Whilst most people everyone imagines races are won by the fastest racer, windsurf racing around an upwind/downwind (windward/return) course is usually won by the first racer around the course, whether or not they be the "fastest" in terms of absolute velocity.

Course racing really is a lot about VMG (Velocity Made Good), which is in effect a measure of the effective "vector speed" at which you move from one mark (or waypoint) to the next around the course. Whilst your board speed (over water) could be quite high (say 30 knots), as you can only sail at a limited angle towards (or away from) the wind, your effective speed (VMG) from downwind marks to windward (or vice versa) will be lower than your absolute speed (velocity). Only on a beam reach directly between two marks across the wind will your "VMG" get close to your actual board speed (velocity).

Judging the most "effective" angle or point of sail during your windward and downwind legs will deliver the best VMG, get you to each mark earlier, and around the course "sooner" (even if a at a lower absolute velocity), which is what really wins course races.

· The two factors to balance in your mental racing navigation plan are to minimize both time spent and distance sailed between each mark around the course.

In most races, you can make or recover more ground over your competitors during upwind legs than on the downwind legs, which emphasizes the advantage of good upwind speed and ability.

For good upwind speed, use your adjustable outhaul to trim your sail fairly flat - racing upwind you will have quite a bit of power generated from the sail, so trimming it flatter will make it easier to handle and faster.

If you are using adjustable harness lines, now is the time to shorten them right up. Your sail will be well raked back, the foot of your sail well inboard across the deck towards the centerline of the board.

Keep your hips (harness) and lower bodyweight back, drive hard through your front foot, while using your back leg to trim the board/fin and bend your upper body weight forward from above your hips. Using the power of the sail and your leveraged weight through the rig, keep the front of the board calm and glued down to the water.

In lightwind especially, hike as far outboard as possible, skimming low over the water with your backside, whilst reach out as far as possible to keep your rig as upright to the wind as you can.

Keep the board and rig stable and as "quiet" as possible; flying into the air off chop or waves may look impressive, but this all takes energy away from your drive to windward, as well as increasing the risk of an unscheduled swim! Maintain a steady trim on your board, both side to side, and fore and aft while all the time feeling out the trim angle for both the board and fin that will give you the best combination of speed and pointing/upwind ability. The optimal trim angle will vary with conditions, the type of board and fin you are using, how powered up you are and a range of other variables.

Feel out the edge of your fin's performance window, knowing how far upwind you can angle it before it starts to stall out and lose efficiency. Some fins will give a speed (velocity) advantage, but with reduced upwind ability; others may be a little slower in velocity, but hold that velocity to a higher upwind angle; depending upon your choice of fin (and your ability to get the performance from it), your tactics and choice of course angles to the next mark may vary from others around you.

Be alert for wind shifts on the course, referred to in sailing terms as "Lifts" and "Headers". A Lift is a shift in the wind toward the back of your board, and will help you sail towards the next mark, whilst it's opposite (a Header or Knock) is a shift in the wind toward the front of your board that will reduce your ability to sail directly towards your next mark.

Lifts and headers occur throughout an entire race but are easiest to recognize on the windward leg. Sailors look for lifts and headers when sailing the downwind leg of a course as well. Downwind, they are harder to recognize because your board angle is not as directly related to the wind angle as it is upwind, but their definition remains the same.

Depending on your tack relative to the wind shift, a Lift or Header could require you change tack to maximize your use of that shift to carry you more effectively towards (and not away from) the next mark. If you need to tack to take advantage of the wind shift, you will loose some speed and time in the maneuver; you need to mentally judge the "value" of any gain versus the potential loss of time and speed whilst tacking.

You don't want to slow and tack every few meters, but at the same time sailing too far outside the course proper on any one tack can make it very difficult to effectively "cover" your opposition, and will also leave you more exposed to unfavorable wind shifts.

Sail an efficient course with minimal tacks to take you from the start line to the layline without going too far outside the course area, tacking as required to take advantage of a favorable shift (or minimize the damage of an unfavorable one !).

The layline is the point where, when sailing upwind or downwind, you can tack or jibe and sail to the next mark at your optimal VMG angle without making any additional tacks or jibes; you are sailing the most efficient course possible to the next mark. Laylines change with changes in wind direction, velocity, and current. They are considered the outer boundaries of the race course beyond which you are sailing extra distance. There is always a port and starboard layline for every windward and downwind mark.

Setting an accurate layline is important: tack onto the layline to early and you'll come up short under the windward mark (and usually in a wind shadow and choppy water zone of others as they round the mark upwind of you). Tacking onto you layline too late means you will sail a "longer" course than necessary, which will add to your race time.

