are back on task and puts my mind at ease.

Other team members have important strategic and tactical support roles, and it is important to acknowledge that. Someone might help the tactician look for wind in the distance, while someone else is reading the compass. A collaborative tactician is a good tactician. I have a smile on my face when I hear the team debating what to do next. But there can’t be more than one boss at a time—it’s either the tactician or the driver. Input is fine, but the rest of the team can’t confuse the situation by making calls.

In rare circumstances, I will override my tactician. I recall a scenario where the tactician could not find the new mark and insisted it must be on the right side. But I could sense uncertainty and frustration, and my gut had a strong feeling that we had been on port way too long. I recall saying, “Sorry, I just need to tack and center up while we look,” as I pushed over the helm to lead a clump of boats back. This is a touchy thing to do; it is not a good thing to undermine your tactician. My tactician has a phrase: “If you override me, you’d better be right!”

I don’t take “you’d better be right” to be literal; it’s just a phrase we use to put it in perspective. When I override, one of us will be wrong. If the mark indeed was to the right, I will be wrong. If it was more centered up, my tactician would be wrong. But neither of us should look at it that way; we both need to be empowered to make decisions and with that, to fail. Strategy and tactics are inexact, and I expect mistakes, even when we are on top of our game. The teams who move on and quickly work on what to do next are the teams who succeed.

I regularly sail a singlehanded boat and often verbally hand off to myself. That might sound silly since I am the tactician and make all the calls, as well as the driver with all the power to execute. But it is a mental cue for me. I need to shift my concentration from speed to tactics and back, which is not easy to do. Saying the handoff out loud helps me define the priority of the moment.

Sailing fast is a driver’s best contribution to tactics because, as it’s widely accepted, nothing makes a tactician look smarter than boatspeed. I am in charge implicitly at the start and mark roundings, and explicitly when handed to me at scattered moments throughout the race. The rest of the time, knowing that the tactician is fully in charge, I put my head down and go fast. I must admit, I look forward to hearing, “It’s yours,” as a welcome break from staring at my telltales. “Copy,” I’ll respond while looking around to assess the situation. I’ll finish that maneuver and then, refreshed from the break, focus once again on going fast.

The post Fundamental Tactics: How To Handoff appeared first on Sailing World.

Charlotte Rose, a ­two-time youth world champion and US Sailing Team athlete, has boathandling skills that are off the charts, which gives her the ability to quickly shift left or right on the starting line to get into an optimal position. While observing her at a recent clinic, I learned that she has four key starting moves: high build, double-­tack, half-tack and reverse. After watching her execute these moves with ease, I wondered how effective they’d be in boats other than ILCAs, so I brought them to the 2023 J/70 Worlds. My teammates and I spent a few days practicing them, and discovered that they worked well, even in a J/70. These four approaches can be used in almost any small boat—and in bigger boats, to a degree.

The High-Build Start

The high-build approach is powerful in medium to strong winds, when you’re on your final approach and you want to crowd the boat above you to create space to leeward. The setup starts by positioning your boat close to the boat above you and, with sails fully trimmed, steering just above ­closehauled. Be careful to keep the boat moving slowly through the water to prevent stalling. After sailing high and slow and creating space to leeward, just before the start, rotate the bow down and leave the sails fully trimmed. The boat instantly heels over and feels powerful. Then bear away 5 degrees or so, and ease the sails a bit to go for full acceleration. If it’s windy, you need only to turn down to a closehauled course. The boat will get up to speed quickly because there’s plenty of power in the sails. Because you’ve maintained flow across your blades and sails throughout, acceleration will happen fast and require less of a bear away. If you bear away less than those around you, the space to leeward will be bigger and the boats to windward will be unable to bear away to full speed.  

There are a few ­important subtleties. Keep both sails trimmed, and use the jib as your guide. Head up until the front of the jib starts to backwind—usually one-third to halfway back—and the boat will flatten. The key is to keep the boat flat. To maintain the high and slow sailing, trim the sails in and out. For example, if the skipper is having to push too hard on the tiller because the boat wants to bear away, ease the jib and trim the main. This helps the boat continue to track forward. If the boat wants to head up, trim the jib and ease the main. 

