The following article is reprinted by kind permission of Ian Pinnell of Pinnell and Bax Sails, 4-8 Talbot Road, Northampton, NN1 4JB.
The first beat is not a place to be greedy or take big risks. Assuming you have negotiated the start in good shape your all-consuming task up the first beat is to get to the windward mark first - or at least ahead of your principal rivals if it’s an important championship.
There are a number of things you should try to do in preparation for the all-important first beat - and these are carried through before the start - so don’t be late in the starting area. You should have time to sail a good chunk - preferably all - of a windward leg. It is worth carrying a time chart and taking compass headings every two minutes up the beat to try and establish a pattern in the local conditions. It is a lot simpler if you can get a ‘team mate’ to work up the beat with you so that you can make cross-tacking references. Certainly, though you should have a clear idea of your route, which will also give you valuable information on where on the line to make your start.
If you are very unfamiliar with the area, there can be a lot to learn from getting hold of a chart and tidal streams prevailing - even chat up the fishermen. In popular venues - like Plymouth - there may have been a championship the previous week, so it could be worth getting there early enough to chat to out-going sailors on their experiences.
Back on the race course, play the percentages after the start - usually tacking just to the left or right of centre of the beat, always trying to keep between main rivals and the mark. Off the start line or out of the gate, hang on to a tack until headed by at least 5 degrees - anything less is not worth worrying about. You may have to revise this plan if sailors you respect start ‘banging the corners’, but it doesn’t happen often. Keep an open mind that they just might know something you’ve missed.
Your crew should play a major role up the beat acting as you eyes while you apply all your concentration on sailing the boat hard. I reckon 80% of the outcome of the race will be decided during this fist 20 minutes or so. And in a good fleet, your unlikely to recover from screwing it up. The crew must give you a complete picture of rivals’ positions, starboard tack boats, compass headings, shifts across the course, approach of lay line etc.
If you really have got yourself buried at the start, you must get onto port and into clear air quickly.
There’s an awful lot of lift to be to be had off the sails of starboard boats as you duck and weave fast through the fleet, and if the sun really is shining out of your bunghole and you really do get lifted as well, you can still get to the mark in surprisingly good shape!
Unless you’ve got some very special inside knowledge - or divine intervention - never get onto the layline further than 15 boat’s length’s from the mark. Too many things can go wrong and you just don’t need to risk it.
On the other hand, if you find yourself on port, approaching a procession of starboard lay line boats the chances are they have overstood and it is worth a well executed lee-bow attack to get round the mark - especially if your in a fast-tacking, fast-accelerating boat like an Enterprise or Twelve. Don’t count on it every time though!
There are a few other things that might influence the way you tackle the first beat. Some courses - for instance Torbay - where you might have a windward mark under the cliffs - need special attention to well-known local wind bend.
In very heavy air too, tack less and wait for bigger shifts, concentrating on developing maximum boat speed and mimmising the times the boat isn’t travelling flat out.
Editors Note: This article is from Reflections No. 105 Summer 1995, page 7. It has been captured by OCR, so typos & errors are possible.
