LAST REACH
Ross Williams: You need to come out of that last gybe tight to the buoy so you position yourself above the guy you are trying to overtake. Usually it is pretty tough to pass another racer on the reach unless you sneak off really downwind and they don’t realize you are even there. I did that to Josh Angulo in Turkey and he didn’t see me coming. You have to read the situation and read how the course is.
Pierre Mortefon:You have several options. Most of the guys behind you might just try and crash into you so you have to avoid those situations. Otherwise the guy in sixth might be the lucky one! As I approach the last gybe, I am weighing up all my options on how I am going to take the guy in front. Sometimes guys just scream to put a racer off, even if they are not even close.
John Skye: If you are ahead stay high and don’t let them come upwind of you. If they get close, you can basically sail directly at the boat and then they don’t have room to get past. If you are behind I have seen it a few times that going really low can pay off. Often whoever is ahead might not see you and maybe back off their speed a bit if they think they are safe; then you can sneak in from below under the radar. I have never pulled this off ever, but again I have seen Ross go from 6th to 4th doing this and the poor guy who thought he was safely in 4th never even saw it coming and got knocked out.
THE PODIUM
Matteo Iachino: The feeling is awesome. In 2013 I achieved my first podium in Costa Brava and for me I was so stoked because I never expected it. Last year I won again in Costa Brava and could not believe it. Now I am more confident of my racing ability I am always thinking of my overall ranking. My mindset has changed. When you move your goals then you are able to go forward with your sailing, otherwise you can get stuck in a rut. The feeling to be on the podium is one of accomplishment.
Pierre Mortefon: It is a super nice feeling to make the top three but number four is the worst place for me. You may be top four in the world but you don’t have this great feeling of being on the podium. It is obviously the best if you win an event as you know you beat all the top guys after a week of racing. You made the right choices, you had the best speed and you had the best preparation. You remember why you did all that hard work during the winter!
Ross Williams: I love it! It’s the moment when you feel you have respect from your fellow sailors. It isn’t easy to make a podium these days, so when you do make it, that is something special. It means you have worked really hard. Everyone is fast these days. It depends what sea state it is. It was awesome to finish second in Fuerteventura in what most regard as the toughest conditions and that was probably my biggest accomplishment more so than winning the event in Austria. We had a lot of racing and there was no disputing the result.
Steve Allen: It is the pinnacle to make a PWA podium and it has been a long time since I have been there. That is the goal; to race well enough to make the podium. In Formula I am more thinking about being number one but in PWA slalom just to make the podium is an awesome achievement. The worst position is definitely fourth!