It stings when an America’s Cup campaign ends without the sailors hoisting or chugging from the Auld Mug like they dream about. But when it’s the New York Yacht Club that comes up short, the loss seems a lot heavier. Bearing that burden in Barcelona today is American Magic’s skipper and President of Sailing Operations Terry Hutchinson who will spend the next few months trying to figure out what led to a second straight exit from the challenger semifinals and what to do better next time—should there be a next time.

American Magic was once again eliminated by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team’s fast silver AC75 to a 5-3 victory in the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals, an improvement from 2021 when they returned to Pensacola winless following a capsize and near sinking of its first-generation Patriot off Auckland that effectively ended the campaign.

“What could we have done better? Why are we in this situation and how can we improve if we’re given the opportunity to go forward? I mean, we could always be better. But it’s not a criticism of any one thing because these things are hard and the competitors are very good.”

Terry Hutchinson, American Magic Skipper and President of Sailing Operations

While Luna Rossa takes on Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Britannia for the right to face two-time defending America’s Cup champion Emirates Team New Zealand, American Magic will begin debriefing and packing up to return to Pensacola, where the team is building a $15 million training center.

A few big questions hang over the end of this Cup campaign, however, which has been largely financed by principals Hap Fauth and Doug DeVos in the latest attempt to return the Auld Mug to the NYYC’s clubhouse on West 44^th Street in Manhattan. Cup pundits and fans will long wonder how much American Magic’s performance was affected by the loss of co-helmsman Paul Goodison who broke five ribs before the semifinals when he fell into an open hatch while helping to carry the mainsail across the deck.

Lucas Calabrese was subbed in for the more experienced Goodison to helm opposite Tom Slingsby. “We’ve been asked a couple times, you know, would it be different? It’s simply, the boat’s performance was good,” Hutchinson says. “Lucas did an outstanding job. We had trained for it. And, you know, you can’t really engage in a hypothetical because it’s a hypothetical. And out of respect to the guys on the boat, I think that’s a disservice to the entire team.

“But I can tell you that the boat’s performance was good and they raced it well and they did a lot of things really well. And so, in that vein, it was good.”

Praising the work of designers Aaron Perry, Britt Ward and Pete Melvin, Hutchinson said the newest Patriot was “a great boat. I would say the guys punched well above their weight for the amount of time they had.”

Speaking a few days after elimination, Hutchinson said it was time to move on from talking about the disappointment and focus on the why. “Like, what could we have done better? Why are we in this situation and how can we improve if we’re given the opportunity to go forward? I mean, we could always be better. But it’s not a criticism of any one thing because these things are hard and the competitors are very good.”

Hutchinson is game to continue pursuing the America’s Cup and says, “You’re never going to back away from a challenge and this is definitely a challenge.”

Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton suggested recently that if the Kiwis retain the Cup, the next edition could come as soon as 2026, which seems to fit well with Hutchinson’s thoughts for the next regatta.

“If Team New Zealand was to win, the challenge is to sit down and have a good conversation with Dalts about how to move the America’s Cup forward, how to move it into the 21st Century, really,” Hutchinson says. “We have all the correct technology pieces to the puzzle. And so, what it needs is continuity and marketability. The opportunity is there because the boats are so cool and so I think we want to model ourselves after what other sports have done.”

He mentions Formula One and even SailGP, the global league backed by former America’s Cup winner Larry Ellison that features many sailors from the America’s Cup. “What SailGP has done is really good. It doesn’t have the lure of the America’s Cup, but it’s still a great platform,” Hutchinson says. “Let’s look at those things and see how we can grab, are they good pieces, and incorporate it into the America’s Cup.”

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“Seeing our boat unloaded in Auckland was an awesome moment for our team, and a significant milestone for the America’s Cup as well,” said Terry Hutchinson, Skipper and Executive Director of American Magic. “Soon we will all see American Magic out on the same patch of water as the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand. That’ll definitely be an exciting sight for sailing fans worldwide, and for us it will be a daily reminder of the huge task we have in front of us. Every possible training day from now until the Prada Cup is priceless, and we are focused on going sailing again as quickly as possible.”

The Bristol, Rhode Island-built foiling monohull is the first Challenger yacht to arrive at the venue of three upcoming regattas: ACWS Auckland (December 17-20, 2020), The Prada Cup (The Challenger finals, January 15 – February 22, 2021) and the 36th America’s Cup (March 6-21, 2021). The U.S. team also expects to take delivery of their second AC75 in Auckland sometime during the fall of 2020.

