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All the tips above are good.
The minimal basics are:
Be on the line at the start, accelerating, and with no one to leeward who can dish dirty air up onto you, nor anyone to windward who can run over you. Keep your air clear for the first 3 minutes of any race, and you're going to have to have either dogs*&t boatspeed or clueless tactics, or a truly cruel unexpected windshift, to finish in the bottom half.
Don't shoot the corners early. When you get too far off the rhumb line, look for a slight header to help you "dig in" back towards the ever-narrowing cone that leads to the windward mark.
Keep your air clear (did I already say this?). Tack on headers, stay on lifts, and try to get a favorable shift for your last tack to the windward mark.
Downwind, do the opposite than upwind. Jibe on lifts, stay on headers.
Stay between a beaten boat and the mark, either upwind or downwind. Downwind is tougher, obviously.
And have good boatspeed. Copy the fast boats to see how.
And good luck. Racing's the best sailing school there is..
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