North U's Performance Race Week: Starts, speed and decision-making from St Thomas in the USVI!

Kristen Berry kindly invited me to take part in North U / American Sailing’s Performance Race Week in St Thomas this February; this collaborative episode is a detailed debrief of that programme.

 

We unpack the structure of the week, the coaching approach, the type of sailors who benefit, and the key performance insights—from start sequence execution and acceleration mechanics to decision-making and the mental game under pressure. All of it played out in IC24s in consistently challenging – and beautiful - Caribbean conditions.

 

If you’re looking to refine your racing process and extract marginal gains, there’s a lot in here to take away.  Hope you find something you can use on the water this Spring!

What is Sailfaster: The Podcast For Racing Sailors?

Sailfaster is the podcast for competitive sailors who want to sail faster and win more races. Each episode, host Pete Boland sits down with Olympic medallists, America's Cup and SailGP sailors, offshore racers and coaches to unpack starting technique, boat speed, race tactics, crew management, regatta preparation and race-day mindset — the details that separate the front of the fleet from the rest. Whether you race dinghies, one-designs, keelboats or offshore, you'll walk away with something to use on the water this weekend.