Month: June 2021

To someone unfamiliar with our sport, two identical boats should sail at the same speed given equal crews, the same wind, and the same wave conditions.

What an outsider may not realise is that small changes in identical equipment can make big differences in boat speed and performance.

A couple of turns on a forestay turnbuckle can change the mast rake thus affect the helm load and balance or in the case of a side stay, it can affect mast bend characteristics and thus sail shape.

The adjustments available to a sailor are endless, ranging from the rig adjustments just mentioned through to sheet tension, outhaul, batten tension, Cunningham, and haliard tension to mention a few others.

Other than in boats with adjustable rigging systems (adjustments that can be done on the fly) most rigs are set up before you leave the beach or dock and cannot be changed once on the water.

These settings are based on your perception of what the day’s weather will be and once you are out there, you are stuck with those settings, so plenty of study of the weather patterns is important.

If you are sailing at a new venue, don’t be too shy to copy what the locals are doing to get the perfect tuning for that venue.

On the water, every change to a sail control will either give you a better or worse result and being able to ascertain the effect of these changes is incredibly difficult.

Select the most successful sailmaker in your class. They will have a tuning guide that will help you set up your mast rigging tension, fore and aft rake, and pre-bend for the various conditions.

If you are new to a class, not only follow the tuning guide but ask questions of the top sailors in the fleet and copy what they do. You will be surprised at how helpful they will be, it is just a case of plucking up the courage to ask.

Copying is not cheating and most champions appreciate being pushed harder and will be happy to help you get faster as this forces them to improve as well.

Quantifying the effect of a small tuning change is hard to do on the water and may not be apparent until many minutes after the change because of variables in the wind between boats across the course.

After establishing a baseline, it is important to experiment using your own tweaks and then learn what each adjustment does with reference to boat speed and handling.

When out racing, be honest with yourself when evaluating the changes that you made during a race and factor in a lucky wind shift that may have given you the improvement, not the adjustment.

Copying the best sailors in your fleet guarantees getting up to speed quickly and this should give you an easy jump on much of the competition. 

Therefore the answer to the question in the headline is a resounding no, if you don’t copy the fleet champions you are starting behind the 8 ball.

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A race or regatta should not be over for your team when you cross the finish line and there is plenty to be gained from the post-race debrief.

After a successful result, our self-confidence gets a boost but after a poor showing on the water, we have to deal with the psychological fallout. All is not lost though and the team de-brief can allow us to learn from what went wrong to ensure that next time you race you won’t make the same mistakes.

If you have a coach, make sure that they are part of the team meeting and this should take place immediately after the race either on the boat, in the boat park but more importantly away from the after-race festivities.

Initial points for discussion are where did you lose places unnecessarily, and why. Other things that need to be discussed are the start, your speed around the course, and the day’s tactics. 

The debrief is also a good time to constructively talk through the crew management on the boat remembering that these sessions are about how to improve not to lay blame.

Make sure that you talk about the positives that came out of the race as well as the negatives but importantly try to focus on the two biggest mistakes and talk through what went wrong adding solutions so that you can avoid them next time.

If possible have a whiteboard available and run through each individual part of the race and use a diary to make notes for future reference. Use the diary to note down information about the time of the day, wind speed, direction, sea state, current, and information about fellow competitors.

If you have model boats available, they can be very helpful in recreating on-water situations as part of the discussion. Many times observations from off the boat can vary from on the boat memories so all inputs need to be considered when arriving at a solution.

It’s amazing what a coach can see from off the boat and many things may not have been obvious to those on board so have them involved in the discussion. 

The importance of the de-brief is to learn so that next time you hit the water, you will not make the same mistakes and thus end up with a better result.

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Being the Tactician on your boat carries with it a lot of responsibility and depending on the size of the boat and the number of team members, the way you handle the job will vary greatly.

I have set out below some of the key methods and duties needed to be an effective Tactician.

1. Only one person should be designated to be the Tactician.
2. The Tactician must have the authority to call for manouvres and put together the boat’s strategy in advance.
3. They must make sure that the boat stays in the vicinity of the bulk of the fleet, flyers rarely pay off.
4. The boat must be kept in clear air and the Tactician’s job is to continually plan what is ahead so you don’t sal into trouble.
5. A good Tactician will anticipate and then communicate the next move so the crew can be prepared both physically and mentally.
6. They must be ready with new ideas to improve boat speed, only making one adjustment at a time.
7.  Watch other boats in the fleet and compare the relative performances, only communicating the bare minimum.
8. The Tacticians job is to understand the Sailing Instructions, the course and have an up to date knowledge of the rules.
9. Early warnings are essential to avoid mistakes, crews don’t like surprises.
10. They need to constantly monitor wind speed and direction.
11. In a tight situation, a Tactician should ask the helmsperson to look at the other boats.
12. Discuss tactical options with the team before and after the race. 
13. It is advisable for the Tactician to helm the boat in various conditions so that they have an idea about how the boat handles.
14. Always present options with clear recommendations.
15.  Go with your first instinct.
16. Wherever possible, give an explanation for a manouevre, as an example, “we are gybing to clear our air”.
17. Avoid long silences as that may convey that your mind has wandered from the task or you are worried about what is going on in the race.
18. Congratulate the crew when things go well.
19. #sailing #sailingtowin #yachtrace #sail #sailtowin #sailbaotrace FREE BOOK – 49Tips From Champions 

Often the difference between mid-fleet hackers and great sailors is simply the fact that champions pay attention to the little things.

