Psychology Of Winning – We need to understand the psychology of winning to become truly great in our sport.
Should We Chase The Latest Go-Fast Gear?
Too many of us chase newer and better boat designs, faster sails, and the latest go-fast gear and techniques. Perhaps the most important factor to sailboat racing success is psychology.
Not to take anything away from expert technical skills or impeccable boat handling. It’s the sailor who has not only mastered these but has control of their thoughts and emotions that wins.
When you come up against that sailor, they always win a tactical battle making you feel as though you are slow. This is another instance of when psychology has beaten you because that was the outcome you already expected.
They seem to combine incredible luck with moderate boat speed.
These sailors tend to be quiet thinking sailors but the real reason for their outstanding results is just that – thinking ahead. These sailors treat the race as a game or a problem to be solved, they are psychologically strong.
Anyone can be “lucky” like this and if you want to win you need to study the game. It needs to be studied as a whole and develop the right mental approach to the problem.
Don’t allow emotion to influence your decisions. Letting your fear of light air, tough competition, unstable wind or a multitude of outside factors cloud your thinking.
If it is the tough competition that concerns you, look for their weak points. Know that they are beatable and use a little psychology to get it into your head that you can do it. But above all, you have to have the will to win.
Learn the rules so that when you meet the class heavyweight on the course you will not meekly surrender.
Many sailors don’t have the confidence to challenge someone who they think is much better than them. This happens even if they know they are in the right.
Knowledge, that gives psychological strength will enable anyone with a competitive boat and crew to win any race anywhere.
I interviewed Mike Holt about how to start well every time starting, Mike is a three-time World champion in the high-performance International 505 when he was in Adelaide Australia competing in our 505 National championships.
Mike has competed in a huge number of 505 events all around the world, he is by no means a one-class sailor. Mike has sailed 49ers, Melges 24, Mumm 36. Offshore he has competed in the Transpac a number of times aboard Merlin, a ULDB 68 owned by Bill Lee out of Santa Cruz on the west coast of the USA.
Starting well is one of the skills that will give you the greatest single advantage in any race if your boat is set up correctly and on the pace.
Mike, can you describe your overall starting strategy in the 505 race? Now I understand we have gate starts, and you do a lot of line starts, as well? How do you start well every time?
Mike: Yes, for a gate start, obviously we try to check out what we see going on, whether it has more pressure, where there are any currents, and so forth. Then before we would start, we would have an overall game plan. Whether going left or right, generally, play the shifts and note what the forecast is.
Is the forecast is tending left, or tending right or just oscillating. So the plan is not finalised until we’ve got a big picture and what we feel the plan is for the conditions.
And then, with a gate start in particular whether we start early or late, with a line start you might pick an end of the line, left end, right end.
With a gate start, you don’t have that choice. You really have a choice of starting early or starting late.
So we’ll be watching the wind, and we have a fairly straightforward technique. Somewhere around a minute before we start, we will sheet in at the start mark, go upwind, and see how the numbers compare to what we have seen.
It was interesting listening to you and Rob talking about the tide and current and how it influenced your start strategy.
Mike: Well, we dropped a water bottle, we three-quarter filled it up with water, so it floated fairly low, threw in at the gate mark. Then watched which way it was drifting for a minute. It went two boat lengths in that minute, so that’s a pretty strong tide.
With a 10-minute beat, that’s two boat lengths every minute on the upwind leg, that’s 20 boat lengths.
So what are the most common ways competitors get into trouble on the start line? Comparing gate to line starts, how do you start well every time?
Mike: To me, the stress is very similar. I think you want to make sure that you’re controlling your destiny. And I think you quickly see boats that are, and boats that aren’t.
Selfishly, I’m looking for victims. I’m looking for people who are in the wrong position. When I’m, in those last seconds leading up to the start, and then you’re getting that space.
I’ve created space for myself while taking them out of the picture, and then when the boat comes through, they get flushed. I’ve got a clear lane. So I’m looking for a fast exit so I’ve got room to leeward I can control the path.
What do you see as the crew’s role in the start sequence? What happens on your boat for instance?
Mike: So I think our division of labour is such that I’m positioning the boat. We talk about where we want to be, and then I’ve gotta get the boat in that place.
I’m then saying, “Speed on, speed off. Get forward or not.” And you do the big call in the boat because we’re racing. Which means, full speed up the race track.
So we called that today. Twenty seconds before we started we knew we were in trouble, and we were trying to get back to the line.
