Inspirational Sailors

Sail, Race and Win by the same author, still hear the lines in my head when I am racing. 

Helmsmen are fragile creatures - especially psychologically. If drying out the sponge helped the poor man sleep at night his crew should encourage him.

My bugbear, in small keelboats, where helmsamen who got annoyed about us crew taking our wet gear aboard when the weather was light. Much muttering about surplus weight. This in classes where the heavier boats did better in light airs. There was some theory about a slightly longer actual waterline length, or inertia to carry way through the lulls. IMHO it was far more that the helmsman, believig that his boat was disadvantaged would concentrate harder to compensate.

And of course, when the sea breeze did kick in the helmsman did not moan about the surplus weight as it was hiking on the weather rail - in fact they were usually grateful to borrow a spare fleece!

Which brings us back to Twiname and his emphasis on the psychological aspect of racing - his insight into the fear of winning is pure genius.

Stuart H Walker - the Tactics of Small Boat Racing - took it out of the library many times

Jack Knights column in Y&Y

Elvestrom (though not his book on the racing rules - I had read Walker!)

And corny but true - not racing but sailing - Arthur Ransome

..and you'd all have still argued the toss!

It wasn't just the book, he inspired me to work out why things did the things they did, it was and has been the most defining introduction to mystery in my life. I've never stopped questioning, and he and that book and those little fluid diagrams were the start. Plus he edited Dinghy and Boardsailing and was eager to learn how we did things and was intrigued that I'd never sailed before, no question without having met him my life would have taken a totally different course.