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What Happens if The Wind shifts in The Pre-Start?

Brett Bowden
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What Happens if The Wind shifts in The Pre-Start?

What Happens if The Wind shifts in The Pre-Start? What should you be on the lookout for?

In the last few minutes before the gun goes there is plenty happening. You must be observant of what is going on up the course as well as finding a spot on the line to accommodate you and your plan.

Keep an eye on boats that may have already started on your course, but if you are the only fleet out there, take note of changes in angle as you parallel the line or the different trim of sails that you need to make to maintain your course. 

As you are idling forward prior to cranking on to get up to speed watch how your sails are behaving, if nothing changes but the jib suddenly luffs heavily or fills, as long as it is not the effect of another boat nearby, you will detect a shift in the wind.

If you have been keenly observing what has been happening you should be ready to modify your starting plan and it might be time to reconsider where you want to start on the line.

If you see someone sailing upwind, and their angle is different than the angles you’ve been seeing, there’s a last-minute shift, and you may need to change your plan.

A word of caution though, make sure you consider the type of boat that you are watching and how its pointing characteristics compare to yours.

Starts at Shifty Venues

At the start, the shiftier the venue the more likely you’ll see a last-minute shift. This happens often on small lakes, or with venues with offshore winds when the course is located close to land.

In these situations, it can be safe to start near the middle of the line and with the mid-line start, you’re not fully out of the race if a shift happens in either direction. 

A fleet that starts before you are “tell tales” and their spread across the course gives you wind directions. If you see a boat that’s bow up on starboard, they’re likely in a right shift, if they are bow up on port, they’re probably in a left shift.

When looking at the boats in the fleet ahead and you see the leaders gybe set around the weather mark, you can be sure they’re in a right shift at the top of the course.

Watch what happens with that fleet as they continue downwind as this will give you some clues as to what has been occurring on that part of the course, just be aware that by the time you get there the wind may have switched back.

#sailingtowin, #competitivesailing, #sailing, #sailfaster, #sailtowin.

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Laylines & Getting Them Right.

Brett Bowden
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Laylines & Getting Them Right.

Laylines & Getting Them Right.

Windward mark layline mistakes, unfortunately, are very common and can be extremely costly. Laylines & Getting Them Right.

One of the most common things that sailors get wrong is getting to the layline too early. If you get to the layline too early, you can no longer play the shifts and you also lose tactical options.

More often than not it is really hard to judge laylines without a good visual reference and wind changes, dirty air, waves, or current are all outside factors that you need to take into account. 

Problems that can be created by getting to a layline too early:

  • A lift or increase in wind velocity causes you to overstand and sail extra distance.
  • Other boats that were below the layline may now be fetching the mark.
  • A header favours the boats inside the laylines, since they are closer to the shift.
  • In an approaching lull, you have fewer options to sail towards more pressure.
  • Boats not on the layline can tack on your air, leaving you with few options.

As you get about two-thirds of the way up each beat, work out your relative distance to the port and starboard laylines and consider your plan accordingly.

Are you a lot closer to one layline than the other? If so, make sure your strategy is sound. You must have a really good reason to keep going toward the closer layline so continue to evaluate all possibilities.

When considering tacking for the mark a simple test is that if you have to look back over your shoulder to see the mark, you’re probably on or past the layline.  

It is extremely important to know your boat’s tacking angle which is the difference in headings on each tack. 

Different conditions such as wind strength, sail trim, waves and dirty air will affect the tacking angle. In light air and the difference in light to heavy air could be as much as 30 degrees.

Learn Your Boat’s Tacking Angles

Learning your boat’s tacking angles comes from practising in various conditions and it does no harm to record these numbers on the boat for quick reference and to aid your memory in pressure situations.

Drawing tacking lines on the boat are one way of helping to call a tack.

Other boats are a great clue when judging laylines but just make sure that the boats you are referencing are trimmed on and sailing hard, they may have overlaid and are reaching down to the mark or they may have underlaid and are pinching to try to get up to it.