At the J/70 Worlds, the wind was mostly 12 to 18 knots—perfect conditions for high-build starts. It doesn’t work well in light air, because in these conditions, you need to keep the speed on and also bear away a fair amount to properly accelerate. Also, if you try to sail too high and slow in light air, the boat nearly stops, and it takes forever to get moving again. But in 8 to 9 knots or more, the high-build is a ­must-have in your tool box.   

Double-Tack Reset

The double-tack is another powerful move that’s underutilized. It allows you to create a ­massive amount of space to your left while filling space to your right. Basically, it’s two quick tacks, first to port and then to starboard, but there’s more to it than that. International 470 gold medalists Matthew Belcher and Will Ryan were masters of the double tack. They got it down so well that they could do it in the final 10 seconds and, in their second tack, would come out racing. Doing it in the final few seconds and with perfect timing also meant that if the boat to their left tried to match them, that boat would be late to start.

Use a double-tack whenever there’s space to your right and someone comes from behind and hooks or overlaps their bow just to leeward of you, or if a boat comes in on port tack and sets up in a lee-bow position. It’s a quick way to get separation and reclaim a hole on the line. On the J/70 or the Etchells, my teammate, Erik Shampain, audibles if the double-tack is an option. Whenever things are getting tight and we need an escape route, Shampain says to me, “Double-tack open,” and we roll into a tack, sail for as long as we need to, and then tack back. 

Most people feel as if they have to have a lot of space to do a double-tack without fouling the boat to their right, the windward boat. In the clinic, however, Rose could double-tack in the tightest space I’d ever seen. When I asked her how she did so, she said that the key is a normal first tack, such as a roll tack in a Laser, and then an instant tack back onto port with no roll. Doing the second tack as a roll tack is OK if you are feeling late, but a flat tack allows you to turn in a tighter space, and you don’t advance on the starting line.  

You need a bit of speed to begin a double-tack. Don’t try it from a stopped position. If you have room and want to sail for a length or two before tacking to starboard, you can. A subtlety to the double-tack is that when you complete that first tack, come out deep, aiming behind the boat to your right, which might make them think that you’re going to go behind them. Then, when you tack back, you’ll end up overlapped with them, with bows even. They’re now “locked” so that their bow is not free to hook you, and you’ve secured a nice hole to your left. 

Another basic rule of thumb is that if the boat to your right double-tacks, match them. When they tack back, lee-bow them. You’ll have created a huge hole, and they won’t have one. 

There are other purposes for a double-tack and considerations, other than just closing the gap between yourself and the boat to your right or separating from the boat to your left. If you sense that you’re early, tack, dip really deep to burn off time, and then tack back. If you’re late, tack and sail upwind, then tack back again, fully racing upwind. If the pin is favored and you need to close distance on the line, for example in a last-minute left shift, the port-tack part of the double-­tack will help you close distance on the line because that tack is more than 90 degrees to the line. If the boat is favored, when many general recalls happen as closing speeds are high, and you need to kill time, spend more time on port tack when doubling because it’s closer to paralleling the line, and you will kill time. For those scenarios, it comes down to being confident with your time on distance and your closing speed on the line.  

Half-Tack Reset

A half-tack is used when there’s not enough space to your right to do a double-tack. It works best in light and medium winds when you have speed.

Let’s say there’s a port-tack boat coming your way, and they’re likely to lee-bow you, and there’s a boat just to windward of you. Rotate your bow down, aiming just above the port tacker’s bow, and sail at them, which increases your speed. As you anticipated, they tack just to leeward of you. If you do nothing, they’ve stolen any space you’ve created to leeward, and you’ll be out of luck for this start. But, with your increased speed, do a half-tack, heading up and trimming your sails in, and sail about head to wind or maybe a touch past. Leave the jib in to the point where it backwinds. On an ILCA, the skipper can put their hand or left shoulder against the boom, pushing out a foot or so to backwind the main for just a few seconds. The backwinded sail pushes your bow to the right, opening up space between you and the boat that just tacked to leeward of you and sliding you closer to the boat to your right. Again, be sure you have speed going into this. In small boats like ILCAs, it helps to pull up the daggerboard to help the boat slide. In keelboats, we obviously leave the keel alone, but backing the jib really pulls the boat to the right, helping it slide or track toward the boat to your right. Be careful with this move, however, because you are considered a “tacking” boat. As long as you do not hit the boat to your right, you are fine. Once you’re close to the boat to the right, cut/release the jib, and rotate the boat back down to starboard closehauled to avoid a rules infringement.

