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June 3, 2010
If you are looking for a shortcut to improve your sailing on a consistent basis, you will not find them in this blog. Sorry for the teaser title. The best way to improve your sailing is through good ol’ fashion, blue collar work and time in the boat, time in the boat, time in the boat. Having raced on the Melges 32s and 24s for the last 4-5 years, the familiarity with the boats is like a warm blanket when I step on board. After my ineptitude the first few days on the Bella Mente, it was like getting locked out of the warming house of my local hockey rink…cold, lonely and wondering where my mom was.
Despite spending the large majority of my life in scows, and 4 years, 150 days/year racing collegiate 420s at Hobart and William Smith, I should have remembered that the biggest key to success is through spending time in the boat and getting to know what it takes to make it go fast around the track. Thinking that I would not be able to simply hop on the boat and be a contributing member of the team was a big mistake. That would be the hardest part of this experience…seeing the boys working hard up front, but not having the slightest clue of how to help…other than putting my head down and doing some grinding on occasion. The world of big boating is very different; instead of going to pull on the outhaul or vang, there are switches in and hydraulic hoses. Instead of pulling on the backstay and adjusting it 2-3 ft., there is now a 12″ diameter winch with a load sensor with the sweet spot being 10.4 tons. We don’t see this type of gear or loads on an E Scow.
I spent 3 practice days last week wondering if I could hack it in the big boat scene. Watching how talented the rest of the team was and how good they were at their respective positions, our time on the water was a bit daunting from my view in the back of the boat. However, once we found ourselves halfway through the Block Island Race, I began to come out of my shell like a toddler checking out a new babysitter. I paid closer attention to the what the trimmers were doing and it was not very different from what is done on the Melges 32…just more load. I watched adjustments being made to the sails and rig, and while they were indirect through the hydraulics, they were not all that complex. As I looked at the various areas of the boat, although there were different techniques to getting the job done, the universal principles were the same to that of a sportboat or scow.
The progression of me getting comfortable on the Bella Mente correlated to directly to the more time I spent on the boat. Instead of wondering if I could make the cut, I should have focused my energy on the process of learning this new discipline, recognizing early that this is the main reason for any success I have had in the past. I also see this a lot in the sailors I coach. We will spend a few hours doing boathandling and speed drills, and although we won’t directly talk about it, things like footwork, hand passes and body positioning become second nature, when a few weeks earlier, they may have been stumbling around the boat.
Getting out on the water and spending time on the boat with set of goals with or without a coach is the best way to improve your game. Even if you are not consciously learning, or having an “ah hah” moment, your brain and body are learning on how to better sail your boat.
Below is a good video shot by and starring Hobart/WmSmith Alums, Amory Ross and Andy Horton. Andy talks about his training routine for his ongoing Olympic Campaign in the Star Class. The video takes awhile to upload due to the HD, but it is definitely worth it…do a few push-ups/sit-ups while you wait.
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