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That Extra 2-3%
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iGRF View Drop Down
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Joined: 07 Mar 11
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Posts: 6499 		Post Options Post Options   Quote iGRF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: That Extra 2-3%
    Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 2:20pm
It's tricky this without screwing my own head, which I try to keep full of self belief, which is what you actually need above all to achieve that extra 1-2% to keep your nose ahead of all the others that are experts already, I remember full well what else it takes and can honestly say I have neither the desire or probably the vitality left to endure. The hours in the gym, the miles pounding the pavements, not to mention the other hours sail training.

Then what do you have, say you get to be a full on championship winning helm, capable of Olympic performance, what does that mean? It means a totally different approach to something that was once fun it gets to a point that you almost fear taking part in case you lose, rather than the jolly expectation of the line up and the hope you get a bit of luck and are first out of the favoured end into a knock and manage to stay in synch with every shift the entire race.

So, no I'm happy to be a loser more often than I win, I actually enjoy the fact that I'm a hopeless boat handler and bumble about getting tangled up with the damn ropes and wiggle stick and let bloody jammy youf through at the last leg of a race I've lead almost to the last leg, I love to moan about the bandits beating me from a lap or two behind (whilst secretly knowing I'm not really sailing my own craft to its full potential) and there is one fact that is as true now as it was back in the day, you meet and get to know and be a far better person the nearer the back of any given fleet you dwell, and that is a fact.
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Sam.Spoons View Drop Down
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Posts: 3401 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Sam.Spoons Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 3:28pm
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E.J. View Drop Down
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Posts: 184 		Post Options Post Options   Quote E.J. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 5:43pm
2-3%? That says to me that the people at this level have everything sorted, tactics, setup, speed etc. There is no tangible difference between them, they are the same.

The only thing that makes the difference in my experience when you have a set of otherwise equal competitors is belief. If you enter a race knowing you are likely to win the chances are you will. You can't shortcut that by fooling yourself into belief, if the other 97% above isn't polished.

This is why pecking orders are so powerful, it takes time to revise everyone's mental model of the outcome.
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bustinben View Drop Down
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Posts: 288 		Post Options Post Options   Quote bustinben Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 6:01pm
It's usually speed, but not always.

If it's you vs the top 2% of the fleet in a trigger pull situation how long can you hold your lane and position before getting pinched out, rolled, or left behind?

If it's less than 5 minutes, you're counting on getting lucky with your tactics to beat them.

In a downwind situation how many boatlengths have they gained on you by the bottom mark?

There's really no point looking at tactics, boat handling etc while you're not able to keep up with the fastest boats.  You'll gain midfleet places in the sh*tfight that goes on but you'll never end up at the front of the race unless something crazy happens.
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Oinks View Drop Down
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Posts: 267 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Oinks Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 6:03pm
Some great contributions here and on the alternative First 97-98% thread too. Some of the best contributions I've seen on this forum actually. Keep them coming!
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Sam.Spoons View Drop Down
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Posts: 3401 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Sam.Spoons Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 6:07pm
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davidyacht View Drop Down
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Posts: 1345 		Post Options Post Options   Quote davidyacht Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 6:18pm
Originally posted by iGRF

It's tricky this without screwing my own head, which I try to keep full of self belief, which is what you actually need above all to achieve that extra 1-2% to keep your nose ahead of all the others that are experts already, I remember full well what else it takes and can honestly say I have neither the desire or probably the vitality left to endure. The hours in the gym, the miles pounding the pavements, not to mention the other hours sail training.

Then what do you have, say you get to be a full on championship winning helm, capable of Olympic performance, what does that mean? It means a totally different approach to something that was once fun it gets to a point that you almost fear taking part in case you lose, rather than the jolly expectation of the line up and the hope you get a bit of luck and are first out of the favoured end into a knock and manage to stay in synch with every shift the entire race.

So, no I'm happy to be a loser more often than I win, I actually enjoy the fact that I'm a hopeless boat handler and bumble about getting tangled up with the damn ropes and wiggle stick and let bloody jammy youf through at the last leg of a race I've lead almost to the last leg, I love to moan about the bandits beating me from a lap or two behind (whilst secretly knowing I'm not really sailing my own craft to its full potential) and there is one fact that is as true now as it was back in the day, you meet and get to know and be a far better person the nearer the back of any given fleet you dwell, and that is a fact.

Has someone hacked iGRF's account?
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Cirrus View Drop Down
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Posts: 590 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 6:35pm

'Good boatspeed' makes all your tactical decisions look good or better..... well broadly 'yes' of course.

