skills 'ceiling'

dodsy is retiring as rear sailing comodore next gear grumpf, perhaps you could fill his hikers and take the position.

Dan

Originally posted by alstorer I certainly wouldn't rate Mustos as much of a Handicap bandit, frankly.But then, how could anyone be better than GRF?

Exactly..

Especially a bloody dinghy sailor... ha.

Originally posted by G.R.F. Agreed.. Well I say agreed, Doddsy Musto jockey manages to piss it in and still come up with race victories... Even leaving the start last, having to do turns at the gybe... There is therefor a third essential skill set to master.. 3)Mastery of Handicap Banditry..

Has it ever occoured to you that he may be so much better than the rest that he can afford a few cock ups and still thrash you?

Originally posted by Scooby_simon Third, People who don't do opens can sometimes still get to the front(ish) of the fleet; the hunts example my be a good one if there are local oddities that help those that sail there, but if you have a good fleet at "home" this can keep you fairly sharp.  Problems arise when the "home" fleet is not that good and so those that sail in it, think they are doing well as they win the "close" races and yet the "average flet skill" is low - big fish in a small pond syndrome....

In the case of Hunts the only skill that will help is being able to spot the shifts. The lake is small and surround on ost shores by trees. The legs are relatively short too so making sure you are between your oppenent and the mark (if ahead) is also paramount.

As with any water sometimes the big risk (banging a corner) can pay but more often than not it is a case of following the shifts and concentrating on boat speed (it really sharpens up your boat handling having short legs to sail on).

What I find is that, and especially this year when I have hardly any time in the boat at all, I have the knowledge, ie I know where I want to be on the course, but my boat handling skills are so pathetic as to make me unable to ge there.  If I do get there, I don't know my rig well enough to maximise my speed, so I get left behind.  That or I flunk the bear away....

What I'm finding as I coach 'Start Racing' is that I feel I am teaching a different skills set to that with which I am most familiar; I am most used to fleet racing on the sea or big stretches of open water, but in Start Racing I am coaching handicap racing on a small, shifty gravel pit because this is where my students will cut their racing teeth.

Certainly the way we have dealt with the start is different; positioning and boat speed seems more important than trying to assess bias on a very short line. 

The pecking order issue is of particular interest to me because obviously I don't want my students to become absorbed into it.


Edited by winging it