Race Preparation, The Start and the First Beat

by Eric Hood, Melges-Sobstad Sails

[This article first appeared in the January 1995 issue of the MC Newsletter.]

The most important part of my strategy to go out and win a sailboat race revolves around my ability to focus on the task at hand. To do this I have developed, over the years, a preparation ritual that I go through every race. More times than not, when I go through the steps that I have listed below, I will have a successful race, or races, and hopefully a successful regatta.

For me the most important thing to accomplish before the race is to get my race checklist out of the way much like a pilot has a pre-flight checklist before he flies. I have found that by not completing my own checklist, I cannot focus. Focus is the key word here because the top couple of boats are being skippered by people who are totally focused on boat speed, their surroundings and tactics to stay at the front. Any distractions will send you back into the pack quicker than a bad header on the layline.

My checklist includes the following.

  1. Being to the club early to avoid delays in getting to the race course.
  2. Making sure my boat is 100%. Proper mast rake and shroud tension with Sta-Masters taped. All pins taped. Tell-tales on both shrouds and forestay (for downwind) with spares in the drawer. battens in their pockets properly. Smooth boards, smooth rudder and clean hull. Main sheet knots at the proper locations; one located so that it keeps the boom an inch off the sidestays and one at the bitter end to make it easier to grab and sheet-in when rounding the leeward mark. Vang secured at the right length. Test vang, outhaul and Cunningham before you leave the dock. Make sure your ball swages on the halyard are both sound. Set blocks on boom and traveler so they do not swivel; this prevents your mainsheet from getting twisted. Bailers should be checked before you get to the regatta so you know they are not leaking. Changing the bailer seals is a five minute job, so there is no excuse for not being ready in this detail.
  3. Next, I make sure that I have wet-notes and pencil to take notes from the skippers' meeting, things I notice about the race course such as early wind directions and speeds before the race. It sounds silly but having that pencil and paper in your drawer at the end of the regatta can be invaluable if you need to keep score. I have moved up in the standings and won many regattas because I knew the score going into the last race from notes taken earlier.
  4. Last, before I leave the dock, I make sure that I have the required safety equipment. Besides the safety equipment, I always plan on the worst weather and I bring appropriate clothing for the day assuming the conditions are going to get worse. Water bottles are critical as you must be able to re-supply your energy. There is nothing worse than not having a drink or munchies available before another big race.

Now that my checklist is complete I feel that I am half prepared for the race. The next step is to go out and do a full beat and a full run before the race starts. Nine out of ten races are won by skippers who go out that thirty minutes before the race and do the beat-run practice session. It is the only way you can truly get a feel for your surroundings, wind direction, wind speed and water conditions. It also clears your head and puts you in a position of being able to focus once the race starts.

I have now completed about 75% of my preparation ritual. I have one really big item left to deal with and that is the start and where am I going. Starting as we all know is very tricky and book after book has been written on the technique. I have one very simple thing that everyone should try and see how it works for you.

We have all seen boats going eye to wind and making their decision on where to start by which end of the line their boat's bow is pointing towards. That is good but for me the most important thing is to decide which side of the course or more importantly which side of my competition do I want to be on going up the first beat. My method for this is very simple. I go eye to wind in the vicinity of the middle-line sailing area, then if my bow is left or port of the weather mark, more than likely I will try to be on the left side or front left of the group going up the first beat. The same applies if I am eye to wind at the start area and pointing to the right or starboard side of the weather mark, I will try to go up the right side of the group. This technique has worked for me more times than not. There are those races where it will not work, but try it in a club race or call me for further explanation. Sometimes I cannot make this decision until the mark boat has taken off from the starting area or I see a compass heading on the RC boat. You should not be nervous about this decision until about two minutes to start. If you don't know by now, at least get on the first row and in the vicinity of the top two or three sailors.

The first beat of every race is the most important (I know this can be argued). The first beat, nine out of ten times, sets the pace for the rest of the race. There is nothing we can do about the small percentage of flyers that win races once in a while. Having a good first beat is so important because it, 1) lets your competitors know that you are a threat, 2) you gain confidence, and 3) this usually opens doors for options further into the race.

Now what I mentioned at the first part of this article is really important If you have done all of the checklist items mentioned earlier I bet that you will have the ability to focus on being fast and tactically correct. As Buddy is always telling us, a rifle shot not a shotgun approach. Having prepared yourself, you will be able to concentrate fully on the very important first beat; going fast, staying with the fast sailors, and looking for the next wind shift or tactical advantage.

Here is list of sailors to watch before a race.

Watch these guys and you will learn something -- I promise. Good Luck, Good Sailing and Happy New Year! See you in Texas.

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