The First Beat — Don’t Just Follow Everybody Else

Learning to Race — From First Start to Better Results

If every boat goes left, does that mean left is correct?

The starting signal sounds. Boats accelerate, crews settle into position, and most of the fleet heads towards the same side of the course.

You follow.

It feels sensible. Some of those sailors have been racing for years. Surely they know something you don’t?

Perhaps they do. But perhaps they are following one another. Perhaps they are heading towards an advantage that has already disappeared. Or perhaps the route suits their boats better than it suits yours.

The first beat — the opening upwind leg towards the windward mark — is where racing starts to demand more than boat handling. You need to decide where to sail, what evidence supports that decision, and when to change your mind.

On a river, these choices become particularly interesting. Stronger wind might come with stronger adverse current. A sheltered bank might offer less current but almost no useful breeze. A gap between trees might provide a brief opportunity that the main group sails straight past.

The fleet is useful information. It is not an instruction.

Before Choosing a Side, Know What “Left” Means

When sailors discuss the left or right side of a beat, they normally mean left or right as you look upwind towards the windward mark.

That distinction matters on a river, where the course may run upstream in one race and downstream in another.

“The clubhouse side” might remain the same bank. “The left side” might not.

Before discussing a plan with your crew, establish a shared reference:

“Looking towards the first mark, we favour the right-hand side because the breeze looks stronger there.”

That is much clearer than discovering halfway through the leg that everyone meant something different.

The Best Route Is the One That Makes Progress Towards the Mark

A boat can look fast without making particularly good progress up the course.

It might be sailing quickly across the river, pointing poorly, or losing ground to the current. Another boat might appear quieter and slower while steadily gaining towards the mark.

Your task is to combine:

• Enough wind to keep the boat moving effectively.

• A useful sailing angle towards the mark.

• The most favourable current you can reasonably access.

• Clear air.

• Efficient manoeuvres.

The balance changes from race to race.

The RYA’s guidance on racing decisions makes a useful distinction between priorities driven by wind shifts, reaching advantageous water, and positioning relative to marks and other boats. The practical lesson is to identify what matters most at that moment.

In very light conditions, finding enough wind to move may dominate everything else. In a steadier breeze with appreciable river flow, current may become much more important.

Ask what is limiting your progress before deciding what to fix.

Where Is the Pressure?

In racing conversation, “pressure” usually means stronger wind.

Before the start, and throughout the beat, look beyond your own sails. Useful clues include:

• Patches of more strongly rippled water.

• Boats ahead heeling or accelerating.

• Changes in flags and moving foliage.

• A band of breeze travelling across the course.

Darker water can indicate stronger wind, but shadows, reflections and current can also change its appearance. Look for several clues rather than trusting colour alone.

A practical example: the fleet heads into a lull

Imagine most boats sail left after the start. Ahead of them, the water becomes smooth beneath a line of trees.

To the right, a patch of ripples is approaching. A boat already in that patch accelerates.

Following the fleet might put you into both weak wind and disturbed air. Taking a clear route towards the approaching breeze could be better.

But there is a further question:

Will the breeze reach you, or are you about to spend the next minute chasing a patch that is moving away?

Watch its movement. Sometimes holding your course allows the wind to arrive. Sometimes a modest change of position is enough. A large detour needs a larger reward.

Current — The Advantage You Cannot See in the Sails

At Upper Thames Sailing Club, on the Bourne End–Marlow reach, the river adds another layer to the problem.

The boat moves through the water. The water moves relative to the banks. Your progress towards a fixed mark depends on both.

For a simplified example, considering only the component directly towards the mark:

Progress over ground = progress through water + current towards the mark

An opposing current is subtracted.

Suppose two possible routes offer these illustrative conditions:

Route	Progress towards the mark through water	Opposing current	Progress towards the mark over ground
Open water	2.0 knots	0.8 knots	1.2 knots
Nearer the bank	1.7 knots	0.2 knots	1.5 knots

The boat nearer the bank makes better progress despite sailing more slowly through the water.

These figures are examples, not measurements from a particular Thames race. Real routes also involve changing wind angles, sideways current, tacking and different distances.

Nevertheless, they explain why judging solely by boat speed can be misleading.

Why “stay near the bank” is not a complete strategy

Current is often weaker near a bank, but the pattern depends on bends, depth, obstructions and local conditions. The same bank may also have:

• Wind shadows from trees or buildings.

• Shallow water.

• Moored boats.

• Limited room to tack.

A reduction in adverse current is valuable only if you retain enough wind and room to make use of it.

If the leg runs downstream and the flow helps you towards the mark, stronger current may become an advantage instead.

Think about what the current does to today’s leg, rather than treating one bank as permanently best.

Wind Shifts — A Good Side Can Become a Poor Side

A lift allows you to sail closer to the mark while remaining properly close-hauled. A header forces your close-hauled course farther away from it.

The temptation is to reduce this to a simple instruction: tack whenever you are headed.

That can work well in an oscillating breeze, where the wind swings backwards and forwards around a mean direction. But it is not a universal rule.

Before tacking, consider:

• Is this a real direction change, or has the boat simply slowed?

• Is the shift likely to reverse?

• Will the new tack take you into stronger wind or a lull?

• What current will you encounter?

• Is there a clear route through the other boats?

A wind direction that keeps moving one way — a persistent shift — needs different treatment from one that regularly swings back.

You do not need to master every detail immediately. Start by noticing your normal close-hauled heading on each tack, then recognise when it changes.

