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Pick the side of the course you want on the first beat, prowl the starting line for a good position that will get you there, and make sure you find a good lane that enables you to control the water around you so you don't lose your freedom as you head up the course.
Those were among the key points in a racing clinic led by Ron Rosenberg for the Seattle J/24 fleet on April 25 at Leschi. The clinic, which included both chalk talks and on-the-water coaching, was held in conjunction with CYC's Lake Washington Spring Regatta.
Rosenberg, who lives in the Seattle area, is a professional sailor and coach who has been on world championship teams in the J/24, Etchells, Soling and 5.5 Meter classes. "I would be personally offended if I don't see a huge step up in all of you by the end of the day," he told the skippers and crews of 15 boats that attended the event.
Ron Rosenberg gives a chalk talk for the J/24 fleet at CYC's former clubhouse at Leschi.
At any point of sail, Rosenberg said, "when you feel like you're going really fast, take a look around. Take a look at the sail shape. See what the wind sees."
He also encouraged the skippers to take advantage of the help and advice available from some of the world-class sailors in their fleet, like Keith Whittemore, Paul Bogotaj and Harry Dursch.
Here are some of Rosenberg's other tips:
Well before the start, decide which side of the course you like, and then work backwards to determine how you want to start. At 10 to 15 minutes before the start, all sail selection and rig tuning should be complete.
"At some point, you have to acknowledge that the start is more important than that adjustment you're about to make," he said. "It's better to be in the front row than in the back row with the right rig tension."
Go head to wind to determine which side of the line is favored. As the start approaches, manage the boats around you and maintain speed as you prowl the line for a good spot. Seventy percent of the time boats don't get to the side of the course they want it's because they fail to control the water around their boat.
In light air, you should be sailing your boat at top speed for a full five minutes before the starting signal. "Speed is king in light air if you can manage that approach" Rosenberg said.
For the first beat, have a game plan and know what you want to do. But even the best tacticians in the world don't always know where to go, so get a good start and decide when you can.
Seventy-five percent of the way up the beat, decide which side of the course you want on the run.
On the water, Rosenberg communicated with the sailors by VHF radio and cruised around in a speed boat giving skippers individual feedback on sail trim and tactics. The boats sailed two full races and had a number of practice starts.
Following racing, the group met back in the former CYC clubhouse at Leschi, which the J/24 fleet rented for the day, to watch video footage and photographs of the day's racing, with a running commentary from Rosenberg.
"Ron gives a very good clinic," said J/24 veteran Dursch. "I'm sure all of us took something away from it that will make us better sailors."