American Magic’s focus over the coming weeks will be in three primary areas. First, the team will work to complete the New Zealand entry and quarantine process for team personnel and their families, which was made possible after the team received border exemptions from New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on June 12. Second, the AC75, chase boat fleet and the team base will be assembled and activated in Auckland. Third, American Magic’s production team in Bristol will put the finishing touches on the second AC75, and prepare it for air transport from Rhode Island to New Zealand.

“I could not be more proud of how our 145-person team has handled this shipping process, and everything else the pandemic has thrown at us,” said Hutchinson. “Our shore and operations team pivoted incredibly well as events happened, and as the focus changed basically overnight from getting us to Europe to getting us to Auckland. Our production guys have been able to safely keep the Boat 2 build process going, and it looks incredible. And our design group has maintained a singular focus of developing an AC75 capable of winning the 36th America’s Cup. Now we just need to pass our remaining team members through quarantine, keep everyone healthy and safe, and get back to business on the water.”

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Every night, when Terry Hutchinson arrives “home” to his temporary condo in Pensacola, Florida, he can’t escape the America’s Cup campaign that now consumes his every waking minute. Right there in front of him is the grinding machine that’s been relocated from the team’s half-packed base at the Port of Pensacola. For the American skipper, it’s a constant reminder of the daily grind required to get his team to the 36th Cup Match in March 2021.

By now, he should’ve been doing dry laps and fine-tuning American Magic’s AC75, Defiant, off Cagliari, Italy, but the Covid pandemic nixed those plans in early March, only days before the team was scheduled to decamp its entire Florida operation. The big ship scheduled to arrive in Pensacola on March 16 was told to stand down, and in the following days, nearly the entire country went into the current stay-home lockdown, leaving the operation in limbo, and everyone on the ground asking, OK, what now?

It’s a simple question with a complex and evolving answer, Hutchinson says. Their second boat is well underway in Bristol, Rhode Island, they can’t sail Defiant (yet) in Pensacola, and somehow, sometime sooner than later, they do need to get the entire show to Auckland by late summer.

“It’s been a difficult few weeks,” Hutchinson says. “What makes this situation hard, today, is the unknown. When we had the America’s Cup World Series on the schedule, what made that hard was the logistical challenges of moving 70 people and our boat and gear around the world over an eight-week period, while at the same time moving our containers to New Zealand. Now, we are eager to get to New Zealand and get setup, but we have to follow the government’s guidelines and there are many things out of our control. There are unknowns in that, and that’s what’s unnerving.”

While they can’t control the unpredictability of the pandemic and its impact on the 2021 event, the schedule or the path forward, the design team can continue to refine their second boat while the sailors remain in “full ready to go sailing mode” in Pensacola. That means a continued focus on fitness for the sailors, as well as hours upon hours inside the simulator room.

“The simulator part of this has been interesting to watch and evolve,” Hutchinson says. “The development that happens there is really on going and that’s as much about researching areas where we can get faster, and understanding where we think the others are as well. When running the sailing operation day in and day out, we don’t get the opportunity to look at other areas, so for sure, the lion’s share of the team is now 100-percent going to development. The execution of Boat 2 is critical, because that is our future.”

While real racing would have been immensely beneficial in Cagliari and Portsmouth, Hutchinson takes some comfort in their practice sessions in February that focused on setting the boat up properly and making sure systems are reliable. Still, there’s plenty more to learn from the simulator. “Development used to take place with two boats next to each other,” Hutchinson says, “but now we have the ability to do that in the simulator. It’s amazing to watch the E-Sports and NASCAR racing, and how realistic it is racing the cars around the track. This is no different; there’s just no water in my face.”

There are known challenges ahead, however, including the procurement of the team’s second set of foil arms, provided by Persico Marine, who’s facilities are in the heart of Northern Italy. Manufacturing there has been reportedly shut down for nearly two months (likely delaying Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s second boat, although Hutchinson says he’s not aware of specific delays for the Italian Challenger of Record). “We’ve been reasonably lucky that it hasn’t had as big an impact as it could have, but in saying that, I don’t know if we’re out of the woods yet. We have to keep navigating through that and be ready for all the what-if scenarios.”