Even if you are very close to the layline there are a few reasons why you may delay your tack or you may even decide to tack early and they are:

  • There is a favourable shift coming.
  • There is more breeze coming as more breeze lifts you and decreases your tacking angle.
  • There are tactical reasons relating to other boats in your immediate vicinity.
  • There is an unfavourable shift coming.
  • You are heading into a lull.
  • There is no clear air on the layline.
  • If there is a big wave coming, perhaps delay until it passes. A tack right on it may stop the boat and cause you to underlay on the other tack.  

There are things you can do to practice judging laylines, but make sure you practice in varying conditions.

One drill I have found to be particularly useful is to use a fixed mark and tack at it from various distances. The aim is getting to it fully powered up, close-hauled and to pass within half a boat length.

MORE SAILING TO WIN!

#sailing, #sailingtowin, #competitivesailing, #yachtracing.

Headstay Sag and Why it Matters

Brett Bowden
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Headstay Sag and Why it Matters

 

Effects of Headstay Sag

Headstay sag affects everything from boat speed to pointing ability and that’s why headstay sag matters.

Sailboats with headstay sag often point higher and maintain boatspeed better in light-air conditions. One of the key methods to power up a sail is to induce sag in the forestay.

Dinghies obviously only have one jib and many sailboat classes limit the number of jibs that a boat may carry. This means the ability to be able to power up and down is very important in changing conditions.

Effects of Headstay Sag and Why it Matters

When the headstay sags, it not only sags to leeward but also sags aft, which puts the luff closer to the leech, thereby adding depth to the jib. The key controls for manipulating headstay sag are shroud tension, mainsheet tension, and in some cases, headstay length.

In light air, the number one adjustment for headstay sag on boats with either deck-stepped or keel-stepped masts is varying the shroud tension. More tension effectively pulls the mast aft (assuming the chainplates are aft of the mast)

The other way to induce headstay sag is to minimize mainsheet tension. If the mast is stiff, trimming the mainsheet will quickly increase headstay tension and reduce sag. Ideally, in light and puffy conditions, you ease the mainsheet in a lull, the headstay sags to leeward, powering up the sail.

Other ways to induce headstay sag

Easing off the rig isn’t the only way to increase headstay sag. Chocking the mast at the partners, a mast ram or moving the butt aft are other methods of achieving the desired sag.

When you sag the headstay, the maximum draft in your jib moves forward. To compensate and keep the draft aft, ease halyard tension, which also creates additional power. If you increase headstay sag but the halyard remains too tight, you’ll get a knuckle in the front of the sail and an entry that’s too deep, so you won’t gain the overall power you’re looking for.

A major effect of increased headstay sag is that it rotates the middle of the sail, changing the angle of attack causing the mid-luff of the sail to move to leeward as well as aft. At the same time, the mid-leech rotates slightly inboard, similar to the effect of weather-sheeting, which increases pointing ability.

With too much headstay sag the leech will rotate inboard too far. The jib then becomes extra sensitive to sheet tension and stalls too easily. Equally problematic, the entry angle becomes too extreme. When you bear off to rebuild speed, you have to sheet out too much to power up the sail.

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EFFECTIVE STEERING OFF THE WIND

Brett Bowden
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EFFECTIVE STEERING OFF THE WIND

Effective Steering Off The Wind

Effective steering off the wind – On reaches and runs it is essential that the helmsman and trimmer communicate and co-ordinate their actions.

As the helmsman, you must also respond to input from the tactician and changing sailing conditions plus the trimmer’s input based on sheet load and boat speed. The problem here is that there may be conflicting voices advising the steerer thus unsettling his concentration.

Since your tactics won’t succeed without good trim, it makes sense that the tactician talks to the trimmer who then gives feedback to the helmsman so the trimmer is the only one who communicates with the helmsman.

Steering on Reaches – Effective Steering Off The Wind

  1. Light to Moderate Air

On a reach, the fastest way between two points is a straight line and you should plan the reaches with that in mind only varying this based on changes in the sailing conditions or tactics.

