Old Dogs, Young Pups, New Tricks
By Bruce Millar
In collaboration with the UKLA, East Lothian Yacht Club were lucky enough to secure a day of Jamie Calder's time to come along and coach some of our Laser/ILCA sailors.
Jamie has a number of sailing accolades to his name already, including winning the RYA Youths is his Laser Radial in 2016. More recently he finished 3rd at the recent ELYC hosted RS400 Nationals, and that's to name just a couple of highs. When the opportunity comes along to learn from these guys, you must take it!
Nick, Emily, Alistair and myself did just that and in the early hours of Sunday morning we headed to the club to get our boats ready, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the man with the skills to convert the four of us into world beaters.
Upon my arrival, early signs of us reaching world beating level were not good, as I discovered Nick slouched on the bench outside the club. Clutching a can of Irn Bru and looking worse for wear, it was easy to jump to the wrong conclusion. Had he enrolled in the Tennent's School of Physical Training? Thankfully, he hadn’t been on the lash the night before. He had however, just cycled down from Edinburgh and was embracing the healing properties of Scotland’s other “Water of Life”. Good warm up Nick, well done.
Having helped Nick up off the hangover bench, we filed into the wet lecture room to meet Jamie for a briefing and discussion about what the day would hold. It's easy to feel a little anxious at these sorts of events if you aren't used to them, like me. It probably comes from not wanting to make a fool of oneself. Leave these fears on the quayside because nobody is judging and everyone wants to help. A good coach will very quickly help a group relax and with some light-hearted banter and getting-to-know-you chat, Jamie did just that.
We were asked about our experience levels and what specifically we would like to get from the day's coaching. "Make me go faster" is always a common theme but because we sail at North Berwick, "wave technique" was a topic which came up quickly!
Jamie asked us all to think about the key aspects of the two common sailing maneuvers, namely tacking and gybing and the processes we go through during each. I have to be honest, I struggle to describe to someone the specifics of what I tend to do during these moves, if asked. No doubt it involves lots of bad habits, some muscle memory and the occasional lord's prayer position when it goes wrong.
There were a number of key aspects which Jamie bullet-pointed for us as they came up in conversation. When tacking, keeping the mainsheet block to block throughout was highlighted as key. When gybing, 3 big handfuls of mainsheet to encourage the sail over early, was the order of the day.
With lots more listed on the whiteboard we were advised to pick just one or two points to work on during the morning session. For me, it was the block to block aspect that was of interest. However, as I hobble into the throws of middle age, I could immediately see a couple of issues with this approach. First of all, the boat is likely to spin through the tack faster. This is a good thing and very much the aim. But in turn, this means I also need to be faster across the boat. I refer you to my previous middle-aged statement.
The second issue I could see was the height of the boom when sheeted block to block. It's quite low. No problem for young pups like Emily or Alistair, I'm sure. I won't speak for Nick, (too late) but how would I get under it at a quicker pace than normal? I'm not known for my limbo. However, Jamie to the rescue. He expertly described the moves and positions to follow to get under a low boom, aided by some great action shots of Tom Slingsby (Aussie Olympic Gold Medalist) in mid-tack. I won't go into too much detail but it involves, obviously, getting very low, stretching and swiveling. I probably looked perplexed as I considered the fact that not even my neck swivels these days. All that being said I took the approach of trying to forget what I thought I knew and would try to start afresh. So off we went to try it in anger.
The format the sessions took were excellent. Jamie would slowly motor the RIB forwards while we formed up in a line astern, at an angle well below close hauled, sails flapping as if lining up for a start. A 3 second countdown, sheet in and head up wind. When the whistle blows, tack. What this allows Jamie to do is get behind each boat and take video footage of each sailor as they go through the maneuvers. An exceptionally useful thing to see played back. After five tacks we would reset and repeat. It's amazing how much this gets the heart rate up. As club racers we are sometimes guilty of tacking for all the wrong reasons. Sometimes it’s just for a rest! Here, there was no argument to be had and while the goal was always to execute a tack which involved the aspects you wanted to focus on, it was never necessary to crash into a tack simply because the whistle blew. Take your time, think about it and focus on what you're trying to improve. I must admit to capsizing upwind during a tack but I almost take that as a positive as I was trying hard to do things using the prescribed method, rather than my previous age-appropriate tacking style. It was bound to end in a wobble at some point.
Rinse and repeat downwind for the gybing sessions. Line up astern, 3 second countdown but this time head downwind on the whistle. Gybe on subsequent whistles. Once again there were key items to focus on, once again Jamie would capture footage of us in all our glory and once again, I capsized. But if you don't capsize you aren't trying hard enough. Said nobody, ever.
We broke for lunch and for me this was a real highlight. Not because my tummy thought my throat had been cut, but because there was a 12 strong group of club Laser sailors also being treated to some internal coaching from a team led by John Wilcox. We all gathered for lunch and to have 16 club laser sailors gathered in the wet lecture room refueling on soup, bacon rolls and cake, all the while talking about their morning entertainment, was a sight to behold. Happy days.
Once lunch was in the books the 12 strong group headed back out for some racing. But before the fantastic four were allowed back out Jamie took us through the footage he had captured during the morning session. It can't be overstated how useful it is to see what your maneuvers look like versus what they feel like. It's quite telling (and a wee bit disappointing when you discover you don't look anywhere near as slick as you thought). Jamie showed footage of each of us and this promoted useful discussion on what was good and perhaps not so good in each case. All focus for the next session!
The afternoon sessions followed the very same format as before and a chance to process what we had seen in the lunchtime videos, to see if we could improve. By this time the wind had shifted to the east, which provided some waves to either surf or avoid, depending on direction of travel. Jamie commented on how much fun the waves looked so I invited him to have a quick shot in my boat so he could at least claim a "I've surfed NB" t-shirt. It was nothing to do with me wanting a lie down in the RIB for a rest. This was actually a very useful few minutes for me as I followed him closely in the RIB, watching his movements as he tacked. Effortlessly, I would add and excellent to see a pro at work. Although I will refrain from mentioning the tiller drop he suffered during one tack. Oops, too late.
After another couple of upwind and downwind sessions it was safe to say that we were all starting to feel some battery drain. We were treated to a great final run home as we surfed and gybed our way towards the fairway, before meeting in the sail loft for our final video review. Improvements all round and in various different areas to boot. More importantly though, I think we all have a good idea how things should be done and how to get there. Practice, practice, practice.
To those registered or thinking about registering for the second event in October, you are in for a treat. A big thank you specifically to Jamie Calder for giving up his Sunday, sharing his wisdom and being an all round top bloke who we look forward to welcoming back to the club for the second session.