As you set into your layline, sail just a little upwind of the actual mark, as any drop in windspeed as you close on the mark (or windshadow from other racers) can often cause a slight loss of your pointing ability right on the mark, which could cause you to miss laying the mark, and requiring an extra tack to get you around the mark.

Be wary of other sailors approaching on opposite tacks towards windward marks. With such extreme upwind angles, and sails raked well back whilst riders concentrate on squeezing to windward, this is often the area where unexpected collisions can occur.

Once around the top mark you'll either be heading straight back downwind, or, if the course has a beam reach leg, your next course to the next mark will take you across the wind on a reach.

Your board speed will increase significantly over your speed during the windward leg, and you'll quickly find yourself well powered up again in anything other than the lightest breeze.

Adjust your outhaul to find the best combination of (controllable) power. Note that holding onto the most powerful tuning possible in powered beam conditions may not be the fastest, as apart from extra drag induced by the fuller sail, you'll likely also lose potential top end speed as you struggle to control your board and sail. If the wind is light, you may need to ease your outhaul just a little to increase your sail power, especially if you're looking for a little extra acceleration away from a slow tack around the top mark. Your stance is now a lot squarer to the board as you sail across the wind.

For maximum speed and control, look for a smooth pathway through the chop or swell; avoid the peaks and troughs that will take energy away from your board as you speed towards the next mark.

Set your next mark rounding up nicely, not too wide on the entry, as long as the wind is reasonably steady, you should be comfortable to reach the next mark without having to allow too much "buffer" to windward in your course on this leg.

As you approach the mark rounding, it's a good time to set up your variable harness lines to a longer setting for the downwind leg, and be ready with your variable outhaul to bag your sail out to a fuller setting as soon as you round the mark and head downwind.

As you round the mark and start the downwind (leeward) leg, you should be able to increase your speed and head off at a deeper downwind angle. This will likely be the fastest leg of your race, and the behavior of the board may be quite a bit different in feel to the upwind character.

Loosen your outhaul setting, allowing your sail shape to become a lot fuller than upwind or beam reach; in the extreme, your sail can be loose and laying over the opposite boom arm all the way forward to the harness lines.

Your stance will now be well back over the tail of the board, rather than out to the side, and the sail will be angled well across the board rather than sheeted in along the length of the deck.

If you feel the board becoming a little uncontrollable with the combination of power, speed and chop, now would be the time to make use of the 5th or chicken strap if fitted. This allows a slightly less committed stance than the rear outer straps, and can help with control in harsh off the wind conditions. It usually also reduces the amount of performance that you can squeeze out of the fin and board as you reach very deep downwind angles. Depending on your skill and experience, you may have at that point in time just about all the power and speed that you can use, and staying upright in the chicken strap is likely faster than having a major downwind wipeout in the faster outer straps if you can't quite handle it. Practice and familiarity with your gear makes a lot of difference here, and spending time before racing making fast and deep downwind runs with a well powered sail will help a lot!

Drive the board as deep as possible downwind, make use of chop or swell running downwind to help keep you on the plane at as deep an angle as possible to maintain top speed downwind. Despite all your speed, heading too directly downwind can slow the board again as it falls off the plane. The sudden increase in windload in the sail as your board stalls off the plane during a deep downwind run can be quite unsettling. If you feel the board start to drop off the plane, before the situation gets too far out of control, just allow the nose of the board to come around a few degrees back towards the wind (towards more of a broad reach angle). This will repower the sail, and boost you back onto the plane again; from there, you can push for a deeper angle again if the wind and your control allow it. Finding that optimal angle is important. That "straight line" to the bottom downwind mark is mighty efficient VMG if you can plane all the way there.

Running deep downwind at speed, you may find yourself overtaking slower sailors. Pick your line carefully as you overtake; often the inside line "underneath" is the fastest direct route, but will take you through their wind shadow. Be prepared, and allow enough space to move back to windward as you pass underneath them in case you suddenly loose power yourself.

As you angle towards the bottom mark and set your layline, it may pay to be a little cautious and initially angle a little deeper below the mark than essential. The closer you get to the mark, the more you can progressively reduce this buffer, but if the wind fades towards the mark, to maintain your planing threshold, you'll likely have to angle closer back to the wind, and would then not make the downwind mark as intended.

As you approach the bottom mark, set up your rounding so that you are moderately tight on the exit to avoid any over ambitious sailors crashing through on top of you as you exit onto the next leg. Entering the rounding, you may decide to crank on a little extra outhaul at the last moment; The windload in your rig will increase dramatically as you come off the deep downwind angle and back onto either a beam reach or windward heading. You'll likely have a few other distractions at that moment, and having your outhaul preset can avoid a unexpected overpower blast as you round the mark.