Mike Broughton's Cowes Week nav tips

Former Whitbread navigator and Cowes veteran Mike Broughton gives his top tips for winning this week

Osborne Court Top Window - The RYS start line transits and high intensity lights are never more difficult to see, than on a busy start line during Cowes Week, in the final 25 seconds prior to the start gun, as other boats invariably obscure them. Brief your bowman to also be aware of the transit of the RYS Flag Staff, in line with the top window in the tower of Osborne Court apartments, when starting to the west. This transit is usually visible above the height of other boat masts. When starting on the east going line, look out for transit of the RYS flagstaff in line with the corner of the red roofed house, further up the hill.
Beware the Escape Route - Beating against a southwesterly along the Green with a close fleet can easily end in tears! You may be in great shape, as you race in on starboard tack, in clear air, with the fleet lined up on your starboard hip, but you have to be able to plan your escape! If you have larger faster boats inside you, it can be very tricky and if you have a poor tack, you could well end up dipping a lot of sterns as you exit on port tack. If the fleet is close up to you and you approach the shore you may have to call for water, so start a dialogue early. The boats close by inside may also be trapped on starboard by other boats on their hip. The fifth boat in may not have anticipated the pending problem, as she merrily continues on starboard tack, leaving you sweating as the shore fast approaches. It was here that one Fastnet Race favourite ended their race damaged after only 200m, whilst another boat sailed the whole course, thought they had won, and later got disqualified for an infringement after only 55 seconds of racing. Pick your lanes carefully and avoid having to tack too often and getting buried in a pack of boats. With starts often heading west, slugging it out in a beat along the Cowes Green, works well for the leading boats, but in a large Cowes Week fleet, those a little further back, end up 'eating dirt' for along time.

Fools tack in! - Don't get caught out when you are beating up a shore against the tide such as around Ryde Sands. Note in the picture above the horse shoe-shaped bay near SW Mining Ground buoy. Not on the chart, this bay could catch you out as you close the beach on echo sounder and go aground as you tack out. Brief your helm/tactician if the shore you are sailing towards is gently shelving or not. Tacking with 0.5m under the keel is okay on a gentle shelf around Beaulieu, but probably too late tacking up a steep shoreline such as Ryde Sands, where the depth shelves from 13m to 2m in two boat lengths. Rocks demand even more respect, so beware if the type of shore you approach is not a gentle shelf and the rest of the crew are ‘egging’ you in closer purely on the basis of soundings.