Sailing Technique Articles

Bill Draheim discusses some of the lessons he learned from Lightning Class legend Bruce Goldsmith. This article presents a nice 20 point checklist of different adjustments you can make in various conditions and boats.

Part II of this Sailing World article goes more into the tactical side of things when sailing in light air, whereas part I focused more on the boat speed and technique issues. There are certainly some great pointers in here on how to deal with different scenarios you'll encounter when sailing in a fleet of boats.

Nice article from Sailing World going over some tips for improving your light air performance. This is a good read and definitely worth ten minutes of your life. It will help save you many more minutes than that when your out racing with no wind!

This article from the Santana 20 class association goes over some basics for sailing downwind in heavy air. This is a good read and applicable to most boats. The article certainly stresses the importance of practice, as that is the most important part of doing well in heavy air (or light air for that matter).

If you have a sailboat that uses instruments, then you should definitely know how to use your boats polars to help you get around the course quickly. This article covers how to read and interpret these charts, and even touches on how to create your own polars for you sailboat.

Brian Bissell of North Sails One Design puts together this nice article stressing preparation. He emphasizes that preparation isn't only something you do before a regatta, but it is a continuous process that constantly occurs before, during, and after an event or race.

Proper timing and execution of the jib release during a tack can gain you boat-lengths around the course. This article provides a step by step analysis of how to do just this. Whether a genoa or non-overlapping jib, many of the same concepts apply.

Andy Burdick presents a nice detailed step-by-step description of how his team tackles jibing in their Melges 32. If you sail sportboats, you should probably read this. If you're already doing them right, it will make you more confident, and if you're not doing them right, it will make you faster! There's a great photo sequence as well, so be sure to check that out.

The 4th dimension is sailing by the lee with a single-handed boat that allows the boom to go out to nearly 90degrees.

Rule 42 which governs kinetics has received a lot of attention lately as judges haven't been afraid to calling infractions.