Sailing My Race

Yes, John may hit the line at full speed. Bill could possibly pinch me up at the line and leave me stalled. David has lots of room to leeward to accelerate without risk. But where am I?

I can see Scott heading for a mid-line start. The other David looks like he wants to play it safe and slide off to the right as soon as he gets a chance. But what am I doing?

Getting my head out of the boat is all well and good, but too much awareness and I become merely reactive. I’m trapped in the space between Bill’s Laser and mine. I’m caught by the few feet of difference between my possible start and John’s. I’m already sailing up the right side and trying to gauge the wind pressure on the left side where David will be. I’m not sailing my race!

How do we compete with our fellow racers in a way that gives nothing away to them, that is responsive to their actions and yet leaves us free to sail our race in the wind and conditions we’re in?

One key piece is to be sure you find yourself in the mix of natural elements. Until I slip into the pattern of puffs coming down the course during a hot summer evening race, I’m not racing my race. If I don’t hunger for the slight pressure differences hiding just above the flat calm surface of the lake, I’m not racing my race. Only when I’m orienting myself by the origin and direction of the shifts playing with my wind fly am I sailing my race.

And then I need to have my awareness, and all my senses talking to me like an Olympic crew. I must feel the heel angle in my ears, hear the water sounds as they swoosh around the blunt bow and race for the transom, detect just where the cool breath on my neck came from, dance with the pull on the tiller and see the tension in stretched sailcloth.

Only when I am in tune with the nuances of my power source can I look for manmade objects that might keep me from using it to my maximum advantage. This is when I look for clear lanes where I can stay in touch with pressure, direction and speed. Now I’m less likely to get caught by the intentions of the others and start finding ways to sail my race despite them. To shift my awareness from sensory input, briefly to my competitors and then back to my senses; sucking up feelings and information, but allowing my practice-sharpened intuition to captain the boat while I have fun sailing my race like I’m one with the wind and water.

Don’t get between me and my fun John, Bill, Scott or David. I’m not ignoring you. It’s my intention to get to that mark before you.