This has hurt us many times in races, and I think it’s an advantage that C.B. and Towney have on us. They simply have some seasoned veterans on board that give them a leg up.
Now, while I may have the most racing experience on board, I would prefer to remain driver and not strategist. Two reasons:
- Driving an Alberg takes finesse that develops over time. I have a lot of Alberg helm time, and I enjoy that advantage!
- I really like driving. It’s a thrill to me, and while I like strategy, on the whole I like driving more.
I am confident that we can develop our team into solid strategists. To that end, I’d like to create lots of communication about strategy—both pre and post race. I also think the “LinGin Book Club” could be a great place to make this happen.
2 comments:
When Xa and I raced 420s I would rarely look around - I just focused on sailing the boat. Xa would talk to me constantly, letting me know what was going on. We actually made strategic decisions together, but usually without me spending much time actually looking at what was going on.
I didn't really appreciate this at the time but when I sailed for a year in college and ended up having several different people crew for me I realized that having those extra eyes were critical.
Before the start it's less critical because the skipper can look around some and see what's up.
After the start the constant flow of info should be about:
* Where the other boats are and where you think they'll end up.
* Where the wind is and where you think it's going.
* Where the course is and how we should be attacking it.
* A million other things like tide, current, depth, chop, non-racing boats, weather, relative boat speed and pointing, etc.
I agree Tim should stay on the helm. I'd be willing to take on some the tactics/strategy. I'm not sure I really know enough to be effective but I'd enjoy trying :)
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