2008 29er World Championship Coach Feedback
Some general pointers to all crews based on the 2008 29er Worlds from US Team coach Jacqui Bonnitcha.

Regatta Preparation:
  • 1. Use new gear before competition begins. You need time to make sure you are happy with it and to know how to tune it in different conditions.
  • 2. Take the opportunity to get familiar with regatta the area. This may involve watching the weather forecast in the lead up to the regatta so training can be planned for days with sailable conditions.

Pre-Race:
  • 1. Get out to the course area EARLIER. You should have enough time to set up your boat, sail a large portion of the first work looking at the wind, locate marks and look at the start line (get transits, time the line from one end to the other, work out favoured end).
  • 2. Analyse the information that you gather pre-start. Split tacks are only useful if you are prepared to EXCHANGE information with the other boat. Discuss the strength of the wind, its direction and what you saw on each side. Remember that this is only a snap shot of what is happening. Continue to MONITOR the wind in the lead up to the start.

Boat Set-up:
  • 1. As a general rule: you should move out of the top hole of the jib clew board once the crew is fully trapping. If you choose to keep the jib in the top hole you should have at least gone down to leeward to look at the twist of the jib and the slot and be able to justify WHY you think it is better in the top hole.
  • 2. Have a workable range for your rig settings. You should only need 3 or 4 half-holes on the side stays to move the rig tension between min and max settings.

Starts:
  • 1. Crew should have their head out of the boat looking up the course for pressure/direction changes. This information needs to be fed back to the skipper.
  • 2. Learn to FIGHT for your place on the start line. Once you have made it to the front row you need to be aggressive to keep your position and create room to accelerate.

Upwind/Downwind:
  • 1. Everyone needs to have their head out of the boat more often (i.e. be looking for wind/waves/other boats)! Divide the tasks of calling long term pressure and calling short term pressure between the skipper and crew. This will help you to react as a unit to immediate pressure changes (TRANSITIONS) and also to link up different pockets of pressure (STRATEGY).
  • 2. Downwind, off the plane, boats should be steered for max VMG. Mostly crews were not pushing for depth hard enough in gusts or heating up in lulls to reach the next pressure.

Advice for training:
  • 1. Take every opportunity possible to practice in big fleets
  • 2. Practice starts on small lines (to simulate the crowding that is more likely in big fleets and emcourage aggressiveness!)
  • 3. Practice slow boat control (this can be done on your own with a marker in the water)
  • 4. Two boat line ups in (especially in gusty conditions to practice transitions in and out of gusts). This will make it clearer where losses are being made.
  • 5. And generally practice sailing in shifty conditions!