By Clay Johnson
Sailing is hard! There are so many variables in play - the wind, weather, clouds, current, tides, etc - that are out of your control. One thing that I like to preach is to master the things that are actually in your control so that you increase your odds of success.
1. Your boat should be perfect. There is no excuse for a breakdown and no reason why everything on your boat shouldn't be dialed in to perfection. Loose ends of control lines should be neatly trimmed and whipped/burned. All lines should be the right length. Spars should be straight. Sails should be rolled well to maximize longevity. I actually detach my tiller extension from my tiller every day so that the universal is not bent over for extended periods of time. Guess what? I've never broken a universal in my life.
Use repeatable settings. Number strips are a great way to measure settings. If you're fast at #4 on your outhaul setting upwind, make a mental note. Then when you tighten your controls at the leeward mark, you know to pull in your outhaul to #4 again. Sure conditions might change and you might need to be tighter or looser, but at least you have a good starting point.
2. Sharpie marks should go on control lines to visually see the adjustments you are making. This was actually the impetus for the new GP78 line that we had made this year. Most line has a dark cover on it with a colored fleck woven in. Our GP78 has a mostly tan cover with different color fleck so that you can easily sharpie and SEE the mark. This is a game changer. Taking it one step further, you should have different colored lines for each of your controls. That way in the heat of rounding a mark you can easily identify which control line is which and make the proper adjustment.
3. Keep a sailing journal. Don't think that you need to take copious notes every day you go sailing. The project will become overwhelming really fast. But I do think it's a good idea to jot down some trends or notes to help you later on - both on sailing and on your experience in general. Pretend you are coming back to a regatta at the venue 10 years from now and you'll try to remember what it was like. Now write some helpful notes for your future you.
For example: Beach Haven, NJ. August, 2023. The breeze was light in the morning but swung to the south as it got hotter. I noticed a bunch of cumulus clouds forming over the mainland as the breeze built. Started to smell the ocean when the breeze started building. Breeze topped out at about 15 knots. Right side was mostly favored all day. Sea state was choppy. Watch out for seaweed. There was a great deli named Pearl St. Market right across the street from the yacht club that made killer breakfast burritos and sandwiches. Stayed off the island to save a few bucks, but it took too long to get to the regatta in the morning and I was stressed. Learned that LEHYC is generous with housing, take advantage next time.
In this case, just a few notes will mentally bring me back to my experience and hopefully help get me in the right mindset for racing, even if it is a decade later.
4. Emulate the good guys. Most people in sailing are pretty open and share information. If you're new, or even if you're not and you just feel slow, don't be afraid to ask the leaders what their settings were or why they went to a certain side of the course. Unless I felt like I was one of the fastest in the fleet that day, I will constantly come in and ask people who were better than I was what they were doing and how they were tuned.
All four of these tips are easy, achievable things you can do to up your game. I promise if you do these you will be a better sailor.
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