If you could create a "playbook" with all the elements of how to make a sailboat go fast, what would it include?  That's what this four-part webinar from Speed&Smarts is all about.  St. Joseph River Yacht Club has arranged with the instructor - Dave Dellenbaugh - to rebroadcast his February 2026 webinar for our southwest Michigan sailing community for a group discount rate of $30 per person.    

David Dellenbaugh is the creator of the Speed&Smarts educational resource for sailors.  He is a champion helmsman, tactician, author, coach, rules expert, and seminar leader who has spent his career helping sailors sail faster and smarter.  

The webinar series takes a deep dive into speed topics such as boat tuning, mast pre-bend, sail trim, changing gears, speed communication, windward helm, crew weight placement, and much more.  The goal is to give everyone a useful list ("playbook") of top-priority tips and rules of thumb that will serve as your sailing go-fast guide.  The material is applicable to virtually any type of sailboat from dinghy to large keelboat.  

The webinar will be offered at the St. Joseph River Yacht Club, third-floor presentation space, in 4 sessions of about 2 hours each on Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm EDT beginning on April 8.  The club restaurant and the bar will be open for us.  Everyone is invited – you need not be a member of St. Joseph River Yacht Club. 

This is the agenda of topics:  

• April 8:  Go-fast essentials groundwork for rig tune, boat trim, sail handling, sail shape, crew communication, etc. 
• April 15:  Sail trim rules of thumb for steering and to achieve boatspeed goals in different wind and wave conditions.
• April 22:  Boat trim specific guidelines for mainsail trim and jib/genoa trim, upwind and downwind.
• April 29:  Boat trim specific guidelines for symmetrical and asymmetrical spinnaker trim, and the speed loop for changing gears upwind.

The $30 registration fee will be collected either in advance or at any one of the sessions that you can attend.  It entitles you to view all 4 sessions and receive unlimited access to replay links so you can review them in the future.  You will also receive reading materials that support the webinar, including two selected Speed&Smarts newsletters on this topic, a clever boatspeed IQ test, a set of questions and answers from the original webinar, and a PDF document that contains all the boatspeed technique guidelines charted in the form of a playbook.

Dave Dellenbaugh's policy is that each registrant of his webinars is permitted to share the webinar and support materials with his or her crew.  There is a great deal to learn here in a practical format that everyone on the crew can understand and apply! 

If you would like to attend, please contact Paul Falk by email or cellphone. 
Payment will be accepted at the door.  We can accept Venmo, PayPal, cash, or check.
pfalk@falkspina.com or 312-405-0426