7 SHORTCUTS TO SPEED UP YOUR SAILING
Concentrated wisdom to reboot your sailing and bring you satisfying results on the racecourse...
If you can scarcely remember what the ‘P Flag’ looks like because it was so long since you raced… well, this might help.
To create this mini-course, we've combed through our Live Coaching Call recordings and handpicked a selection of the best pieces of advice from some of the top sailors who've joined us (including three Olympic Champions Russell Coutts, Santiago Lange and Lily Xu).
How can you get ahead when you can't even get on the water?
For those of us not fortunate enough to be in New Zealand, a lot of sailors have been living out their racing thrills through the amazing America’s Cup coverage on YouTube. Just listening to the way the sailors communicate on board has been an education in itself.
That’s as close to racing that many of us have experienced over the past year of Covid restrictions. There has been more important stuff to worry about in the world, but now there are encouraging signs of us returning to some kind of competition this season.
ALL THE GEAR, BUT NO IDEA?
Strangely, but encouragingly, sales of boats for some builders are at an all-time high. There’s a lot of FOMO going on! Sailors are clearly missing getting out on the water and when they do, they want to experience every moment to the full. If that means enjoying your bright and shiny brand new boat with a fresh set of sails straight out of the sausage bag, then why not!
But by itself, a brand new boat by itself is not always enough. Who wants to be ‘that guy’ they talk about when people in the boat park mutter: “All the gear, but no idea!”
Why not equip yourself with the attitude, mindset and knowledge that will perfectly complement your flawless new equipment? Even if you’re not yet in to win it, you surely want to give it your best shot as you launch your boat out of lockdown.
GET LAUNCHED OUT OF LOCKDOWN
Fortunately at Road To Gold we have access to the wisdom and experience of some of the top sailors and coaches in the world. It’s amazing how even the very best, Olympic Champions, still find it helpful to talk through race course and campaign challenges with a wider community.
Sports like running, swimming and biking are ‘Power Sports’. Either you’re fit and strong enough, or you’re not. OK so it’s not quite as straightforward as that, but you know what I mean.
On the other hand, Sailing is a ‘Knowledge Sport’. The more you know about rig set-up, about tactics, strategy, the weird ways of the weather, the faster you will go. And sharing high-quality, battle-proven knowledge is one of the fastest ways to improve.
Imagine what YOU could do with some of that new-found knowledge. Imagine applying it on the race course and breaking away from your traditional place in the pecking order.
KNOWLEDGE IS (SAIL)POWER
And that's the reason we’ve put together this Mini-Course. We want to help you get ahead in a time when everything feels like it's impossible.
People tell us that being on the Road To Gold is fun. It’s designed to be that way. And one of the most fun things we do is our Live Coaching Calls where we invite members to join us every week to have their burning questions answered.
Road To Gold’s resident coach Hamish Willcox has taken time out of his busy schedule coaching Pete Burling and Blair Tuke towards their defence of the 49er Olympic Gold they won in Rio 2016, and working with them on the Kiwi America’s Cup campaign. Each week he shares his 40+ years of experience at the top end of the sport. Hamish’s commitment is to help our members, who come from all different sailing backgrounds from all around the world.
These calls have provided a great outlet during the pandemic for us to join every week and discuss the most pressing questions in our sport (as well as a bit of banter about the America’s Cup). Meeting with like-minded sailors who want to better themselves and use this enforced time away from the racing circuit not as a setback but as an opportunity.
Every week, world-class sailors join the calls to glean whatever info they can – after all, they're at the top because they never stop learning! Whenever they come on the call, we make the most of their presence and get their input too.
So ANYWAY let's cut to the chase...
We’ve put together some of the best moments from these live coaching calls, extracted seven nuggets of wisdom they provide and laid them out here in this simple mini-course.
Here's what you get...
I'm sure you recognise a few Olympic gold medallists and world champs in that list...
Because we've handpicked the most important and valuable advice from our hours of Live Coaching Calls, the videos/audios take less than 45 minutes to consume, start to finish.
You may have heard some of the tips before, but that doesn't mean you can afford to ignore them.
As America’s Cup coach Tom Burnham said on one of our recent Live Calls, “One of the biggest differences [between the winners and losers this year] will be who has kept their head in the game.”
PLUS: • EXTRA TIPS • DOWNLOADABLE MP3s • ENGLISH SUBTITLES • MYSTERY BONUS
Don't just take OUR word for it
Here’s some of the great feedback we’ve had from our Road To Gold members...