What are the most common racing skills for improvement? In our post Racing Skills Evaluation: Develop a Self-Improvement Plan, we offered a free self-evaluation survey of 16 skills areas divided into over 80 subskills. Based on the results so far,…

If you rank racing skills by degree of difficulty and potential for gain/loss, big fleet starts are at or near the top. In small fleets, it’s easier to get a good start and if you don’t, it’s easy enough to…

We all know that sailing the lifted tack is a fundamental rule of thumb for upwind strategy. You’d think it would be easy to apply, but sometimes it’s hard to recognize the lifted tack, especially without a compass. Even if…

With summer ending and the racing season fresh in your mind, now is a good time to assess your skills and make plans to improve in key areas. SailZing has compiled a sailing skills evaluation survey, consisting of 16 skills…

We decided to tackle the topic of shore effects on lakes after seeing examples on Lake Okoboji and running across a great video from the Wayzata (MN) Yacht Club, featuring Gordy Bowers discussing the Winds of Minnetonka. As we’ll show,…

Allan Terhune from Annapolis, MD is the 2021 Inland Lake Yachting Association (ILYA) MC Scow Champion, winning 4 of 7 windy races on Lake Okoboji, IA. Allan has won multiple national class championships. He is the manager of one-design sails…

Are you working hard enough on downwind boat speed? It’s easy to lose focus, even though downwind sailing requires at least as much concentration as upwind sailing. For this post, we decided to compile a big picture list of things…

Most tuning guides for centerboard dinghies and scows tell you to raise your board 1-2″ in heavy air. In this post we’ll briefly discuss three reasons why this is important. This post updates our previous post on setting leeboard height…

Do you have trouble maintaining focus toward the end of a tough race or during the last race of a multi-race day? You’re not alone, especially if you’re older. For this post we collected the available wisdom on how to…

Recently, I talked to a sailing instructor who got the opportunity to crew for a top-notch sailor in a national championship regatta. I asked him what he learned. He told me that when the boat was about to sail into…

Here’s a tip for newer sailors planning to moor a boat or tow a boat on the water. To prevent broken shrouds or forestays, you need to stabilize the rig. Take this simple precaution to save wear and tear. Why…

As racing sailors, we’re striving to “become one with the wind,” instinctively making use of every little change. If you didn’t grow up sailing, you probably need visual cues to help sharpen those instincts. This article responds to a reader…

Want to improve your starts? Take this short starting tactics quiz in a video from Roble/Shea Sailing. In the video, Steph and Maggie show eight boats near the starting line with 30 seconds remaining. They ask you to decide what…