One of the problems a lot of other people have is holding their lane once they get off the line. What do you do to hold your lane?
If you’re happy that the boat is set up and you’re competitive, the key thing is to make sure you got your lane. If you don’t have a lane, you’re going to get flushed.
Even the very fastest boats, can’t hold a lane, if they’re being squeezed, they’re going to get out of it. There’s no way out of that so make sure the boat is set up well and that you’re confident.
I think we all recognize when the boat is going well, and we’re high, and we’re not…as long you’re talking. If you’ve got runway under you, as a helmsman, you can see that position.
What you can’t see is what’s happening behind you. So the crew’s job, once we’ve started, is to give me the information. Primarily about the boats above, but also to tell me if we’re going high or low, slow or fast.
If I get a high fast, coming from the crew, things are fantastic. That means we’re doing great.
When I get a high slow, my next thought is, is the boat above the problem?
We talk about that and if we’re low but the speed is okay, I’ve got to work to get the height back up. So based on what I’m getting, I’m adjusting what I’m doing.
The key is to keep sailing the boat fast. If you miss a couple of waves, you don’t put enough out on the mainsail or back in, you’ll have lost that runway.
The first minute and two minutes are everything. Because once you’re out the back it’s compounded really fast, really fast.
When I watch the racing, I wonder why boats that are getting flushed, aren’t doing something about it.
As soon as you’re getting flushed, you want to tack. You need to find yourself a new piece of real estate to go sailing.
Sailing in bad air is the ticket to a long day.
That brings me to the next question. What do you do to recover if you get balked or get a far from a satisfactory start? How do you start well every time?
Mike: Which we did today.
As soon as we crossed the line, we tacked and followed the pathfinder out. But our game plan, was to go right anyway so we still executed the plan we had.
That certainly worked today, going out to the right but you had already thought about the current?
Mike: Because we were stuck behind the pathfinder, and he was going very high. When you’re in bad air, you can’t match height so I just put the bow down and sailed low and fast.
If you’re in that and you are looking for your next opportunity. So you get a header, and you can get set back up into a better position, take that.
If you’re convinced you’re going the right way, push on.
So when you’re looking up the course prior to the start, you’ve worked out what the tide was going to be today, and what was the current. What else do you look for? It’s patchy out there at the moment, and this morning, but it dropped off pretty quickly. What did you look for up the course?
Mike: So first we look at the geography, in Adelaide, there are hills to our south here. And it goes flatter this way. So we figured that the wind would be steadier to the left, shiftier to the right.
I also thought that there was potentially more wind on the left because the hills slowed it down.
We also thought that was going to create a bend along the shore because the wind coming up the shore is going to try to parallel the shore.
We figured that chances were there would be a starboard lift coming to the mark.
Ultimately there was less current on the shore, and we would more than likely get a starboard lift coming in. So that was our reason to go that way.
As part of a team in a multi-crewed boat Teamwork in Sailing Ensures Success
Multi-Crewed Boats
Sailing in multi-crewed boats is a team sport and the crew that knows each other and works together well will get the most out of their boat and enjoy more than their fair share of podiums.
What is seen on some boats which are unsuccessful is when one or more of the team is adversarial. The same person quotes superior experience, knowledge or talent, belittling their teammates.
All the energy, knowledge and talent should be directed toward racing. Other energy should be directed to those who are less experienced to help them learn.
Nurture New Team Members
By nurturing newer crew members you will guarantee that the team gets better with each outing. Not only will the team enjoy more success but everyone will have more fun as well.
When one person starts blaming others for things that go wrong or starts talking to them in a condescending tone, the atmosphere aboard is not pleasant. This will affect everyone’s performance and lessen their enjoyment of the day.
A great method to lower anxiety on board and keep the racing performance up is to discuss what everyone is going to do before the race begins. Another way to avoid anxiety onboard is for everyone to know what their job is but to understand what is required in each other position on the boat also.
Training Exercise
A worthwhile training exercise is for every crew member to sail in every position on the boat. This should be done from time to time so everyone can understand what is required of the sailor normally in that spot. This is not an exercise for race day and is best done during practice and training sessions.
A debrief after the training when the team has been in different positions is important. This gives each sailor the opportunity to discuss what they experienced during the session. The discussion needs to be frank, with egos being kept in check so that everyone can get the most out of the exercise.
Chatter during a race should be kept to a minimum and should be only about the race. The skipper and tactician need to let everyone know what sort of feedback they want.
