Opti Preparation and Tuning Clinic with Opti setup and rig tuning advice from Marek Valasek, sponsored by the ILYA.

Our recent post, Learn to Change Gears, focused on three upwind “gears:” footing, pointing, and max VMG. These gears rely on changing the angle of attack. In this post we address another form of gears: using sail controls, rig tuning…

How do you build excellence and inclusiveness in your sailing team? The Inland Lake Yachting Association (ILYA) sponsored a clinic for instructors on this topic. Mark Maas and Chad Carstens, two successful local high school coaches led the discussion. Mark…

Top sailors know how to “change gears” to adapt to the needs of the boat. In this post, we discuss three primary gears for sailing upwind. In a future post, we’ll discuss using these gears in different wind and wave…

Are you looking for an enhanced dinghy racing curriculum? If so, consider the Skills Kit – 2022 Edition. The Skills Kit was first offered in 2021 as a comprehensive curriculum with hundreds of learning activities. Based on customer feedback, we…

A Different Kind of Sailing Book Eric Twiname’s Sail, Race and Win might be the best book available about becoming a better sailor. It doesn’t focus much on sailing technique. Instead, it shows how to teach yourself to win. If you are…

Basic jib trim on a dinghy is not difficult, but beginning racers need to know a few things. In this post, we discuss the importance of the jib and a simple approach to setting the jib leads and sheeting. Why…

The SailZing Editor is excited to announce a new product, the SailZing HandHeld Wind Indicator. This handheld tool is designed for race professionals for monitoring wind direction and features a SailZing StayTale™ telltale. It includes a bracket that snaps over…

Some experts say that strategy is more important than tactics. Good strategy gets you around the course faster, but it’s tempting to overthink strategy and forget that you are racing the boats around you. In this post we summarize five…

As a follow-up to our series on Upwind Mainsail Trim, we wanted to sharpen our skills at analyzing upwind sail shape. With the help of a former sailmaker, we photographed sails and studied their “flying shape.” This post discusses what…

We’ve written several posts about various aspects of upwind boat speed, but many readers like content summarized. In this post we present an upwind boat speed checklist, collected from previous SailZing.com content. These skills require practice to execute them more…

In this post we review The Power of Full Engagement, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. A sailor friend recommended the book’s unique approach to attaining high performance. Jim Loehr has worked with elite athletes, entrepreneurs, executives, and workers in…

We’ve written in detail about various aspects of downwind strategy, but many readers like content summarized. In this post we present a downwind strategy checklist, collected from previous SailZing.com content. These skills are not difficult, but all sailors can execute…