RYA Tactics: How to Play the Nautical Chess Game

In June of 2006, I had the pleasure of sailing the centennial Newport Bermuda Race on the Volvo 60 Pindar. Of course, like many ocean races, time has made the memory a little fonder. It wasn't exactly the most exciting race--we basically never saw more than 12 knots--and we didn't do well. But it was better than a week in the office.

One of my strongest memories from that race was the start. It was a crazy day at the southern end of Narragansett Bay. Between the 250-plus entries, and the spectator boats, getting across the line cleanly was an adventure. But I remember how deftly our tactician navigated a challenging shy reach start with some of the East Coast's finest grand-prix yachts. Mark Rushall was able to paint a picture not only of what was going on at the time, but also what would happen a minute later. His stream of information was steady, yet not overwhelming, and was a key component to our solid start.

As it turns out, giving advice like that is what Rushall does for a living. He's a decorated dinghy and keelboat sailor in Great Britain and a sought-after coach. He's put his years of experience into a new book called RYA Tactics, published by Great Britain's Royal Yachting Association.

Just leafing through the book you can tell that Rushall is a compulsive note taker. He draws heavily on his experience and much of his advice is based around real-world situations.

If you're looking for a tuning guide for your boat, or advice on prepping a bottom or trimming your sails, look elsewhere. But if you want to know how to play the nautical chess game that is key to so many one-design classes, this is a great guide.

Rushall's book is an engaging mix of photo sequences, illustrations, and text. The tactics move seamlessly from the basic tenets of one-design racing to more complex concepts, and everything is easy to understand thanks to the clear prose and ample artwork.

I particularly like the detail that Rushall affords each part of the process. He spends the first third of the book--more than 60 pages--talking about pre-start preparation. How many times have we heard expert sailors stress the importance of pre-race research? The windward mark alone occupies 16 pages. My favorite tidbit in that chapter was the slight duck Rushall recommends when you're on layline and a boat is crossing your stern wondering whether to follow you in to the mark. A quick duck at the right time and they think you're not laying the mark and carry on a bit further, giving you some valuable breathing room.

Rushall's book runs just less than $30 and can be found at www.amazon.com or www.bluewaterweb.com among other places.

A PDF of an excerpt from the book published by Yachts & Yachting can be found here.