In fluctuating wind conditions, work up in the lulls and down in the puffs as necessary to maintain speed, while holding a good average course. The trimmer will indicate when the sheet load is light head up, and when the spinnaker sheet is fully loaded bear off. The amount of course change required depends on wind speed.

When you must head up to pass another boat or defend your position let the trimmer know before making an abrupt change of course, to ensure that the manoeuvre is successful.

2. Heavy air

In heavy air, the helmsman is at the mercy of the trimmers.

The vang, main sheet, and spinnaker sheet must be eased when the boat is overpowered or it will round up and broach but it is fast to carry as much power as you can as long as you can control it.

Carrying some weather helm is OK as long as the rudder doesn’t stall, leading to a round up, this is once again a time when communication between the helmsman and trimmer is essential.

Steering on Runs – Effective Steering Off The Wind

  1. Light air (3 to 9 knots)

In light winds, the best sailing angle is about 140° true wind angle (40° above dead downwind). The angle changes very little as the wind speed fluctuates, so don’t head up in the lulls and off in the puffs except for tactical reasons. The fastest way to the next mark is to tack downwind and keeping the apparent wind forward is fast. A word of caution here though, this is boat dependant so it pays to practice to find out what is true for your particular class or boat.

2. Moderate air (10 to 15 knots)

The optimum speed and sailing angle change dramatically with every change in wind speed. For every knot of wind the optimum course shifts five degrees. In ten knots of wind, the optimum angle is 140° true wind angle and fifteen knots a 165° true wind angle is fastest. Do your best to respond to every change in wind speed, driving off with the puffs and heading up in the lulls.

3. Heavy Air (over 15 knots)

Aim for the mark, sail fast and keep control using the waves to surf wherever possible. Use crew weight to balance the helm, avoid sailing dead downwind and trim the spinnaker directly in front of the boat. Crew weight should also be moved aft to promote planing and to avoid the bow burying.

The helmsman should be forceful to keep control but also be mindful that smooth is fast, jerking the helm creates drag and slows you down.

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Sailing Wind Velocity

Brett Bowden
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Sailing Wind Velocity

 

In all sailboat races, you must sail toward better pressure as more wind velocity almost always means more speed. More Sailing Wind Velocity makes a marked difference to boats’ relative speed around the course.

Darker Water Usually Means More Wind

On the course look for darker water as changes in wind velocity are a lot easier to see than changes in direction.

More wind creates more ripples on the water, and these appear darker because of how they reflect light.

Be careful though to consider variations in sunlight and clouds when assessing heading over to darker-looking patches on the course.

Other boats around you are also a great source of information about velocity across the course and be sure to not only take into account their angle of heel but also their heading.

Changes in heading may be a puff, lift or knock so continual observation should give you the answers you are looking for.

Generally, increases in wind velocity make more difference when the wind is light. An increase of a few knots in the wind when it is light may increase your boat speed by a knot or more whereas an increase of a couple of knots of windspeed in the higher wind ranges may see no increase in boat speed at all.

Once you have found yourself in better wind velocity, do your best to stay there and it may serve you better to stay in a puff longer by pinching up a little, footing off into it or tacking/gybing to stay in the puff longer.

Beware of velocity headers and when velocity changes it affects the wind you see and as an example, when you sail into a lull your apparent wind goes forward which feels as though you have been headed even though the wind direction stays the same.

The mistake a lot of sailors make is to tack on a velocity header and tack is not only slow in light air but you could well be sailing on a knock on the other tack.

Velocity Headers

When you experience a velocity header, change gears to keep your boat speed up and continually be on the lookout for the next puff or shift.

The amount of wind pressure also affects your ability to survive in another boat’s bad air. In light air, wind shadows are bigger and much more hurtful.

In heavy air, you can sail fairly close to leeward of another boat and go pretty much the same speed.

Wind pressure impacts what you do in different positions on the first beat.
Having more velocity means you will sail faster with narrower tacking angles, so you’ll get to a lay line sooner. In light air both tacks take more time, so you can afford to spend more time on the shorter tack.

