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TIME ON THE WATER!
I’ve been lucky throughout the years to have sailed with a number of truly great helms and crews and though I was lucky enough to have been part of the RYA junior and youth system, I would argue that it has been sailing in the same boat as those with a greater experience than my own and racing against better sailors that has defined how I approach my sailing and continually developed my understanding of the technical areas of our sport.
It is an interesting question as to how far natural talent goes against determination and the motivation to train harder than others to achieve your end goal. Having read interviews in the past with Nick Craig and Roger Gilbert it is interesting that neither would claim to being naturally gifted in a boat but would credit their success to putting in a lot of graft both on and off the water in a bid to be better than the rest. I can remember Simon Hiscocks also telling me he didn’t think he was an amazing natural sailor, he just tried harder than anyone else. Pretty enlightening stuff coming from a guy who has two Olympic medals and across a 5 year period with Chris Draper won the 49er worlds twice and was 2nd in the other 3 years!
With this in mind, over the next few weeks I will be writing a few simple pieces on the specific skills of sailing, hopefully highlighting some of the thinking that goes into my boat set up, race tactics and training.
SET UP PRINCIPLES
A boat tuned to the right settings in relation to the wind conditions will often perform very close to the optimum speed that a mast and sail combination can achieve. The sailors at the very front of a fleet are generally a stage beyond this, they consider the variants of the day whether it be sea state, wind strength change, or their own personal sailing style to find the extra bit of speed.
Personal style is a difficult side of sailing to look at. I know that I generally set up a boat to make it on the easier side to sail, making sure I can focus on the racing, particularly the first beat. This isn’t always the quickest for out and out speed but going the right way with good speed to get to the windward mark in the top 5 is a position that can then be built on throughout a race. I also know that I use a lot of rudder when I’m helming, choosing to steer around the power in the rig and waves rather than moving masses of sheet, this style needs a boat that is set up without loads of power and fight. I minimise sheet movement through this technique so it is quite energy efficient as well. Styles of sailing are hard to learn or teach but it is worth spending time thinking about how you tend to sail your boat as this will help you set it up to suit you. What works for one sailor isn’t for everyone and I think this is often over looked. The more time you spend sailing and particularly tuning the greater your understanding of what makes the boat tick. This is an opportunity to try settings and understand the feedback of what your boat is telling you, something I don’t think is as easy to learn while racing when there are many other factors to figure out.
HOW TO SET UP FOR THE FIRST BEAT
Use your time before the start wisely. I will always tend to focus on set up before anything to do with tactics or strategy and with each class I sail a lot of this is about identifying a feel for whether the boat has too little or too much fight for the given conditions. So what are good things to look at?
FEEL ON THE RUDDER
Helm balance is important, make sure your board angle is set for the rake you are running. Neutral helm or slight weather helm depending on preference. This will tell you the rig and foils are working together to make the boat track straight giving minimal drag and making the boat feel responsive. Tuning guides go a long way to giving you base settings, but then you need to work out board settings to work with the rake settings and jib car settings to get the boat feeling just to your liking, once you have these though you can use them time and time again.
Hint: Sail by numbers for quick set up and adjustment. I know in the Merlin rake 2-4 means the centreboard angle will be on numbers 1-3, 5-6 rake is centreboard 3-4. In a race this gives me quick adjustments to de-power or power up without much thought. These are the board angle numbers I can move through on these rakes to change for height or footing while maintaining good feel on the helm.
JIB SHEETING
It’s important to make sure the sheeting angle is correct for the rake you are running, the crew can make sure the top tell tales are breaking first. Different boats have various car systems. Ideally if your class has the option to track outboard then this can be used to move the jib outboard opening the slot without affecting the flying shape of the jib, better this than easing and increasing the jib depth and creating power when you don’t want it. Other classes with only fore/aft tracks can create twist by sheeting lower to flatten the base and open the leech. Ask sailors in your class what they tend to favour when de-powering. Small changes in jib sheeting can be used to help de-power in breeze without making any other major changes to the rig set up.
TACKING ANGLE
It is all too easy to go sailing upwind believing the boat feels great only to find you are tacking through 100°. I generally know the rough tacking angle for each boat (Merlin 80-85°, I14 85-95°) so you can quickly work out if you are stuck in a high gear or can’t point and change base settings accordingly. If the boat feels ok, not stalled in a high gear, I can switch to footing by adding cunningham and pulling a bit of board up, then I know I’m on the right base setting.
