When it comes to winning races, getting your sails and set up right from the outset is crucial, particularly in one designs and closely matched fleets. As Doyle Sails’ One Design Manager, Andrew Brown, says, it makes you look “tactically smart” enabling you to have your head out of the boat, keeping an eye out for extra pressure, laylines and so on.

Buying new sails may seem like an easy quick-fix but is not necessarily always the answer. The condition of your hull, foils, and so on, can account for as much as 20 per cent of your performance, whereas sails can be just 5 per cent, so check these aspects of your boat carefully.

The next thing to look at is your boat set up. Start with the fundamentals, and keep referring back to the following:

Reference your class tuning guide - this gives you a set of ‘base’ settings from which to start (exact numbers vary between sail makers)

Start with a basic set up and get the boat sailing at its best, then work through the controls one by one and note the effects

Check that your sail controls are effective and easy to use

Go sailing and check your mast is upright and in column

Re-tension your rig – this can move over time and stays can stretch

Have marks for settings that are quick to reference and that you can revert to if new settings don’t work – do this for sheets, halyards and spreaders

Write down your optimum settings

Divide up roles and responsibilities for rig set up throughout the crew

Keep a visual polar table laminated and clearly visible

Talk to people at the front of your fleet; how are they varying their settings?

Spend time two boat tuning, or get feedback from a coach

Fine tune your basic settings every time you arrive in a new venue

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