To prevent tacking, the skipper must fight the helm, pulling the tiller toward them, keeping the boat gliding at either head to wind or slightly past head to wind. A more common move in the start is to shoot head to wind to get space to leeward. That’s fine, but this backing of the sails adds the slide to the right. While doing a half-tack, or as the ILCA sailors call it, a “slide,” keep the boat flat. The crew might even have to hike on the port side, the jib side, while the jib is backing, especially in medium winds. As the boat slides to windward, you can open up about a half-boatlength on the boat that just tacked beneath you. Now you have a hole to accelerate into. As your speed diminishes, uncleat the jib. We use the command “Cut!” The jib luffs, the skipper rotates the bow down to closehauled or slightly below, and we’re off. 

The half-tack doesn’t work well in big breeze, because it’s so windy, you might not be able to keep the boat from tacking with a backed jib. And if it’s really choppy, you risk losing your speed if you smash into a wave during your slide.    

Drop it into Reverse

Let’s say you have boats close to leeward of you, and you realize that they’re going to prevent you from accelerating because there’s no hole for you to drive off into. Nor is there room for a double-tack or half-tack. The solution is to reverse out of there, backing up until your bow can clear the transoms of the boats around you, and then reach off and find a better place to start. It’s a great move when you really have no other options. Because the leeward boat is probably luffing you, you’re pretty much head to wind anyway, so you’re in a good position to start the reverse.

The most important part of this is to recognize early enough that you’re in a tough spot and need to get out of it. Otherwise, you won’t have enough time for the reverse. In a J/70, it might be with 60 to 90 seconds left; in an ILCA, it’s probably around 45 seconds. The technique starts with pushing the boom out just until the boat starts to reverse, then release the boom and let the sail luff. This point is where a lot of people run into trouble. Rose taught me not to hold the boom out very long. If you hold it out too long, it might cause the boat to tack, and you could lose control of the bow. Also, briefly holding the boom out keeps the boat from going too fast in reverse, which will make it difficult to stop. Again, your goal is to start the reverse to get your bow free, then sail somewhere else.

Steering backward takes time to learn. The tiller loads up, wanting to slam to one side or the other, and the boat will be more responsive to helm movements, so keep the tiller as close to centered as possible, and keep weight adjustments subtle. It will help to hold the tiller or hiking stick firmly in both hands. Once your bow becomes free of the boats to leeward of you, turn the boat down, away from the wind, and you’re now free to reach to the next open spot on the line. Remember, the whole line is open to you; you can exit to starboard or port.  

The “bail out and sail somewhere else” technique works well because it’s better to be going fast in the final minute than to have no good option for accelerating because someone’s close to leeward. That’s death. If you bail and start reaching, you have a much better chance of pulling off a good start than if you just sit there in a tough situation with 40 seconds left. Typically, everyone else is bow up, going half-speed, while you can be reaching down the line with pace, searching for your next spot. And when you do find your opening, you can shoot into it with more pace than the boats around you.

We did a couple of scramble starts like this at the 2023 J/70 European Championships, which we won. Both times, we found a gap in the final 20 seconds, sailed into it with pace, and were able to tack and cross the fleet within 30 seconds after the start because the pin was so favored. You might call that lucky, but we were following a basic rule: When you feel like you’re in trouble, bail and go as fast as you can.

The beautiful thing about these four moves is that they not only help you create a gap, but they also give you more of a lateral game that you might not have otherwise. Practice these moves so that you’re  good at them, and make sure you have the mindset of trying to find open space. A good practice drill is to try to sail a full lap around a stationary mark ­without tacking. We tried it in an Etchells once, and we actually pulled it off. Start by sailing by a mark on starboard tack, leaving it to port, with speed. Shoot head to wind, and do a half-tack. Let the half-tack glide you above and to the right of the mark. Then release the jib, let the boat slow down, and go into a reverse. Once you’ve reversed past the mark, kick the stern out so that you’re now on a starboard reach, and sail back around to the port side of the mark. You’ve now done a full lap around the mark without tacking. It’s also a great drill to practice slow-speed maneuvers. Try it first in 5 to 12 knots. 

