The biennial Rolex Fastnet Race has developed into a multi-faceted competition with a burgeoning double-handed…
Essential sailing skills
How to round a busy mark – Gold-medal racing tips from Hannah Mills
The Barcolana Race, which features a mass of different yachts all racing on the same…
The slingshot – mastering this high-speed racing manoeuvre is not just for the professionals
This particular part of the course, coming into Mark 1 on a reach on an…
Optimised to win: how Peter Morton’s Carkeek 40 Girls on Film won the highly competitive Fast 40+ class
The Carkeek 40 is a proven design that originally dates from 2012. Girls on Film,…
5 tips: avoiding a breakdown – so gear failure doesn’t let you down on the racecourse
It has been a tight race in a building breeze, but you’ve maintained the lead…
5 tips: how to deal with snagging weed and hooking pots on an offshore race
The sails look great and you’ve just spent money on having the keel faired and…
5 tips: finding clear air in a crowded racing fleet
For the leading boats clear air comes free, but for those locked in the middle…
Common Cowes Week mistakes – and how to avoid them
Starting at the wrong end of the Squadron line Get it wrong and you will…
5 tips on developing your polar diagrams to improve your boat speed
Sails are fresh, the bottom is clean, there’s a good crew, but you’ve been losing…
5 tips: faster foils – make sure your keel and rudder are in tip top condition
If you want to go faster, which would you choose: a new headsail or a…
5 tips: the port and starboard cross – the simplest rule?
With the wind slowly clocking right your original decision that the pin end was the…
5 tips: why spring weather should be treated differently from summer
The boat is sorted, the sails back on board and the crew lists are taking…
5 tips: calibration. It’s crucial to keep your readouts giving the true picture
We are quick to believe the readouts from our instruments, but how can we be…
5 tips: pre-season troubleshooting – key problems with deck gear the experts see regularly
You may have stepped off the boat at the end of the autumn series with…
5 tips: how to survive a squall when racing
Things get complicated when dark clouds build to windward and the horizon looks more like…
5 tips on how to recover from a wipeout
To keep a boat going on a gusty reach with kite and rudder on the…
5 tips: the heavy weather gybe – how to deal with that trickiest of manoeuvres
With your heart rate rising like a jockey heading towards Becher’s Brook in the Grand…
5 tips: the float drop, a canny tactic to round a mark under pressure
While a conventional spinnaker drop (kite down and pole away) may seem the safe option…
5 tips: reaching and downwind starts – some advice from Sir Ben Ainslie
The cut and thrust and elbow-shoving of a typical start is mostly about wrestling your…
5 tips: the gybe set spinnaker hoist – when to use it and how
There is always a temptation to keep things simple on the racecourse and opt for…