Boat Handling

In the tradition of strong wind Finn racing that transcends and inspires generation after generation of young sailors, the on-board videos that have been published from the medal race at the 2018 Finn European Championships in Cádiz have held viewers mesmerised and awestruck.

In the part 2 of his racing tips, 470 Olympic medallist and 49er World Champion Stu Bithell looks at some specifics of boathandling, including how to push for a tight gybe mark and when to back off with the gennaker....

49er World Champion and Olympic silver medallist in the 470, Stu Bithell is also a mad keen Merlin Rocket racer back in the UK. Stu shares various tips on starting, race course priorities and many other things in these insightful MP3 interviews....

Quantum’s Dave Flynn talks about his tips for practising and how to get the most out of it. "I know this sounds absurdly simplistic, but sailing is a sport, and, like all other sports, it takes practice. We can’t expect to tack, jibe, and douse spinnakers effectively without working on it first. Yet most of us expect to show up on the weekend and have everything work...."

The one wind instrument that never lies is the masthead fly — the wind vane on the top of your mast. Yet sometimes, especially in the spring, you might think this normally reliable friend has gone wacky. Erratic behavior can happen as the result of the difference between the cold water and warm air, which creates a difference in the wind direction on the water compared with the wind direction at your masthead.....

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....