Books & Publications

The ISAF Casebook is not only a valuable tool for Umpires and Juries, but also for regatta sailors wanting to groove their racing rules' skills. This document, re-edited every four years, treats over 100 cases and can be downloaded in pdf format or be ordered as hard-copy at ISAF.

As usual the Racing Rules of Sailing are reviewed every four years after the Olympic Regatta and amended based of the submissions received by ISAF and approved by Council on the recommendations of the Racing Rules Committee. The English version of the RRS can be downloaded already. Visit the US Sailing Store for the US editions and explanations by Dave Perry. The changes are minor and deal with items such as crossing the finish line or mark rounding. 'Rules in Practice' by Bryan Willis explains the new rules.

Over the next weekend, the Sport Film Festival will take place in Monaco. Among the invited productions is the 14-minutes' film about the round-the-world-record of the maxi-trimarans 'Banque Populaire V'.

The Velux 5 Oceans might only have five boats ready for next week's start (and hoping for a sixth to finish repairs in time), but so far more than 10,000 armchair skippers have signed up with Virtual Regatta for the virtual race. The possibility of winning cash prizes that total more than 10,000 Euros or nearly $14,000 surely helps. If you love sailing on your computer and want to compete against of thousands of other virtual skippers, this might be your ticket for the next few months. Fair warning: We have seen some pretty dedicated folks in other Virtual Regatta games, who have had multiple players on their team to man their vessel around the clock, so be prepared to put in some long hours if you want to be competitive. Sign up and get the briefing for the controls of boat and sails.

The Volvo Ocean Race Game attracted 220,000 players during the 2008-2009 race and will be back next time in an expanded version with improved technical and tactical elements and an in-port race feature. The new version also is expected to include advanced weather and routing options and integrated social media, i.e. Twitter. The game will also be playable on social networks and smart phones. The overall winner of the race game last time around was Dutch player Powerof7, whose hard work won him a Volvo C30. The report and a place to sign up for the newsletter.

Three days into the championship with six races counting and one discard, two US boats are on top of the interim standings at the J/24 Worlds in Malmö SWE. Tim Healey USA (10 pts.) who got a nice redress for a wrongfully assessed a BFD in Race 4 on Tuesday (a bullet, no less) added another 1-2 to his impressive score to extend the overall lead with Tony Parker USA (21) and Andrea Casale ITA (26) following on the other podium places. The forecast is finally promising better conditions, meaning wind without rain. The event site with report, results and photos.

Three-time Olympian and frequent SN contributor, Chris Rast, recently blogged about chemistry and the art of teamwork for racing sailors. Never mind that he’s likening it to building a gearbox, which seems to be an analogy they teach in business school theses days. It’s still a worthwhile read, If you are a skipper or someone who is frequently in the position of putting new teams together, this article will give you new overall perspective on this issue. And it will help you realize what it takes to integrate into a team and hopefully you will question some of your current practices.
Here it goes.

“I was looking for some advice for our upcoming partnerships and I found myself talking to Vince Brun and David Hughes at North Sails in Point Loma,” says Chris Rast, a three-time Olympic campaigner and occasional Sailing news contributor. "In regards to how we should handle information sharing with our sparring partners (which would eventually be our competition at the Olympic Games), Vince's advice was simple. In his usual Brazilian accent he said: 'You hide, you loose.' It doesn't matter if you're in it for an Olympic Medal or preparing for a National Championship, if you need to fast track your learning curve then one of the best ways doing this is by working together with other teams.” Find out how on Chris Rast's 'Faster and Higher' blog.

Chris Rast, three-time Olympian and Sailing News columnist shares his insight on how to tame the locura that surrounds big events. At the 2008 Games in Quindao, he crewed for Tim Wadlow USA on the 49er. Early on, things weren’t going so well, so they needed to make adjustments:
Tim and I had established pretty stubborn routines, which allowed us to focus on what really matters and not get too distracted. The Olympic Games Regatta must be the most intense competition that any sailor will ever race in. Believe me, I know, I sailed in three Olympic Games. What keeps you on track are your routines. It starts with how and when you get up, what you eat for breakfast, how you rig your boat, the girls you flirt with in the boat park, how you do your pre-start routines, debriefs between the races etc. all the way until climb back in to bed and turn the light off. I like to make the analogy with your routines being your life line through the day (or even through out the whole event). The stronger your routines, the sturdier and more grippy that life line will be. Read the fasterandhigher.blogspot.com/ ]post[/url].
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On the starting line, you have done a great job creating a “hole” to leeward of you; i.e., space between you and the boat leeward of you, so that you can bear off and build some speed before the start, while remaining on starboard tack for some time after the gun. But there is one thing you can count on in the pre-start: if you build a great hole, someone will come and try to steal it! The key to defending your hole is to be a “pitbull” about it. This is no time to be a nice guy. Being “nice” will get you nothing but a reputation! You need to be prepared to aggressively defend your hole. One way is to post a lookout. Someone on your boat needs to be assigned the task of watching for potential attackers. Advance warning is the key to defending your hole. Read the whole story.

In no particular order, we publish some of Dave Parry's tactical tips for sailboat racing. This week is about picking the best spot for a good start.

Just like buying a new home, the key to getting a good start is location, location, location. I divide the starting line into three regions. Before every start I decide which region, and what part of each region I am going to start in.
The Pin - I plan to start in The Pin when the pin end is favored (more upwind in an upwind start) or the left side of the first beat is favored (pressure, shift, current). I remind myself that starting in The Pin is the riskiest region.
The Boat - I plan to start in The Boat when the boat end is favored or the right side of the first beat is favored. I keep in mind that it is relatively easy to get a decent start in this region, and a quick right-hand turn (tack to port) to find clear air.
The Middle - I plan to start in The Middle when the line is relatively square and there is no one favored side or I am not sure which side is favored. I remind myself there are likely more open lanes to be had in the middle, and with the usually sag (and especially with a reliable line sight) it is relatively easy to get my bow out in front of the boats
Read Dave’s entire article.

It’s a fact of life: Not every start is perfect. But there are plenty of opportunities to recover if you act quickly and decisively.
1) Avoid Denial. The sooner you can realize you aren’t going to break on through to the front row, the sooner you can tack and head for the right, while looking for a better hole or a lane on port tack in clear air. Remember, no one can go anywhere before the gun, so use all the time before the gun to find a better position.
2) Clear Air = Fast. You need clear air as soon as possible. Usually the majority of the fleet stays on starboard tack for the first few minutes after the gun, so normally your best road to clear air is on port tack heading to the right.
3) Duck to Escape. If you are on port tack heading right in search of clear air, avoid the temptation to leebow a starboard tacker! Unless you will be tacking into a clear air lane that you can hold for at least a minute, the tacking back is normally more costly than ducking.
4) Get Back to Your Game Plan as Quickly as Possible. If your original game plan was to go left, you are looking to tack onto starboard as soon as you can be reasonably sure you will have clear air for several minutes. If it is a shifty day, get onto the lifted tack as quickly as possible, even if it means sailing in some slightly disturbed air or water.
Get the full story and the other tips