The first 97-98%

Try not to concentrate on too many things at once while you are still on a learning curve. Far too many people I see who start racing are trying to do it all and it just doesnt work.

Originally posted by Fatboi sailing the shortest distance to the next mark

For mixed fleet handicap racing buy a boat that points, it gives you all options off the start line.

Originally posted by jeffers Originally posted by davidyacht For mixed fleet handicap racing buy a boat that points, it gives you all options off the start line. Or know your opposition so you know who you can start to windward of and not get stuffed over. Traffic management in a mixed fleet is always key especially in a slower boat.

My initial advice is read anything and everything, I once ploughed through some three inch thick tome called Advanced Racing Tactics it was more about offshore stuff and rhumb lines and the like and like that other book the offshoret**t wrote debunking lee bow, it was full of irrelevancies and inaccuracies to the sort of inshore tactical stuff we have to deal with, but in order to know that, you have to have experienced all manner of sailing venues, I was lucky enough to do that in my late twenties and early thirties in the quest for windsurf fame and fortune. I was also lucky enough to know Eric Twiname, in fact I kind of knew him before I knew who he actually was or indeed read STW which I still occasionally return to and check out the boaty bits. He ran a magazine and got me to write stuff in it, stuff that turned out to be ultra controversial (I advocated pumping or you'd lose, which was true, but you were not supposed to mention it.) The thing was, it was all very well moaning about others doing it, but overseas nobody applied the rules, so unless you knew what to do, a)You wouldn't know others were doing it to you (Like rocking, ooching and myriad stuff you lot all do but pretend you don't or deny it) and b)You'd never compete on a fair playing field, so we all learned, tried not to do it on home waters and used it to advantage overseas. So my advice is copy everything you see and don't be afraid of mixing it with everyone, oh and shout back if shouted at I always find adds spice to a race. (Sometimes asking them what's wrong with their sail, they love worrying about that).
Sailing is full of hypocrisy, it's also full of bullys, always has been, so knowing the wrinkles is so important and the only way you'll ever know is to travel and try to punch above your weight in arenas you might think were out of your league, so on your return to home water, it'll all seem so much tamer. The knowing how to actually do everything, how to make the boat go fast without thinking about it, whilst you look about you looking for 'angles', that comes by practise, observation and questioning, never be afraid to just ask wtf they were doing that made them so far ahead of you, some of them will tell you.
However two fundamental things would help most folk, one is getting a better start than they do when they're new and the other is to work out the percentages and to always take the tack that's taking them closest to the mark.
I do try and tell folk, but I'm such a hopeless sailor and must look so crap I think they honestly believe when I do get in front it's only luck and they're having a bad race themselves, but hey who cares, somebody has to people the middle and back or there would be no one to beat as long as the front changes around a bit and the same few don't always keep winning then everything's cool.

My three happorth sorry it dragged on a bit.

Edited by iGRF - 10 Feb 17 at 5:02pm