A practice session program

IOM Practice Day Checklist

Pre-Sailing:

• Check battery levels (Tx & Rx fully charged)

• Inspect rigging (shrouds, forestay, sheets, etc.)

• Confirm correct sail setup (A rig, B rig, etc.)

• Quick hull/rudder/keel cleaning

• Set transmitter trims to neutral

• Wind check: note direction, strength, gustiness

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Warm-up:

• 5–10 minutes upwind sailing

• 5–10 minutes downwind sailing

• Adjust sail trim if needed (especially camber & twist)

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Drills:

• Start Practice

• Time runs to the line

• Low-speed accelerations

• Tacking Drill

• Quick, smooth tacks

• Minimal speed loss

• Mark Roundings

• Tight, efficient turns

• Full power out of rounding

• Downwind Gybing

• Smooth gybes

• Maintain speed through maneuvers

• Mini Races (if possible)

• Good start

• Hit shifts

• Smart mark approaches

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Post-Sailing:

• Write down today’s tuning settings

• Note what worked / didn’t work

• Rinse boat (especially after saltwater)

• Charge batteries

• Plan next practice focus

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Today’s Focus:

(e.g., “starts,” “gybing control,” “light air tuning”)

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Notes:

(good/bad, lessons learned, gear tweaks needed)

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Tip:

Keep a little notebook (or use your phone) to log tuning settings and practice observations. You’ll build a personal tuning guide over time that makes race days way easier.

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Perfect! Here’s a sample IOM practice session you can use — it’s about 2 hours, but you can stretch or shorten it depending on how much time you’ve got:

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Sample IOM Training Session

Warm-up (15 min)

• Sail upwind and downwind casually.

• Focus on feeling the boat — is the balance right? Helm neutral?

• Make quick sail trim adjustments if needed.

• Do a few relaxed tacks and gybes to get your reactions tuned up.

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Drill 1: Starts and Acceleration (20 min)

• Set a small starting line (or imagine one).

• Practice 0.5 minute “mini starts” — time it so you hit the line at full speed.

• Mix it up: practice low-speed builds and fast-paced punchy starts.

• Key focus: positioning, timing, acceleration.

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Drill 2: Short Upwind Course with Whistle Tacks (20 min)

• Sail a 30–40 meter upwind course between two buoys.

• Have someone blow a whistle (or self-time every 10–15 seconds).

• Tack on command without losing boat speed.

• Key focus: speed through tacks and quick trimming after tacking.

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Drill 3: Mark Rounding Practice (20 min)

• Set one buoy to use as a leeward or windward mark.

• Sail in, round the mark tight, and exit on a good course.

• Do 10–15 roundings — focus on tight radius, no contact, full power out of turn.

• Alternate between windward and leeward rounding.

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Drill 4: Downwind Gybing Challenge (20 min)

• Set two downwind buoys about 50–70 meters apart.

• Sail back and forth, gybing on command or every few boat lengths.

• Focus on smooth rudder movement and keeping the boat powered up during the gybe.

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Mini-Races (20 min)

• If you have a buddy or two, set up a quick windward-leeward course.

• Do 2-3 short sprint races (5–7 minutes each).

• Focus on putting all the skills together: start, boat speed, tacks, laylines, roundings.

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Cool-down / Tuning Check (10 min)

• Relaxed sailing upwind/downwind.

• Fine-tune rig tension, sail shape for conditions.

• Note anything you want to adjust for next time.

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Session Goals Summary:

• Fast starts.

• Smooth and fast tacks/gybes.

• Tight, efficient mark roundings.

• Keeping the boat moving fast all the time.