Practice Makes Perfect at P&B

by Ben McGrane, P&B 13 Apr 2015 17:52 BST 13 April 2015

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

I recently got out in the Merlin with a couple of other boats and it highlighted all the reasons that while racing is great, sailing in a small group with specific focus can give some real improvements.

Best of all was sailing with 2 other boats with information flowing freely as to what kit was being used, what settings and changes were being made and with everyone working together to improve the group. At the end of 3 hours in light winds we had all got a good idea of settings which worked and while each boat wasn’t set identically this largely came down to personal preferences.

The productivity of this isn’t just to find more speed but to become more comfortable in what you are doing. I’m pretty rusty in the merlin especially in those light wind conditions which is generally where I have always found I have to practice more to figure out what makes a boat go. After the day with a bit of thinking I worked out I have done 1 open meeting race in those conditions in 3 years, yet it in a week long championship at least one light race is very likely.

So what did I learn in 3 hours with 2 other quick teams?

I grew confidence in my settings while also keeping a note from talking to others about what else I could try another day. In this instance less rake being the main one.
I can hold the mid lane in 3 boats, foot for speed, hold for height and therefore I should be happy coming out of the line and at any other point when I come up against other boats on the race course.
I’m happy my tacks are consistent and fast compared with other good boats. Perhaps not the best in the fleet but they aren’t a weakness that’ll get me into trouble.
Our off wind pace is good on all angles. We should be able to attack downwind.
I need to work on not moving the tiller so much sailing upwind.
I need to get smoother at moving around the boat especially when the wind goes really light.

It’s not the biggest list but there are some important key points. Not least if I am happy with my settings, speed and boat handling I know when I’m racing I will be able to focus on that and not be thinking about making the boat go or whether I’m set up wrong. Light winds in any class levels the playing field, it becomes less about strength and fitness and more about wily old foxes who sniff out invisible wind. In most classes I’ve sailed there are more boats that can win in the light than breeze, it’s when Championships are lost and teams record 2 discards in one day, yet it is the conditions we practice in the least.

Every sailor has a weakness, for me it's light winds but knowing this means I probably go out drifting more than most to make up for it. In any sport we all tend to focus on the fun stuff or the bits we are good at but it’s focusing on the weaknesses which give you the biggest gains. The session above is perfect at this time of year, if you can get a couple of other like minded boats to go out with you for a day when you aren’t racing and work on areas you know you struggled with last season you stand to make the biggest improvements, has to be worth a go!

SOLO SAILING!

While it is fair to say I’ve never been a regular solo sailor I have over the past 10 or so years had the chance to sail in the class on a number of occasions, sailing with a variety of rig configurations and in many different hulls.

With a new fleet of solo’s in the making at Netley I’ve joined in and got myself a new JP Solo. It looks likely there will be 10-15 solos racing regularly from Netley by the end of this year and over the Easter Weekend we had some close racing.

I really enjoyed being back in a solo, it’s a great design that responds well to input and rewards hard work. I was also really impressed by the JP hull design and how quick it was to plane offwind. No doubt I’ve got a lot to learn which is a part of sailing I love but I’m looking forward to attending a few events this year and getting involved in some really good close one design racing.

P&B is the number one shop for all your solo needs, chandlery, sails, spars, cover and complete boats. P&B has been supplying championship winning boats and sails to the class for many years and with a number of our staff actively racing in the class and stores located in Northampton and Fareham we are here to help.

For more information contact Northampton (01604 592808) or Fareham (01489 577748) to speak to one of our class experts.

SK2 TAKES OFF!

With a further 3 boats sold so far this month the workshop is busy completing fit outs and the sail loft is now in full flow with sails, covers and all the accessories. We’ve spent a lot of time over the winter working with Swing Keel refining the boat systems, developing the rig configuration and sails and we’ve seen some great leaps forward in performance.

Over the winter the boat performed really well at the handicap events recording 2^nd overall at the Datchet Flyer and 3^rd in the Asymmetric fleet at the Grafham GP, first keelboat on both occasions. I’ve found the SK2 a really rewarding boat to sail in a variety of conditions, a great design with plenty of power in the rig and a stable hull yet fast hull shape.

There will be plenty of demonstrator days throughout the year, to find out more visit www.sk2sailing.co.uk. The next date is Carsington Sailing Club on the 19^th April.

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