Hi there,
I'm curious to see if any of you more serious fellas have any techniques for race practicing. Particularly when you don't have a practice partner (2nd boat) to "race" against nor a chase boat for a coach.
It sounds dorky but I try to pride myself on crew work. When there is nobody about we put up old sails and hone our skills on the boring stuff - 25 tacks 20 seconds apart, jybes, spi hoists, drops, mark roundings etc etc. Look at what is happening, try something different and then do it again.
Initially we did it to sort out the new boat. Grab this rope with this hand and all in whatever order so that we didn't get tangled and developed the fastest way of performing the maneuver. Motion analysis is big in manufacturing and works very well on the boat.
These days we do it to get our bodies as automatic as possible. Like when driving a car and somebody pulls out in front of you - your foot should be on the brake automatically before you even think of it. That is the level I want on the boat in all conditions. That way we can concentrate on our wind and competitor strategy as our boat speed is almost automatic.
Michael
