An important skill to practice is timing. You want to be able to judge, under different conditions, how much time it will take to reach the starting line at full speed. Set a buoy in the water, or pick a dock, or something fixed, to which you can sail. Then, set a limit like 30 seconds for yourself. The goal is to sail at full speed and reach the marker at exactly 30 seconds. Keep going back to try changing your distance and speed, until you can judge the distance correctly. Practice under different wind conditions.

as seen in Optinews

Huh? Look for velocity? What the heck are you talking about? First, remember that velocity means speed. Whenever possible, sail your boat to the side of the course or into areas on the course with more wind (velocity). Other things being equal, if one side of the course has darker water (a sign of more wind) that's usually the side to sail towards. Or if you're sailing upwind and see a strong puff coming but you're sailing away from it, tack and sail towards the puff.

This will help you in any conditions, but you'll really make big gains when it's light. In the light stuff, the skipper who looks for velocity and sails in 4 knots of wind is going to cream the skipper who drifts along in 2 knots of wind. Probably the greatest sailor in the history of sailboat racing is Paul Elvstrom. In a large fleet, you could pick out Paul. He was the guy standing up during the starting sequence, looking upwind to find which side had the most wind. Not a bad habit to imitate.

Pretty simple stuff, but it's the simple things that work. Look for the dark water. Sail for velocity.