The sort of things that they may want to be relayed is boatspeed, pointing, waves and the position of other boats. Other things include changes in wind speed and the need to alter rig or sail settings.
In a large crew, such as found on a Maxi an example, there may be teams within teams. Each group would have a spokesperson to pass on information. The key to giving information is to make sure that everything that is said is useful.
Well-defined roles with those jobs being communicated clearly prior to hitting the water. This means that team operates efficiently and at the highest possible level of achievement.
Not enough sailors use Different Steering Techniques For Different Winds.
When Wind Speed Changes
When the wind speed changes you need to focus on heel and pitch angles, adjusting each for the optimum boatspeed.
As the wind builds, you use heel angle as a guide using the sails to keep the boat on its feet. It’s good to have rules of thumb to help you sail the boat as fast as possible in all conditions.
For lighter winds, telltale sailing is appropriate. The helmsperson works hard to stream the telltales at all times for maximum speed. The crew then moves their body weight to create the fastest heel angle.
In overpowered heel-angle sailing conditions, the helmsperson can steer much more freely. Focus on a consistent heel angle while the crew hikes hard. For light air, it’s all about maintaining speed; and in a breeze, it’s all about the heel angle.
Light Air Conditions. Different Steering Techniques For Different Winds
The angle of heel is controlled by the crew, communication from the helmsperson or mainsheet trimmer is essential to coordinate the team’s movements. In really light conditions, tell the team just how much heel is needed to make the boat feel as fast as possible.
The jib trimmer needs to be to leeward, playing the jib and when shifts come. The helmsperson needs to sail deeper to gain speed, and the jib trimmer is there to trim or ease. What the steerer is trying to achieve is to sail straight with minimum rudder movement, and keep maximum speed. Too much rudder movement creates drag.
Slow crew movement affecting the heel encourages the helmsperson to head up in puffs and bear away in lulls. This wastes power in puffs and height in lulls, and reduces speed. Sailing straight, as opposed to heading up in a puff, or bearing off to pick up speed connects the wind to the jib and it never stalls.
Helming in a building Breeze. Different Steering Techniques
With the crew now on the rail, trim the sails in a bit and steer up a little in the puffs. All the time communicating with the main trimmer to keep the boat on the best angle of heel. Be mindful that as the chop starts to increase, you can’t pinch up as much in the puffs.
In flatwater its acceptable to head up in the puffs a little to keep the heel angle down. Steer up just enough for a small amount of telltale lift which in turn should encourage the crew to hike harder.
Overpowered conditions. Different Steering Techniques For Different Winds
Overpowered is where the wind has built to the point where everyone is fully hiked and the traveller needs to be dropped or the mainsheet is eased depending on how your boat is set up.
As long as the boat’s moving at a decent speed, you can head up as much as you need to keep the boat flat.
In the breeze, even luff the leading edge of the jib when a big puff hits until you get sorted. Next ease the main, tighten the backstay or drop the traveller, whatever you have to do to depower.
If it’s breezy but the water is flat, you can pinch because there are no waves to slow the boat.
When you’re sailing in waves and pressing on the telltales to go faster, watch for flat spots.
In a blustery breeze, you can make big gains by balancing the concepts of sailing by the telltales and sailing by heel angle. Knowing what your desired angle to the wind is and then factoring in lifts and headers along the way.
There are plenty of ways that a beginner can become a winner.
There are an enormous number of ways that we can get better results out on the racecourse, not the least of which is time on the water. Unfortunately, time is not something that many of us have to spare in any great quantity.
I have laid out below a few basics for those starting out on their journey to improve and although the list is not exhaustive, I believe it is a great starting point.
Set your sails for the conditions before the start to make sure you are fast off the line.
Be sure that you note how the wind is shifting before the start.
Make sure that the helmsperson and crew work together through the tacks to maintain boatspeed.
Maintain clear air at all times.
Be constantly aware of where other boats are on the course – don’t be taken by surprise.
Calculating Wind Direction
Calculate where the wind is coming from by keeping track of your close-hauled headings.
Record the compass headings on each tack and calculate the wind direction as a midway point between the two.
keeping track of course headings and wind direction whilst in the heat of competition can get confusing so to get in the habit of practising this skill while you are out daysailing or cruising so it becomes second nature.
Rounding The Windward Mark.
Keep crew weight on the windward rail as long as possible.
Prefeed the spinnaker to help separate the clews.
Ease the main but only ease the headsail a little to help pull the bow down and also make it easier to drop on the deck.
