In lake sailing, race strategy – using shifts, sailing in more wind, and course/fleet positioning – is often more important than pure boat speed. Different conditions require different strategies, and we’re always looking for better ways to think about strategy…

This post covers the expert wisdom on where to start. We updated the post from the original version, incorporating some new key points and adding a video from Roble/Shea Sailing on the topic. Where to Start – A Balancing Act…

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We’ve had several newer sailors ask us about sailing by the lee. This is not a well-understood topic, especially for those that haven’t raced seriously in cat-rigged (single sail) boats. For this post, we collected the available wisdom on sailing…

After a decent front row start, what’s the next priority? Answer: holding your lane and going fast, so you can break out of the pack and have strategic choices. For tips on lane management after the start, we turned to…

Thus far in our SailZing posts about puff response, we have consistently advocated “feather and ease, hike, and trim” as the best technique for puff response. So, we were intrigued to read “The Fallacy of Ease, Hike, Trim” (Sailing World),…

Successful sailors know how to manage their thought process during the race. In The Sailing Cycle, we described Zack Clayton’s approach. In the ILYA Fast Forward webinar series, Olympic qualifiers Steph Roble and Maggie Shea described an approach which they…

Bad starts happen. As we showed in Starting Performance Observations, it’s common to see half or more of the fleet in bad air after the start. Willie McBride points out that the top three teams at the 49erFX 2017 worlds…

Always, always use a line sight. Dave Dellenbaugh, in Speed and Smarts (Issue 128) Are you skeptical about the value of a line sight? Would it help to know that many top sailors consider it essential? Judging the location of…

Crossing situations force you to evaluate options, sometimes rather quickly. Asking the right questions will help you make a better decision. For this post, we summarize questions the experts ask to help decide whether to cross, tack, or duck an…

In a previous post, we described four downwind strategy mistakes that cause sailors to lose places quickly. We had seen or personally experienced these and were determined not to repeat them. Of course, there are more than four ways to…

In this week’s episode, Olympic qualifiers Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea discuss downwind tactics for youth. Need a better way to decide how to exit the windward mark? Want to learn how to recognize shifts downwind? Want to learn how…

Would it surprise you that the picture above showing line sag is from high level competition on the world stage? In the ILYA Fast Forward webinars, we learned from Roble/Shea sailing that line sag is common even at the top…