Tricks Versus Mastery in Sailing

Now let me do some dodgey arithmetic on "tricks" of the sailing game verus "mastery" of the art.

Tricks mean small things you have learnt which you can put into practice. Tricks are quick wins, which you may gain a couple of boat places each time you execute them well. However without being able to sail competently, tricks are just flashy without pay off. You need to be able to sail to the level of the trick.

Mastery means you can !

So> How many places to I reckon each concept , tricks versus mastery,  are worth in a fleet of say 12 OD boats?

Consider Some tricks:

oversheeting to throw an oponent on the lay line: places 0.5

holding the main centred to brake into a leeward mark 0.5

Windward drops 0.5

Hard luff after the leeward mark, finding a higher exit track than the boats ahead and behind > 1

In v. light winds, Using smokers and casette tape tell-tales on the rigging 1.5

Roll tacks and roll gybes: 1 place ( in keel boats, must be mastery in dinghies)

Fake luffing attack under spinnaker (going for the roll over)  dive through lee or gybe to new wind : 1

Fake tack when someone has a tight cover on you : 0.5

Soak in or harden up to free transom from overlap at the three boat leeward mark zone 1

Dipping the start line : 2 or more!

Using barber haulers on the jib: 0.5

Mastery:

Understanding rig tuning for different conditions
Understanding hull condition and doing it
Understanding sail quality and condition, repairs vs renewal

total above: 4 places

start line positioning and acceleration : 6 places

Perfecting tacks and gybes- 2 places

Mastery in bearing away and hardening up: 2 places

securing best positioning at marks : 3 places

sail trimming : 2 places

regearing to new conditions : 3 places

spotting wind shifts and being on the right side for them: 4 places

Understanding the tide and relative wind effects on your course  3 places

finish line "end game": 2 places

So you get the drift: if you started as 12th boat in ranking, dead last, then all the tricks put together would make for a possible nine place improvement - but only if you could pull them all off and had the right opportunities to do so......they  have little combined synergy and you would just be temporarily stealing a half boat place here or there.

However > If you were 2nd in ranking, and being pipped at the post so to speak all the time,  then yeah you are going to win some more by concentrating on the tricks.

Let's take Mastering the Techniques by Boring Old Practice and Being Taught and Mentored, a bit of Winter Reading ..... hmmm

Just taking boat prep and start line alone put us at number 2 perhaps in the fleet! We can see synergies between say good sail trimming and spotting changing wind conditions and reacting immediately to them in the right way! Or being able to tack and gybe so confidently that we secure best positionings possible at the windward and leeward marks.  Or if we understand the effect of tide on our leebow and relative wind angle, we can optimise the tack we sail on as we approach the mid half of the beat, and combine this with good quality tacks, we get a synergy of winning places over boats which have not understood the tidal effects and who lose ground when tacking.

Summary ...Just Choose Mastery!!

I am not just talking from some bias, but from having sailed with boats which win consistently in their classes, and sailed against some very good amateurs. But for my always favourite mid fleet boat, you always stand to gain more by focusing on the basics and mastering them. There is some additional homework relating to wind shifts, weather patterns, wind bends and tidal effects, but that is just a little further up your learning curve of mastery.

If you rely on very polished core techniques then you will always progress quicker and be able to pull out places evne after a bad start. From learning to start really well, then you will be able to enjoy the luxury of free wind and port tacking the fleet thus having less of a squeeze at marks when you would be tempted to pull out some conjuerers rabbit from the hat of tricks. 

Later though you will have the confidence to "seamlessly" incorporate the tricks to your reportoire of sailing skills and these will help you beat the top 3 boats -  but tricks help only when you are up-and-at-them!