The short version
- Who it's for
- Sailors who can already tack and gybe and want to start racing, or to finish higher up the fleet.
- How it works
- Eight modules, one skill per article, in the order you'll meet them on the racecourse.
- What it costs
- Nothing. Every article is free to read.
Racing rewards a few skills far more than the rest: getting off the line at full speed, sailing the shifts on the first beat, rounding marks without losing places, and knowing the handful of rules that decide most incidents. This course takes them one at a time, in the order they come up in a race. New to racing? The course starts with a lesson for you: Your first race.
Where we can, we use what Sail Tactician has measured on real races rather than repeating received wisdom — how much a tack really costs, what a favored end is worth in metres and feet.
The modules
Module 1: Your first race
What happens at a club race, and the few rules you can't break.
Module 2: The start
Get off the line at full speed, in clear air, at the right end.
Module 3: Going upwind
Most races are won and lost on the first beat.
Module 4: Marks and courses
Where places change hands.
Module 5: Downwind
Speed, angles and boat handling.
Module 6: The rules
The handful that decide most incidents, in plain words.
Module 7: Safety
Staying in the boat, and getting back in it.
Module 8: Getting better
How to practise, and how to learn from every race.
Doing it with Sail Tactician
Every lesson ends with the same box: what the app does for that skill in the race, in the debrief, and in practice. Put together, it's one loop.
Questions
How do I get better at sailboat racing?
Work on one skill at a time, starting with starts and upwind sailing, where most places are won and lost. Practise them on purpose, not just in races, and look back at each race afterwards to see where you lost time.
What is the most important skill in sailboat racing?
For most club racers, the start. A boat that crosses the line at full speed in clear air is racing from the gun; one that starts late or buried behind other boats spends the first beat catching up.
Do I need Sail Tactician to follow the course?
No. Every article stands on its own. Where the app helps — timing the start, tracking wind shifts, measuring your tacks afterwards — we say how.
What changed
- First published.
Put a racing instrument on your wrist.
Start line, wind shifts and VMG at a glance, and a coach in your pocket afterwards. Free to download for Apple Watch and iPhone, with the full debrief on your first five races.
Download on the App Store