Video: Jim Saltonstall is one of the greatest sailing coaches in the world. Through the youth programme that he set up at the RYA more than 30 years ago, Jim has coached some of the fastest 'ferrets' in the universe - Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy, Bart Simpson, Pavlos Kontides - more Olympic medallists and ISAF Youth Champions than you can shake a tiller extension at.

Here Jim shares his 10-step Formula for Championship success. It all starts with your Port and Starboard Nipples, and everybody's got them. So you have no excuse to lose, if you just follow Jim's tips for putting a Gold Medal between your Nipples...


#0. Introduction (5 minutes): It all starts with your Port Nipple....





#1. Self-preparation (5:30 minutes). "It's life Jim, but not as we know it..." This is the first and most important of successful campaigning. Getting your mind and your body right for the task in hand...





#2. Boat Preparation (6:30 minutes). Once you've got your 'self' ready, you need to make sure your boat is race ready too, not just fast, but legal...





#3  Boat Handling (4:30 minutes). Boat handling is all about putting the first two together successfully, the successful marriage of mammal with machine...





#4  Boat Tuning (3:00 minutes). Boat tuning is a vital ingredient, but you need to understand where to begin, and equally importantly, where to stop. An important word of caution from Jim...





#5  Race Strategy (2:00 minutes). "How often do you see ferrets going very fast up drain pipes, but in the wrong direction?" This is down to a lack of strategy, says Jim. Race strategy is about coming up with a plan for finding your quickest way around the race track, taking into account the wind, the current, land effects and other factors....




#6  Starting (2:00 minutes). Consider the start line in three different segments - the starboard end, the middle, and the port end. You've got to practise until you're comfortable starting out of all three segments. If you can do that, you're in great shape for the first phase of the beat...




#7  Tactics (2:30 minutes). Jim's three different types of tactics: 1. Boat-to-Boat. Hand to hand fighting between two boats for the championship; 2. Boat-to-Group. Close-quarters combat; 3. Boat-to-Fleet. Long-range artillery....




#8  Racing Rules (5:20 minutes). Boring, boring Racing Rules. Not an excuse! Learn your rules before Jim throws the book at you....




#9  Compass Work (1:45 minutes). You need to know where you're going, and using a compass will help point you in the right direction...




#10  Meteorology (1:00 minute). Clouds: what are they to you? Mashed potato, or a signpost to where the wind's coming from? Vital knowledge if you want to get ahead of the pack...




#11  The Next Step (1:30 minutes). Time to put these 10 areas into practice. Get a grip on Jim's list of 10 with a structured training programme...