The Monsoon Cup venue is on an island, with two rivers bordering the race area, and relatively shallow water between them. We asked two tacticians to explain the difference that makes to the tactics at the Monsoon Cup compared to other events on the Tour.

Cameron Dunn, tactician on Peter Gilmour’s YANMAR Racing:

“Yesterday the currents were the weakest I’ve ever seen, but it’s raining hard now and over the next a couple of days the flow will speed up as the water runs down from the mountains.

“In a sea breeze the larger river on the south-east side of the estuary favours the right hand side of the course. There’s also a smaller river on the north side of the course and that’s an important factor in some wind directions. It’s less than two boat lengths wide, but last year the flow reached three knots, so you get a really good advantage when you hit it.

“The surrounding land and buildings here make the wind very shifty and in light winds the current becomes even more of a factor. But these boats are under powered in those conditions, so it’s also important to get into the best patches of wind. That means it’s really interesting and challenging to race here – to me that makes this the best venue on the Tour.”

Iain Percy, tactician on Ben Ainslie’s TEAMORIGIN:

“The current here often makes race course very one-sided, but there are still all the normal considerations when sailing on enclosed waters – you need to be on the lifting tack and sailing towards the best pressure.

“The lighter the wind, the more important it is to chase the breeze, especially making sure you stay on the best side of the shifts. When the tide and wind are in disagreement – if they suggest going in opposite directions – it can be very difficult to make the right tactical calls. That makes it much harder to call the tactics here than in a non-tidal venue.”