Steve Dunn Looks at Championship and Race Preperation
Steve Dunn an RS200 RYA Class Coach gives invaluable advice on how to prepare for a championship for any class.....
Regatta and Championship Preparation
You may or may not have heard of PPPPPP, piss poor preparation provides poor performance, never is this more true than when you have in mind an event in which you want to excel. In this article I will try and give you some hints and tips on how you can set and achieve objectives through careful planning.
The Objective
You should have in mind an objective that is measurable (you want to know if you succeed or not) and obtainable (you want to have a realistic chance of succeeding). The objective should also be non-trivial an example is; You are the current national champion your objective is top 5 at next years world championships. A trivial objective would have been winning the club open meeting, you would reasonably expect to do this. The objective should be tailored to your own skills and experiences and could be top 50 at Nationals, top 5 at X, Y or Z open or winning Weds series at home club, as examples. What if you meet your objectives rapidly and easily because you have planned and prepared very well? You should now raise your expectation, and objectives with it.
The Preparation
Sitting down and setting your objective is actually the first part of your preparation, it dictates what level of commitment you can expect from your team. The 200 is a boat that rewards team work and so the exercise of sitting down and chatting over things is a good way of strengthening your team and getting a feel for each others hopes and aspirations. Once you have decided on your goal you need to be as fully prepared as possible in order to meet that goal. So what sort of things should you include in the preparative process and when should you do them?
As early as possible .
Find out as much about the venue as you can, the amount of information you can get about the venue may vary but knowledge is power! If it is your local club chat to people who normally beat you, watch and learn from them. If it is a regatta (nationals, open whatever) then get the charts, tide tables and if possible meteorological information as far in advance as you can. This allows you to develop a mental picture about what to expect at the venue. From bitter experience it is good to have a road map and/or directions to the club many a well planned regatta has been spoilt by turning up late.
Get out and practice, this is the single most important thing most people I have coached could do to improve their sailing. Until you can tack perfectly or set the kite perfectly 99% of the time you cannot concentrate on the bigger picture outside your boat. The difference between people finishing 50 and 20 at a big event is, more often than not, the amount of time they have sailed the boat. This has been demonstrated from time to time when people have swapped boats and the results have not changed significantly. If possible practice with someone who is about as good as you this improves your sailing quicker than any other type of practice. It strengthens your in boat confidence and with someone to provide feedback you can develop new ideas and see if they work without losing 10 places! As your boat handling improves though practice you are able to defocus on it and enjoy the sailing more.
The weeks before the event
Your boat: This should be in the best condition you can have it in, so make every effort you can to have it in tip-top condition. Nothing should break or even give you the slightest concern it might, everything should run smoothly and be as efficient as possible. All the practice and planning in the world goes to waste if you halyard snaps because you didnt have time to replace it, what a waste of time and effort.
Get fit enough, both mentally and physically: Sounds rather funny but make sure you are focused on what you want to achieve and be enthusiastic about it. Physical fitness is important as most races sailed in winds above F3 are hard work and being fitter than your nearest competitors will give you an edge, a very big one in race 3 on the day. Dont do something to shatter your confidence, confidence is a very important factor in sailing so practice quietly in the last few weeks before your big event (whatever this may be).
Checklist: Have one prepared and follow it. How many times have you arrived at a venue just before a race and found that you have no buoyancy aid, no water, forgot to sign on? This ruins your preparation and takes focus off what you are trying to achieve.
Make sure you have accommodation and travel requirements sorted so you know you have somewhere comfortable to stay and how to get there.
At the event
Weather forecasts: Get a copy of the weather forecast for you and your crew to study over breakfast. Compare this with the weather you see outside. Make a note of what is happening and when you can expect it. There is no excuse for knowing a cold front is expected and then being on the left hand side of the course when it arrives, again knowledge is power. The forecast also lets you decide what clothes to wear, how much liquid and food to take afloat, what your rig settings should. You have almost sailed the race before you have got dressed and therefore your level of awareness is higher.
Checklist: Follow it, adding any local variations to it that are important.
Tidal information (where relevant): Put the tide times and flow diagrams on your boat, this is information that is vital but takes up valuable brain cells unnecessarily.
Pre-start
Find your partner and sail the first beat on opposite laylines, tacking after 2 or 3 minutes. From this you can learn a lot about the mechanics of the first beat. Then sail the rest of the leg and back down to the start. You should be on the water in plenty of time to do this, it is very valuable as it warms you up and lets you get a feel for the days conditions.
Determine the strategy: Strategy is very important, it is your overall game plan. If you get the strategy right and in the absence of any other boats you will meet your objectives. Remember the difference between strategy and tactics. An example is luffing; a boat is going over the top of you so you luff, this is tactics and as soon as you do this you are not following your strategy. Anyone else who is following the correct strategy will gain on. Be aware of people who constantly force you to use tactics they are slowing you down! Being slowed down is not the way to meet your objective. The way in which you determine your strategy is another topic, for another day.
Get all the information: What is all the information? Well you can now put the wind angle defining the first beat into perspective in regard of the expected current, you can get your transit for the starts, you can get a feel for how the boat is behaving and most importantly you can get into a rhythm with your crew.
The start
The start accounts for about 60% of the race, get it right by careful pre-start preparation and the rest of the race will be much easier. Remember that it is much easier at the front than the back, you have clean air and clean water and can sail a strategic race rather than tactical race. Work hard on your starts by practice and treat every start you do as the most important ever, doing this will allow to reach your objectives.
The race
Follow the strategy you have decided on as closely as possible, only use tactics when they are necessary remember they are slowing you down. Try and beat people but only just; What does this mean? It is within the capabilities of everyone to win a race at the nationals, yes it is true But you will not win the event with a score line like 1 54 2 67 2 89 you have to be consistent. If you think left is paying edge in that direction but dont bang the corner, what if right pays? Always try and pick off your close competitors one at a time, in this way you will breed consistency and better overall results. With only one discard two poor results will really slow you down!
Post race
Take five minutes to sit down and chat about what happened, this gives a nice feel to the end of the days racing. You will learn a lot about the venue by reviewing what happened. Chill out, do whatever you want to do to take your mind off things so that in the morning you are fresh and focused.
To close
There arent many things above that are difficult but following them will improve your sailing and help you to meet higher and more demanding objectives from year to year. Most importantly you should have fun, even if you sit in the bar with your crew, have a few beers and chat about the next season it is a fun, team building thing to do, so enjoy it.
Steve Dunn - ([email protected]) RS200 RYA Class Coach
Copyright © Steve Dunn - 2002