Will Racing Make You A better Sailor?

Joetech · May 29, 2013

I would say get into some club racing or beer can racing. I learned a lot by crewing with some very good sailors on different boats. These were not serious races but just a few trips around the marks and then burgers and beers after to brag, complain and compare notes. I think one design racing with very serious competitors would not be fun and detract from sailing.

Ken Prichard · May 29, 2013

Just going cruising & racing are not the same thing.
When I started the guy I was sailing with said " I can teach you to sail in one afternoon but it'll take the rest of your life to get good at it ".
Depends on what you want out of the sport. If you're happy just making the boat go don't drive yourself nuts by getting deep into advanced trim ( and it can drive you nuts ). But ... if you want to get everything out of the boat that it can give you must get into trimming and racing can be a great place to learn. Some times you learn some things you should do and now and then you learn some things you shouldn't do but I think it's all good. And there are some excellent courses available. There's also a lot of good books & articles. I think "Sail Like A Champion" by Dennis Connor is a must read but there's lots of others.
And don't sell this forum short - it consistently has a lot of great info!
Order Don's book and read everything RichH posts.

Warren Milberg · May 30, 2013

I started out in sailing by racing one design Snipes. What a great little boat, but absolutely not a good choice for a first boat. Having said that, I learned that nothing focusses the mind of a sailor like another boat passing you. You look at how the other boat (that is eating your lunch) is trimmed and lights begin to flash in your mind. You make adjustments and learn sail trim, boat trim and weight distribution, and every other kind of trim there is -- or you keep losing. When I graduated to PHRF racing a few years later, I was a much better sailor or having raced previously. I would tell every wannabe sailor that he/she should find a way to race or a race crew to join.

While I generally agree with Don about trim, racers and cruisers approach sailing very differently, IMHO. While there may only be one "right" setting for the traveller on any given course, every serious racer I've known would always sail his/her boat "on the edge" while the cruiser would back off a bit. While the racer may go a tenth of a knot faster, the cruiser would generally be safer, drier, and more comfortable. So there is no "right" or "wrong" here. As long as you are out there enjoying yourself, you are doing it "right."

alexco38 · May 30, 2013

Absolutely.

I have seen so many people bought fancy new boat and let her sit at the marina afraid to bring her somewhere.

I learned by crewing and then bought my own. Continue to race, mostly on distance series. Even won an overall last year. That greatly enhanced my cruising skill.

Many times when we cruise with a few other boats, we'll arrive at least one to two beers before they do. We'll have dinner ready for them. Good feeling.

Dan Hill · May 30, 2013

I would, and have, recommend getting a boat your not afraid to scratch up a bit and get out on the water and learn. Stay safe of cource and experience will teach you what works and what doesn't.

I've spent many hours reading and studying sail trim and have found practical use (and misuse) is the best teacher.

I've been invited to enter into open races offered by the local club and have been recruited to crew on other vessels but on both accounts I have little interest. I feel this is like my favorite golf saying, keeping score spoils the fun!

Get out and sail, wherever!

Benny17441 · May 30, 2013

For those who sail old boats their right trim set might be one that maximizes speed while controlling the forces placed on the rig and minimizing the frequency of adjustments. It is the objectives of the sailor that define the right trim. There is an optimum trim set for racing which emphasizes efficiency and speed and there is an optimum trim set for pleasure sailing that may emphasize equipment protection or lessening the work load of a short handed crew. To categorize either as right or wrong would be perhaps shortsighted on either part.

sinnettc · May 30, 2013

In my case, I'd say the beer can races have allowed me to hone my skills. I've read books, I've read posts here, and elsewhere, but it's hands-on practice that makes the difference. Plus, i worked my way up from a laser, which only has a main, sheet, vang and outhaul, to a Capri 16.5 which added a jib, to a retired racing Capri 22, that added adjustable jib cars, cunningham, and a traveler. Each boat taught me a bit more and the beer can races let me test what I think I know against boats that should perform comparably. "Regular" racing is not something I'm interested in, mostly because I don't have the time and can't afford new sails often enough to remain truly competitive.

Since the lake is too low to sail this year I've purchased a landsailer. With that I'm back to nothing but a sheet and sort of an outhaul (is a piece of string tied around a bolt really an outhaul?). I sure miss the traveler in puffs but letting the sheet out is better than crashing on asphalt!

Johnny Sailboat · May 31, 2013

Being new to sailing I probably have nothing relevant to add. The admiral and I purchased an Oday 22 last year and fell in love with sailing despite being bad at it. Sailing is not common in My area and the decision to learn something new in My 40's intrigued me so we bought the 73 Oday for cheap and learned that we love it and also learned that we have a lot to learn. I guess My point is depending on the opportunities you have in your area purchasing a boat may be the best way to get into sailing and hopefully become a better sailor. I have become interested in the science of sailing because I fell in love with sailing by doing it. Thanks for all the great information on this forum as without it I probably wouldnt know how much more I need to learn

Winkfish · May 31, 2013

I think you do generally become a better sailor by racing, because you have a reason to want to make the boat perform better. I got into sailing with a group of my college buddies, one of whom had a Cal 36 (well, his Dad owned it). we started to do the local yacht club races (of course with plenty of beer). We didn't do too well, but we had a great time. We inexperienced one passed around a couple of sailing books and tried out different things.

Well at some point we started doing pretty well in the races, so we even more tried to figure out how to make the boat do better. And we still drank more beer than any other boat.

