Shift into comeback mode

Dave Dellenbaugh, member of the 2025 Class of the National Sailing Hall of Fame, provides a plan in WindCheck magazine for when you find yourself deep in the fleet:

When your position in the race suddenly takes a nose dive, it’s time to re-focus your gameplan. Don’t discard your well-planned strategy, but consider making a few adjustments.

Take a deep breath. Before you follow a knee-jerk reaction (which seldom works), pause for a moment and assess your situation. Think about questions like:

• Is it early or late in the series?
• Do you already have a throwout?
• How good is your boatspeed?
• How confident are you in your pre-start strategic plan?

The answers will tell you a lot about how much risk you are willing to take in order to improve your position in the race. If you already have a bad race as your throwout, for example, you can’t risk getting another one. – Full report