Another thing is what some sports psychs call "self efficacy", I think - the knowledge that it is only logical that you will do well because you have done all the training. It's quite different from the hyped-up self-belief, and IMHO it's that grounding that allows you to grind back from bad legs without blowing up psychologically.

Another thing is fleet management; sailing for consistency and (depending on the regatta) keeping the right sort of eye on your rivals. That doesn't mean always tightly covering them, but it does mean not charging off into corners and being prepared to sail percentages.

It's also important to be able to identify your path to improvement; are you getting good starts and then gradually losing ground to the boats around you (= boatspeed issues) or are you losing ground in big chunks (= tactics) or falling over (= boathandling). The better sailors seem to spend more time identifying the specifics of where they must improve.

I just did a nationals in a class I've sailed in for years, but basically dropped out of several years ago. With only half a dozen training sessions but with a new sail to replace my old one (which despite only being used for nationals and being meticulously cared for had been getting slow without my realising) the speed was great - it's just that the lack of practise caused fitness and gybing issues, some dodgy mid-line starts, stuffing up one layline and crashing out at the very last gybe mark, which put me from about 5th out of 74 down to 9th. However, those specific performance issues have been identified and now that I'm getting back into the class seriously it's an easy matter to do some specific training to get back to the front.

Perhaps the key, once your speed is OK is very specifically identifying every place you lost time and places and then eradicating the problem in training and preparation. That can include (as in my case) being more aware of my tendency to not notice my sails ageing when they are still capable of giving good results.

Training goes without saying - I typically train 2 or 3 times as much as I race. General time on the water helps but targeted training is so much more efficient. Be brutally honest with yourself about strengths and weakness - upwind in waves, upwind in light winds in a slop, downwind in waves, straightline speed etc. There will be up to 20 of these. Mark yourself out of 10 (honestly) and work on anything less than a 7 or 8. There will be non-racing bits as well on this list too - understanding tidal flows at the venue, fitness etc. Mark yourself on these too. I used to make a note of every mistake I'd made in a race (bad start, overstanding the windward mark, missing a shift etc). It's a bit nerdy but it helps highlight where you need to improve.

Whenever I've been to class training it seems most of the emphasis is on tacking and gybing. That's fine and they need to be done efficiently - but really how often do you tack and gybe in a race - say, 4 tacks a beat and one gybe per lap (unless in an asymmetric)? My view is to concentrate much more on straightline speed - upwind and down. If you can eke out a few boatlengths upwind you'll be a tactical wizard. It can be a bit boring sometimes just sailing upwind concentrating on speed and heeling angle, but it helps. For that reason, I mostly do a maximum of an hour's training at a time before stopping for a break (coming in for a cup of tea or stopping on the water for 5 minutes) to ward off boredom.

I think downwind speed is more important than upwind speed. All the top guys are searingly quick downwind. Think about it. In most hiking boats it's impossible to gain more than a fraction of a knot upwind in most conditions. Downwind you can double your speed by getting on waves properly. Practise! You will still need to be in the top 10% at the first mark though.

Fitness is paramount too. A few years ago I was out of work for a few months. In between job hunting I spent a lot of time in the gym and out running. I thought it would make a slight difference to my speed. It actually made a massive difference - not necessarily on the first lap of a race when everyone's still sitting out hard, but on subsequent laps when fatigue starts to set in. I mostly do a lot of running and leg exercises.

Finally, even at this relatively bottom end of the sport, psychology is more important than most people realise. I like to be comfortable in new surroundings. If I haven't been to a venue before, and there isn't a pre-Nationals event there, I try and spend half a day sometime ahead of the regatta just wandering round, getting my bearing etc. I just find it helps me. I think this also why you find people who do really well at open meetings but often fail to deliver at Nationals. Too much personalised pressure, feeling uncomfortable in new surroundings? If you've done the preparation - training, fitness, tides etc you'll feel confident and that's a tremendous help. You don't need to tell anyone but if you know you're the one who's put the hours in over the winter when you'd have preferred not to go out, got up early to go to the gym etc, you'll have an inner smugness (sorry, confidence) that is difficult to match.

I've found all of the above has worked for me. Others no doubt have different approaches which are just as valid if not more so, but I think the more you think about your sailing the more you'll understand the changes you need to make.

That was such a great post I went to the RS300 page to find out who you were. Well done!

Thank you!

^^^^^^  what he said.  Except that I already knew who you were 

For those that do not have the time to practise, there is Nick Craig's approach. Some races are races, some are training-races, where the primary objective is to learn something or improve a technique, rather than the finishing place.

2-3%? That says to me that the people at this level have everything sorted, tactics, setup, speed etc. There is no tangible difference between them, they are the same.

The only thing that makes the difference in my experience when you have a set of otherwise equal competitors is belief. If you enter a race knowing you are likely to win the chances are you will. You can't shortcut that by fooling yourself into belief, if the other 97% above isn't polished.

This is why pecking orders are so powerful, it takes time to revise everyone's mental model of the outcome.

If it's you vs the top 2% of the fleet in a trigger pull situation how long can you hold your lane and position before getting pinched out, rolled, or left behind?

If it's less than 5 minutes, you're counting on getting lucky with your tactics to beat them.

