This is not really what its title suggests - it covers quite a lot of detail, in conjunction with other sources. Don't be put off by it all - just think of those trophies!

So you now have your boat really well set up. You should already be enjoying better results. So what is the next stage? If you were taught to sail the 'RYA' way, little of this article should be news to you, less still if you have been attending the Splash coaching sessions! HOWEVER!!!
It is surprising just how short some people's memories are. On many occasions, I have witnessed very experienced sailors, with lots of training under their belts, still making basic mistakes. So before you jump on to the 'How to become World Champion' section, you could find some useful stuff in this article. Note that I have assumed moderate to fresh conditions on flat water prevail: light and heavy airs and waves require specialist techniques explained elsewhere.

BALANCE
You have a hull designed for planing, which it does extremely well, provided it is kept bolt upright (and trimmed correctly). As soon as you allow it to heel, it is no longer doing what it was designed to and will slow down, so...
When beating or reaching, keep it flat! (at least when travelling in a straight line, but more of that later). However many times this is said, I still see lots of people sailing their boat over 'on its ear'. They may think this looks cool, but be assured it makes the old salts cringe!
To figure out what effect this has, you can try sailing without a rudder, or even just letting go of the tiller. Heel to windward and you will bear away, to leeward and you will start luffing up. This is because as you heel, the shapes the two halves of the bows present to the water are different, producing unbalanced forces.
'So what?' I hear from those of you still awake. Think about it: if your boat is trying to steer itself because it is heeling, then you have to correct it with the handbrake - you know, that thing at the back you wiggle when the wind dies. The more pressure you have to exert on the tiller, the more the rudder slows you down.

Consider our two intrepid sailors (apologies to both of them if they recognise themselves). Both roughly the same weight, same day, same wind, same course, same mark.

On the left, the boat is heeling to leeward and therefore trying to luff up (these forces really do take over when travelling at speed). - The tiller will need to be pulled well over to windward, applying the brakes and the hull loses efficiency through the water, so the boat slows, reducing the effectiveness of the rudder. - To make matters worse, the rudder is over at an angle and as the tiller is pulled, it not only steers, but lifts the back of the boat as well, digging the bows in.

- As the angle of heel increases, more of the rudder will lift of the water, reducing its effectiveness further until, as in this case here, it will stall - meaning it doesn't work any more!
- The weight of the rig itself is tending to pull the boat over and the weight of the helm is being lifted toward the centre-line where it is much less effective.
- It is now too late to ease the main, 'cos bet you that boom-end will go in the water and, despite the really hard work from the helm, some horizontal sailing is almost inevitable.

All that was required here was for the sheet to be eased in the gust and the tiller pulled to promote a fast plane, giving more control and a quicker passage. (see article on 'Reaching for Speed')
I would guess the sailor was trying to keep close up to the mark for the coming beat. It would have been quicker to bear away, go faster and then harden onto the mark - the old 'wide in, tight out' principle.

Now look at our other yotter. The boat is flat and travelling fast. The sailor is relaxed and not fighting the boat. Quicker, easier, much less tiring, loads more fun and looks REALLY COOL! Bottom line: know thine enemy. Don't fight the forces that heeling produces - use them to your advantage. For instance - when rounding a windward mark or when going into a gybe, you will have a real fight trying to make the boat bear away if you are heeled to leeward.

Heeling to windward actually helps the boat to turn and takes that weight off the tiller, meaning you not only go faster, but look a lot cooler as well!

How to keep it flat? Firstly, if you find you are being overpowered, check you have your rig set up correctly particularly kicker and foot tension (see below and set-up articles elsewhere). If all is OK and you are still struggling, just try easing the sheet a bit (except when beating: see 'Mainsheet' below). You may feel this is wasting wind, but I assure you your boat will travel quicker if kept flat and some wind spilled. (This doesn't work when close-hauled - see 'Mainsheet below)

ON THE RUN

This is the reason you must KITE DOWNWIND (unless it is windy enough to plane, in which case keep it flat). With the boat upright, the sail is well out from the centreline and its driving force is trying to twist the boat up into the wind.
Heeling to windward does two things: it produces a counterbalancing force off the bows, trying to make the boat bear away against the force of the sail.
Secondly, the sail is brought closer in to the centreline, reducing its turning effect, until the forces balance out and no tiller force is required. It also reduces wetted area, improving boatspeed. Simple, huh?

