First off, I want to make clear that this is a really good video. Well worth watching, and I’ll come to the reasons why in a minute.

However.

I do wonder if this guy knows what a bad start is. I mean, sure, being in 35th one third of the way up the first beat isn’t a good start. But I have had starts where I’ve been upside down when the gun goes. Or where someone has their mainsheet wrapped around my wind indicator. Or where I’m trapped outside the pin end, in irons, and half full of water.

Or where I’ve been upside down when the gun goes, right the boat only for someone to get their mainsheet wrapped around my wind indicator, then get trapped outside the pin end, in irons and half full of water.

OK,, so that last one has happened yet, but it really just feels like a matter of time…

So having someone steal my gap with 8 seconds to go, and being in a bad lane with few options, is more like a normal start, or an average start, or a could-be-worse start.

For me, anyway.

But maybe that’s why I’m not a 2-time World Champion.

Anyway, back to the video:

What are the key things we can learn from it?

• Don’t get a bad start – protect your gap, have good transits, pull the trigger effectively
• Cross when you can, don’t let others cross you
• Tack ahead and to leeward heading back to the middle
• Wait for the right moment to tack – follow the above rules, and have a gap to leeward
• Treat the last shift of the beat as a persistent shift
• Avoid the cone of silence
• Look for clear air
• Don’t sail too much unnecessary distance
• Downwind gains are often realised at the end of the leg – be patient

He also has a set of Golden Rules that he gives at the end:

• Prioritise Clear Air
• Patience – patience beats panic
• Stick to the basics

Stick to all that and you might get back from your could-be-worse start. You never know – it might even help you recover from an actual bad start.