In competitive sailing we are looking for every advantage we may get if we want to win and going fast is a pretty important advantage to have - the gains from using the correct sails are more than just marginal!.
Setting Sails
The Golden Lane
Racing is a process where you are looking for any advantage over the opposition. We tend to coach tactics by likening it to a walk down a corridor, and there are various doors in the wall. You know that one door will lead to a better corridor than another
Team Work
We have recently completed the national games in Taiwan with a huge success. Our team won 7 out of 8 gold medals and a total of 16 medals out of 21 in the entire event.
Asymmetric Speed
Not too long ago in a lot of classes crews could be seen visibly relaxing as the kite went up, and the procession began. Happily now in all racing we understand how to make gains and use the downwind to our advantage.
Switching On
We recently finished a training camp leading to an important event for the team, After having worked on different racing skills and Psychological aspects we decided it’s time to test the sailors ability to put on their racing head on.
Waves
Sailing is a sport full of variables. Waves are one of these variables, and the term “wave” can include anything from small undulations in the water to giant walls of water moving across the surface of the sea
Gybes that Count
When we go windsurfing, one of the most exhilarating manoeuvres we can pull is the carve gybe - a manoeuvre that even the most remote person on the planet can see is beautiful, skilled, poised and somehow effortless and magical to achieve. Timing is everything, strength is not needed for a perfect carve gybe
Looking to Win
Throughout the history of sailing it is rarely the fastest sailor that wins a series, In most conditions it is necessary to be fast to win but that's not all. Winning takes many disciplines to master, a crucial one is the ability to observe your surroundings.
Finding Gears
Anyone who has sailed against top sailors will know that many times you can be approaching half way up the first beat, and either in front of or in touch with some of the regatta favourites - often alongside them. A minute later the top sailor will have climbed on you, hit a gust of wind that you can’t reach, and gone from high mode to extremely fast forward compared to yourself, and from feeling great, being in touch or ahead of the good guys, you’re suddenly a hundred metres and forty boats behind them within around 90 seconds. This blog is about beginning to understand how they do that, so you can start to do it too!
Coaching to Win
We've been engaged in several interesting projects lately. We are writing this blog to illustrate the effects of prioritising the right aspects of sailing when coaching, and also to contrast the position of a sailor when subject to a "reactive" coach, when they coach according to conditions and squad behaviour, rather than a proactive coach who coach with certain minimum expectations. We will neither name the class nor the country, because that's irrelevant. What we will do is tell the story.
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