Sailing Smart
by Geoff Moore

How many times have you watched a good race disintegrate before your eyes? How many times have you gotten lucky? The fact is every time the wind shifts some boats gain and other boats fade. There i s a random element to sailboat tactics but that only makes it more interesting.

I used to date a girl who night after night would crush me in the game of Backgammon. Since the game is played with a pair of dice I used to think that she was just very very lucky. I am a little embarrassed to admit that it took me a few weeks to admit that she was actually a better player than I was. It is the same way with sailboat racing. If you are content to walk into the beer tent thinking that everyone else just got lucky then it will be a long time before you start collecting some silver. You can increase you odds by improving the thinking part of your game.

I like to break it up into two distinctive topics. One is called "Strategy". Strategy is long term. It is the game plan you develop before the start. i.e. Which side of the course to play... What end do I start at... How do I use current to my advantage etc. Strategy deserves a lot of attention and I will address it at a later time. The other Topic I call "Tactics"

Since we play this game on a two dimensional surface our options are limited. At the most fundamental level we have only two choices. Go straight, or turn (tack or gibe). Of course there are moments where it may pay to temporarily "pinch", or " dig low". But for the most part we are constantly faced with only two choices. The complexity in sailboat tactics emerges from the accumulation of choices. Good choices on top of good choices result in "the rich get richer". Bad choices... well lets just try to concentrate on good choices.

There are two basic types of wind shifts. Oscillating and persistent. Short duration oscillating wind shifts are probably the easiest to deal with. Make sure you start on the lifted tack, and tack when you get headed.

Persistent shifts are much more difficult to handle. For one, if you are sailing smart in a oscillating breeze and waiting for a header, then you are doing exactly the wrong thing if the shift turns out to be persistent. On the other hand if you believe the shift is persistent and you tack into a header you will feel pretty silly if it oscillates back.

Longer duration oscillating shifts can be considered persistent if they happen later in the leg. Or, if the period between oscillations is longer than it takes to get to the lay line.

Sometimes a new breeze can fill in and be persistent as it arrives. If it is filling in from a totally new direction there will probably be a period of no wind preceding the shift. If the new breeze is filling from a slightly different angle there probably won't be much warning. These are the toughest to recognize. Most people mistake them for a bigger than usual oscillation.... Big mistake!!

The only way to recognize a new persistent breeze is to, first, anticipate it though strategy ...i.e.. weather forecast. Second, a new breeze will usually be distinctive in that the boats farthest into it will be most affected and they will usually show a slightly fresher velocity.

It takes a lot of experience, but it certainly helps to know what to look for. One thing is certain. Every great tactician has felt the utter frustration of misinterpreting the type of shift. What makes them great is they take away a little more experience every time it happens.

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*              Geoff Moore                       *
*            Shore Sails Ltd                     *
*             7 Merton Road                    *
*          Newport,  RI 02840                *
*                401-849-7700                   *
*            fax 401-849-7952                 *
*            gmoore@shoresails.com            *
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