Pre-Start Planning

In this Sailing World report, Steve Hunt applies what he learns during his pre-start workup, and makes a case for the importance of having a good plan—or at least having a plan.

Now that you’ve been on the racecourse collecting data for an hour (you have been, right?) it’s time to make a game plan. It’s essential to have a plan, even if it turns out to be wrong. It allows the whole team to focus on an objective, and in the heat of the moment, when quick decisions are necessary, the game plan serves as a guiding light. If you take the “wing it and see what happens” approach, I guarantee you’ll be indecisive when it really counts.

When making a plan, factor in all of the data you have been observing before the race. First and foremost, you’ll want to put a lot of emphasis on taking advantage of the favored end of the starting line. The race will be much easier if you’re ahead early.

At one point during my 470 Olympic campaign, I was having a tough time starting so I asked eventual gold medalist Paul Foerster, who had dominated a regatta, what he thought about when deciding where to start. “I start near the favored end,” he replied. As I walked away I felt very foolish for asking, but it really is that simple: make it a priority.

In addition to starting near the favored end, you need to sail toward whatever racecourse features you think will help you the most tactically, and most immediately. This is, of course, one of the main reasons you got to the racecourse an hour before the start and tuned up and down a few times. During that time you should have gotten a feel for the conditions and started to notice what was important, relative to the wind and current.

You will find that, most of the time, sailing in more wind and sailing toward the mark are the main factors that help you do well, especially in extreme cases. But sometimes other factors must be given priority, especially when the wind velocity and direction are steady. Sometimes, sailing toward favorable current or a geographic shift makes it to the top of your plan. And sometimes it’s a mix of factors that will end up working best, such as playing the shifts while working toward a side for favorable current.

Full report… click here.