During a gybe set with a symmetrical spinnaker, get the spinnaker drawing first then worry about the pole.
Spotting New Wind.
When you are looking for wind shifts and puffs, go with any evidence you can find. Patches of dark rippled water or whitecaps are good indicators.
Keep an eye out for other boats or indicators onshore such as flags, trees or smoke.
To get better at this skill, get in the habit of being on the lookout for new wind even when you are out for an afternoon sail with friends.
Downwind Sailing Tips.
Either you or a member of your team should keep looking astern for shifts or more breeze.
In light to moderate air, always gybe downwind to take advantage of apparent wind.
Generally depending on the type of boat you sail, dead downwind is slow, especially under 15 knots of wind.
Play the shifts so you are sailing on headers whenever possible.
Boats with asymmetrical spinnakers need to sail higher and hotter angles to get the spinnaker out from behind the mainsail.
Avoid a luffing match by being aware of other boats so you are not taken by surprise.
As other boats catch you or you catch other boats, think through your options. Anticipate the tactical situation that you are about to face and act decisively. If the competitor you are dealing with realises you are fully aware, they are less likely to take you on.
Sometimes it makes sense not to try to pass another competitor if it could slow you down allowing those behind to overtake you.
If someone tries to overtake, sail up a little to keep yourself between them and the mark but don’t sail as high a course as the competitor astern.
Leeward mark tips.
Always go in wide and out tight unless traffic does not allow this.
When coming around onto a beat, trim the main in first letting the jib lag to help bring the bow around so less rudder-induced drag is created.
If there is a crowd at the leeward mark it often makes sense to drop the kite early so you can look for a way to sneak around inside the gaggle.
There are reasons why you should consider starting in the middle of the line.
Starting towards the centre of the line offers more advantages than starting at the ends. This is so even if one end may seem to be favoured.
The first advantage is that it gets you away from the congestion at the favoured end thus lessening your chances of being blanketed by other boats and helping ensure that you avoid a potential collision.
Secondly, it gives you more flexibility to decide who you start beside. It allows you to select a marshmallow to get off the line without being challenged.
A third advantage is that mid-line sag is a feature of any race with large numbers of boats. Your knowledge of this will allow you to start a boat length or more in front of others around you.
Why You Should Consider Starting In The Middle Of The Line
On a day where there is not a massive reason to start at one or the other, especially in an oscillating breeze, a mid-line start puts you in a good position to play the shifts and sail conservatively up the middle of the course.
On a day when one side of the course is heavily favoured, a start about one-third from the favoured end is a better option. This keeps you away from the aggressive starters and congestion but keeps you in touch with the fleet giving your more options due to less traffic.
Some classes don’t allow electronic line pinging instruments. To get a good mid-line start, it is essential to establish line sight transits. This ensures you are close to the line when the gun goes.
If you are unable to get a line sight, a good reference is to observe the boats at either end. If you are not close to being in line with them, you are more than likely well behind the line.
Sight the line by looking from one end to the other, swing your gaze to the windward of the boat. When you swing your gaze leeward, you get the impression that you are closer to the line than you are.
To get an effective line reference when you can’t use your line sight is to point your finger at one end. Then “draw” the starting line across the water to windward and on to the other end.
Keep an eye on the imaginary line you have drawn, you will be in a great position at the start.
Holding Course – An underrated skill and something that we should all practice.
I have copied below an article that was written by Super Sailing Coach Adrian Finglas during his time coaching at Royal Brighton Yacht Club in Melbourne Australia.
This article has been reproduced with kind permission from RBYC and of course, coach Adrian.
One of the most underrated skills on any sailing boat is holding course – whether you are on a cruising yacht or a high-tech racing dinghy.
The fastest route between two points is a straight line, if you are constantly moving the tiller or wheel the boat will start to track extra distance. It is important to keep the helm central and limit your steering to small movements.
When coaching a new sailing team I always focus on their steering, many have been sailing for 20 years or more and still do not hold the helm correctly or straight enough.
As I say to the Optimist sailors, when you get in the car with your parents and drive down the highway, what happens if the driver is adjusting the steering wheel a lot?
The car will alter course and crash, so a boat is no different.
Light winds are a crucial time to hold the helm steady, many skippers will hold the tiller beside their body locked down to the deck with an overhand grip as it gives very good control.
Key elements to remember – Holding Course – An Underrated Skill:
When skippering a dinghy, Etchells or any boat with a tiller the overhand grip hard to the deck is the most effective. It is a difficult style to perfect, so practice is key!
