This is a comprehensive guide to reading the wind on the water. It will cover the basics but also include more advanced tips. “A proactive sailor will beat a reactive sailor” The mark of a good sailor is that they are able to anticipate wind changes before they happen. Knowing the immediate future has …
Wind shifts. Some sailors hate them, some love them. They can be the cause of unbelievable gains and embarrassing losses out on the racecourse. They make a huge difference to our results but aren’t taught much to amateur sailors. Perhaps this is because they are seen as too complicated. However, they are relatively easy to …
Here are some rules I use to help me respond to wind shifts. Below you’ll see a list of the tips. I’ll explain each one by one below that. Fair warning, this is a tad complicated so if you’re looking to learn the basics of wind shift strategy this post is a better place to …
In this article, we compare dinghy sailing hikers from the top brands including Magic Marine, Gul, Gill, Sandiline & Rooster. This article was originally a video on the Online Sail Coach YouTube Channel. Watch the video below: Video Transcript: “So what makes a good set of hikers so 01:54 hikers contrary to many people’s beliefs …
Sailing Hikers Comparison. Reviewing Rooster/ Sandiline/ Magic Marine & More Read More »
As if sailing terminology wasn’t hard enough sailors can’t even agree to a universal spelling of the second most common sailing maneuver. Is it gybe or jibe (sometimes misspelled as “jive”)? There is no difference between the definitions, just a difference in spelling. It’s called a jibe in US English and a gybe in …
Traditional wisdom has it that the beam reach is the fastest point of sail. But is this correct, and if so, why? On a beam reach the hull travels at 90 degrees (perpendicular) to the wind angle. Sails are eased half way. But is it the fastest point of sail? Well, that depends… …
Rabbit starts, also known as gate starts, are an alternative to the traditional sailboat start. Though rarely used these days they are sometimes used in large events (so if that’s your scene read on). I’ll explain how they work and give you my top tips. How Do Rabbit Starts Work? If you’re a visual learner …
The Racing Rules of Sailing scoring abbreviations can be found in Appendix A 10. In the RRS 2021 -2024 update, World Sailing added the NSC scoring abbreviation. Let’s face it. Letters next to our name on the results sheet isn’t what we want to see. Especially when we’ve sailed a blinder only to …
There have been several important changes to the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2021-24. This post will go through them one by one and discuss the consequences out on the water. Traditionally the RRS (Racing Rules of Sailing) are released after the Olympic Games. But due to some big world event the Olympics have …
Despite a race officer’s best effort there is usually one end of the start line that is advantaged over the other. The longer the line the greater this advantage will be. There are 3 main factors that determine which end is advantaged: 1. Wind direction 2. One side of the course being favoured over …
Sailing Race Starts: How To Work Out The Best End Of The Line To Start Read More »