I have listed below, some of the things you need to pay attention to. I am sure you will be able to add many more but you catch my drift about how little things matter.

Before the race:

• Have your clothing sorted to suit the conditions, it is better to overdress than underdress.
• Spray moving parts with lubricant, check marks on sheets and remark if faded. Check all fastenings and shackles are tight and for any wear which may result in failure.
• Check the notice board and re-read the sailing instructions.
• Check the course and if the course uses fixed marks, take notes of headings and landmark features.

On the Starting Line:

• Get a line sight.
• Stay above the line as long as possible and continually take wind readings.
• After a general recall watch to see if either end of the line is moved. This will render your earlier line sights redundant.
• Check for current on the start line by observing the pin or committee boat.

On Windward Legs:

• In waves, pick the path of least resistance.
• When feeling slow, ease the sails, when in doubt ease them out.
• Keep the boat flat.
• When tacking in choppy conditions, look for a flat spot.
• When sailing in chop, set your boat up for more power when sailing directly into waves.
• When converging with another boat on the opposite tack, plan a long way out how you are going to handle the cross.
• If you decide to duck another boat, ease your sails and keep the boat trim perfect with no sudden steering.

At Marks:

• When nearing the starboard tack layline, be wary of tacking into disturbed air and avoid tacking too early, leading to a double tack to make the mark.
• When rounding the weather mark, get the boat settled first and observe the position of other boats before setting the spinnaker.
• At the leeward mark, don’t tack immediately if there is a large number of boats approaching. You will only sail into a wind shadow and disturbed water.
• It is better to drop the spinnaker early rather than late. A boat sails faster downwind without the chute than upwind with it up.

Starting the Run:

• Before reaching the mark, work out whether you will bear-away set or gybe set, don’t wait until you round the mark to decide.
• Consider what effect current has on the course and start the run bearing this in mind.
• All else being equal, it is better to gybe onto port at the start of the run as this will give you the inside and starboard advantage coming into the leeward mark.

The Finish:

• Always finish at an end. If the line is not square and you finish in the middle, you have sailed extra distance.
• If the line is square and you finish in the middle you are at a disadvantage in a close situation because you aren’t as sure when to shoot head to the wind.
• If your start-finish line is in the middle of the beat and the wind has been steady, the end that was not favoured at the start will be favoured at the finish.

Other Little Things to consider:

• Keep the boat dry at all times during the race.
• Continually check for weed on your appendages and avoid patches of weed on the course.
• Keep a lookout all the time and in particular, observe the flags on the committee boat at the start and flags on boats at marks for changes of course.
• If you are looking in the boat at controls or sweating about a dragging sheet your concentration has lapsed and you are not sailing at your full potential.

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Key tactical tips on how to improve your sailing both upwind, downwind, and around the course.

1. When sailing downwind, use your masthead wind indicator to show your apparent wind and look at your nearby competitor’s indicator to see if they are shadowing you.
2. If you lose distance after crossing tacks or gybes, have the courage to shift sides of the course.
3. Always stay on the same side of the course as the majority of the fleet have chosen.
4. When making a manouvre, always work out the new course to steer first. Before you plan to tack or Gybe, look for an object on the shore to aim for, pick another boat or use the compass for a reference.
5. In most races, you can make a mistake but still do well. Your ultimate goal though should be to sail better in each subsequent race by eliminating little errors.
6. When approaching another boat, always accelerate for speed. If you are on Port tack, decide early whether to tack, lee bow or dip.
7. A good Rule of Thumb is, if two-thirds of your boat can cross, usually you can successfully tack to leeward.
8. When the crossing is close, lee-bowing another boat is risky.
9. When dipping another boat, start your manouvre three or four boat lengths away. Your goal in dipping is to be close-hauled and sailing the second that your bow passes the other boat’s stern.
10. Do not run directly downwind to the leeward mark, always approach on a reach.
11. Avoid tacking immediately after rounding a leeward mark, to avoid sailing in disturbed air and choppy water.
12. If you are going slow, make a change such as easing sails or bearing off a little for speed.
13. If you are well down in the fleet, don’t try to pass every boat in the fleet by taking a flyer, work on passing one boat at a time.
14. If you are being covered by a boat, the time to get out of phase is when you are faster, never tack when you are slower.
15. Major Mistakes to avoid: 

(a) Being over the start line before the gun goes.

(b) Staying in disturbed air for long periods of time

(c) Sailing on the wrong side of the course after you have lost to the boats on the other side.

(d) Getting into a protest.

(e) Not communicating the next manouvre with your crew.

#sailing #sail #sailingcoach #sailfaster #sailboatrace #yachtrace # yacht 

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