The foils arm, supplied equipment, are identical to those on Defiant and would not be required for another five months. If need be, the team could part them out for the second boat when it arrives by airfreight sometime in late August. In the meantime, Hutchinson says, the next puzzle to solve is the relocation of personnel and assets to New Zealand.

“We’re fortunate that a few team members are New Zealand citizens so they could enter in today,” Hutchinson says. “When we ultimately choose to ship to the Southern Hemisphere, we can have them offload the boat, the containers and the tent. We do have a little time to ship and move our assets. We’re prioritizing safety over ambition and I can happily live with that.”

Before the Covid curtain dropped, American Magic logged 40 days with Defiant, Hutchinson says, and while the decision was right to halt, the hardest part has been to be landlocked for nearly four weeks, looking out across an empty Pensacola Bay, wishing they could enjoy the glamor days that should have been.

And that grinding machine in his condo? “Terrible.”

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There’s nothing like an absolute beat down on Wednesday to change the outcome for for Quantum Racing. On Thursday, we were greeted with a dock delay, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As a speed team, we reviewed lessons learnt from Wednesday’s racing and we committed ourselves to a slightly cleaner starting style. Our coach, James Lyne, was adamant that we just needed to be a bit more aggressive on the line and focus on our time and distance.

He was right.

For the last three races on Thursday and Friday, the biggest change to our game was hitting the line at pace. When in clear lanes, Quantum Racing was fast and it was simply a matter of getting her into that spot. From there, we went 2,1,1 to win our first event of the season and Boat of the Week.

An interesting trend this year on the Division 1 racecourse was that the left side was favored more often than not. Even in conditions where the forecast talked about right shift or shear, the upper left would win, which made it the hardest Key West Race week I have done in a long time.

Going into the final race, there were seven boats that could win the event, and when the second-place team scored 49 points and the seventh placed team scored 51points, it demonstrates how tight the racing is. Everybody struggled for consistency. At the last event in the 2016 season, the winning average was 3.1. In Key West, a 4.3 average won, demonstrating the difficulty of the racecourse and competition.

Yet, Key West delivered what was the most spectacular week of racing I’ve experienced in this venue: champagne conditions, perfect weather and a great event hosted by Storm Trysail Club. There was a lot of talk about 2018 and beyond, but how lucky were all of the competitors this year to experience what we did. Just perfect. Many thanks to Quantum Sails for taking on the title sponsorship and all the supporters for delivering. Our sport is lucky to have them.

The post The Hutch Files, Quantum Key West Race Week: To the Top appeared first on Sailing World.

Let’s file this one under, “Things that make my palms sweat.”

Quantum Racing is on the eve of beginning our 2017 season. A 60-race no throwout regatta that rewards consistent yachting, boatspeed, and reliability in our gear. In our three month “off season” we took a critical look at all areas of improving Quantum Racing’s performance. One area we looked hard at, but is difficult to quantify, is windage. Think about it in terms of a floppy shirt versus a shirt that is pulled tight on your body. For sure a tight shirt is less windage than so following this thought process we looked at the most obvious area, the shrouds.

In the quest of a 1-percent performance gain Quantum Racing researched the Southern Spars’ Razr product. The shrouds are solid carbon and roughly 30 percent smaller in diameter than the existing ECsix rigging, which is also a Southern project that was on Quantum Racing. The upside to Razr rigging is the windage reduction in the open course equals about 8 meters per windward leg. The benefit is even better in less than 12 knots of wind. Yet, in 2016, we had three port-starboard crossings that resulted in protest flags being green flagged by the umpires, demonstrating the game of inches we play. These crosses are too close. We’ll take every opportunity to gain a meter… or 8.

The downside of Razr is its fragility and reliability. With every equipment decision of this importance, we have to check reliability against the performance gain. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being incredibly reliable, the ECsix rigging was a 9. The new rigging is sitting somewhere at about 5. Not because the rigging will break under load, but because it’s fragile when handled. We cannot grab a D1 when it’s slack and pull it, for risk of breaking the shroud near the turnbuckle. There are currently three boats in the TP52 fleet using it and it’s been reliable thus far, with only one known breakage on account of human error. Therein lays the problem: our entire team must be vigilant with not dragging sails around the D1s or randomly grabbing them as we get on and off the boat. Anybody who sails by us in the waters off of Key West will see orange fluorescent tape on both D1s to remind all of us: “DO NOT TOUCH!”

Things that make my palms sweat as if the competition alone is not enough. Still, I’m really looking forward to getting the party started.

