“We’re all tadpoles swimming in a stream,” says Tom Dolan of single-handed offshore racing. With so many human, technical and environmental factors feeding into overall performance on the race course, Dolan is always looking at ways of simplifying any process that he can.

One key area is understanding the complex tidal stream scenarios faced on every leg of the Solitaire du Figaro. With the scoreboard based on aggregate time, every moment matters. Dolan applies a few key rules of thumb to help analyse strategic and tactical situations – even in brutal sailing conditions where he is likely short on sleep and looking to manage his energy levels as efficiently as possible.

In this extended ‘5 Tips’, Tom shares his expert advice on how to think clearly in complex scenarios, and be the most efficient tadpole in the tide possible.

Set priorities

When you’re sailing short-handed and short on sleep, you need to keep things as simple as possible. I have a pile of strategic priorities I keep uppermost in my mind. I list them here in no particular order, as it’s always moving according to changing circumstances.

If conditions change, the order changes. When we pass a mark, again the order may very well change. If we find ourselves defending a lead, the order might change again. They are: synoptic wind; local effects; sea breeze; tidal current or shift; your opponents; and race course geometry.

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Adjust for point of sail

The position of tide in the pyramid of priorities depends on a number of factors including the strength of the tide, the strength of the wind and your point of sail. For example, the lighter the wind the more important the tide becomes, so the higher it moves up the list.

The point of sail is also vital. When sailing upwind against the tide, the wind and the tide are in the same direction, so this decreases the apparent wind flowing over your sails. Not only are you sailing against the tide – which slows your ground speed – but you’re also sailing in less wind which reduces your surface speed. So generally speaking, when sailing upwind, the tide gets bumped right up to the top of the pile.

Sailing downwind is a little different, as wind and tide are opposed, and the apparent wind flowing over the sails increases. The Figaro 3 is a light boat and the polars take quite a steep jump when sailing downwind. So an increase or decrease in wind speed or a shift in wind direction can relegate the tide to second or third place on our pyramid.

In both cases, wind and tide are together or opposed, so the zones of stronger or weaker flow are quite easily seen over the water in many cases, and can also be marked by long banks of seaweed. Just like looking at clouds in the sky to tell us what’s going on with the wind, seaweed and waves can act a bit like clouds in the water.

Another important thing to watch is the topography. Steep contours cause water to accelerate, so it can be very beneficial to aim for, or avoid, steep drops in the sea bed, especially along sandbanks or most commonly between 30-50m along the coast of the Channel.

Slack period as the tide changes direction can be critical – in the English Channel the tidal shift always arrives from the west

Time the slack

The period of slack as the tides start switching direction is a critical time for significant gains or losses. The timing of this period can vary a lot depending on variation in atmospheric pressure and how long the wind is blowing in the same direction. So look for every indicator available to make the best judgement about the timing.

In the English Channel the slack, or tidal shift, always arrives from the west, so your west/east positioning can be an important factor. Boats in the west will always extend or compress, especially if sailing upwind, so it’s important not to draw conclusions about boat speed at moments like this.

Factor in wind

As well as wind strength, tidal streams also have a huge impact on the wind direction that you experience on the surface of the water. We call this the ‘tide wind’. There are complicated vectors that we can use to calculate this shift, but an easy rule of thumb is that the ‘tide pushes the tail of the wind’.

Highly detailed tidal data is available from Barotropic, but can overwhelm boat computers

For example if the wind is northerly, and the tide arrives from the west, the wind will shift right. The lighter the wind, or the stronger the tide, the greater the shift.

Adrena will calculate this in the routing, and also has a good constant wind function which allows you to set a given wind direction.

When we cross the Channel in a straight line, the golden rule is to never struggle against the tide, so set your magnetic heading at the start and follow this number. On fast boats like the Figaro 3 which accelerate easily when you bear away by just 10° or 15°, it can be good to go a bit extreme in your trajectory.

However, on more conventional displacement boats, varying course is unlikely to translate into much of a speed gain.

Use old nav skills

Although I don’t actually use paper charts any more, I think my background of using paper charts helps me with rock hopping. I did three years of Mini Transat campaigning where we were only allowed to use paper charts, and I think that background gives me the level of knowledge and confidence to go in a little bit closer to the shore and any shallow areas compared with some of my competitors.

The ability to look at a rock in real life and relate it to what you see on a screen is a vital tool when you’re seeking to escape the worst of an adverse current. And remember, if you’re rock hopping, you’re more than likely sailing against the wind. Your ground speed is low (probably just 3-4 knots), so a collision probably is unlikely to cause that much damage!

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