With these four starting-line moves, the next time you’re in a crowded spot in the final minute and half and don’t feel like you’re going to get a good start, you now have the option of positioning your boat somewhere else. As my high school students say, “Make your momma proud; don’t start in a crowd.”

As a multiple class champion and longtime coach, Steve Hunt has now expanded his ­coaching services to include virtual coaching at stevehuntsailing.com, a site created for the racing sailor to take their skills to the next level. With video tutorials and in-depth insight, Hunt and other top-level sailors aim to help ­sailors improve their speed, sail smarter, and improve regatta results—one race at a time.

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It seems as if, when boats get near each other, they both lose something. Let’s look at the classic upwind port-starboard crossing. Suppose you are on port tack heading in phase to the right. Along comes a starboard tacker that you are not quite crossing. Short of fouling that boat, you have three options: tack, duck or double-tack (tack, pinch off the starboard-tack boat, then tack back). Which is the right move? The answer is simple: It’s the one with the least loss.

You need to resign yourself to the fact that each of these three options is a loss. There is no option that nets a gain on the fleet. There never is. The tack options will cost you one boatlength, assuming your boat loses that much in a tack. If it’s a bad tack, you lose even more. It follows then that the double-tack option will cost you two boatlengths. The duck option costs you 1.5 boatlengths (a half-boatlength duck gets you bow-to-bow, and then it’s another boatlength from there). Which is the right move? The tack, because it loses only one boatlength.

But that is just a baseline. You also need to layer on your strategy. You are sailing to the right side of the racecourse for a reason; in this case, you are lifted on port tack and want to stay in phase. It’s a rough guess, but you need to estimate how much you will lose if you get out of phase. Let’s say for this shift example, you estimate four boatlengths of loss. The tack option sends you out of phase at a cost of five boatlengths (one for the tack and four for sailing out of phase). The loss with the duck and the double-tack options are unchanged because they both keep you in phase with no loss. Which is the right move? Factoring in strategy, the duck is the new least-loss option. At a 1.5-boatlength loss, it wins out by a half-boatlength over tacking twice (two boatlengths) and is way ahead of tacking once (five boatlengths).

Use risk aversion as the tiebreaker. If it’s a close call, the double-tack option loses out to the duck by only a half-boatlength. A duck is straightforward, so that’s low-risk. The double-tack option is dicey because it relies on planting a solid lee bow, successfully pinching off the boat, then tacking to cross. Much more can go wrong with boathandling and a potential rules situation, so let’s call this high-risk. Ducking loses less and is lower-risk. Duck it is. I’m OK with taking the risk when the math says it’s the right thing to do. But unless it is compelling, I avoid the higher-risk option.

The amount of loss is dependent upon both the boat type and the conditions. If you sail a boat that tacks very well, such as a round-bottom dinghy, your tack loss might be close to zero with a solid roll tack in light air and flat water, but it might be one boatlength or more in big waves or chop. A larger keelboat likely won’t fare as well. There will likely be one boatlength lost in ideal (flat water) conditions and three boatlengths lost in waves or chop. Most boats don’t lose much when jibing, but a dinghy dropping off a plane compared with a boat still ripping along means that jibe could be quite costly. The point is that each boat has its own matrix of maneuvers and its respective loss through the range of conditions. You need to know your boat’s matrix for this process to work. You don’t have to identify the trade-offs of maneuvers to a small fraction, but you should know within about a half-boatlength for all maneuvers in all conditions.

Unlike specific boathandling encounters that have a one-time loss—such as tacks and ducks—speed modes and dirty air have a continual loss over time. Pinching to hold your lane off the start might be a slow-burn loss of, say, four boatlengths per minute. If you need to hang in there for 30 seconds or so before you can tack into an open lane, that’s a loss of two boatlengths. Compare that against clearing out earlier into traffic that might require multiple ducks while weaving through a large pack. Waiting for 30 seconds in a tight lane at a loss of two boatlengths does not seem so bad if ducking a large pack or multiple boats costs you five.

