On Being the Type of Racer Others Want To Sail With
It was the last race of a regatta about a month ago, and the breeze was dying but the current definitely was not. We were battling varying amounts of tide as we tried to make headway upwind toward the finish line. The finish was right at the entrance to a harbor, and current was swirling in odd eddies all over the course. The fleet had gotten rather spread out, so boat-to-boat interactions weren’t all that frequent. But there was a boat coming. She was on starboard, and we were on port.
Which side of the racecourse had less harmful current was really anyone’s guess. The other boat decided they wanted to try the right side of the course, and they intentionally and considerately tacked about two boatlengths ahead of us but a solid boatlength below our line, giving us the flexibility to continue on, trying to see if the right side worked along with her—or to tack away. We chose the latter and ended up picking our way up the lefthand side of the course. Turns out, there was less current on the left, and we ended up crossing the finish line perhaps eight boatlengths ahead of the other boat.
“Nice race,” she called over. “That was hard!”
“You too,” my skipper hollered. “I guess we had a little less current on our side!”
Lowering her voice to an inside-the-boat rather than a way-across-the-finish-line volume, my skipper observed, “She’s really nice to sail against. Knowing that she makes smart, non-panicky decisions helps us plan ahead for what we want to do, because she’ll always choose a good, rational option.”
I agreed wholeheartedly. That interaction has prompted me to think about the qualities that make someone a sailor you enjoy having on the racecourse with you.
Unfortunately, we can also learn what kind of people we don’t enjoy sharing the racecourse with from negative experiences. A few weeks ago, I got to sail with some positive, smart, experienced, but chill sailors on the biggest boat I have raced on in a few decades for a super fun Wednesday night race. We had two interactions that kept me thinking about the topic.
One was sailing downwind toward a leeward mark. We were the leeward of two boats, both under spinnaker, converging while on the same tack—and as a sprit boat, our proper course was to sail higher than the other boat, which was a traditional pole boat.
Our skipper suggested, “Hey, looks like we want to sail higher than you do; let’s swap sides so that you can sail down to the mark.” But the other boat refused.
There was some low-key rules discussion (for the record, per Racing Rules of Sailing 17, it’s the leeward boat—that was us!—that gets to sail their proper course), but our skipper kept things appropriately Wednesday-night mellow and didn’t push the issue. Seems like the other boat couldn’t see the forest for the trees. It was suboptimal for both boats.
The second was approaching a rounding mark at which the fleet needed to head up from a reach to roughly close-hauled; we were easing into the harbor in about five knots. A smaller boat was closing in on us, benefiting from better pressure that we had already left behind. As we (34 feet) entered the three-length zone (102 feet), there was no overlap. More than a boatlength later, the smaller boat, with perhaps a foot of overlap, hollered for buoy room.
Nope! Racing Rules of Sailing 18.2.b clarifies that the zone in effect between two boats is defined by the length of the boat that first enters the zone, so in this case, the applicable zone was 102 feet (3 x 34 feet) rather than 69 feet (3 x 23 feet). Once again, it being Wednesday night and all, our skipper kept his cool (though he did note that if there hadn’t been kids on the other boat, he might have used a cuss word or two) and focused on sailing fast rather than taking any punitive action. I was more than a little surprised at how hard the other boat was willing to push their luck (and risk fiberglass damage) to swindle their way into an inside overlap on a weeknight race.
So, back to my thoughts on what kinds of sailors are delights to share a racecourse with:
- They are competitive but also collaborative.
- They use the rules as a shield, not as a sword.
- They know the rules, but if they don’t, they don’t just pretend they do.
- They value how well they sail more than whether they get a trophy or not.
- They come away with a lesson learned from every day on the water, and they are willing to share it.
- They support and affirm each other, on and off the racecourse.
- They bring new sailors along to help grow our sport.
Sailing against them helps make you a better sailor, because they are fast and smart, so you have to work to be even faster and smarter. And it’s fun!
About the Author: Kim Couranz has earned several national and world titles in Laser Radials (ILCA 6), Snipes, and Lightnings. She has also raced J/22s, J/24s, and Ynglings on an international level.
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