On a yacht with a wheel make sure you have clearly marked the wheel where the rudder centre position is, this will allow you to always have a reference point to go back to. Many sailing teams will mark the wheel using bright coloured tape so it is easy to find.
Never fight the helm when skippering. If you find yourself moving the helm a lot, 99.9% of the time the boat is out of balance. To fix this problem adjust the sails and the twist profile will change which allows you to steer straight, in heavy conditions you will find that the sails are generally not flat enough.
With the burgeoning Sportboat fleets and modern yacht design favouring high aspect keels, maintaining flow over the foils has become increasingly important.
To get a great start, line up slightly sprung sheets and hold your course until the boat is at full speed. Then gently steer up to close-hauled just before the gun goes.
With a boat to leeward of you, try to go straight while accelerating slightly lower than their angle. Even though you’re getting closer to the leeward boat initially, you’ll be generating better speed grip and lift. This in turn gives you more height and speed so you can lift off them.
Modern High Aspect Keels Need Flow At All Times
Crews, but particularly helmspersons must constantly be on the lookout to avoid stalling the foils. High aspect keels need flow. The helmsperson must execute smooth turns and maintain boatspeed to stop that from happening.
At the leeward mark start your turn when you’re around 2.5 boat lengths abeam of the mark. Do that and you’ll have way more grip on your keel and end up in a higher lane than boats still turning as they pass the mark. This is when the keel stalls and the boat slides sideways.
It’s OK if your arc takes you a little downwind of the mark before turning up. Again, the idea is that, as you finish the turn and actually pass the mark, you are already close-hauled.
Ducking a boat upwind requires the same consideration. You pay more for turning hard at the boat you’re ducking in a sportsboat than in a fat-keeled boat.
You’ll gain more by bearing away early, building speed, and doing a small head-up as you pass astern of the boat you’re ducking.
Pinching Causes Loss of VMG – High Aspect Keels Need Flow At All Times.
If you constantly pinch, your VMG will be worse with a skinny keel because you’re close to stalling the keel. The boat needs more flow to create lift. High Aspect Keels Need Flow At All Times.
Try adding a couple of tenths to your boatspeed by initially steering down a degree or two. You will almost always end up pointing as high as everyone else because you have way more flow over your blades.
A word of caution though, you can overdo it and start reaching around the course. High Aspect Keels Need Flow At All Times.
Strategy and tactics are the key ingredients of your plan to ensure success and fun for the day’s sailing event.
What is Strategy?
A definition of strategy is having a plan for how you would like to sail a race if there were no other boats on the course.
Tactics are being able to adapt quickly to changing situations, that is, reacting to the boats around you.
A lot of strategy can be done before you leave the beach such as taking note of local topography and how it will affect the wind. Look at charts and tide tables that tell you about potential currents. Tactics on the other hand are something that is a moving target.
Part of your strategy can be talking with locals or competitors who have sailed at the venue before.
Once on the water, work out what type of day it is, is it gusty and shifty, how large are the shifts and how fast are they?
In your head, make some rules for the race but avoid making too many. Too many rules to think about will take your mind away from keeping the boat fast.
You need to concentrate on the many other aspects of getting to the next mark the quickest way possible.
Be prepared to adjust or jettison rules if conditions change or the rules do not appear to be working.
In small fleets, waiting for a hole to appear on the starting line may be your best move. In a large fleet, those holes are few and far between.
If you’re sailing down the starting line on starboard and unable to gybe back due to a long line of port tackers, head upwind a few boat lengths and either gybe or tack back to port to find your hole on the starting line.
Tactics – Both Strategy and Tactics Are Important
From a Tactical point of view, it is very much about weighing up the risk/reward for each action. Try to minimise the risks by sailing conservatively.
Different weather conditions and fleet positions will require different tactics. Try to keep things as simple as possible and set small goals.
In shifty conditions, always be on the lifted tack. Do this even if it means being in dirty air for a short period of time.
With small fleets and moderate conditions where the difference in velocity in the regular breeze and the puffs is small, leveraging the middle of the racecourse is a great way to minimize risk while putting yourself in a position to pass boats or extend your lead.
In light air where the difference in the regular breeze and puffs is much larger, it’s more important to identify pressure and sail towards it, even if it means sailing on an edge of the race course.
In stable wind make sure you have clear wind. It may even mean sailing on a small header briefly to clear your lane.
Keep your Tactics simple, it is easy to overcomplicate this area of sailing.
