The Leeward Mark — Plan the Exit Before You Arrive

A mark rounding doesn't finish at the mark — it finishes when the boat is accelerating away from it.

You have sailed a good downwind leg. You have found some stronger breeze, stayed out of the worst wind shadows and closed the gap on the boats ahead.

Now comes the leeward mark.

Several boats converge. Someone begins turning. Another slows unexpectedly. Sheets need bringing in, controls need adjusting and the crew suddenly seem to need three hands each.

A few seconds later, the buoy is behind you.

Unfortunately, so are your speed and your opportunity to escape into clear air.

The leeward mark brings together almost everything we have explored in this racing series: positioning, anticipation, rules awareness, boat handling and teamwork. The challenge is to turn all those decisions into a smooth transition from sailing downwind to sailing upwind.

The objective is to leave the mark ready to race the next leg.

1. Start With the Water Beyond the Buoy

It is easy to become so focused on reaching the mark that you forget to look beyond it.

Before arriving, ask:

• Which way does the next leg go?

• Which tack would I prefer after rounding?

• Where are the boats ahead likely to sail?

• Where will I find clear air?

• How will the current affect the approach and exit?

You may want to continue on the rounding tack towards stronger pressure. Alternatively, the next beat may favour an early tack towards a different part of the river.

That decision affects your preparation.

If you expect to tack soon after rounding, the crew need to know. Sheets must be ready, everyone must understand the sequence and there must be sufficient speed and space to complete the manoeuvre.

“Round first and decide afterwards” can leave you following another boat into precisely the patch of disturbed air you wanted to avoid.

Choose a preferred exit early, then keep checking whether it remains available.

2. Inside Position: Valuable When You Establish It Properly

An inside position can be a considerable advantage at a leeward mark. It may let you sail a shorter rounding and emerge in a stronger position for the next beat.

However, being nearest the buoy at the last moment does not automatically entitle you to space.

For an ordinary fleet-racing leeward rounding where rule 18 applies, the relationship when the first of two boats reaches the zone is crucial. The zone extends three hull lengths of the nearer boat. If the boats are overlapped then, the outside boat must give the inside boat mark-room. If they are not overlapped, the boat that has not yet reached the zone must give the other boat mark-room. A late inside overlap does not automatically reverse that obligation. Mark-room is also distinct from right of way; other obligations, including avoiding contact, still matter. This is a practical summary, rather than every exception in rule 18.

The tactical lesson is straightforward:

Work for your position before the rounding becomes crowded.

Suppose two boats are approaching together and you can establish a legitimate inside overlap early. That may be worth pursuing.

But if you are clearly behind as the leading boat reaches the zone, trying to force your bow into a disappearing gap can turn a manageable rounding into an incident.

Sometimes the better decision is to follow closely, round cleanly and attack on the next beat.

3. Control Your Arrival When the Traffic Slows

A leeward mark often behaves like a narrowing road.

Boats approach from different angles, but all need to pass through a relatively small area. The leading boats turn and change speed. Those behind continue arriving.

The danger is watching only the boat immediately ahead.

Look further forward. Is the first boat struggling to complete its rounding? Are two boats coming round together? Is a crew still sorting out its sails?

If the queue is slowing, recognise it early.

Where space and your obligations allow, ease the sails to reduce drive before you reach the congestion. Leave enough separation to steer and retain control. Avoid making an abrupt course change into another boat’s path.

There is a useful distinction between:

• Choosing to arrive a little later, with room to make a controlled turn.

• Arriving at full speed and being forced almost to stop, with nowhere useful to go.

Imagine the boat ahead rounds wide and then slows. Following directly into its stern gives you little choice. Managing the gap earlier may allow you to follow through on a better line.

Deliberately slowing is not always a loss. Sometimes it protects the speed you need afterwards.

4. Prepare the Boat Before the Turn

The buoy should trigger the manoeuvre, not the discovery that nothing is ready.

Before the final approach:

• Check that the working sheets can run freely.

• Prepare the centreboard for the beat, as appropriate to the boat and depth.

• Set the upwind controls that can sensibly be adjusted early.

• Agree who will handle each task.

• Confirm whether a gybe is needed before the rounding.

• Check the route through the traffic.

In a spinnaker boat, the drop needs its own plan. Leave it too late and the sail can dictate the rounding rather than the helm.

For this discussion aboard Champagne, the useful focus is the coordination of the mainsail, jib, controls, crew movement and steering.

Not every adjustment needs to be perfect before the bow turns. Some controls can be refined once the boat is moving away. The priority is to complete the tasks that would otherwise prevent a clean rounding.

Prepare early enough that the helm can keep looking outside the boat.

5. “Wide In, Tight Out” Needs Room and Judgement

You will often hear the advice:

“Wide in, tight out.”

The idea is to allow room for a smooth turn, then finish close enough to the mark that you do not leave a large opening on the exit.

This is different from sailing directly at the buoy and trying to pivot around it.

