Top 10 Tips for Sea Racing—Based on Observations from the Holland Trophy Races 1 & 2 on 13th April (Force 3)
Dick Holden

1. Compete

This is not intended as a flippant comment, but the number of competitors who come down to the club with the intention of taking part, but actual fail to compete in a race is significant. 3 boats never made it as far as the start line. One gave up in the waves on the bar, one capsized under tow to the line and one did not have the bung in and flooded before the start. This meant two rescue boats were fully committed before a signal had been made.

2. Choose the Favoured End of the Line

No matter how carefully the line is laid, it will not be square to the wind direction. It will have bias - one end of the line will be slightly more upwind than the other. A boat starting at that favoured end of the line will have an immediate advantage (will be upwind) of a boat starting the other end. There are lots of ways to check out line bias (read the books or ask someone to tell you if you don’t know). A very simple way is to put the boat head to wind in the middle of the line. At the point when the boat is true head-to-wind the bow will point at one end of the line or the other. Start from the end the bow points towards.

3. Start on Time

You must have an accurate timepiece and use it. You are given signals at 5 minutes, 4 minutes and 1 minute to the start. You need to cross the line at full speed when the gun goes. Crossing more than a minute after the start is utterly fatal. Don’t go haring off away from the line during the pre-start countdown. You don’t need to do a timed run from 3 miles away – it is unlikely to go well. Keep close to the line, especially in the final minute. Using sails set at "half-power" (flapping a bit) as you close the line gives you the option to speed up or slow down at will. Accelerate over the last few yards and seconds.

4. Mark Rounding

The buoys are turning marks. You want to turn tightly round them. If you leave them wide you are sailing further than you need and you are leaving the door open to let a competitor get inside and above you. Plan the approach to marks well in advance.

With a windward/leeward course you go back through the start line and can turn around either of the two marks (the committee boat or the pin end buoy). Choose the one that is upwind and make a clean rounding. Do not sail through the middle of the line and then make a leisurely approach to one end or the other – you have just lost 30 seconds or more.

5. The Beat

Keep the boat bolt upright and powered up. Keep looking out of the boat at competitors and the course so that you can notice what others are doing and particularly what is happening with the wind. When the wind shifts (lifts or heads), this is an opportunity. In "shifty" conditions, when the wind is moving back and forth, take the lifts and tack on the headers (ask someone if you don’t understand this – it is absolutely fundamental to success).

If there is a permanent shift in the wind from one direction to another, it will affect the way you sail the beat (and run). In the Holland Trophy 1 race the wind backed from SW to SSW. This made the beat "one-sided" – you needed to spend more time on port tack on the beat (and starboard tack on the run).

6. The Run

If you have a spinnaker you should use it. Surprisingly, the boat is more stable and manageable with it up – although it can be a bit unnerving getting it up, down or gybing (practice cures this).

The top crews pop the spinnaker even as the boat bears away at the top mark, and snuff it in a second at the bottom mark, so that they get the maximum time with the kite up. For most of us, however, it doesn’t pay to be too keen. You loose more with a rushed and fluffed hoist or drop than you can ever gain. Better to go slowly. Round the mark and take it steady to get the kite up. Get it down in good time.

If you are being pulled over by the spinnaker in a gust, bear away and sail the hull under the spinnaker to keep yourself upright. You can come back on course when the gust has passed. Don’t hold your course because even if you try to ease all sheets you may finish up swimming.

7. Tactics

For club racing, the only tactic you usually need is to make sure you have clear wind. Don’t follow in someone’s dirty wind: tack off and get clean air. Whilst most people realise that having a boat to windward of them on the beat will give them dirty air, it is often not appreciated that having a boat ahead and to leeward (the lee bow position) will also slow them. You may start off behind but to weather of the other boat, but in no time you fall back in behind them, and then fall to leeward of them and by then you are really deep in the crab grass. The answer is to tack off into clean air early on.

8. Boat Handling

The fundamental for success in all club racing. You have to be confident in your ability to tack, gybe and work the boat in all conditions. If you are nervous about gybing, then you won’t do it well. If you fall over when you tack, then you should practice until you don’t. Handling the boat has to become second nature.

9. Tides

On the open sea the tide is significant but probably much the same for everybody. You do need to be very aware of the tide at the start (is it pushing you over the line, for instance), and when taking laylines to marks and rounding marks. The committee boat is most likely to lay with the tide, or look at fixed marks to check the flow of the tide.

10. Waves

Catching a wave offwind can accelerate a boat into the lead. Learn how to do it – it is an acquired skill that is hard to explain but comes with practice.

Upwind, avoid smashing into waves that can stop the boat. If necessary set the sails a tiny bit free and work round and through them. The trick is to always aim for the low spots. If the waves are big then keep the crew weight back a touch to allow the bow to lift over the waves and set the sails a bit fuller to generate more drive.