We’ve all heard advice on how to use clouds as part of your race strategy. Most of what I’ve heard has been vague – “sail towards the clouds” – and wasn’t backed by a good explanation. So, it was refreshing…

Pro sailors joining a new class expect to learn the boat quickly. They use their fundamental knowledge to dive into all the details of making the boat go fast. This post shows some examples of how you can accelerate your…

The MC Scow class is thriving with top sailors, both amateur and professional, joining the class and willing to share their knowledge. Melges and the sailmakers provide excellent support. These developments make it easy to get tips from pro sailors…

In this post, we discuss the rules related to room at obstructions – Rules 19 and 20. Rule 19 addresses room to pass an obstruction. Rule 20 addresses room to tack at an obstruction. Remember that these rules are in…

Our second installment on mark-room is Rule 18.2 – Giving Mark-Room. We covered Rule 18.1 separately and we’ll update Rules 18.3 and 18.4 in a future post. In 2018, the Inland Lake Yachting Association (ILYA) and SailZing, LLC partnered on…

Our next series of rules articles cover Part 2, Section C – At Marks and Obstructions. Section C covers Rules 18, 19, and 20. Rule 18 – Mark-Room is complex, so we’ll cover it in three separate articles, starting with…

Rule 17 – On the Same Tack, Proper Course – is the fourth rule in Part 2, Section B of the Racing Rules of Sailing. This post covers what you need to know about Rule 17, with video, animations, questions…

Rule 16 – Changing Course is the third rule in Part 2, Section B of the Racing Rules of Sailing. This post covers what you need to know about Rule 16, with video, animations, questions and answers, and links to…

Rule 13 – While Tacking is the fourth and final right-of-way rule in Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS). This post covers what you need to know about Rule 13, with video, animations, questions and answers, and…

Rule 12 – On the Same Tack, Not Overlapped is the third right-of-way rule in Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS). This post covers what you need to know about Rule 12, with video, animations, questions and…

Rule 11 – On the Same Tack, Overlapped is the second right-of-way rule in Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS). This post covers what you need to know about Rule 11, with video, animations, questions and answers,…

As a beginning sailor, your editor had to learn to sheet the mainsail hard enough to control the leech and point. So it was hard for me to understand the phrase “When in doubt, let it out.” Vaughan Harrison shows…

Win or lose, do it fairly – Knute Rockne Fair Sailing is a key concept in the racing rules of sailing. What does Fair Sailing actually mean? Do you have to be perfect in following the rules to be a…