A sudden turn can create excessive rudder drag, heel and loss of speed. The boat may slide sideways and finish farther from the mark than intended.

When sailing alone, with adequate room, a slightly wider entry can help you turn progressively and emerge on the intended upwind course.

In a crowd, your available space may be much smaller. A preferred tactical arc is not automatically space that another boat must give you. Mark-room does not necessarily include room for your ideal racing rounding.

The aim is therefore:

Make the smoothest effective turn that the space, conditions and rules allow.

“Tight out” should mean a controlled exit with a sensible clearance, rather than trying to brush the buoy.

6. Bring the Sails In With the Turn

A leeward rounding is a continuous change in sailing angle.

As the boat heads towards the wind, the sails need to come in progressively. Steering and trimming should work together.

If you sheet in too early, the sails may create unnecessary heel and resistance while the boat is still sailing downwind.

If you sheet in too late, the bow turns towards the beat while the sails remain too far out to drive effectively.

A useful sequence is:

1. Begin the planned turn.

2. Bring the sheets in as the sailing angle changes.

3. Move crew weight smoothly to maintain balance.

4. Settle onto a course that allows the boat to accelerate.

5. Refine pointing and final trim as speed builds.

Avoid immediately demanding maximum pointing from a boat that has lost speed.

In light air especially, sailing slightly freer for a short period can help restore flow over the foils and build momentum. Then you can bring the boat towards its effective upwind angle.

Speed first, then height — adjusted to the traffic and space available.

7. Aboard Champagne: Agree the Sequence

My aim aboard Champagne is to make the rounding something the crew prepare together, rather than a turn followed by a rush to catch up.

A useful practice briefing might sound like this:

Before the approach:
“Mark to port. We want to continue on this tack after rounding.”

As the traffic becomes clearer:
“Boat ahead is slowing. Keep a gap.”

Before the turn:
“Ready to bring the jib in? Controls ready?”

During the rounding:
“Turning now. Bring it in steadily.”

On the exit:
“Build speed. Boat ahead to windward. Keep looking for clear air.”

These are suggested calls for practice, rather than a report of a particular race. Their value is that each gives information someone can act upon.

Crew members should also report what they see:

“Sheet clear.”

“Boat approaching outside.”

“Ready.”

The best coordination does not require a continuous commentary. It requires the right information before the next decision.

For me, that is one of the attractions of learning to race Champagne: improving the result means improving how we sail together.

8. On the Thames, Allow for the Current

A rounding takes place relative to an anchored mark, but the boat is sailing through moving water.

That distinction becomes particularly noticeable when speed through the water falls.

If the current is carrying you towards the buoy, the final gap can close more quickly than expected. If it carries you sideways, your track may drift away from the exit you intended.

The direction of the bow alone will not tell you whether the rounding is working.

Watch how the mark moves relative to the boat. Look at your actual progress past it. Leave an allowance for drift, especially during the slowest part of the turn.

Avoid treating every leeward mark on the river as the same manoeuvre. The approach that worked in weak flow may need changing when the current strengthens.

9. Clear Air Makes the Exit Worthwhile

A neat rounding can still produce a poor result if it leaves you directly behind another boat.

The boat ahead may be disturbing the wind you need to accelerate. Your first few lengths of the beat then become a struggle to recover speed while following its course.

Look for a usable lane before you arrive.

Sometimes you can create separation through a better rounding. Sometimes continuing briefly will open space. Sometimes a tack is the sensible escape, once you have the speed, room and freedom to make it properly.

A wider route is not automatically faster, and an immediate tack is not automatically an escape. Assess the whole situation.

The useful exit combines speed, clear air and progress towards the next mark.

10. Practise the Rounding Beyond the Buoy

On a suitable training day, with space clear of other traffic, practise several approaches to the same mark.

For each attempt:

1. State the intended exit.

2. Prepare the boat before the final approach.

3. Make a controlled turn with progressive trimming.

4. Continue for several boat lengths before judging the result.

Compare a rushed approach with one planned earlier. Try different amounts of entry room. Notice how the boat responds when you head up sharply compared with building speed before asking for more height.

If you film the exercise, include the approach and departure. A close-up of the buoy alone will miss much of what matters.

Afterwards, ask:

• Were we ready?

• Did we retain steerage and speed?

• Did everyone understand the sequence?

• Did we leave in useful air?

• What one change would improve the next attempt?

Conclusion: Judge the Exit

The leeward mark rewards sailors who think ahead.

Inside position matters. So do approach angle, traffic, sail preparation and accurate steering. But these are all parts of the same objective: beginning the next beat in a position from which you can race effectively.

For Champagne, that means treating the rounding as a shared sequence. We need to know where we want to go, prepare the boat and coordinate the turn.

Next time you approach a leeward mark, look beyond the buoy and picture the boat several lengths farther on.

Is she balanced? Are the sails working? Is she accelerating into clear air?

That is where the rounding earns its value.

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