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One thing you can say about most sailing campaigns is that they will bring you to a bunch of places where you have never sailed before. Therefore, one of the skills you need for success is the ability to adapt quickly to the conditions at a new venue. This includes wind and current patterns, of course, but also everything else you need to manage a successful campaign, including where you sleep, eat, store your boat and so on. The more you know about that particular area, the sooner you’ll be in your comfort zone, and the easier it will be to focus on going fast around the race course. That’s why we have included a list of Venue Reports on this website. We started with the most popular racing venues in North America and asked racing sailors to send in their comments about local knowledge (this is an ongoing work in progress). We have also included a number of specific links for wind and weather at each location. So when you are racing at one of the sites on our list, just add a bookmark for that venue and check often on the conditions and forecasts.

There are many other ways to learn about the local conditions before you start racing at a new venue. Here are a few:

•Find and talk to the ‘local knowledge’ guru – It seems like there is always a person in every venue who has been racing there daily for the past 25 years. Corner them and find out what they know that could help you.

• Spend time sailing in that area – Go to that venue before your regatta and sail there, preferably with one or more boats. Watch what happens with the wind and current. Then write down your observations at the end of each day.

• Get to the race area early – On race day, leave the dock early enough so you can sail all around the race course, looking for patterns in the wind and water.

• Find a buddy – Ask another boat if they will work with you before the races to figure out the wind. You might sail to opposite sides of the course, or just do speed tests and see which boat gains consistently.

• Watch the local sailors – Keep an eye on the good local racers since they will go the right way more often than not.