[Ed’s note: a Southern Spars representative confirms the Razr product, initially developed by FutureFibres, is strictly targeted for grand-prix programs.]

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If the race committee is smart, they may do this on purpose: skew the starting line ever so slightly so that the favored end of the line is opposite from the favored side of the course. It can be a good way to spread out the fleet, especially when the favored side of the course is fairly obvious. With some race committees this happens by accident. Either way, it presents a conundrum. Do you take the early advantage of the line bias, or sacrifice a boat length or two in the name of getting to the side you know will pay off in the long run?

When the left side of the course is favored but the right (committee boat) end of the line is favored, there are two approaches.

Plan A: Get the best possible start at the weather end, but to the left side—to leeward—of the group that inevitably will bunch up at the committee boat. This is best set up by a port tack approach, allowing you the time to identify where the traffic is relative to the starboard layline for the boat end. Because of that weather-end bias, a well-timed approach will allow you to nicely tuck yourself in to leeward of the boat-end pack. Be careful with this start as being to leeward of the group means that you might have to push the line to keep your nose clean after the start. With a start a quarter of the way down from the committee boat, the boats to windward will give a slight bow-out look to the helmsman. The further you get from the biased end, the more difficult it will be to get that bow-out position, which is crucial since you really want to continue on starboard off the line, toward the favored side.

Plan B is to own the choice spot at the weather end of the line. If you get away cleanly, you have a reasonable chance of winning the race. If your lane closes down or you don’t get off in the front row, you can utilize the advantage from the line bias to do two clearing tacks, and set yourself up to windward of the group going left. The determining factor here is having a good feel of the windward end bias and how hard you want to fight for it. Remember that only one or two boats will get away cleanly from the boat end of the line. Balancing the risk/reward of the situation is the trick.

The start always feels harder when the situation is reversed, and the pin end is favored but you want to head to the right side of the first beat. The further away you are from the pin end, the more advanced the leeward boats will look because of the line bias. This is important to remember because if you judge your position on the line based on other boats you may find yourself over early.

If the right side of the course is obviously favored, most boats are likely to tack onto port tack soon after the start. For a pin-end start to work, the bias needs to be significant enough that, after tacking to port, you are at least bow-to-bow with the boats to leeward. If they are farther advanced than bow-to-bow, you may find yourself getting squeezed and eventually being forced to tack away from the favored side.

In most starting situations, the focus is on the boat to leeward, and carving out enough room to windward of that boat so you don’t fall into his disturbed air. In this scenario, however, it’s the boat to windward that may be the most troublesome since he’ll be the leeward boat once the fleet flops on to port to make for the favored right side.

One other factor to consider when deciding how hard to push toward the pin end of the starting line is the length of the leg. For a short leg, the advantage of the line bias can be considered the first shift, and it may be worth fighting for. A longer leg allows for more time for the anticipated right-hand shift to take effect, and favoring the shift over the favored end of the starting line is often the best solution.

The post When Line Bias and Course Favor Disagree appeared first on Sailing World.

It’s the ultimate bummer. The starting gun sounds, you’re in the front row and looking good. Just like they draw it up on the wipe board. Then there’s another horn, the X flag, and, after an excruciating wait, you hear your sail number on the VHF. You’re OCS and you can kiss a good result good-bye.

Don’t give up so quickly. An OCS is a hurdle for sure, one of the bigger ones you’ll ever face in your quest for a good result. But on the plus side, you’ve still got the whole race in front of you—not to mention whatever’s left of the regatta. Take a few deep breaths, and keep these tips in mind.

1. Stick to the game plan. So many times the frustration of being OCS causes teams to completely abandon the pre-start game plan. Here’s a perfect example, you’re OCS at the leeward end of the line, you clear yourself by jibing around the pin, and then you head off on port tack and go hard right only to see the left side come in strong, just like you’d predicted. It’s the ultimate double whammy! Don’t abandon all your pre-start research.

2. Work to get a clear lane. Sticking with the example above, your best opportunity to get to the left might be to clear yourself around the pin and tack back to starboard. You’ll be second row—or worse—but the separation from the boats that started properly may allow for you to execute the plan. However, this may also be a little bit of wishful thinking, especially in a big fleet. So instead of tacking right back to starboard and sailing in bad air, sail on port tack to take advantage of the lifts off of the backside of the fleet on starboard and choose a cleaner lane for your tack toward the left side of the race course.

