Welcome to our Brand New Updated Site!
Apply to Join the S1D Team

Search the Site

A person leans out of a small sailboat, holding the mainsheet as the boat tilts on a sunny lake with trees in the background.

Tactics & Strategy

Image placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

Ken Legler’s TR Coach Notes #2 & 3

By Ken Legler Practice Drills for Team Racing Most team racing drills fall into two categories; race and re-set and forced rounding combinations.  There are plenty more but let’s start […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA diagram shows wind flowing downward onto a series of triangle shapes (representing diodes) and red ovals connected by lines, illustrating a possible electrical circuit affected by wind.

Winter Teammate Meetings: Ken Legler’s Team Race Coach Notes #1

Ken Legler, just retired from a multi-decade run as a successful championship college sailing coach, most notably at Tufts University, shares his notebook with Sail1Design in this Team Racing how-to […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannSeveral small sailboats with numbered sails race on a river beneath a large cable-stayed bridge on a clear, sunny day. The water is calm, and the sky is bright blue.

Crew Communication in Team Racing: How to Optimize Your In-Boat Dialogue to Make Plays Happen

By Airwaves writer Lucas Masiello Team racing adds an incredible amount of complexity to sailing tactics. While everything from fleet racing strategy applies to a team race, the tactics and […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

A Layman’s Guide to Basic Sailing Meteorology: How to Use Weather Patterns and Geography to Improve Your Racing Strategy

By Airwaves writer Lucas Masiello As sailors, we participate in a sport that is uniquely dependent on the weather. Everything from wind shifts to puffs and lulls is all products […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

Never Get Fouled

By Airwaves Contributor Ken Legler “See that guy?  Not only does he never foul, he never gets fouled,” said my Dad when I was 15. “That’s impossible,” I thought, not […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannThree people sail a small boat through choppy waters, leaning to balance as ocean spray splashes high. The sunlight glistens on the water, and the sail is taut in the wind.

Strategy & Tactics in Waves

By Andrew Kerr Having recently sailed a 10 race series at Key West Race Week that featured a large part of the regatta with waves and cluster chop. Here is […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannFour sailboats with white and tan sails, labeled with USA numbers, race closely together on a lake with trees and houses visible in the background. The sky is overcast and the water is calm.

Tight Layline Management & The Art of the Shoot

By Airwaves writer Andrew Kerr Picture this: A team is approaching the weather mark in 3rd place on a tight starboard tack lay line , it looks like that with some […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA group of small sailboats with numbers on their sails race close together on a sunny day, with a red buoy in the water and a marina with buildings and trees in the background.

Starting: Make it or Break It

By Airwaves writer Rachel Bennung In high school and college sailing your start is one of the most important things. You may be thinking, well getting a good start is […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannThree sailboats race around a yellow buoy on choppy blue water, their crews actively managing the sails as the boats lean into the wind under a clear sky.

Use of a Time and Distance Chart for Starting and Mark Roundings

By Andrew Kerr Recently when thinking about how racers utilize time and distance, I customized a chart to use as a reference for 1 minute of sailing from either a […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

Using Weather to Dominate the Competition, Part 3: Precipitation

By Airwaves writer Eric Tobias (for part 1: https://www.sail1design.com/using-weather-dominate-competition/) (for part 2: https://www.sail1design.com/using-weather-dominate-competition-part-2-sea-breeze/) Precipitation Precipitation is an important factor to consider as a sailor. Rain doesn’t only mean that we […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

Using Weather to Dominate the Competition: Part 2, Sea Breeze

By Airwaves writer Eric Tobias (Editors note: To start at the beginning of this great series, check out Part 1 here: https://www.sail1design.com/using-weather-dominate-competition/) Sea Breeze  I was once racing a distance […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

Using the Weather to Dominate the Competition

Part 1: Surface Maps and Wind By Airwaves Writer Eric Tobias To move on to Part II, Sea Breeze, click HERE To skip to Part II, Precipitation, click HERE I […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannThree sailboats race closely around an orange buoy on choppy water under a cloudy sky, with crew members actively adjusting sails and steering. The sails display various numbers and logos.

Rounding the Windward and Offset Mark with a Symmetrical Spinnaker

By Andrew Kerr This article takes a look at the important elements of rounding the windward mark and offset mark with some key elements in mind for  teams using a […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

One Design Notebook: Developing a Team Position Chart

By Airwaves Writer Andrew Kerr One of the hardest things for a team to do is to field the same team at every race or regatta – inevitably someone cannot […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannFive people stand on a white sailboat in the water, smiling at the camera. Four wear matching blue shirts and shorts, one wears a white shirt. The boat’s sail displays 'HH' in red, and city buildings are visible in the background.

Communication for Speed!

By Andrew Kerr Picture yourself on   port tack, going fast – with a wall of starboard tackers coming at you that you can barely see but you know their bows […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

Tactics With Mike: Regatta Goals and an Effective Debrief

To learn more about Sail1Design Performance Coaching,click here!  I am changing the way I set goals and debrief at regattas.  Why?  Because I Just got done coaching racing skills leading […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA whiteboard with 'START LINE' and a dashed line drawn across. Below are two paper shapes, red and yellow, representing boats, with arrows and numbers indicating a sequence of movements.

Tactics with Mike: Defending a Starting Hole

Defending a hole is a logical follow on to our last Sail1Design article: “Start: Tacking in a Hole”.  Don’t forget to check out and research all of our Tactics/Strategy articles […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannTwo paper sailboat shapes, one red and one yellow, are on a whiteboard below a dashed 'START LINE.' Arrows and numbers show a sequence of movements between the boats.

Tactics with Mike: The Start & Tacking in a Hole

By Airwaves Writer & Coach, Mike Ingham               The Start: Tacking in a Hole Perhaps nothing is more important to a good start than controlling […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA man with a beard and short hair smiles at the camera, wearing a dark gray T-shirt with various logos on it. The background is out of focus, featuring green and blue tones.

Tune Up Your Sailing, with Russ Silvestri

By Airwaves writer Emma White         Spring Tune Up—Tips from the Experts As one-design sailors prepare for major spring and summer regattas, and maybe even Rio, this […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

The Art of Goal Setting: Focus on Process, Not Results

By Airwaves writer/coach Mike Ingham                                               Sail1Design: The Year’s […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom Sitzmann

Browse by Category

  • Logo of the International Snipe Class featuring a red bird flying over a white sailboat and a blue globe, with
  • Blue rectangular logo featuring the letters
  • A circular logo with
  • Logo featuring a stylized black sailboat above the words
  • A red flag with a horizontal blue stripe and a white circle in the center. Inside the circle, the number
  • Blue logo with the text
  • Blue logo with a stylized sail and wave, next to the text
  • Logo with stylized red parallel lines forming a dynamic
  • Ad for World Cup Supply custom sailing pinnies. Features logo, highlights 100% dye sublimated, any color combo, any design, 4-way stretch, low minimums. Contact: 800-555-0593, info@worldcupsupply.com, worldcupsupply.com.