The leeward gate, or leeward mark, is the biggest pinch-point on the race course. There’s a huge opportunity to climb up a big ladder if you execute a solid strategy – or slide down an equally big snake if you make a hash of it.

In a crowded fleet, the challenge of getting cleanly in and out of the leeward mark zone is aggravated by dirty air and right-of-way arguments inside the three-boatlength zone.

At least on boats with symmetrical spinnakers the VMG window is pretty wide and quite forgiving. Whereas asymmetric gennakers are much fussier about steering the boat at the right angle to keep the kite in the VMG window and working at near-maximum efficiency.

Simon Hiscocks shares five solid tips for getting in and out of the leeward mark zone as smoothly and cleanly as possible.

Plan strategy early

The sooner you begin your assessment of which leeward mark is favoured, the better. You might have to change your plan at the last moment, but set out with a Plan A. If the race committee has set the leeward gate before the start gun, take the opportunity to check the marks and work out which one looks favoured.

Then, once you’ve raced the first windward leg, make a mental note of which side of the course was paying. If you believe the next beat will be to the same side, then you can start positioning yourself on the run for that smooth entry and exit out of the bottom of the course.

Photo: Thomas Lovelock/SailGP

Find the clean path

As you progress down the run, the most critical decision is which mark of the gate to choose. The instinct is to head for the mark that leads toward the favoured side of the upwind leg, the side with more pressure or favourable current. But in a fleet, the best mark on paper is often the worst mark in the fog of war.

If the entire fleet converges on the left-hand mark (looking downwind), a logjam is in the offing. In this scenario you become a prisoner of the boats ahead – forced into their dirty air with your lane compromised.

So if you’re in traffic, taking the mark away from the favoured side can be a better move. Here you’re into clear air with tactical freedom. In yacht racing, a boat moving at 100% target speed in clean air on the ‘wrong’ side of the course will almost always beat a boat moving at 85% speed in a wind shadow on the favoured side.

Aim for a ‘unicorn’

Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in the middle of the course as you get close to the leeward marks. This leaves you vulnerable to boats coming in from both the left and right laylines, and you’re probably going to have to bear away more than you want to.

If there’s no favoured side, all things being equal the ideal approach is going for a ‘Unicorn’. This is where you gybe off early on to port at the windward mark, so that when you gybe on the layline you’re approaching the left-hand mark (as you look at them downwind) with full rights on the boats to the right of you. You’re on starboard gybe and you have inside rounding rights at the leeward mark, the best of all worlds.

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The VMG window

In light airs, maintaining momentum is everything. For asymmetric yachts the VMG window is narrow. If you try to sail too deep to reach the mark, the apparent wind drops, the sails stall and the boat loses steerage.

In these light conditions it’s safer to overcook the approach – sailing a slightly higher, faster angle and coming into the mark from above the layline. This ensures the boat has maximum kinetic energy for the turn.

On the other hand, in a heavy breeze over-standing is a cardinal sin. If you sail past the layline in 20 knots of wind you’re giving away distance you can never recover. To make things worse, if you’re forced to drop the kite while sailing a hot angle because you over-stood, the danger of broaching or trawling the kite in the water increases exponentially.

Adjust for current

With strong current you need to adjust your approach depending on how the conveyor belt effect is working for or against you. When the current is taking you downwind, get the gennaker down earlier than usual and, as you’re entering the turn upwind, keep the bow pointing at the mark as you’re highly unlikely to hit it. What you don’t want is to leave the door open to anyone else sneaking through a gap between you and the mark.

With strong current taking you upwind, keep the gennaker going as late as possible. Come in at a hotter-than-usual angle so you’ve got lots of flow across the kite and, if it’s really light air, don’t start dropping the gennaker until your transom is safely past the mark as you turn upwind.

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