Most leeward-mark decisions weigh the loss of going around outside the pinwheel versus the loss of slowing down and waiting to get in line. Slowing down is the right choice if you figure that doing so will cost you one boatlength, while going outside costs you three. The right answer is usually to slow down, but in a situation with a pile of boats jammed up, the outside route just might work. If you figure that it will cost you five boatlengths to stop while you wait for a large pack to round, going outside and losing only three lengths might be the least-loss move.

A windward-mark rounding has a different set of least-loss options. Getting on the layline early is a slow bleed. This needs to be compared to the loss of coming in late on port tack. Is tacking one minute out from the mark better than two extra tacks and some ducks right near the mark? If you expect to lose 10 boatlengths on a long starboard layline, the likely answer is yes. But it is risky, so you need to consider that too. I have found myself coming in late into an impossible situation and fouled, and I have also realized that there was no way in and had to duck 20 boats. High risk, high reward.

Letting people off the hook by waiving your rights is often the least-loss move. In a crossing situation when I am that starboard boat, I often hail the port tacker to cross and wave them through. Sure, I like to make friends by being courteous and letting them go, but it’s a selfish move. A duck will cost me maybe half a boatlength, and I expect that the sacrifice will likely be far better than having to do two tacks to clear, if they lee bow me. As a bonus, they just might return the favor later.

Boat-on-boat interaction is inevitable, and with each engagement, you lose distance to the fleet as a whole. You typically have options, but it’s not always immediately obvious which is best. It’s hard to give up your rights and duck a port tacker, slow way down at a leeward mark, or hang in there above a tough boat holding you high, but you need to understand your boat and have your strategy well in hand so that you can weigh your options and pick the one that is not as bad as the others. The right choice, of course, is the one with the least loss.

The post A Guide to Tactical Risk Management appeared first on Sailing World.

The importance of comparing your performance to another competitor during a race is an underrated part of sailing a boat competitively. We hear a lot about having good onboard communication about what’s happening on the boat. While that’s true, it’s also important to communicate what’s happening outside the boat and what’s happening relative to your nearest competitors. So, let’s cover some techniques to improve this aspect of your next race. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on calling upwind relatives.

It’s best to start calling ­relatives as soon as possible after the start. This first few minutes is a critical boatspeed part of the race, and the sooner your team can get locked in, the better. Oftentimes, the teams that get their performance going the soonest after the start are the teams that emerge from the fray in the best position.

Once you start calling ­relatives, do so with confidence, announce that you are calling relatives, and identify who or which boat you are calling relatives against. For example, “I have us with (name of boat).” Knowing who you are gauging performance against is important.

On a boat with true wind direction displayed somewhere, announce that number. For example, I might say, “Starting wind direction is one-eight-five.” If the wind direction changes during the lineup, this will be valuable information to provide accurate comparisons.

If there’s no TWD displayed on your boat, or you don’t have instruments, you can use your compass heading instead and say something like, “Starting heading is one-four-six.” It’s not quite as accurate as TWD, but it’s better than nothing.

Always refer to your boat first. For example, I might say, “Higher, same speed.” To avoid any confusion, don’t refer to them first. If they are higher than you, state, “We are lower.” Be consistent and always use the same process, no mumbling. Remember, the goal is to let your teammates know how you’re doing.

Some examples of ­describing clear-cut VMG differences are “higher, faster,” “lower, slower,” and “same angle, same speed.” However, if the speed and angle are split, you will need to judge which VMG is superior. For example, I might say, “Higher, slower, VMG them,” or “lower, faster, VMG us,” or “higher, slower, VMG even.”

Accurately and confidently judging performance and VMG differences takes time and experience, so if you’re new to it, there is no time like the present to start practicing. And speaking of practice: A great opportunity to get in the rhythm of calling relatives is during your pre-race tuning-partner ­lineups. (Of course, you do that already, right?)

At the beginning of an upwind lineup, try this technique: Imagine you were to tack. Where would you end up? Would you be behind them? Would you cross them? Would you hit them at their mainsheet winch? Their front hatch? Start every relative performance call with this information. For example, I might say, “If we tacked right now, we would miss them by 6 meters.” One minute into the lineup, I might say, “If we tacked right now, we would hit them on their transom; we have gained 6 meters since the beginning of the test.” Another minute later, I might say, “If we tacked right now, we would hit them at their mast; we have gained one boatlength since the start of the test.”

