Quantum’s Dave Flynn talks about his tips for practising and how to get the most out of it. "I know this sounds absurdly simplistic, but sailing is a sport, and, like all other sports, it takes practice. We can’t expect to tack, jibe, and douse spinnakers effectively without working on it first. Yet most of us expect to show up on the weekend and have everything work...."

The one wind instrument that never lies is the masthead fly — the wind vane on the top of your mast. Yet sometimes, especially in the spring, you might think this normally reliable friend has gone wacky. Erratic behavior can happen as the result of the difference between the cold water and warm air, which creates a difference in the wind direction on the water compared with the wind direction at your masthead.....

In sailboat racing there are four fundamental boathandling skills you must master: tacking, gybing, spinnakers sets, and spinnaker douses. Until you have these down, you can’t really begin to focus on developing front row boat speed....

Professional sailor Pip Hare coaches you through what to do when you start to go into the dreaded broach....