A factor that can have a big effect on wind pressure is current. When you’re racing upwind, the choice is easy – head for the part of the course where there is stronger current flowing toward the wind or less current going with the wind.

This will not only help you make better progress over the bottom, but it will give you better wind pressure as well.  

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Common Myths of Competitive Sailing

Brett Bowden
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Common Myths of Competitive Sailing

 

Common Myths of Competitive Sailing and the truths behind them.

MYTHS REGARDING CURRENT ACROSS THE COURSE

MYTH – Your apparent wind will be different on each tack. Since you sail faster over the bottom on the down current tack, you’ll feel more wind on that tack and this will affect sail trim and speed.

TRUTH – The apparent wind on both tacks is affected equally by the current. You will feel the same wind and therefore need the same sail trim on each tack.

MYTH – You can improve VMG by pinching to get the current on
the leeward side of your bow.

TRUTH – It doesn’t matter where you are heading since the current only
pushes your boat in the direction it is moving. So pinching will be slower.

MYTH – On a beat, it’s always better to sail the up current tack first.

TRUTH – Current affects all boats equally, so as long as you don’t overstand the mark it doesn’t matter where you are. But if the up-current tack is much longer, it may be better to sail that tack first.

MYTH – If the starting line is square to the wind, it’s better to start at
the up current end.

TRUTH – All boats are being pushed in the same direction by the current, so it doesn’t matter where you start on the line (as far as current is concerned). 

MYTHS REGARDING STARTING – Common Myths of Competitive Sailing

MYTH – If you are in the middle of the starting line and you turn up so your bow is pointing straight into the wind, the end of the line that is closer to your bow is the end that is favoured.

TRUTH – Going head to wind in the middle of the line will show you which end of the line is farther upwind. That end is not necessarily the ‘favoured end.’

The favoured end of the starting line is the one that will get you to the windward mark sooner.  Take into account a number of strategic and tactical factors. Those include which end is farther upwind (and by how much).

MYTH – You should be more careful at the start when the race committee has signalled with flags that a starting penalty is in effect. Because of this, you should be more conservative as you approach the line.

TRUTH – Even when there is no special starting penalty in effect, the consequences of being over the starting line prematurely can be severe.

You should not change your approach to the start just because one of these flags is displayed. The rest of the fleet will be hanging back so your chances of a great start are much better.

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Top 20 Sailing Superstitions

Brett Bowden
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Top 20 Sailing Superstitions

This Week a bit of Fun – Top 20 Sailing Superstitions

Because of the dangers faced by sailors and fishermen, there are countless superstitions around safety and luck on the sea. Some seem a little strange today. While most no longer apply, we’re guessing that some still linger in sailors’ minds.

20. Re-naming a boat
It is bad luck to change the name of the boat. If you do, you must have a de-naming ceremony and officially christen the boat again.

19.  Tattoos
When tattooing became popular at sea a rooster and a pig were often tattooed onto sailors’ feet. It was believed these animals would prevent the sailors from drowning by showing them the way to shore.

18.  Blood
It is unlucky to set off at the start of the fishing season without having first shed some blood in a fight or in an accident.

17.  Fishing nets
When setting fishing nets it is good luck to use an odd number 

16.  Caul
Having the caul of a new-born child on board a ship was meant to prevent anyone from drowning. This meant that cauls were often purchased by sailors before a voyage. (A caul is a harmless membrane that covers the face and head of a newborn baby. It is very rare).

15.  Hat overboard
Losing a hat overboard was an omen that the trip would be a long one.

14.  Eggshells
Eggshells had to be broken into tiny pieces once an egg was cracked open. This was meant to stop witches from coming to the ship to sail in the pieces of shell.

13.  Personal grooming
Anyone aboard who trimmed their nails cut their hair or shaved their beard brought bad luck to the ship.

12. Feet
Flat-footed people were unlucky on board a ship and were also avoided by sailors before they boarded.

11. Women
Women were bad luck on board because they distracted the crew, which would anger the sea, causing treacherous conditions as revenge. However, conveniently for the male crew, naked women calmed the sea, which is why so many figureheads were women with bare breasts. 

