Welcome to the Race to Win Sailing Podcast!
Did you know that you can watch raceQs’ replays on your phone or tablet? Just open your internet browser, and click on a replay! We look at the 2015 Lipton Cup and show you just how powerful this tool can be for your post-race analysis.
An introduction to Beta Test the new Pebble Watch app, from raceQs. Go to raceqs.com/smart-watch for more information.
Using the unique Bavaria Cup regatta, this podcast explores how raceQs’ sailing app calculates the wind direction without any input from wind instruments.
Running aground is not fun. But, it happens to EVERYONE. So, when it happens to you, be ready to react quickly and get back in the race as soon as possible. Maybe no one will notice. Or, if you are “lucky”, Pressure Drop will take some awesome photos so that we can all remember that glorious day, forever.
Handicaps are always a hot issue in sailboat racing. Recently, raceQs’ upgraded our interface to calculate corrected times for handicapped boats that use our app. Check out this podcast to get a basic understanding of sailing handicaps, and how to use the new handicap features in raceQs.
As technology evolves protest hearings are evolving as well. If you plan to use a raceQs’ GPS track at your protest hearing, be armed with all the facts. Since most cell phone GPS positions aren’t perfect, you can expect a geographic position variation of +/- 3 meters. Watch the video to learn more about the best way to present your case.
The choreography of a perfect tack requires every team member to perform their job flawlessly. We can break those jobs down into five parts:
Preparation, Pre-Release, Release, Grinding, and Trimming. Watch the episode to learn how much time is lost when we make mistakes, and what we should focus on to improve tacking performance.
With raceQs’ Geovids, sailing coaches can analyze video and data streams from every moment of the race. Check out this podcast, where we eavesdrop on a coaching session between Will Paxton, and one of this clients. Contact us to find out about testing our online coaching for your boat.
Hear the story of a boat that experienced serious structural damage from a very common type of accident. Speaking directly to one of the boat owners, we get a first hand account of how they turned a potential disaster, into nothing more than another day on the water.
Will Paxton uses raceQs’ Groove Analysis, Tacking Data, and Geovids to analyze his winning performance at the Resin Regatta. He makes a few discoveries about his sail trim and tacking patterns using footage from his GoPro that is synced with his raceQs’ 3D Replay.
Will Paxton breaks down one of his races in the St.Francis Spring series, and shows us how the pros keep calm and battle back from a rough start. We discuss tack and duck, tactics in a strong tide upwind, the “proper course” rule, and some tips for creating passing lanes downwind. The answer is 42.
In this podcast, Will gives us some tips for surviving a “Parade Race”, demonstrates trimming for speed when you’ve overstood the mark, and drives home the importance of doing your pre-race homework.
Have you ever been drifting around a race course, when suddenly, a boat ghosts by as if powered by an ungodly force? It can seem unnatural. We recorded such a phenomenon in this race, when Will Paxton sneaks by the entire fleet in very light wind. Even better, we got him to tell us just how he did it.
Watch the highlights of a thrilling duel between Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge during the final race of the 2015 Moth Worlds. These two rockstars pull far ahead of the fleet as they battle for ultimate bragging rights.
Beautiful Sorrento, Australia was the venue for the 2015 Moth World Championships. Check out this highlight reel from first official day of the Worlds.Special thanks to Beau Outteridge Productions for use of their video.
Allan Terhune takes us through a recent race aboard his J/70, “Dazzler”. He walks us through his tactics and gives some trim tips for the J/70. Allan Terhune is a National and World champion in several classes, and the Global One Design Director for Quantum Sails.
We sit down once again with six time national champ and Quantum Sailmaker Will Paxton, to pick his brain. In this episode, Paxton explains the thought processes behind his winning tactics in an Express 27 race on San Francisco Bay.
We sit down with six time national champion, Will Paxton, to discuss both upwind and downwind sail trim. Watch Paxton’s raceQs’ Geovid as the Quantum sailmaker and designer gives a breakdown of his performance during a one design Express 27 race.
We analyze two races on the same day and show just how much it changes your race to try and punch through headers, instead of tacking in them.
Experienced racers constantly change gears and make adjustments to get most out of every puff, lull, and shift. Remember, just sitting in the groove doesn’t win races. Review the five gears of sailing, each designed for a different set of conditions or goals.
