© Sharon Green / ultimatesailing.com
Craig Leweck, Editor of Scuttlebutt, put out a great opinion piece in the February 11th issue, “Losing Site of the Magic Formula.” The topic always hits me like banging my funny bone. It stings like hell and has no obvious cure! The issue is should classes, in this case the J/70, outlaw techniques that can really only be mastered by professional sailors. If classes can figure out a solution, they would maintain, as Craig said, the magic formula that keeps one-design participation high. There is so much I could say on this topic. It takes a serious amount of restraint to not dive down a hole. So, here goes:
- I don’t think our sport is great at teaching sailing technique. Maybe I am not paying attention, but compared to my other passion, it lags way behind golf. (Did someone say “lag”!?) This is partly because our pros are paid to win, not to teach. (Careful there! Deep hole ahead!)
- Those who grew up learning to race were taught early on that time in the boat is the key. Those who didn’t have to commit atypical amounts of time on the water or rely on pros who have spent 100 x more time on the water as their day job. Interestingly, the proficiency gained does not always translate to tactics, but it usually does. We are really talking about speed and maneuvers. My coach at BU, Ron Sandstrom, used to say “You guys are pros.” We, being stupid college kids, would protest loudly that we were not being paid. Ron would simply sigh and say, “It’s the time…you have the time.” (Long belated Thanks to Ron for giving his time!)
- So, can we legislate through class rules to minimize some of the advantages of professional levels of time? Yes and no. Craig’s example is using the weather sheet to inhaul the jib. I think I land on the outlaw the technique side, because of the nature of the boat and the class. The other, better option is to change the rules to allow physical changes to the boat to make techniques easier for the amateur, such as proper jib in-haulers.
- My personal solution? I like to sail classes that have been around for fifty years or more. The advantage for those who have decades sailing these boats is real, but that is offset a lot for the newcomer because all the refinements to settings and techniques have been tested and made common. Want to have top-five speed in a Lightning? Ask Ched Proctor. Want top 5% speed in a Star? Read Mark Reynolds’ tuning guide. When I was new to that class, I would ponder some brilliant idea, ask one of the veterans, and get the same answer every time. “Buchan tried that.” Cool, case closed, move on. It saved so much time!
See you on the water…alot!
Publisher
Benjamin V. Cesare
ben@windcheckmagazine.com