TRIM.
Your fore-and-aft positioning in any sailing boat is very important for performance. Even our 5 ton yacht is affected by the position of the crew, so just think what you can do to your Splash! It is even more important for you because the wide stern and fine entry, (there to promote planing), make it easy to bury the bows.
I do not intend to re-invent the wheel, so go visit Rooster Sailing at
http://www.roostersailing.com/articles/boat_trim.html,
where there is an excellent article on this and many other subjects.

CONTROLLING THE POWER OF THE RIG
The power in a given sail and the forces it produces are determined by the amount of 'shape' or camber in it:

The Splash mast has a specific design section: wide across the boat, to reduce side bend and narrow fore-and-aft to allow lots of it! This is the main way in which you control the power of the sail. Get it wrong, especially in a blow, and your boat will seem unmanageable and really hard work. Get it right and you can have a real ball!

As the mast bends as shown, it flattens the sail off and reduces the power (and the amount of work you have to put in to keep the boat flat). How? Simple! Mainsheet and kicker.

MAINSHEET
Having already mentioned easing the sheet when overpowered, there is one point of sail when this does not work - close hauled. Why? I hear the last few remaining readers mumble. Answer: sail shape again. When beating, it is essential to keep the main sheeted block-to-block and the horse very tight. This induces mast bend and de-powers the sail.
*** IF YOU EASE THE MAIN IN A GUST, IT ALLOWS SHAPE BACK INTO THE SAIL AND, FAR FROM REDUCING HEELING FORCE, ACTUALLY INCREASES IT! ***
This is why a close reach is the most physically demanding point of sail.
If you experience difficulty keeping your boat flat upwind and everything is set up correctly, this is most probably why.
Answer: keep the sail sheeted right in (and hence flatter) and 'feather' the helm to luff slightly, being VERY ready to bear away again as soon as the gust passes - otherwise a teabag will follow! This takes practice to get it right and you still have to be ready to ease the main and bear away again if the boat slows right down, but on balance this is the most effective technique.
Keeping a 'weather eye' (i.e. watching upwind for incoming gusts and lulls) will help enormously in predicting what needs to be done and when.

KICKER (VANG)
Try this technique out: To set the kicker for upwind, make sure the horse is really tight, sheet the main in until block-to-block, luff up slightly above close-hauled to de-power a little, then yank the kicker as tight as you can before cleating it. Then pull on some more downhaul to get the camber back in the right place!
Just before the windward mark, you should already have the main block-to-block. Un-cleat the kicker and re-cleat with just a little tension on. When you bear away onto the downwind leg, you will have about the right amount of kicker. NOTE: Not easing the kicker downwind risks bending the mast in a broach. Don't forget to ease the downhaul too!

HIKING TECHNIQUES
Many sailors pay little attention to this very important subject. Yes, you do have to be fit, but get it wrong and you could damage your knees. Again, Steve Cockerell has some really good advice on this at:
http://www.roostersailing.com/articles/Hiking_Style.html.
'Nuff said.

DAGGER BOARD
Those of you who benefited from Neil Marsden's wisdom at Weymouth will know that dagger board setting is critical when running. You need enough to stabilise the boat (they don't go so good when horizontal) but too much significantly reduces speed. How much? Do some BUDDY SAILING and find out! Mark the board with permanent marker or tape so you know where to set it next time.

WORKING THE BOAT
When you next have a chance, watch a top class single-handed sailor racing. You will see they 'work' the boat all the time, particularly when it is windy. Sitting still on the side deck and letting the wind play all sorts of tricks on you is the fastest route to the back of the fleet. However, do pay regard to rule 42!

FURTHER REFERENCE
You could do worse than invest in Steve Cockerell's CD. Although it's written for the Laser, there are many parallels to be drawn with the Splash in technique terms.

Got all that? Good, then you are ready to go on to module 3: Reaching for Speed.