If you are clearly outperforming a competitor above you, or if they are in a compromised position, make the announcement that you are switching relatives to another boat. For example, I might say, “(Name of boat) won’t live there for long, switching to (name of new boat or sail number).”

If there are no boats above you to call relatives with, announce you are going to hike instead. This lets your team know why you’ve gone silent. For example, I say, “No gauges above us; I am hiking.” Or take it a step further and challenge your teammates to hike even harder. I say, “No good gauges above; showing the young guys how to hike.”

Having been a pro sailor and coach for a long time, I’ve experienced my share of situations where a lack of calling relatives or poor calling in general leads to unwanted outcomes. To prevent this from ever ­happening on your boats, let’s run through a few common scenarios.

Silence is deadly

What happens: We start the race and nobody says anything.

The result: We come off the line in a low mode that is not optimal VMG. The boats above us are able to live in an otherwise compromised position all the way to the layline, which costs us a lot of places.

The fix: Identify immediately who you’re calling relatives against and make it clear how your team is going against them.

Head in the clouds

What happens: We don’t take note of the TWD or heading when we start the relative calls. We state we are losing a lot to the boat above us, oblivious to the fact that the wind has lifted us 15 degrees.

The result: We start changing settings, away from what we know, to try to improve based on the feedback, but we only perform worse and lose a lot.

The fix: Announce the TWD or heading when you start the relative calls. Then you can allow for TWD/heading changes in your analysis of performance. For example, “We are doing well against the boats above considering we’re in a 15-degree lift.”

Comms breakdown

What happens: We say, “They are lower.” The helmsman puts the bow up to sail a higher mode because he only hears the words “are lower” (the other words err out in the wind), and the helmsman and trimmers assume we are the lower boat.

The result: We sail too high and slow, and get rolled by the boat above us.

The fix: Always talk about your boat first, not the other. In this case, we were already higher and should have said, “We are higher.” Instead, by switching between us and them, we ­create confusion.

Stay on task

What happens: We aren’t going well, so we stop calling relatives.

The result: At a time when we need to be honest and identify there is an issue with our performance, we go quiet. Nothing is done to address our performance issue, and we go backward because of it.

The fix: No one wants to be the bearer of bad news or a Negative Nancy, but this is an important part of the race. Be consistent. Be honest. Keep the process the same, rain or shine.

Lost in translation

What happens: We say, “Higher, slower.”

The result: Our skipper responds, “Is that good or bad? Are we gaining or not?”

The fix: If the speed and angle are split, finish your call with whether that mode is a gain or a loss.

Attention deficit

What happens: After a very long lineup, you are unsure as to whether it has been a gain or a loss over all the changes that have come and gone.

The result: You don’t really know how you have gone over the long term and just make something up.

The fix: From the beginning of the lineup, announce where you would be if you tacked. Five minutes later, you will know how you have gone by checking in using the same method. Maybe you haven’t gone well in the last 30 seconds, but overall you have moved forward by two boatlengths.

Hang up and dial again

What happens: The boat above you has a poor start, and now they are in your quarter waves going even worse. You keep calling relatives on them because they are closest to you.

The result: Your team thinks they are going very well based off your calls. But the boat you are calling is compromised. The next boat up is outperforming you, and you have not identified that your team needs to change modes to match.

The fix: As soon as the boat you are calling relatives against is compromised or going really badly, look for the next boat above them to keep improving your mode.

Lost in space

What happens: All the boats above you tack away. There are no other nearby boats to call ­relatives against, so you go silent.

The result: Your skipper yells, “Please keep calling relatives!” and loses focus in the rage.

The fix: As soon as there are no boats above you to call relatives against, announce that fact. And hike your butt off.

The takeaway from all these scenarios should be that it’s critical to continuously call your relative performance against your competitors, and when you do so, be clear, confident, accurate and consistent. Doing all of the above will help relieve tension on the boat and improve performance. If there is no one left to call relatives against, hike hard and do the rest of your tasks well. Enjoy yourself. And don’t forget to call your mom or dad after racing to tell them how well you went. If anything, it’ll be the most important call of the day.

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