But very often I've seen 'good boatspeed' simply get people to that wrong place on the course but just that little bit quicker than they might have done previously ;-) 

You need both elements to be helping you along.  Great boatspeed cannot completely make up for poor judgement nor can good judgement completely negate the need for good boatspeed ... and there are other factors as well.   But that is the point - and what the underlying essence of sail racing is really about - it is not straightforward and maybe the reason why quite a few are hooked for life.    
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Steve411 View Drop Down
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Posts: 705 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Steve411 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 7:05pm
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sargesail View Drop Down
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Posts: 1459 		Post Options Post Options   Quote sargesail Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 7:59pm
Originally posted by Steve411

There's no silver bullet - it's about making small gains in lots of areas. 

Training goes without saying - I typically train 2 or 3 times as much as I race. General time on the water helps but targeted training is so much more efficient. Be brutally honest with yourself about strengths and weakness - upwind in waves, upwind in light winds in a slop, downwind in waves, straightline speed etc. There will be up to 20 of these. Mark yourself out of 10 (honestly) and work on anything less than a 7 or 8. There will be non-racing bits as well on this list too - understanding tidal flows at the venue, fitness etc. Mark yourself on these too. I used to make a note of every mistake I'd made in a race (bad start, overstanding the windward mark, missing a shift etc). It's a bit nerdy but it helps highlight where you need to improve.

Whenever I've been to class training it seems most of the emphasis is on tacking and gybing. That's fine and they need to be done efficiently - but really how often do you tack and gybe in a race - say, 4 tacks a beat and one gybe per lap (unless in an asymmetric)? My view is to concentrate much more on straightline speed - upwind and down. If you can eke out a few boatlengths upwind you'll be a tactical wizard. It can be a bit boring sometimes just sailing upwind concentrating on speed and heeling angle, but it helps. For that reason, I mostly do a maximum of an hour's training at a time before stopping for a break (coming in for a cup of tea or stopping on the water for 5 minutes) to ward off boredom.

I think downwind speed is more important than upwind speed. All the top guys are searingly quick downwind. Think about it. In most hiking boats it's impossible to gain more than a fraction of a knot upwind in most conditions. Downwind you can double your speed by getting on waves properly. Practise! You will still need to be in the top 10% at the first mark though.

Fitness is paramount too. A few years ago I was out of work for a few months. In between job hunting I spent a lot of time in the gym and out running. I thought it would make a slight difference to my speed. It actually made a massive difference - not necessarily on the first lap of a race when everyone's still sitting out hard, but on subsequent laps when fatigue starts to set in. I mostly do a lot of running and leg exercises.

Finally, even at this relatively bottom end of the sport, psychology is more important than most people realise. I like to be comfortable in new surroundings. If I haven't been to a venue before, and there isn't a pre-Nationals event there, I try and spend half a day sometime ahead of the regatta just wandering round, getting my bearing etc. I just find it helps me. I think this also why you find people who do really well at open meetings but often fail to deliver at Nationals. Too much personalised pressure, feeling uncomfortable in new surroundings? If you've done the preparation - training, fitness, tides etc you'll feel confident and that's a tremendous help. You don't need to tell anyone but if you know you're the one who's put the hours in over the winter when you'd have preferred not to go out, got up early to go to the gym etc, you'll have an inner smugness (sorry, confidence) that is difficult to match.

I've found all of the above has worked for me. Others no doubt have different approaches which are just as valid if not more so, but I think the more you think about your sailing the more you'll understand the changes you need to make.

This great post from Steve helped refine my thoughts on the subject. So I'll add a view looking at what he says here as one of his competitors. It happens that I came across a report from the last time I beat Steve at a meaningful event back in 2007 (even then it went to winner of the last race otherwise it was the same score). The report showed that we both made boat handling errors and tactical errors. That was before Steve had the period in which he was able to practice a lot...and just before my second child arrived which reduced my practice time.

So what 1:

At that point I would say that Steve did need to have on emphasis on tacking and gybing in his training, but afterwards he did not. And that conversely I have not got back to the point where I could afford to concentrate on long speed runs because my boat handling hasn't been good enough.

So what 2:

It shows that for the final 2-3% you might need to change your focus in training and process from what made you as good as you are, to what will make you as good as you can be.

As an example:

 I am a relatively conservative tactical sailor...and have got towards the front of a couple of fleets. Our best result was a second in a regatta when we had a speed advantage that meant we needed to be no more than conservative in our tactics.

But when I don't enjoy that advantage I probably need to have (build) the confidence to fight for the very best spot on the line. To take bolder tactical decisions, and to have the confidence to bank (and thus minimise) a loss knowing that I had the boat speed to get it back.

It's quite a hard step to take!
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