The Racers Edge

When I was a kid, I loved to race; skiing or sailing were my favorites. There was something about having a course set for the exclusive benefit of the competitors that was thrilling. Looking back on my racing days what really stands out is how much my fundamentals improved because of participating in a competitive format. There is nothing like competition to tweak your situational awareness. Everything matters in a regatta and when you’re in the thick of it, the more elements you can tend to the better you will perform. From the wind direction and your sail trim, to the current, the location of your competitors in the fleet and setting up for starts, finishes and mark rounding’s, everything matters. As they say, you learn more from your mistakes than from your successes and that could not be truer than when you compete in a regatta. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great feeling to get the bullet and hear the canon blast when you’re first across the finish line, but more times than not, the reasons for not winning are usually readily apparent.  Winning tends to be a celebration of finally getting “it” right.  Watching someone else take line honors triggers reflection on what needs to be done differently to be more competitive in the next race. In the long run, the hard lessons learned in regattas have a lasting affect on your situational awareness when sailing in any conditions.

If you are an enthusiastic sailor looking for ways to hone your skills, consider recruiting 4-5 of your friends and chartering Hamlet for an introduction to racing.  Hamlet is a J/105; a fun and forgiving performance boat that is easy to sail, J/105’s offers a simple layout, have great performance, a large cockpit and predictable handling characteristics. Introduced in 1991 as the first modern day keelboat with bow-sprit and asymmetric spinnaker, J/105 today is the most successful one-design keelboat class over 30' in the USA with over 680 boats sailing worldwide.  The bowsprit and asymmetric spinnaker system make downwind sailing simple and requires fewer crew for racing. No need to organize a football team of crew to sail!  There are a number of regattas to choose from throughout Buzzards and Narragansett Bays as well as Block Island Race Week, Figawi, New York Yacht Club Race Week and others.  Contact BBYC for further details.