3. Get out of phase (with the fleet). If neither side is strongly favored, look to find clean air by going against the grain: sailing on port when most of the fleet is on starboard, and vice versa. Sailing out of phase with the fleet will create separation and allow you to sail your boat at optimum speed. Groups of boats always tend to slow each other down. I am always amazed how long people will sail in a pack when tacking away would afford them much cleaner air.

4. Minimize tacks. Hitting a corner is one way to reduce the number of tacks. But it’s a risky call. If you decide to be more conservative, make sure to limit your tacks to the bare minimum. Double check your lanes and try to anticipate where boats ahead of you will tack.

5. Boat speed. This may seem obvious. Boat speed is always important. But it’s easy to get discouraged or distracted when looking at so many transoms. Redouble your efforts and focus. Every ounce of energy needs to go into sailing the boat fast.

6. Focus on short-term goals. Turn your OCS into a positive. Establishing short-term goals, for example, by only looking one mark ahead, helps the motivation on the boat. It can be difficult for everybody to put everything they have into hiking when it may all be for naught. A quick acknowledgment of the mistake is key. Identifying boats that can be picked off, or closed on, and then maintaining a constant dialogue of your progress will keep the team’s frame of mind as positive as possible.

The post Terry’s Tips: Recovering from an OCS appeared first on Sailing World.

Cockpit Debrief

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to race the J/70 Fall Brawl in Annapolis, Md., with a few younger guys: Wilson Stout and Colin Kirby. They’re both Old Dominion alum like myself, and very good sailors. After the last race, as we were sailing in, I asked their opinion of the weekend and what they learned. As the wheels were turning I could see Wilson and Colin thinking about what the right answer was. The point of the question was to find out, as a first time together, what was good, what was bad, and as a team what could we do better.

Wilson took a few days to put his thoughts to paper and debriefed the weekend pretty extensively. Input about sails, tactics/strategy, to strengths and weaknesses of our performance, and what we could do to be successful if we were to continue sailing as a team. With the luxury of seeing each other at the Quantum facility in Annapolis, Colin gave similar insight and yet he had a completely different perspective because he was trimming downwind and didn’t get to see nearly as much. Each opinion was awesome as it demonstrated a high level of “into it” and what more could I ask for from a teammate.

The experience, however, highlighted an interesting point of focus. Communication between regattas is equally as important as communication on the racecourse, and when done right it can pave the way for success. Wilson and Colin’s communication, while different, demonstrated a high level of thought. The mistake would be to not capture the information and put it to use.

A debrief can take many different looks and may be a series of very simple questions. Using a simple 1 to 5 scale, the dialogue should include facts about the boat, team, and gear, which can range from boatspeed to lunch. In today’s world of mixing amateurs and professionals, the fun factor cannot be overlooked and yet so often crews break down or under perform for the most basic reasons. Solid communication between events allows teams to pick up where they left off and keep the mixture of fun and performance pointed in the right direction.

Who leads it? Inevitably most teams will have an opinion leader; an owner, tactician, main trimmer, or the bowman. For me, it does not matter. The only real requirement is they’re consistent to the boat and can collect the information and filter it through the group. It’s the beauty of modern technology and email groups.

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Terry Hutchinson has sailed everything from the Quantum TP52 to Mini Maxis and the America’s Cup. Earlier this month he delivered a talk to the Buffalo Yacht Club about his sailing experiences and what he had learned. These are his top 10 tips for improving your game on the water.

1. There is no substitute for days spent on the water
It’s not enough to know your boat and your crew. Practice together often on the same boat you’ll race. Time spent sailing and practicing with the same team has a measurable, positive effect on results.

2. Practice harder than you race
Don’t just cruise with your crew. Be intense and push yourselves in practice to create difficult racing scenarios. For example, make your practice track shorter and more intense than the race track, so maneuvers on a full-sized course will seem easier.

3. Debrief with your crew and take notes
Don’t trust yourself to remember, and don’t put that responsibility on your crew. Take solid notes and get the entire team to comment on what worked and what didn’t.

4. Avoid big risks, especially early on
The old adage “you can’t win the regatta on the first day, but you can lose it” is one I’ve always liked, and it’s one Terry supported. Set goals for average scores that will give you a chance to win on the final day.

5. Know your competition
Don’t just look at their average scores. Do some research and find out what you can expect from each boat at the start line and on the course.

6. Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t
Forget about the weather and other boats. Instead, figure out how you plan to respond to each possible situation.

7. Set your crew and schedule as early as possible
Terry and his teams set their schedules nearly a year in advance, including crew, flights, hotels, food, gear, etc. Plan ahead so you can focus on racing, not the logistics.

8. Have a coach and/or photographer to see watch you from outside the boat
Not everyone can afford a full-time coach/photographer, but having someone from another boat come out to evaluate what you’re doing can be a tremendous help! As for photos, taking a few pictures of your own sails and set up is free and easy. You can usually find photos of races online after the regattas. Use your coach’s comments and the pictures to study and improve your own technique.

9. Trust your teammates
Focus on your job and don’t worry about what your teammates are doing. If everyone follows your lead, no one will be worrying – you’ll all be too busy doing your own job the best you possibly can.

10. Have Fun!
If we forget to do this, our sport won’t grow and future sailors won’t stay with the sport. Whether you’re racing in the America’s Cup or sailing with your kids, don’t forget that critical ingredient – fun!

Read more tips from Terry Hutchinson here.

The post Terry’s Playbook: Top 10 Tips appeared first on Sailing World.

The ultimate goal of the warm-up session before racing is to eliminate surprises. I like to have between 70 and 90 minutes prior to the start as this will allow me a couple of opportunities to sail the first quarter of the beat as the committee is setting a course. So many times the subtle things happen early in a race that can determine the success of the first leg. The fewer the surprises for the first few minutes after the start, the clearer your decision-making will be.

My first priority upon arriving at the racecourse is to sail as much of the first beat as possible, set a spinnaker, and run back to the start line. During this time I focus on the upwind and make sure I have a good feeling for the beat. Getting to the top mark first is my top priority.

If we’re trying to decide between two headsails, we turn downwind partway up the beat, switch sails, harden up, and get a feel for which jib is doing a better job of balancing the boat.

While the trimmers and helmsman are getting a feel for the conditions, the correct sails, and the rig tune, the tactician should focus on all the tactical considerations. Check the current at different points on the racecourse, and see if the weather—both the general direction and velocity, and the timing of the shifts—matches with your forecast or what you know about this venue from previous regattas or local knowledge research. There are a lot of subtleties to study, and so the more time you can give yourself to identify what is or is not happening, the easier the decisions will be once the race begins.

If you’re presented with the opportunity to line up with another boat, take it. So many questions can be answered by positioning your boat two lengths from a competitor and speed testing. These tests can and should be lined up in advance with a reliable competitor; one you know will show up on time at the designated spot. Don’t take this agreement lightly, or blow it off. You may find it tougher to arrange the next time around.

The best line-ups will have the two boats fairly close together—to ensure you’re sailing in the same breeze—and the leeward boat either bow-even or slightly bow-forward. If you’re the leeward boat, be sure you allow the windward boat to sail normally. If you get too far forward, or too close, he’ll eventually fall into you and neither of you will learn very much. After 5 to 7 minutes of sailing, tack, switching windward-leeward positions, and repeat. I guarantee trends will be noticed.

Sometimes, however, you may not have 90 minutes. If you get to the top of the course area and there are only 45 minutes to go to the start, set the spinnaker right away, sail downwind, and round the race committee boat. From here do the first half of the beat and then relax for a bit. Get the boat ready to race, and discuss the general impressions of the legs just sailed.

Motoring past the top mark area and all the way to the start may seem like an efficient use of time, but it will often put the team into a frenzy as you try to pack all your research plus the upwind and downwind speed and boathandling warm up into a short period of time. Sailing downwind may take a little longer, but it allows the team to get in sync with the wind and waves and get a feel for the conditions. Plus by the time you’ve reached the committee boat, the team is warm, you’ve done the pre-race spinnaker set, and the whole crew can focus exclusively on the first-beat and upwind sail tune research.

Whatever time you have, use it wisely. I will almost always prioritize tactical and boatspeed research over boat-handling practice. You are not likely to solve bigger boat-handling issues in this short period of time. Instead, you’ll likely chew through all your warm-up time and go into the race without a strong idea of what to expect or whether the boat is going well in the conditions.

Finally, I always build in an 8- to 10-minute chill period before the start. This is enough time to discuss the upcoming race in a low-stress manner, and gives the team an opportunity to think about sail selection, and to fuel up and hydrate.

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