‘I’m generalising here but in my experience lake sailing boats are often slow performing boats such as the Solo, so you can afford to take less risks, to tack immediately on a knock whereas on the sea you’d sail into it, get settled, then decide whether or not to take it depending on your angle and position. In both river and inland sailing both the helm and crew know that they’re tacking as the boat is often tacking them! ‘On the sniff of a shift you take the knock on a lake and you won’t have lost anything, in a faster bigger boat only tack at the vital moment. ‘In lake sailing you nearly always have boats upwind you can use as indicators of what is coming. Other variables to watch out for are hills, valleys and obstacles. Valleys, depending on the wind direction can produce big rolling gusts, on the other hand you can be completely trapped in the wind shadow of something like a clubhouse or water tower. ‘The important thing is to build up your race track theory before you cross the start line and observe obvious obstructions. Littleton, where I grew up is tree lined, the major variables are the larger batches of trees, the motorway and the clubhouse all of which can do some tricky things to the racecourse. ‘If there is anything you are unsure about such as shallows, remember to ask at the briefing, gather as much information as you can about a venue and log it for future reference. If you’re turning up for an open meeting at a club you’ve never sailed at, don’t be afraid to have a friendly chat with one of the top sailors in the class, they are bound to have sailed there previously and might be able to impart some useful tips. ‘One more generic tip that I can offer is that in most circular reservoirs such as Queen Mary Reservoir there is more chance of gaining an advantage over the rest of the fleet through breeze angles than sailing up the middle as you might on a coastal course. Because of the shape of the reservoir, there is generally always more ‘happening’ at the edges, in stark comparison to lake and river sailing where because of the effect of trees and buildings you tend to avoid sailing too close to the edge.
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