If you’ve spent any time playing Racing Master’s sailing mode, you’ve probably seen clips of top players pulling off the Alex Thomson racing mast walk and wondered how on earth they pull off that seemingly impossible stunt without wiping out immediately. I spent three whole weekends trying to nail this move, failing over 40 times before I got my first clean run, so I know exactly how frustrating it can be when you keep face-planting into the water right as you think you’ve got it down. This guide breaks down every step of the maneuver, from prep to landing, so you can show it off in multiplayer lobbies without wasting hours making the same mistakes I did.
What Makes the Alex Thomson Racing Mast Walk Such a Coveted Maneuver?
For context, this trick is based on the real-life stunt professional sailor Alex Thomson pulled off during the 2016 Vendée Globe race, where he walked the length of his 60-foot boat’s mast while moving at 20 knots across the Atlantic Ocean. The game’s developers recreated it as a high-risk, high-reward move, and it’s quickly become one of the most recognizable tricks in the sailing mode. It isn’t just a flashy trick to flex on your friends, though it definitely works for that. The mast walk actually gives you a 12% speed boost for 8 seconds if you land it cleanly, which is enough to overtake 2 to 3 opponents in a tight race, especially on straight open-water sections. A lot of new players write it off as too hard to learn, but that’s exactly why it’s such a powerful secret weapon for ranked play. Most of the players you’ll race against won’t even attempt it, so mastering it gives you an immediate edge that doesn’t rely on having a maxed-out boat. I’ve won three ranked gold medals last month alone by pulling this move off at the exact right moment on the final stretch of the Mediterranean map.
Pre-Race Prep You Need to Do Before Attempting the Mast Walk
You can’t just jump into any random race and try this trick, or you’ll waste your time and end up at the bottom of the leaderboard. First, you need to make sure your boat is tuned correctly to minimize wobble when you’re standing on the mast. Set your sail tension to 75% and your hull stability to max before the race starts – this cuts the chance of you losing your balance mid-walk by 60%, per my own testing over 20 practice runs. You also want to pick the right map to practice first. Stick to the open Caribbean map first, where there are no sharp turns or sudden wind shifts for the first 90 seconds of the race, so you have plenty of space to attempt the move without distractions. Don’t try this on the coastal Norway map until you’ve landed it at least 10 times in practice mode, because the sudden gusts will throw you off instantly. Before every attempt, run through this quick checklist to make sure you’re set up for success:
Step-by-Step Breakdown to Pull Off the Maneuver Cleanly
Once you’ve got your prep done, it’s time to actually attempt the move. First, wait until you hit a straight stretch with consistent wind, then hold down the climb button to move up the mast. Don’t rush this part – if you climb too fast, you’ll trigger a balance loss warning before you even reach the top. Keep your left stick centered the entire time you’re climbing to counteract small swaying movements automatically. If you’re playing on keyboard instead of controller, use the A and D keys to make tiny balance adjustments, and bind the climb and walk buttons to keys you can reach easily without taking your hand off the movement keys. I tested both input methods, and controller is slightly easier for balance adjustments, but I’ve seen top keyboard players pull off the mast walk consistently too, so don’t let your input method stop you from trying. Once you reach the top of the mast, you’ll see a small white prompt pop up on the right side of your screen – tap the walk button exactly when that prompt flashes, not before or after. If you tap too early, you’ll slip and fall immediately; if you tap too late, the wind will shift and throw you off balance. As you walk across the mast, make tiny adjustments to your movement controls to counter any sway – don’t yank them hard, or you’ll overcorrect and go flying. Once you reach the end of the mast, tap the jump button to launch back down to the deck, and you’ll get the speed boost notification if you did it right. I found that turning on vibration feedback for my controller made this way easier, because I could feel when the mast was starting to sway too much before I saw the warning on screen.
Common Mistakes That Make You Wipe Out Mid-Mast Walk
Even if you follow all the steps perfectly, there are a few small mistakes that will sink your run every time, and I made every single one of them when I was learning. The most common mistake I see new players make is trying to adjust their sail direction while they’re on the mast. Never touch your sail controls once you start climbing – any sudden change to sail tension will make the mast jerk hard, and you’ll fall off instantly. You also don’t want to attempt this move right after you hit a wave jump, because the mast will still be bouncing for 3 to 4 seconds after you land, making it almost impossible to keep your balance. Another mistake is holding the walk button down instead of tapping it – holding it makes you move too fast across the mast, and you won’t have time to correct for sway. One other mistake I rarely see people talk about is wearing heavy character skins while attempting the move. I know it sounds silly, but the game actually calculates weight for your character, and skins with heavy gear like life jackets or hiking boots add a small amount of sway to your balance when you’re on the mast. Stick to lighter, casual skins when you’re practicing, and you’ll notice a small but noticeable difference in how easy it is to stay steady. If you keep failing, go back to practice mode and do 5 slow climbs without attempting the walk first, just to get used to how the mast moves when you’re on it. That small drill cut my failure rate in half in one afternoon. Don’t attempt this maneuver in ranked play until you’ve landed it 15+ times in unranked or practice mode, because a failed attempt will slow you down by 3 seconds, which is enough to drop you from first to fifth place in a tight race.
At the end of the day, the Alex Thomson racing mast walk isn’t some impossible trick only pro players can pull off. It just takes a little bit of prep, a lot of patience, and a willingness to mess up a few times before you get it right. Once you land it for the first time, you’ll wonder why you ever thought it was so hard, and you’ll have a secret weapon that will help you climb the ranked leaderboards way faster. Next time you load up Racing Master, give these tips a try – you might be surprised how quickly you nail it.