Hint: I tend to pay attention to the amount of mainsheet ease I have as a guide to power. Ideally I aim for the mainsail to be working from the centreline to a foot off centre at the transom, this means I am keeping the slot open and the boat is well controlled. Outboard of this and I would change to my settings for the next wind range up. This is a constant gauge for me when racing as to how much power I have and along with how the boat feels directly impacts on control changes to power up or down accordingly. You can create your own rules here. In the Fireball as soon as the boom was on the quarter we raked.
OTHER BOATS
Try to find line up near another boat to get a feel for height and speed, make sure you are happy in the comparison and adjust the boat accordingly. If possible always work with the same boat to build the maximum understanding of how you would expect to go against them in a given condition. If this isn’t possible then know your opposition and try to line up with someone you think will be quick for the day, there is no point lining up on the sea in 20 knots with a boat you know is a pond sailor who cuts the wind in half.
WHEN IT FEELS RIGHT!
Might sound a bit ridiculous but when a boat feels on the money it generally is so listen to what it is telling you, try not to get too bogged down in always making it perfect and trust in what the boat tells you, work to base settings and then the rest is responding to the feel of the boat. Take the opportunity at the start of the season to maybe miss some races, do some tuning with another boat of similar ability and learn some numbers, experiment a little, discuss openly what you discover and when you get racing you will surprise yourself. With a few simple repeatable settings and a little more understanding of when the boat is singing you will be able to sail faster more of the time without nearly as much time thinking what to change.
WINTER WARMER
Last weekend was the Tiger Trophy, it was definitely one for the brave or silly with only limited attendance. Given the conditions it was a real chance to test the Gul Code Zero drysuit which I have been wearing this winter, I think modern drysuits are fantastic this time of year and make going out on the water far more enjoyable. The code zero has some great new features including a pee zip which is ideally when on the water for 3 races. What I really like is the horseshoe zip which as we have found with customers trying them on in the shop makes for much easier access when putting the suit on requiring less flexibility and is far less restrictive on the water. A must try for anyone looking to purchase a drysuit in the P&B South February sale!
Up to 20% discount on drysuits at P&B South – Offer ends 28th Feb.
15% discount on Gul Code Zero Drysuits (Men & Womens sizes) with under suit– Offer ends 28th Feb.
10% discount on Gul Profile CZ 5mm steamer – Offer ends 28th Feb.
P&B SOUTH'S SAIL RAIL
Chance to steal a bargain! We have a number of garments from last year which must go. Call 01489 577748 to get an order in while stocks last!
| DESCRIPTION |
Was |
Now |
| Henri Lloyd Eco Bomber Jacket - Navy (S) |
£120.00 |
£89.00 |
| HL Cipher Jacket - Black (S) |
£94.95 |
£69.00 |
| Crewsaver Moko Ladies Neporene Microfleece Top (UK 8) |
£49.95 |
£35.00 |
| Crewsaver Moko Mens Neporene Microfleece Top (XXL) |
£49.95 |
£35.00 |
| Gill OS21 Sallopettes - Red (XXL, XXXL) |
£169.95 |
£119.95 |
| Slam Winter Sailing Jacket - Navy (S, M) |
£120.00 |
£87.00 |
| Gul Semi Drysuit (S, L, XXL) |
£250.00 |
£167.50 |
Gul Viper VR1222 Steamer - Black
(MS, ML, MT) |
£225.00 |
£160.00 |
Gul Viper VR1222 Steamer - Red
(M, ML, MT) |
£225.00 |
£160.00 |
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SUPERWARM SOCK
£35.10
Normal Price: £39.00
You Save: £3.90 (10%)
The Zhik Superwarm Socks waterproof construction with glued and blind stitched seams for superior warmth in cold conditions. |
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RACE TEAM HOLDALL
£39.95
Normal Price: £49.95
You Save: £10.00 (20%)
The P&B Race Team Holdall has a hard wearing outer shell with large lockable main compartment, one large wet/dry compartment and one end organiser compartment.
60L (72 x 32 x 32cm) |
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RACE REGATTA WATCH
ONLY £70.00
The Gill Regatta Race Timer gives you no excuse for being late to the mark. Our exclusive design features a dot matrix display for greater definition and has a combined wrist/mast/bulkhead fixing with no spare mounts required. |
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