How to Win - Club racing
Shake it up From expert training tips to unusual race formats, Jon Emmett shares his advice for getting the most from racing at club level
PHOTOS JON EMMETT; SPORTOGRAPHY.TV
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lub sailing is the grass roots of our sport and the key to our future success. It provides sociable, fun, safe racing and is the introduction to racing for many, long before open meetings or class training. Even if you are not an overly competitive person, racing is a great way to see how much your sailing has improved. Don’t be daunted by the rules; they are there to avoid boat-on-boat contact, so that everyone ends up with the same amount of gel coat on their boat as they started with – which is particularly relevant on busy start lines and mark roundings. APRIL 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
Learning from the top
In handicap races it is great if there are several boats out in your class to benchmark your sailing. Enthusiasm is infectious and it is amazing how a simple WhatsApp reminder of up-coming racing, or a write up of a previous race online can encourage more people to participate. Larger fleets not only mean closer and more exciting racing, but better preparation for open meetings or even national championships. Some of the best sailors come from very active sailing clubs because learning is accelerated in these environments. To gain from and also progress the quality of the fleet, a buddy system can work really well, pairing the most
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Club racing is a great way to raise your game, regardless of your experience level
experienced members of the club with those new to the fleet, either informally - someone helps with your rig settings, or perhaps gives advice for launch and recovery - or more formally - perhaps a prize for the most improved mentor-mentee pair, or a combined score series. Another good incentive for improvement is a personal handicap. This can be calculated alongside a main series: the better the people perform in the main series, the more their personal handicap is reduced, giving, at least in theory, everyone an equal chance of winning the personal handicap series. Making the most of our top club sailors will also encourage them