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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

The American Sailing Association (ASA) has announced the release of its latest book, Sailing Made Easy, a highly visual, easy-to-read teaching tool for would-be sailors with little or no prior exposure to the sport. Sailing Made Easy will serve as the new official textbook for the ASA’s Basic Keelboat Sailing Standard course, ASA 101. It was co-edited by Peter Isler, world famous America’s Cup winning navigator and commentator, and Jeremy McGreary, a veteran sailing writer and editor witgh yacht design background. Sailing Made Easy (is $24.95) is available for purchase on the ASA Web site.

In the digital age there are still some valuable natical books. One of them, the Lloyd's Maritime Atlas, has been published since 1951. It is the oldest information source of this type and contains precise coordinates of over 8,000 ports around the world. The latest edition was completely revised and 225 new ports (among them 89 in China) were added. The new edition contains 70 color maps, distance tables, major canal and river systems, weather hazards at sea and international load line zones, all major road, rail and airport links serving the ports, detailed coastline, geographical and alphabetical indexes, etc. It can be directly ordered from Lloyd's.

Starting today, March 1, 2010, our acclaimed site is available in a localized US-version: sailing-news.us covers all the exciting sailing in North America and the important events in Europe and elsewhere around the world. In addition, we offer industry news, links to sailing books and publications and coverage of environmental topics that concern us sailors.
What makes us different? Sailing is a global sport and it happens 24/7. That's why we publish seven days a week and in three major languages (English, German and French).
We value your time: That's why we serve our content as brief daily updates, including images, videos and original sources. No need to register or read lengthy e-mails. Just bookmark our page sailing-news.us in your Web browser.
We offer choices: Quickly scan the headlines of your favorite topics in a few seconds or visit the links to read more in-depth coverage. It's up to you. Do it at your desk or on the go.
We have an audience: Our German and French sites have been online for five years now, so we are not new to this game. Professional racers and weekend warriors, big-boat racers, dinghy, multihull or kite sailors, sailing associations, clubs and event organizers, more than 100,000 of them have been turning to our site for their daily fix of sailing news.
Who is in charge? Founder Beat Stegmeier from Zurich, Switzerland, and US Editor Dieter Loibner in Portland, Oregon, are two veteran sailors and sailing journalists with decades of experience in Olympic classes and all manner of other boats. In their early years they used to compete in the Finn Dinghy, so the claim 'by sailors for sailors' stands up to scrutiny.
Check us out and let us know what you think. We love to hear from you.
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Dieter Loibner, an Austrian yachting journalist living in the US recently published a book with the title 'Sustainable Sailing' about the increasing impact of sailing on the environment. He explains how sailors can be a positive force for change. An interview with the author.

Dieter Loibner, an Austrian yachting journalist living in the US recently published a book with the title 'Sustainable Sailing' about the increasing impact of sailing on the environment. He explains how sailors can be a positive force for change. An interview with the author.

Dieter Loibner, an Austrian yachting journalist living in the US recently published a book with the title 'Sustainable Sailing' about the increasing impact of sailing on the environment. He explains how sailors can be a positive force for change. An interview with the author.