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Sam.Spoons View Drop Down
Really should get out more
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Joined: 07 Mar 12
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Posts: 3401 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Sam.Spoons Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: The first 97-98%
    Posted: 09 Feb 17 at 8:37pm
I've just read Oinks' excellent post regarding the top 2-3%. I was going to answer but I realised I was about to take it way off topic so felt starting another thread was 'doing the decent thing'.  

I'm currently at the blunt end of the handicap fleet (and I would be very happy with the top 50% never mind the top 20%) so I'd like to discuss the priorities for a mid fleet sailor. Eric Twiname seemed to hit the nail on the head in his book "Start To Win" so what did you do to get yourself up into the top 50%?

Anyway a few thoughts for the tail end Charlie :-

If you want to be competitive but can't practice much don't buy a skiff, or a slightly skiff boat with an optimistic 'manufacturer generated' handicap (Spice in my case, there were never enough returns for the PYC to alter the number Topper gave the boat hoping to make it look faster than it really was). It must be easier to get into the top 50% in an Enterprise than in a 49er (simply because there is more to go wrong in a 49er).

I'm not saying 'buy a bandit', sailing is as much about enjoying the boat as winning (well it has to be for me these days) and, while I would probably get better results in a L@ser, the boats I own make me want to go sailing in a way a L@ser wouldn't.

Sail it flat, even if it means sheeting out, but don't forget you must be sailing in more or less the right direction too.

A slow tack or gybe is faster than a capsize, when it's windy staying upright is a major priority if you are in race mode. You can practice during a race, (the only option if you don't find time to train) but accept you may not get your best results and don't be demoralised when it goes wrong.

In a two hander it's four times as hard to find practice time so see the fourth paragraph and buy an Ent rather than a Merlin if you only get chance to sail together once a month.

What else?



Edited by Sam.Spoons - 09 Feb 17 at 8:39pm
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RS400atC View Drop Down
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Posts: 3011 		Post Options Post Options   Quote RS400atC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Feb 17 at 8:51pm
Buy into a fleet where you can learn from good sailors.
Get away from your own pond and open your eyes and mind beyond your own fleet.
Do a few opens.
Do a nationals.
If you want to be top 50% of your club, go and learn from circuit sailors.
If you want to be top 50% in the nationals, go and learn from international or olympic sailors.
Sail in some different boats, e.g. if your club does Thursday nights, go and crew somewhere on Wednesdays.
Stop whining about your PY and look at where you lost time.
Find some respectable sailors you wish to learn from and buy the same class as them.
Life is quite short, as Guy Martin said, you don't get time back at the end for what you didn't use wisely.
That covers sailing irrelevant obsolete dog boats as well as watching TV.
Looking back, it wouldn't have killed me to buy a Merlin when I was in my late 20s.

And sail more races, it's the easy way to come top half of series results!
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Bootscooter View Drop Down
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Posts: 1094 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Bootscooter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Feb 17 at 9:21pm
I'd say that most people, even really good sailors don't train and practice anywhere near enough - for very good reasons such as work, homelife etc where we're time-poor.  In these cases, class choice is massively important, as some boats genuinely reward 'good sailing' technique, as opposed to difficult 'niche' skills and methods.
When I moved in to the Finn I found that I could compete to a reasonable standard (in the middle third of the fleet-ish) fairly quickly by just sailing it 'well', ie just using the 5-Essentials as well as I could.  As I now look to make improvements rig setup, wave and pumping technique will get more important, and kit quality such as mast, foil and sail condition will help me progress ( I hope!).
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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: 09 Feb 17 at 9:33pm
Originally posted by RS400atC

That covers sailing irrelevant obsolete dog boats as well as irrelevant new dog boats

FTFY  Tongue

Good point though (I assume you mean it in the sense of sailing a working example of a proven class rather than a GRF "anything wooden, more than 20 mins old, weighing more than your wetsuit or I don't like it" sort of way).
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KazRob View Drop Down
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Posts: 245 		Post Options Post Options   Quote KazRob Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Feb 17 at 9:38pm
(Properly) accept that your not as good as you think you are and when you start winning, move up a step (regional, national, international) and get well and truly beat.
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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: 09 Feb 17 at 9:58pm
LOL it's a long time since I thought I was good in a dinghy. I used to be good (for a certain level of good) on a Raceboard. These days, in dinghies, I think I'm probably as good as I think I am (probably) but I reckon you can tell how good you are by how far up the fleet you finish...... Good point about moving up a level when you start winning too often.....
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Rupert View Drop Down
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Posts: 8956 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Feb 17 at 10:22pm
One of the things I see time and again. When people spill wind, they bear away, fill the sail again, spill more wind and end up on a reach, sailing far too far, struggling to keep under control. Simply keeping the boat on the edge of the no go zone upwind will make a huge difference. If sailing a simple boat like a Laser or Enterprise, the losses offwind will be tiny compared to those upwind, assuming you don't fall in. Something with a big flappy sail sticking out the front, there are many ways to screw up offwind, too.
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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fab100 View Drop Down
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Posts: 1005 		Post Options Post Options   Quote fab100 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Feb 17 at 11:27pm
er...
Great book for Club Sailors here
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Chris 249 View Drop Down
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Posts: 2041 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Chris 249 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 12:27am
Eric Twiname is the one true god, and Start to Win in the one true bible.

I've often thought it would be interesting to get into a boat and lock off everything but the tiller and three strings and then race it hard. So perhaps concentrating 90%+ on the tiller, crew weight, sheets and mainsail twist controller (ie traveller or vang) would give the best results. Obviously if the wind has kicked .in 15 knots more then you may grab some cunningham etc, but the point is not to worry whether it's been pulled down 3" or 5", but instead to just trim and hike through each gust more efficiently.
sailcraftblog.wordpress.com

The history and design of the racing dinghy.
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RS400atC View Drop Down
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Posts: 3011 		Post Options Post Options   Quote RS400atC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Feb 17 at 7:36am
Originally posted by KazRob

(Properly) accept that your not as good as you think you are and when you start winning, move up a step (regional, national, international) and get well and truly beat.


Not the point I was trying to make.
If you want to get up with the top of your club fleet, go and learn from people better than them.
Or even equally good but different.
Learning from your local winner might eventually make you 95% as good as him.
Learning from the people in a better fleet might make you better than him, or get you level with him a whole lot quicker.

But local winners could do everyone a favour by ocassionally pushing themselves at a higher level, it raises standards for everyone.
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