You can use your boat’s wind wash to disturb the air of a sailboat by tacking directly underneath them, and slightly ahead of their bow. This is the “lee bow zone”, and is a great way to catapult yourself to a better position in the race.
A great introduction on how to use your wind shadow to cover someone, and how to escape a cover without losing too much ground. We introduce a new wind shadow feature in the raceQs’ replay that changes size with the speed of the wind.
The VMG polar charts in raceQs are a great tool to evaluate how quickly you complete your tacks and recover your speed. Each second, a colored dot indicating your VMG appears on the chart, showing your VMG for that last two minutes in a color-coded cloud.
This podcast goes over the six gadgets in the raceQs replay dashboard: VMG, Course Over Ground, Speed Over Ground, Drift, Compass Heading, and Heel. The raceQs’ phone app records data every second and displays in a color-coded histogram.
Finishing out our four part series is this brief podcast on Jib draft depth and position. We also talk about how to see the jib twist, and how the car position and sheet tensions affect trim. The view from the top gives us so much information about our sail trim, it took four podcasts!
Now you can finally tell when a tack is really good, or really terrible, and why. In this podcast we review the basics of raceQs’ tacking data and discuss the primary goal of tacking: lose as little time as possible. We’ll explain how you can measure your tacking angle and how slow you get.
In this podcast we look at the the draft depth and draft position on the main. Because GeoVids are synced with sailing data, we can search for moments of good VMG and evaluate how we trimmed our sails to get those positive results. We can also look at how our trim adjustments played out over time.
We continue the series on creating GeoVids using a camera mounted at the top of the mast. In this episode, we discuss how to evaluate Weather Helm, Steering, and have an introduction to Mainsail Twist.
Watch two professional skippers vie to be first to the windward mark in this superb race from the Adriatic Sea. We use this race to demonstrate many of the basic interface and analysis tools available in raceQs replays.
We have designed a simple and cheap way to send your GoPro to to the top of the mast and record your race from the “top”. This angle is a great way to analyze jib trim, car placement, helm position, and the shape of your sails.
In this podcast we review VMG, or velocity made good, and essential concept that describes a boat progress to windward or to leeward. We show how to use the raceQs tool to monitor your boats VMG, and discuss the difference between VMG and VMC, or velocity made to course.
In this Podcast, Julia uses raceQs’ Geovids to evaluate situational awareness skills on the water. Also, we discuss using new technologies as evidence in protest hearings.
In this podcast, we review how to make sure you’re sailing the least possible amount of distance by always being on the lifted tack, and we show that trading height for speed on the upwind leg is rarely worth it.
This short podcast uses raceQs GeoVids to explore ways to avoid hitting the mark, and how to recover from this common mistake. GeoVids are videos that are synced with raceQs’ 3D replays to provide more advanced post-race analysis.
In this podcast, we review how to make sure you’re sailing the least possible amount of distance by always being on the lifted tack, and we show that trading height for speed on the upwind leg is rarely worth it.
In this podcast, we expand the upwind race geometry series by talking about the ladder rungs, the rhumb line, and building leverage.
This daring strategy takes advantage of the natural holes in the fleet that develop just before the start. While some sailors consider the port tack approach more of a back-up plan than a strategy, it can be very useful in a crowded fleet.
In this podcast, we review laylines, ladder rungs, and the danger of getting to close to the edge of the course.
This installment of the sailboat race starting series teaches you how to execute and avoid the pitfalls of the common dinghy race start. Also, get a quick tip on how to figure out which end of the starting line is favored.
In this podcast, Jacon breaks down a chaotic rounding at a leeward gate. The conclusion: in your attempt to make a wide-and-tight rounding, or to get your spinnaker down, never leave the zone.
Looking for a new strategy to get you clear air at the start of your sailboat race? Watch and learn how to execute the Vanderbilt Start, a full speed approach that gets you out of the pack and over the line while maintaining maximum maneuverability and control.
We demonstrate the cardinal rule of leeward-mark roundings: start wide and finish tight. Using an example from the 2013 Melges 24 World Championships, we show how failing to start wide and finish tight at the leeward mark puts a boat in a lower lane than her competitors.
This podcast is the first in a five-part series about sailboat race starting strategies. Watch an example of “Reaching out and Reaching In“, a classic starting strategy used successfully in club races every weekend.
