One of the most revealing aspects of coaching in sailing is the unique perspective one gains from being outside of the boat -- observing and very often videotaping from a chase boat. The camera doesn't lie!

When I show videotape to a group of racers there is without fail these common responses -- "i didn't realize I was trimming the Genoa too tight -- it's obvious now ," "yes we are definitely sitting too far aft as a team -- look at the transom dig in and how disturbed the wake is." From the chase boat one gets to observe team tendencies, leech tensions, twist angles, the wake coming from the foils, team smoothness and the effects of weight distribution to name a very few. When you watch a good team sail upwind -- they display a cohesiveness and a collective mental togerthness that almost wills the boat to go faster and higher than boats around them!

Busy, busy, busy -- but be smooth!

As we all know there is plenty for the team to be doing when on board the boat -- trimming the sails, monitoring the wind on the water, critiquing their performance against the the other boats and very crucially shifting there weight to keep the boat at a constant and steady angle of heel and balanced at all times. The top skipper holds the helm perfectly straight, the wake is perfectly smooth, each adjustment is done deliberately and smoothly. The crew moves knowing that any untoward or unnatural movement can disturb the motion on the boat. The boat charges along, meeting each puff of wind and wave set perfectly. It is great to watch this and to film it is even better!

Keep the top of the mast steady

Imagine a friend is following you in a chase boat from astern as you go upwind and as you sail along they are watching the top of your mast. What do you think they they would like to see? The top of the mast that is moving to leeward, coming upright and then moving to windward? Or a top mast that is straight up and down with occasional small arcing movements to leeward and then to vertical. If you thought the latter you would be right!

When the top of the mast sways around a lot it is indicative of a team that is one step behind on each puff and lull and a skipper who is oversteering and who is reacting to what is happening and not anticipating.

Heel angles Vary - be consistent

Lets look at some aspects that can help the team sail at a consistent heel angle and a smoothly as possible. The heel angles do vary remember -- in a light air you may need fifteen degrees of heel to maintain shape in the sails, in medium air and more velocity we strive to sail the boat as upright as humanely possible to maximize the efficiency of the foils and to reduce leeway. In all instances we strive to be consistent and smooth with the heel angle for Max speed.

Lets look at team roles on the S 20 and how we can accomplish this:

Skipper: Form an image on the horizon and keep it consistent

An excellent technique when going upwind is to be not completely reliant on the Genoa tell tales for balance and heel angle but rather for the skipper to form an image on the shore or horizon between the lower shroud and the luff of the genoa/forestay. Your goal is to keep that image or picture that you have formed consistent and not yawing from side to side. This is particularly helpful on bigger boats when some skipper's are too reliant or focused on the instruments -- which in many instances lag 30 seconds behind the boats actual movements and have the skipper in too much of a reactive mode rather than a proactive one. Using the instruments as a very good reference point and for trim critique is a healthy and fast approach for a team to adopt. The application applies very much to small boats too -- skippers that focus on the tell tales all the time get mentally drained very quickly and have a hard time focusing for long periods and by the 2nd beat of race # 3 that day they are struggling!

Remember what your chase boat observer wants to see!

They want to see a smooth wake, a steady helm and a top mast that is displaying a minimal and smooth arc of movement. Like many top skipper's -- "Disaster Area" skipper Chris Winnard keeps the helm absolutely steady and focuses on a consistent heel angle. The mainsheet/Backstay and traveler are all to hand and adjusted smoothly and consistently. The top mast is steady and the wake astern is smooth.

Middle crew: Balance, smoothness, anticipation.

The middle crew is the balance -- in each lull they move smoothly inboard and ease the Genoa a little, in a puff they move up to windward and flatten the boat and review Genoa trim at the same time. You can simply never get good enough at this -- remember -m the top mast wants to be steady and any rough or ill timed movement will slow the boat down and cost you crucial quarters of boatlengths. Both the skipper and the middle will be listening to the forward crew who is talking about velocity and counting down and detailing puffs, lulls and there duration's.

Foreword crew: Observation, anticipation, communication skill.

Talking velocity all the time -- not only when the lull is coming but how long it will sustain for -- i.e., "lull coming -- it lasts for 7 boatlenghts" or "Puff coming in 5 - it should sustain for 10 boatlenghts" or "generally more breeze coming and it will sustain." This info is extremely helpful to the skipper and middle as they can anticipate the duration and amount of the necessary adjustments. Smoothly moving in and out -- sometimes from hiking to the cabin to down below all in one sustained lull!

Do we look fast and well balanced?

When sailing upwind (and in general) I try to imagine how we would look to an observer outside of the boat -- what would they see? Would it look fast?

When all these elements are combined and practiced your team sails more consistently and smoothly -- much to the delight of the chase boat observer!

In our next article we will look at sail trim as observed from outside the boat.