In a downwind situation how many boatlengths have they gained on you by the bottom mark?

There's really no point looking at tactics, boat handling etc while you're not able to keep up with the fastest boats.  You'll gain midfleet places in the sh*tfight that goes on but you'll never end up at the front of the race unless something crazy happens.

Has someone hacked iGRF's account?

This great post from Steve helped refine my thoughts on the subject. So I'll add a view looking at what he says here as one of his competitors. It happens that I came across a report from the last time I beat Steve at a meaningful event back in 2007 (even then it went to winner of the last race otherwise it was the same score). The report showed that we both made boat handling errors and tactical errors. That was before Steve had the period in which he was able to practice a lot...and just before my second child arrived which reduced my practice time.

So what 1:

At that point I would say that Steve did need to have on emphasis on tacking and gybing in his training, but afterwards he did not. And that conversely I have not got back to the point where I could afford to concentrate on long speed runs because my boat handling hasn't been good enough.

So what 2:

It shows that for the final 2-3% you might need to change your focus in training and process from what made you as good as you are, to what will make you as good as you can be.

As an example:

 I am a relatively conservative tactical sailor...and have got towards the front of a couple of fleets. Our best result was a second in a regatta when we had a speed advantage that meant we needed to be no more than conservative in our tactics.

But when I don't enjoy that advantage I probably need to have (build) the confidence to fight for the very best spot on the line. To take bolder tactical decisions, and to have the confidence to bank (and thus minimise) a loss knowing that I had the boat speed to get it back.

It's quite a hard step to take!

 that's the problem ...  ' in the groove'  or a performance with 'sparkle'   it;s intangible  that comes after you have reached unconscious competence ...   some people never reach that level of  performance they can go through the motions  technically  well but they just don;t seem ot  m get to the bit  where the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts ... 

 It happens in the perfomance of any skill  whether that;s driving, sailing ,  dancing  or whatever... 

It's what  gets the 'advanced' driver  his/her Class 1 / RoSPA  gold ,  it;s what gets the sailor  on the podium / that squad place; It's what get's the dancer the contract or the 'vocational school' place ... 

Its the difference between the top half dozen at a Nationals who turn up with a serious prospect of winning and then the other fifty odd who have various other targets.

It gets really interesting when you get one of the top guys have a bad gybe or something that puts them upside down and once the right way up again they are behind the mid fleet who are squabbling their way around the coarse, needlessly covering each other and pushing high on reaches. I am always amazed with the speed in which they carve through the melee and end up challenging back up the front again. 

Having had the pleasure of sailing with one of the pro jockeys a few years ago, what got me was the step up in intensity and feel they have for the boat as well as the situational awareness ALL the time, yet they make it look so easy. I felt like a complete bumbling fool/fish out of water (luckily the Pro I was sailing with is a very pleasant fellow and didn't get too annoyed, probably more entertained by my complete uselessness in the front).

Though mentally exhausting it was a great experience and I am truly thankful for it.

This is one of the reason why your tacking, gybing and mark rounding manoeuvers need to be done automatically. So you can get your head out of the boat and see what is going on around you. Getting a feel for the wind and how the boats reacts is the next step. Once you can do all of that you can concentrate on the extra bit that will lift you above the competition. There are a lot of mid-fleet people who have some serious boat speed in a straight line but their manoeuvering and tactical decisions let them down badly.

Its like driving a car, there is a certain amount of passive concentration going on. 

When you learn to drive there seems to be an awful lot going on, and the first time you get up to 60mph on an A road it feels really fast. Now doing 70mph on a motorway is a little...... meh if you know what I mean......

When I get a bad start, I am looking to get to the best place on the course as fast as I can, cut the losses as quick as possible. Then exploit opportunity. Do not get on lay lines, do not take flyers. Bit by bit sail clean and fast. Amazing how often that gets you around the course quickly.

You ain't looking for the extra 2-3% then...

Champions only hit corners for good strategic reasons (tide, geographic factors or weather fronts for instance) or if it's a one-off winner takes all race like the PoW and there is no other way back.

Apart from exceptional circumstances, it's about relentlessly doing the right thing; right strategy, right tactics, impeccable boat handling, keeping the boat moving optimally (not slamming a wave or stalling in a lull) and avoiding trouble. Some of us can do this some of the time, the top guys are always on it. But it's a complex sport; aberrations can happen - often the championship winning races are not the runaway bullets but the recoveries.

Unlike Mike H, I'm by no means a champion sailor. But if I get done-over at the start for instance, I just view it from then on as a pursuit race, decide that I can often beat the guys now ahead by further than they are away, sail the fleet (avoiding dog-fights for 12th) keep chipping away. Most also suffer performance-fade towards the end of a race - catching up is therefore not a straight-line time-function. 

I s'pose the difference between first and halfway down the fleet at the Olympics is 2-3% and at the club, probably 20-30% or more. Though, I have to say they do seem to be just as spread out crossing the finish line at the Olympics as they do at a typical open meeting. I guess the races are usually longer mind you.

Absolutely, get the zero's in the right order and it's easy. 

Sailing is just like capitalism, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer   You get the same fleet spread regardless of the quality, there's probably a nice formula about decreasing boat density round the course over time that holds true.

I'll remember that excuse next time I come last.