Protecting Your Space

What the Experts Say

Jon Emmett – Yachts and Yachting website

“Make the gap too big (big enough for another boat to fit in comfortably) and someone will probably come along and take it. Make the gap too small and you will struggle to get up to speed off the line.”

Kurt Taulbee – Sailfit.com

“we need to create room to leeward at the correct time. There is no use in creating and protecting a leeward sailing area with more than 30 seconds to go.”

Steve Hunt – Sailing World

“If nearby boats try to poach your hole, you have to fight to protect it.”

Videos for Protecting Your Space

Double tacks are a good way of creating a bit more space if someone does steal the gap you’ve created:

This video is good for learning how to hold position on the line, but it is also excellent at showing how to create and protect your space as the start gun approaches:

Books with information on Protecting Your Space

Jon Emmett – Be Your Own Sailing Coach, page 52

Websites and online articles for Protecting Your Space

Jon Emmett talks about defending your gap on the startline

A useful article for Getting off the Startline well (from sailfit.com)

A really good article on starting, with some good stuff on protecting your space

This comprehensive article on starting tactics has some useful advice on creating and protecting your space to leeward before the start

This piece has descriptions of some starting drills, with one particularly useful one for protecting your space

Paul Goodison talks to Jon Emmett about starting, and gives a good description of when to make a space to leeward

On the second page of this article there is some useful stuff about protecting your space (and stealing someone else’s!)

What We Learned…

This section will be completed soon…