TopTip 2020 #14 
Late Launches 
by Gilles Peeters, FRA 

Gilles Peeters represents RS Sailing France in sunny Brittany and often coaches and races RS Aeros with the growing French fleet there. As a supporter of RS events he is often one of the last to launch (like me!) after helping others, so has to be ready to race quickly. Rather than talk of the ideal process of launching early to be fully prepared, Gilles describes the important elements to focus on... "quand le temps n'est pas votre ami"!

Gilles Peeters on dealing with Late Launches;
'There are often several bad or good reasons why I get on the water among the latest in the fleet. But I noticed I sometimes even take advantage to this situation, by having to raise my game and focus.
Being one of the latest to get to the start line means you wont have plenty of time to make settings adjustments, collect infos and produce a complete strategy. So my 2 top tips in this situation are;

1) Be as prepared as possible ashore. Your brain must be clean with any doubts. All the things that can be done in advance ashore should be prepared; settings, prepared equipment, sailing instructions info, racecourse, meteo, tidal current...
2) Be fast collecting the rest of the info as you get to the race area. Be clear in your mind that you 'only' have to collect quickly all that you need to finish the strategy puzzle. Let's get some examples:

• You don't speed test yourself upwind, you only confirm if the waves will effectively punch you mainly on the port or starboard side.
• You view the committee boat angle on its anchor and the angles of the sailors testing the start line. Observation is quicker than you checking it yourself.
• You don't have time to test the starting lay line, but you notice that the current is still pushing the waiting sailors up to the line.
• You look at the geography of the racecourse. Have you raced a similar situation before?

Even when you are last to leave shore, having a well rehearsed check list allows you to be fast collecting and processing the pre-start informations and then take quick decisions on your strategy!
Bonne navigation! Gilles'

Photo by Steve Greenwood. Gilles scored a 3rd place in a race at the RS Aero 7 World Championships in Carnac, France, 2017.