10. Non-sailing days
It was bad luck to sail on Thursdays (God of Storms, Thor’s day) or Fridays (the day Jesus was executed), the first Monday in April (the day Cain killed Abel), the second Monday in August (the day Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed), and 31 December (the day on which Judas Iscariot hanged himself).

9. Watch your mouth
Some words and sayings brought about bad luck on board, including “drowned”, “goodbye” and “good luck”. Things to do with the land were believed to be bad luck if mentioned, such as the church,  pigs, foxes, cats, and rabbits.

8. No whistling 
Whistling or singing into the wind was forbidden as it would “whistle up a storm”

7.  No farewell
It was bad luck for seafaring men’s wives to call out to them or wave goodbye once they stepped out the door to leave for a voyage.

6. Stirring tea
Stirring tea with a knife or fork would invite bad luck

5. Turning a loaf of bread upside down
Turning a loaf of bread upside down once it had been cut brings bad luck too. These two seem to be superstitions that existed on land as well as at sea!

4. Red-heads
Like flat-footed people, red-heads were believed to bring bad luck to a ship. If you met one before boarding, the only way to mitigate the bad luck was to speak to them before they could speak to you.

3. Salt
It was bad luck for one crewman to pass the salt pot to another directly. Presumably one could put it down and the other could pick it up.

2. Fishy
In order to encourage fish to be caught, Scottish fishermen would begin their fishing session by throwing one of the crew members overboard and then hauling him back on 

1. Bananas
No bananas on board. They were believed to be so unlucky they would cause the ship to be lost. Whole cargoes of bananas were especially frightening for sailors.

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Avoid Sailing Mistakes

Brett Bowden
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Avoid Sailing Mistakes

Avoid Sailing Mistakes – An important ingredient to winning a yacht race is to make fewer mistakes than your fellow competitors.

Because of sailing’s complexities, even the best sailors will make mistakes but it is the avoidance of the major ones that are the most telling, minor mistakes will make a difference but should not be sweated over.

I have listed below things that will ensure that you avoid major mistakes. You need good planning, execution on the course and staying alert whilst racing to guarantee you avoid a disastrous result.

Common Sailing Mistakes

  • Read and absorb the sailing instructions before heading out. Where possible carry a copy to refer to if time and circumstances allow.  If you are on a crewed boat have at least one other team member do the same. Write the most important or unique instructions on your boat with a Chinagraph pencil.
  • Constantly check the wind direction both before the race and during the event, this will help you to identify persistent or oscillating shifts and assist you to modify your strategy if necessary. Head out of the boat.
  • Constantly look around the course for differences in wind direction and strength. To head to the wrong side of the course in changing conditions because you were not constantly observing changes can be extremely costly.

More Common Mistakes

  • Choose your lanes carefully to avoid sailing in dirty or disturbed air and tack or gybe away to stay clear.
  • Check current direction and strength and read tide tables to see if there is a likely change of direction and strength as the race wears on. What was correct on the first time round may, in fact, be very different the next time around.
  • Have a race plan before the start but be prepared to modify it. Conditions or your position in the fleet changes so a constant re-evaluation is necessary.
  • Sometimes even if you have rights in a mark rounding or crossing situation you may be better off not to force the issue. Avoid collisions, these could finish your day. By taking your right of way you could be pushed to the wrong side of the course. It is important to plan in each situation, this will avoid snap decisions ending in disaster.
  • Don’t arrive at the course with minutes to spare, get out there early to settle the team and get their heads in the race. This also allows you to set the boat up for the prevailing conditions ensuring that you get off the line in as good a shape as possible. Having the setup wrong and the subsequent messing around to get it right often means you will not recover.
  • Don’t head out with an item of equipment that you haven’t used before. Try all new gear during training or two boat testing to evaluate its suitability. 
  • When rounding a mark, locate the next one as soon as you can. It makes little sense tactically, to blindly follow the fleet if you are behind and if you are in the lead, locating the next mark is fundamental in planning your strategy for the leg.