Also, one of my "aha" learning moments was during a race. The skipper, who was a damned good sailor, was on the helm. I had read something in one of the books and had an idea. I asked him, "what if we do such and such? Will that help?" He said, "I don't know. Let's try it."

Butch23065 · May 31, 2013

There is a common thread running through these replies, "What do you want to get out of sailing". My wife and I learned to sail in central Illinois on the Illinois river. There was no racing. We maniaged to learn how to sail up and down the river and if you think that is easy in a rather deep valley, several hundred feet, think again. We read some books, watched some videos and tried different things in different conditions.

We started with a 21' Bucaneer and graduated to a 34' Pearson. Then we moved to S.W. Florida. We were both woirking but when we had the opportunity we would go out and follow the local club sailors as they raced down Charlotte harbor. We also noticed we passed quite a few. By now we had been sailing for almost 10 years, we were experienced, NOT.

We bought our present boat, a 41' AC Hunter with a rolling furling main. We struggled trying to make this boat go for over a year. If we went for a cruise with others there were times we were do far ahead we would roll up sails because we didn't know where we were going. However, most of the time we were lucky to stay up with much slower boats.

We decided we would try racing to see if we could learn from others. Our first race we deliberately started behind everyone so we wouldn't interfere. When we finished the race, there were no other racers in sight and I appologized to the committee boat. That was about 5 years ago. New sails, help and hints from others all helped. This year we finished first in the our class, true cruising, in 4 out of 5 local reggattas, we tookl first place in our club series and got boat of the year.

Can we sail better, maybe? Can we sail faster more consistently, yes! Do we feel more confident in our ability to handle our boat in 20, 25, 30+ knots of breeze, yes. Do I think we are great sailors, no! We have a boat that is a terror on a reach above 15 knots of wind but can still go wing and wing in light air. Yes a roller furling main and a small jib can do ok down wind in light air.

We still come in last in races. Smaller boats correct over us in light air races. Do I think racing made us better sailors, YES. Do I think it will make everyone a better sailor, NO. It is only another tool for you to use to learn from, like a book, a video, a class, crewing with others or having others crew with you.

As a side line, when we got the boat I had to install an inclinometer to prove to my wife we weren't healing more than 15 degrees. During one of this years regattas with some strong gusty winds we had the deck awash up the side of the cabin. We were passing two smaller boats to starboard and about to take a third to port. Yea, you guessed it the wife was on the helm. I think she was smiling, but I was kind of busy.

Bill Roosa · May 31, 2013

Yea Butch, kinda funny how that racing bug hits when you get to helm the boat isn't it?

But what does it mean to be better? Faster certainly qualifies as one aspect as the ability to go fast (safely) has lots of useful applications no matter what kind of sailing you do. Safer also qualifies for obivous reasons, knowledge of the rules?, ability to set the ground tackel?, the ability to repair at sea while under way? the ability to cook a good meal while underway, the ability to provision correctly so you don't starve on that Atlantic crossing? The ability to read the weather and currents/tides?
most of those last few don't have a thing to do with the racing most of us do but I'd submit that you are not a very good sailor if you can't do them

So I'd say that racing can help but it does not address some of the other important aspects of being a "better sailor"

Stu Jackson · May 31, 2013

What racing really teaches you are two things:

1. Learn to put the boat where you want it when you want it.

2. Plan ahead.

I agree with Don, there is nothing so silly as saying "racing vs. cruising." Either your sails are set properly or they're not.

sinnettc · May 31, 2013

Don Guillette said:
Sinnettc: A while back I've looked at those landsailers and never went any where with it They appear to be a lot of fun. What brand did you buy and what did you pay for it? What do you haul it around with?

Don,

I bought one of 5 built locally in some guy's garage. It's a slightly smaller knockoff of a Manta Single. It's just short enough to almost fit in the bed of my 95 Silverado short bed - with one wheel and part of the mast sticking out the back of the canopy. A manta would have required a roof rack or trailer. I'll eventually put a rack on the canopy but I don't HAVE to yet.

I paid $500 for it, plus maybe $100 in new bearings & other parts to fit it out to my taste; the way he jumped on the $500 I probably should have offered $400 to start.

It's obviously been rode hard but it's got enough life in it to get my adrenalin flowing. Oh yeah, the Admiral made me buy a motorcycle helmet, she didn't think a bicycle helmet would cut it at 20-40 mph!

Here's a video from last weekend. Wind was ~13-16 mph with gusts to 20ish. I forgot the GPS so I'm not sure how fast I was going but based on the first outing I'd guess about wind-speed or a bit more. It's a little disconcerting to have a wheel come off the ground in a hard puff but it's actually more stable than I expected.

http://vimeo.com/67036353

You're in (or near) Cali, right? They sail at El Mirage & Ivanpah. Speed seems to be related to wheelbase and some of the big boats with wing sails can do 90mph or more.

Barnacle Bill · Jun 1, 2013

There is a broad sense to being a really good sailor. A good racing sailor does not necessarily make a good cruiser. What racing will do for you is teach you how to trim your sails and learn about sail rigging and how to use it to make your boat go fast and sail more efficiently and also how to create a team to get it all done. But this does not cover all the other aspects of sailing. There are elements of racing, however, like offshore racing, that delves more into what a cruiser might do, in part, like passage making, navigation, weather, boat handling in big waves, etc. But the round the buoys racing doesn't involve anchoring in safe harbors or other locations, watching the weather windows (really), handling larger boats, etc. But, you can be both, if you want. And each can learn from each other, if you find the right people.