Keith\'s Tip of the Week

Keith Chidzey

This page is dedicated to the little pearls of wisdom we receive from Keith from time to time.
For other tips you can visit our Tips Pages

17 Aug 2001

Where do you look when driving?

Think back on the last that you sailed as a skipper.
When you were steering upwind, where did you look? At the sails, telltales, waves?
Probably it was some combination of these and other variables.

To drive a boat faster, you have to be a little like a computer. That is, you must collect a bunch of information, process it in your brain, and then make decisions about what you will do. Visual clues are one way to get the information you need to do a good job steering. Obviously, you can see these by looking around. But where should you look? Which clues are the most critical?

Below is a list of an average of eight of the top sailors in the world's preferences (expressed in %), what are yours?

(Ed Baird, Steve Benjamin, Rod Davis, Robbie Haines, JJ Isler, John Kolius, Bill Shore, Dave Ullman)

Compass - 5%
Boats nearby - 9%
Big picture - 10%
Forestay/horizon - 10%
Sail trim - 13%
Jib telltales - 26%
Waves/water - 26%.

Some Quotes: "If you could give other sailors one piece of advice about how to steer a boat faster upwind, what would you say?"

Steve Benjamin - "Stay focused."
Robie Haines - "Total concentration is the key to making a boat go fast and keeping it in the groove"
John Kolius - " If you don't finish the race with a splitting headache, you didn't concentrate hard enough on steering."
Dave Ullman - "Do much more of it. There is no substitute for practice and time on the water."

as plagiarised from "Speed & Smarts" by Dave Dellenbaugh

13 Dec 2000

Tides & Current

Basic thought: keep in the back of your mind you are on a moving carpet, or on one of those travelators at the airport.
Going with the current - get in the fastest flow.
Going against the current - get to the shallower edges where it is not flowing as fast.
Cross current - always aim above to point you are heading to, the stronger the current, the greater the deviation from the rhumb course.
Around marks - even the most experienced get pulled onto a rounding mark if they leave it too skinny.
Wind strength: the lighter the breeze, the greater the current's influence will be, compared to when we hop on the plane, the current's influence is a minimal concern in the strategy game.
Hope this is topical for St. George!

1 Dec 2000

Starting

It's pretty obvious that if you give everyone a head start you are in a lot of trouble if you want a good result. A good clean start and 1st leg sets up the rest of the race and can be the difference between having a great day and a lousy one.

Principles:

Know which side of the course you want to go to for the first leg. This helps you determine which end of the line (assuming it is set properly and not heavily biased).
Clear air is essential. If you have someone in your face you must know you rules, and use them. It is by far the best to avoid the traffic and be a further 10 m down the line with minimal bodies around.
Try and set up someone slower underneath. If you have a boat that is a known high pointer underneath you - goodnight. Whereas if you can hit the groove and accelerate neatly and have "bunnies" above and below, well say no more!
MUST be on the line at the start gun. a) must have a reliable watch in sync with the starter's, b) must have a lay-line though each end determined before the 5min gun. This is done by holding you boat still beyond each end of the line, sighting through the start mast and the pin end to a point (tree/house/even window) on the far shore. Then sail along the line, in both directions, using your sight point to keep yourself dead on the line. This gives a "feel" for your position once the going gets close.

After doing this routine for a few races and you get used to it, your confidence and staring ability will improve to the next level.

12 Nov 2000

Training

Time on the water is irreplaceable, but it must be structured to gain the most benefit. Don't just go for a blurt, you might as well stay dry and have an ale for all the good it will do your racing!

be organised, have a plan and goals for each session before you start.
Don't be satisfied when you get it right once, remember in a race you will be under more pressure and unfavourable conditions. Once correct, repeat at least 5 more times until second nature.
Repeat exercises in different wind/wave conditions until proficient in all.
This is not a once off experience. I have been racing for 30 years and I haven't gotten any better because my training regimens are not as good as what they could be.

29 Oct 2000

Steering

It's a fine art that requires concentration, practice and the ability to feel the boat as an extension of yourself. Steering is really a series of continual turns, most of which are quite small. Remember that at any time you turn your boat, it is fastest to use a combination of rudder, crew weight and sail trim. One of the most important guidelines for fast steering is: "Don't oversteer". Try to keep your boat going straight and fast by minimising the amount of drag created by your rudder. When you need to turn, steer by moving your weight and adjusting your sail trim as much as possible.

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