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Read Your Helm

Brett Bowden
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Read Your Helm

.Read Your Helm

Read Your Helm – The feel in your tiller or wheel indicates what is right or wrong with your sails and the balance of the boat.

What the helmsman feels is dictated by sail trim, centreboard position, mast rake, heel and crew weight placement. With excessive helm, the steerer is working against the boats natural course.

By eliminating excessive helm you decrease rudder drag and thus increase boat speed.

Sail Trim

The jib pulls the bow down and the mainsail when pulled in moves the bow up towards the wind.

On a boat that is mainsail driven like a 505 or Etchells, you should focus more on the mainsail. It contributes the most to the helm and constant adjustment will affect the helm you experience.

The mainsail should not be cleated with the cleat placed so it’s hard to engage and easy to uncleat.

Have a mark on the mainsheet as a reference so you can repeat a setting when you tack or adjust for an increase or decrease in wind velocity.

The same goes for marks on your vang, fine-tune and traveller so that you can replicate settings when powering up and de-powering.

Heel and Balance – Read Your Helm

In a dinghy the rule is, always sail the boat flat. If you don’t, the rudder becomes a brake. An easy way to find if the boat is flat is where the helm goes from windward to leeward helm.

One exception, especially in lighter winds is where you might want to generate a little windward helm.  A slight amount of heel will generate hydrodynamic lift off the blades.

When sailing heeled and you feel an increase in helm, flatten the boat to re-instate neutral helm and reduce drag.

Centreboard Position

Obviously, not all boats are the same, but if you pull the board up, this moves the centre of lateral resistance back, thus reducing helm.

Most classes have tuning guides that give you those settings. The centreboard is integral to the helm balance. Mark it so that you know exactly where to set it for a given wind range.

Don’t slavishly follow the tuning guides though, merely use them as a starting point, there is no substitute for two-boat testing to find out what works best for you.

Knowing where to have the board set in all conditions and then fine-tuning it from there is really important and in many one-designs, the centreboard is integral to helm balance as example, when sailing in waves, you might need a little more board-up to free up the helm to drive around the waves.

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Your Fitness and Sailing

Brett Bowden
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Your Fitness and Sailing

 

Most people sail to enjoy it and reach a level of fitness that allows them to race each weekend.                                                                      

On the other hand, if you are trying to get to the top whether it be in a dinghy, one design keel-boat or ocean racer, the long hours that you spend on the water honing your skills will demand additional physical training.

Full-time sailing can be an excellent way to improve your physical fitness but you should not rely on this alone.

Additional on-land training not only provides variety but it also allows you to work on aspects of your fitness. This is the fitness you need in an intense racing situation. It may not be gained from a full year of sailing.

Exercise

Exercise ashore can be made interesting, and enjoyable. It helps you to avoid too much time on the water for the wrong reasons. Exercises can be developed to make your body adapt in a very much more controlled and efficient manner than you could ever hope for on the water.

Fitness is a relative term.  The type and level of fitness will vary depending on the type of boat and sailing that you do. It is important to strike a balance between fitness and all other aspects of your sailing.

Fitness encompasses stamina, speed and skill. The mix and relative importance of each is essential. Ascertain which aspect you need to work on for your particular type of sailing.

Think about weightlifting, sprinting and sailing, what do you think the mix would be for each of these for the roles you need to fulfil on your boat?

Get a Professional To Help You With Your Fitness

As with most things to do with achieving greatness in any pursuit I recommend that you find a coach. Get a fitness professional to write you a program so that you can achieve your desired results. They will be able to watch your progress and make adjustments to the program if necessary.

There are plenty of ex-Olympians and high-achieving sailors who have made a profession in this space. Many are more than qualified to guide you to get to where you want to be.

I remember once asking Mike Holt, a multiple world champion in the highly competitive International 505 class, what was the main factor that made him stand out from many of the other high-achieving sailors in that fleet.

His answer was “fitness”, he went on to qualify that statement by saying that “at the end of any race I am able to sail my boat as hard  as anyone else in the fleet was able to at the start”

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