Getting Better Practice

By Gordy Bowers, Bowers Sails, Waconia, MN

This article appeared earlier in The Reporter.

[It appeared in the October 1996 issue of the MC Newsletter.]

Sailing in the nineties means racing. But, all the experts say you must practice to get better. Most of us have trouble just getting to the race on time! Next summer why not make room in your schedule for a ten minute practice routine before the assembly gun?

The following ten-minute square course will get the adrenaline flowing, warm-up those muscles, calm down the pre-race jitters and get practice time.

First, you want a practice start. Begin by sailing a wide reaching angle for a short distance, then tack to starboard as you would to approach a starting line. Make the approach you will probably use for the race, but try to hold your boat stationary for about 30 seconds. Experiment with your placement to hold position. Make a clear countdown from 15 seconds down to zero while you accelerate to full speed. This gives you some idea how long, and from what starting angle you can get up to full speed in the approximate wind and wave conditions of the race.

Next, sail on starboard just long enough to get comfortable, then tack to port and sail for speed for two minutes. Here you (and the crew if one is aboard) can experiment with sail trim, steering and weight placement to get in the groove. You must watch the clock because it is easy to get carried away and go too far. Now, make the best tack you can and do the same boat speed drill for two minutes on starboard tack. At the end of which time you get the boat set up, bear away, and settle in for the best angle and speed that will get you downwind fast. After two minutes jibe and go for boat speed on port back down to where you started. Practice a leeward mark turn and go back upwind until the boat gets going fast.

This square course will have given you one start, two tacks, some boat speed work upwind and down, one jibe, and a leeward mark rounding all with full concentration and effort -- really quality time. You can get the ten-minute gun knowing you are race ready.

The ten-minute square works best for light and heavy winds because it gives you more time to practice boat speed. In medium air you may want to do a ten minutes double square with four tacks and three jibes using one-minute speed segments. If short of time, do a five-minutes square with one-minute speed intervals.

The important thing is to use your time effectively before the start. These little square course practice sessions will add up at the end of the year. I guarantee you will beat the nineties' blues, have more fun and race better next summer.