I spoke to Matt Bugg on the subject of mental toughness and psychology in sailing. Matt is a man who has not let adversity stand in his way to achieve great things in our sport.
After becoming a paraplegic in a snowboarding accident at 23, Matthew decided to try to reach the pinnacle of Para-sailing, first in Australia and then internationally sailing the very competitive 2.4-metre single-hander.
He has won National Championships and countless races culminating in a Silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in RIO.
Excerpts from that interview are copied below:
I really admire the tenacity you’ve shown to get to where you have in our sport. From a psychological point of view, what have been the toughest challenges you’ve had to face and what did you do to overcome them?
Matt: I think I’ve always been a very natural helmsman and I think that’s because I grew up steering boats from a very young age. Whenever we went cruising on the boat or sailing and whenever I could, I was on the helm. Captain Araldyte that was my name on board “Buggbear”.
I was a good helmsman when I got into sailing but, it had been quite a while since I’d done a lot of really intense racing and I never really sailed at such a high level. So the nuances and the really technical stuff I kind of had to learn all over again when I started sailing 2.4s.
So what has enabled you to reach the heights that you have, has it been mental toughness, and what’s the psychology behind it?
Matt: I think going back to your earlier question and combining the two, probably the biggest psychological hurdle that I had to overcome was sailing in a breeze. When I first started sailing 2.4s, I never really enjoyed sailing in the really windy stuff. You get very wet. It was really loud.
Everything was really loaded up and I just preferred racing when it was light or when it was perfect medium conditions.
I think the most important thing for me in terms of progressing my results because I would always do well in the light stuff and the medium stuff. But if you want to be a really good sailor, and move up to the next level, you really have to embrace heavy air and you have to love it.
That was probably the biggest hurdle in terms of jumping my results forward. I just forced myself to go out there and absolutely love it when it was 20 or 25 knots. And if you love it, you’re going to sail better in it. It’s as simple as that.
So I think that was probably the main thing that took me from a mid-fleet racer to a high-level racer was really embracing the heavy air. Whenever it happens, that’s when the mid guys drop back and that’s when you really have an opportunity to put good races in.
Also, I just read. I read every bit of sailing literature that I could.
Talking about fellow competitors, what’s the best way to view fellow competitors? Do you view them as an enemy or a friend?
Matt: That’s a really interesting one and I think it’s always I try to be friends with them all. There’s no point in having enemies and having people that don’t get on with off the water.
Certainly, when I’m on the water, I treat everyone the same and that’s with a violent hatred basically.
Not when we’re just on the water but, from when the gun goes for the start to the end of the race. While we’re out on the water, I’ll congratulate someone on a good race or a good tactical decision or something. I think respect is really important. But on the land, it’s great if you can make as many mates as possible. Why wouldn’t you?
Was there anything you did to try and improve your mental toughness?
Matt: Music. Hard music. Generally, I’ll try and listen to some “Rage Against the Machine” or some “Tool” especially if it’s going to be windy. I’ll listen to very aggressive music and try to get that music in my head for when I’m out sailing.
What’s the most important psychological thing that the sailor who wants to improve should concentrate on?
If you go out sailing on the course knowing that all the guys you’ve been sailing against have just been sailing three or four times a week. You’ve been popping down to the club every second weekend, then mentally you’re starting off behind the 8 ball.
And so you need to really have that confidence that you’ve done as much or more than the guys that you’re going to be racing against. Or you know that you’re faster for some reason.
The other important thing for me, and I’ve always been very lucky, is that I’ve always had a very good team around me. Not everyone is so lucky to have a coach and a sail designer that sort of travels with you to sailing regattas.
You know, even if it’s just you’re quite good friends with a few other guys out of the same fleet as you or out of the same class and you go out and tune up together.
Obviously do a few pre-race tune-ups, a few split tacks, just some basic sort of one-on-one tuning, making sure that your boat’s going fast. That all gives you confidence in your preparation for the time that the start gun goes.
Is there anything that you do personally to keep sailing fit away from the boat?
Matt: In all of my racing, until the Games last year, I was in the gym as much as possible, two or three times a week. Fortunately, my boat didn’t require too much fitness. So it certainly wasn’t the most important thing to me. So I just tried to keep myself fit just so, really that I was mentally fit and so that I wasn’t too heavy for in the boat.
It’s not rocket science. If you need to be fit for the boat, you run and you ride your bike, and the fitter you are, the faster you’re going to go.