World Sailing’s reporting from a particularly shifty regatta illustrates the value of preserving options: sailors described both large gains from shifts and the danger of becoming trapped on one side of the course.

A practical example: a tempting lift beside the trees

You receive a lift towards the favoured bank. Your heading looks excellent, so you continue.

But the breeze becomes weaker as you approach the trees. Soon the boat loses speed and begins slipping sideways.

The lift was useful. Continuing indefinitely was not.

A favourable heading is only one part of a favourable route.

Clear Air — The Fleet’s Route May Be Good, but Your Place in It May Be Poor

The previous article considered recovering from a poor start. The first beat is where that recovery needs a purpose.

Suppose the left side really does offer better wind. Following five boats towards it may still leave you sailing in their disturbed air.

You might need to tack away temporarily, build speed in a clear lane, and return towards the favoured area when space opens.

That does not mean abandoning your strategy. It means finding a workable way to carry it out.

Aboard an A-Rater such as Champagne, the large sail plan makes airflow around nearby boats particularly relevant. It also reminds us that another boat’s route may reflect its own handling and performance characteristics.

A small dinghy making several short tacks near a bank is not automatically demonstrating the best route for Champagne.

Copying another boat’s position does not copy its conditions.

Don’t Become Contrary for the Sake of It

“Don’t follow everybody else” should not become “always go the opposite way”.

If the fleet heads left towards visibly stronger wind and weaker adverse current, there may be a very good reason to go left.

The aim is independent judgement, supported by observation.

Ask:

“What advantage are they sailing towards, and can I use it too?”

If you cannot identify a strong reason to separate, a huge split from the fleet introduces uncertainty. A route nearer the middle may preserve more options, provided it offers usable wind and clear air.

You can favour one side without committing to its extreme edge.

A River-Racing Example: Three Routes, Three Trade-offs

Imagine an upstream first beat with the wind roughly blowing down the reach.

Most of the fleet heads towards the left bank, where the adverse current appears weaker.

You have three possible approaches.

Route one: follow close to the bank.
You gain current relief, but risk weak wind beneath the trees and limited tacking room.

Route two: remain in open water.
You retain stronger breeze and more space, but face stronger opposing flow.

Route three: work along the edge of the sheltered area.
You seek some current relief while remaining far enough out to keep the sails drawing.

There is no guaranteed winner.

The third route might offer the best compromise. Then a lull could spread across it, making open water more attractive. Or the central breeze might fade, making the current relief decisive.

The skill lies in watching the trade-off develop.

Useful questions include:

“Are we still gaining against the bank?”

“Are the boats outside us making better progress towards the mark?”

“Do we have enough speed to complete the next tack?”

These questions are more productive than insisting that the original plan must have been correct.

Aboard Champagne — Give the Crew Something Useful to Notice

One of the things I find fascinating about river racing is how much there is to observe within a small stretch of water.

The next decision may depend on a gust, a gap in the trees, the movement of another boat or the flow beside a mooring. It is easy to become absorbed in handling the boat and miss the evidence developing ahead.

For Champagne, I would make the first-beat conversation specific:

“We favour the right because there is more breeze. Watch whether the boats there are actually gaining.”

The helm needs to keep the boat sailing effectively. Other crew members can contribute observations about approaching wind, traffic and relative progress.

Short calls help:

• “More breeze ahead and right.”

• “Boats near the bank have slowed.”

• “Clear water if we tack now.”

• “We are losing ground against the bank.”

“We should do something!” creates urgency without providing information.

A good crew call explains what has changed.

Make a Plan — and Give Yourself a Reason to Change It

A useful first-beat plan has three parts:

Preference: Where do we initially want to go?

Reason: What advantage do we expect there?

Review trigger: What evidence would make us reconsider?

For example:

“We favour the left for weaker adverse current. If the wind fades enough that the boats outside start gaining, we move out.”

That is a plan you can test.

“Always go left here” is much harder to learn from because it ignores why the route might work.

Before the start, sail enough of the course to investigate the conditions when time and space allow. Check both tacks, observe the current against fixed objects, and look towards the first mark.

Even a brief investigation is better than making your first assessment from inside a crowded fleet.

Learn from the Decision, Not Just the Result

After racing, ask:

1. What did we expect to gain from our chosen route?

2. What evidence did we have?

3. What changed during the beat?

4. Did we respond soon enough?

5. What would we look for next time?

A good decision can produce a disappointing result if conditions change unexpectedly. A poor decision can occasionally succeed through luck.

Finishing ahead does not prove that every choice was sound. Finishing behind does not mean there was nothing worth repeating.

The most useful reflection identifies something observable:

“We found weaker current, but stayed too long after the wind faded.”

That gives you a clear improvement for the next race.

Conclusion: Follow the Evidence

The first beat is an opportunity to start racing with intention.

Look for pressure. Understand what the current is doing. Notice shifts. Protect clear air. Consider how your own boat handles the route.

Watch the fleet, because other sailors provide valuable clues. Then ask whether their choices make sense for the conditions you can see and the boat you are sailing.

On the Thames, apparently small differences can become important: a little more breeze, a little less opposing flow, or enough room to tack without losing momentum.

You will not always choose correctly. But a decision you can explain is a decision you can learn from.

When every boat goes left, ask what they are going towards — and whether that advantage is still there.

Follow the Learning to Race series at pmrsailing.uk, alongside the continuing story of racing Champagne on the Thames.