Hopefully you have been able to follow our sailor's recent successes at Team Trials and international events on our social media and other publications. Its been an awesome year! As we prepare for Nationals and then many take a month off from competition (maybe you will have time for some reading?), I wanted to share some quotes from a book I'm enjoying that relate to sailing...and also some calls from "The Call Book for Team Racing" - ISAF official interpretations of common rules situations, in picture form!
The book: Deep Thinking: Where Artificial Intelligence Ends...and Human Creativity Begins, by Garry Kasparov. Kasparov was the World Chess Champion from 1985 to 2000 and the first World champ to lose a chess match to a computer - IBM's Deep Blue in 1997.
"I speak regularly about the difference between strategy and tactics, and why its essential to first understand your long term goals so you don't confuse them with reactions, opportunities or mere milestones. Adapting to circumstances is important, but if you change your strategy all the time you don't really have one."
"To become good at anything you need to know how to apply basic principles. To become great at it, you have to know when to violate those principles."
"Its unavoidable that results will get most of the attention, but its important to look beyond wins and losses. The moves matter more than the results."
"Focusing on material is how novice humans play, especially kids. They care only about gobbling up their opponents pieces and ignore other factors in the position, such as piece activity and whose king is safer. Eventually they learn from experience that while materiel is important, it doesn't matter how many of your opponent's pieces you've captured if your king is getting checkmated.
Early chess machines couldn't learn from the experience the way people can. Those greedy kids are learning each time they get checkmated. "
"Every competitive person has to have a sizable ego, so losses can hit particularly hard... There must be a critical balance between putting a bad loss put of your mind so you can go into your next game full off the confidence, [and being able to] objectively analyze your failures so you do not repeat them."
"...motivation matters very much. The ability to maintain an intense level of concentration for an extended period of time is significant..."
"Lastly, don't tell me that hard work can be more important than talent...hard work is a talent. The ability to push yourself, to keep working, practicing, studying more than others is itself a talent. If anyone could do it, everyone would. As with any talent, it must be cultivated to blossom."
Ok, on to the Call Book for Team Racing highlights! My comments in blue.
A windward leeward situation, with the umpires having to decide if the right of way boat changed course too much/too fast. In every rules situation the umpires will have to consider if the Right of Way boat breaks rule 16.
Also, when reading the Call Book, pay special attention to the italicized text (not there after every call)!
So What can a Right of Way boat do to inoculate herself from potentially fouling?? Avoid contact! If they kept clear then there was 'room to keep clear.'
We make this lesson a key tenet of our team race system: "Control without fouling."
I like to apply this call to jibing on the downwind leg. Jybe to starboard with a port boat abeam of you, but then head away by-the-lee to give them plenty of room to keep clear. Then when they do jibe to starboard, you can head them up!
'Last point of certainty' is a key concept. Try to talk the umpire through your last point of certainty, especially with overlaps. Example: If they hear you yell “I'm clear ahead" at 5 boatlengths, and again at 3 and 2, they will be more likely to agree that you have mark room and understand you might be about to set a mark trap.
'Advantage Gained after Breaking a Rule' used to be called a "professional foul."
An aggressive, legal move every top team racer has in her arsenal. Usually the contact that occurs is rig contact, as the tacking boat rolls her rig into the ducking/shooting opponenas in this LYClassic Patrick Rynn video. (featuring Jensen McTighe and Max Gillette)
Note that Y does not alter course from position 2 to position 4 as you consider the next call.
So whats the difference between E3 and D4? When the "hunting up" boat changes her course. In D4 it is pre-tack, in E3 it is mid-tack. Thus, you cannot hunt a boat once she is across head to wind and into her tack.
Note the "no part of rule 18 (Mark Room) applies." So for 18 to apply, both boats have to be on the same tack.
These are just the rest of the common windward mark calls (because one of my students asked). To me the general practical application is:
1. If you get to mark 1 with an opponent clear behind but close, just try to make a clean rounding with a good roll tack around/above the mark.
2. If you are trying to set a mark 1 trap, make your opponent go outside of you before rounding.
3...but if someone else completes a tack inside of you while your luffing, they now have "Mark Room."
4. So "The Mark 1 Trap is the friend of the team that is currently loosing!"
Shoutout to match race ace Adrienne Patterson who taught me that the Mark 2 traps are really where its at in Optis...
This was the last more Mark Trap call I swear! The Mark Trap ends (Rule 18 turns off) when the boats are abeam of the mark pointed on the next leg.
You can't close the door too late!
LYC 1 Team Race Rule: If you are luffed by an opponent and our team is winning, Tack away immediately. Don't sit and wait/foul! Your friends can slow down the opponent a little before you have to make your next cross - keep sailing fast.
Arthur Blodgett has been the head Opti Coach at LYC since 2014. You can reach him at arthur.blodgett@lyc.org
No comments:
Post a Comment