Some Basics of Upwind Geometry

Gybe-hoisting is a tricky manoeuvre to get right, but there can be great tactical reasons for giving it a go. Here are FIVE of the biggest reasons to consider going for this challenging but potentially rewarding move on the race course. This applies mainly to asymmetric dinghies, but there are some valid lessons here for all sailors....

Tom Burnham talks about the importance to applying a tactician's brain to your job, even if like him you're at the front end of the boat doing the muscle work. Tom did the pit on board World Championship winning TP52 Quantum Racing, and talks about the stuff that he wants to know from the brain's trust at the back of the boat...

Audio: Terry Hutchinson explains his philosophy of getting out of a tight spot if he's faced with a wall of boats ahead of him... "Instead of seeing 50 boats in front of you, just look at one or two....."

Audio (5 minutes): Paul Goodison shares his philosophy on tactics with Jon Emmett. The 2008 Olympic Champion and 2016 & 2017 Moth World Champion has some excellent insights into how to come out on top in tight boat-to-boat situations. There are some great tips here which apply to any racing boat, whatever its speed...

America's Cup winning skipper and former Melges 24 World Champion James Spithill talks through his philosophy on starting and the first beat. "The first thing to consider is fleet size. If you've got a big fleet you're going to go to one side whether you like it or not. If you're in a small fleet then you've got more opportunities to play the shifts...."

Tactician Bucky Smith was a key member of the Australian team that achieved a resounding victory in the Audi Etchells World Championship 2009 held in Melbourne. He tells Tracey Johnstone how the Worlds was won...

SailJuice spoke to Neil Marsden just after he’d spent a day watching the 470 Junior Europeans and analyses why two teams who rounded the windward mark together ended up almost 20 places apart by the end of the first reach. Who says nothing ever happens on the reaching legs?

In sailboat racing there are four fundamental boathandling skills you must master: tacking, gybing, spinnakers sets, and spinnaker douses. Until you have these down, you can’t really begin to focus on developing front row boat speed....

In Part 2 of Chris Draper’s tactics tips for getting out of the leeward mark zone, the 49er champion and America's Cup helmsman considers the reasons for possibly going around the ‘wrong’ mark... "If we are looking to make big gains (ie we’re further back in the fleet), then it might be worth taking the wrong leeward mark and then putting in an early tack over to the favoured side. This way, you’ll have your own lane across to the favoured side...."

49er World Champion and America's Cup helmsman Chris Draper reveals some of his best secrets for getting in and out of the leeward mark zone as quickly as possible..."There’s a good analogy here with when you’re driving on the road and you want to overtake a car on a single-lane carriageway. You want to sit a little distance back from them, so that when your overtaking opportunity arrives you can use run-up speed to get past them, and spend the minimum time on the opposite side of the road...."