Please select your home edition
Edition
Zhik 2024 December

Getaway Sailing brings North Sails Tactics course to Sydney

by Al Constable on 22 Jun 2003
Following the successful introduction of the North Sails Performance Trim workshops , Getaway Sailing have now branched out to teach the hardest part of sailing…Tactics.

North Sails Performance Racing courses teach racing tactics with an emphasis on practical, straightforward ideas that will help you win. Since 1983 over ten thousand PHRF, IMS, One Design, and SORC racers have taken the course.

Today they are winning races throughout North America. These courses were once taught by Michael Coxswain and Grant Simmer back in the early nineties using the best available overhead slides, notes and information available at the time.

Now Getaway have imported the latest range of support books , dvd’s and interactive CD Rom’s to help teach the course.

The concept was created by the North Sail’s American Loft, and comes in 3 parts, crew work, trim and tactics. Each designed to build upon the other, and as a stand-alone course.

Using a performance triangle as a base the courses build on each other, first the basic crew manoeuvres, then advanced trim, and finally course selection and strategy.

The course covers both tactical and strategic decision-making. Split into simple straightforward sections: Pre-start/start, Upwind, Downwind, reaching, and rule interpretation.

Each module explaining how to find that crucial balance between short term gains and long term fleet position.

'We were sent the North’s training programme by a friend in the United States and were immediately impressed by the thought that had gone into it' said Andrew Lygo, director of Getaway Sailing, 'We took the course and have adapted it to the Australian conditions and style'.

'The course takes a no fuss approach to modern day racing tactics….it enables you to get out of the middle of the fleet and into regular top place finishes. That is what its about. Improving your averages and getting a great overall result'.

The course makes full use of computer technology, blending interactive CD, video, and DVD on screen to view starts and races from around the world.

Watch why a start worked for a J24 here but not for a Sydney 38 there, or what caused the first boat around the top mark to drop 5 places without making a crew error.

'It is amazing how often a seemingly good tactical decision can put you in a bad strategic one….if you understand your game plan and the reasons behind it, then you will find your results improving dramatically'

With the emphasis on tactics available to both the small and large keelboat sailor, this course covers tactics with simple instrumentation like the humble (yet ever useful) compass, to the modern tactical navigation software available to the modern professional racer. The accompanying CD-ROM and book reinforce the lessons learnt and are an excellent reference for post race discussion.


The North U tactics course is run over the 3 evenings of July 15th, 17th, and 22nd from 6-9pm, and is available in Australia only from Getaway sailing for $299.

The accompanying CD’s and books are also available Book online on the link below. Check out the large selection of advance sailing and safety courses online.

http://www.getaway-sailing.com/course_signup.asp?courseid=18
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350Sydney Boat Show 2025 - Apply to ExhibitVetus-Maxwell 2021 v2 FOOTER

Related Articles

British Classic Week Day 1
Northerly winds gusting 22 knots make for a brisk start Day one at British Classic Week in Cowes saw fast-paced racing around the cans sponsored by Spirit Yachts for over 50 classic and modern classic yachts.
Posted on 7 Jul
International Moth Worlds Opening Ceremony
137 sailors from 25 nations have gathered, featuring some of the biggest names in sailing After weeks of preparation and an intense lead-up, the 2025 Moth World Championship is ready to get under way. Official racing begins tomorrow, 8 July, on the waters of Lake Garda, with the event hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine.
Posted on 7 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 2
No racing, but spirits stay high in Aarhus Day 2 of the iQFOiL World Championship in Aarhus tested the patience of sailors, coaches, and the Race Committee alike, as the wind refused to settle across the bay.
Posted on 7 Jul
Foiling Frenzy at Fraglia Vela Malcesine
The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! Regardless of where sailors are in their careers, or the reputation they have, everyone wants to be there and have a tilt at the title.
Posted on 7 Jul
GWA Youth Wingfoil World Championship overall
The Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom action rwaps up in Costa Brava The Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom action at the the GWA 2025 Youth Worlds wrapped up after a week of intense action at San Pere Pescador, Spain, with the teenage champions chosen in the U14, U16 and U19 age groups.
Posted on 7 Jul
A dream realised for Litchfield's Hound
The Nielsen 59 Hound finished the Transatlantic Race 2025 on July 5 Dan Litchfield's classic Nielsen 59 Hound, co-skippered by Tom Stark, finished the Transatlantic Race 2025 on July 5 in an elapsed time of 16 Days, 08 Hours, 49 Mins and 22 Secs.
Posted on 7 Jul
OK Dinghy Europeans at Warnemünde day 1
Race wins for Daniel Björndahl, Andy Davis, Charlie Cumbley and Steen Christensen The 2025 OK Dinghy Europeans got under way in Warnemunde, Germany, on Sunday with race wins for Sweden's Daniel Björndahl, Britain's Andy Davis and Charlie Cumbley and Denmark's Steen Christensen.
Posted on 7 Jul
Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 2
Philip Köster triumphs again in Pozo Izquierdo Köster survives a late scare to earn an eighth Pozo event title, and first 5-star victory since 2022, in even windier conditions than Saturday.
Posted on 6 Jul
Grae Morris Takes on the iQFOiL Worlds
Shifty conditions on the first day in Aarhus, Denmark Aarhus, Denmark is serving up everything but predictability as the iQFOiL World Championships get under way, and Australian Olympic silver medallist Grae Morris is ready to assert his place at the top of the new Olympic cycle.
Posted on 6 Jul
A perfect start to the 5th annual AEGEAN 600
Cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind At the very southern end of the Greek mainland at Cape Sounion in Attica, today's start to the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600 was perfect: cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind.
Posted on 6 Jul