MAKE SURE YOU STAY IN THE LOOP
16 June 2021
Power of the Squad: Q&A Live Call with Olympic Medallist Aaron McIntosh
A couple of hours from now, join Olympic gold medal winning RS:X coach Aaron McIntosh for an in-depth Q&A session on Zoom. It starts at 8pm UK time. We'll be talking about the Power of the Squad, and the principles apply to all forms of sailing campaign, not just windsurfing. Aaron has won his own Olympic medal and has helped others win theirs.
Hope you can make it on to the call to put your questions direct to this world-class coach.
You can get details on how to join the call from the Road To Gold Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/roadtogoldsquad
7 June 2021
Build your Mental Strength: Q&A Live Call with America’s Cup winner Jimmy Spithill
Ask what separates the truly great from the very good in almost any sport, and often the answer is Mental Strength. Few sailors are more qualified to talk about this subject than Jimmy Spithill who skippered Oracle Team USA to one of the greatest comeback victories in sport when his crew turned around an 8-1 deficit to win the 2013 America’s Cup.
Join Jimmy Spithill for an in-depth Q&A this week hosted by the Road To Gold team, Hamish Willcox and Andy Rice.
WHEN?
The Q&A kicks off on Zoom at 8pm UK time/ 9pm Central European Time on Wednesday evening 9 June. That’s 7am Thursday morning 10 June in Auckland, where Hamish is in the final weeks of training with Pete Burling & Blair Tuke on their 49er campaign for the Olympic Regatta next month in Tokyo.
WHAT WE’LL BE ASKING...
We’ll be asking Jimmy how he and his team bounce back from some big setbacks in the first two rounds of this season’s SailGP circuit. From an event-ending collision with Team Japan in Bermuda a few weeks back, to this past weekend’s disappointment of seeing almost certain victory slip from their grasp after a rudder breakage, it’s been a character-building start to Jimmy’s SailGP campaign.
WHAT YOU’LL BE ASKING?
Whatever level you’re currently at with your sailing, join Hamish and Andy for this 60-minute Q&A session to ask Jimmy your specific questions. Here’s how you get on the call:
1) Make sure you’re signed up to the Road To Gold Facebook Group to get the Zoom link to the call.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/roadtogoldsquad
2) Click on the Zoom link and register to join the call this Wednesday/Thursday (depending on where you are in the world!)
To subscribe to Live Coaching Calls for all past and future recordings:
https://roadtogold.net/p/calls
Recent Q&A sessions include five-time Olympic medallist and Volvo Ocean Race winner Torben Grael, and recent 470 European Champions, Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox.
18 May 2021
How the 470 Euros was won in a Borrowed Boat
It’s hard enough to fly from the other side of the world, more than a year out of international competition, and expect to compete at the top level in an Olympic fleet. Winning is an even harder ask, especially in a chartered boat. Yet that’s what the Kiwi team of Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox achieved at the 470 European Championships earlier this month.
Just two months before the Tokyo Games, it’s a critical time for any team to hit top form, especially with so little racing on offer right now. To find out how the dynamic duo achieved their big win over the more favoured teams from France, Spain, Australia and Sweden, you can join a live Q&A call on Zoom coming up this 8.30pm UK time/ 9.30pm Central European Time on Wednesday evening 19 May. That will be 7.30am Thursday morning 20 May in NZ for Paul and Dan who are in the middle of their two-week quarantine holed up in an Auckland hotel.
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/97992003934?pwd=R2xlcU1MS3haK2F4SFd4bm1KS1ZIUT09
Hamish and Andy will be hosting the call as usual.
The aim of these Road To Gold Q&A calls is not just to ask Paul and Dan about their achievements, but to ask what they know and have learned that you can apply to YOUR OWN sailing.
Want to get the recording? Here’s how: Anyone who posts a question in the Zoom chat during tomorrow’s Live Call will be sent a link to download the recording of the session. If you can’t make the call live, post a Question or Comment on the FB Group. If we refer to your Question or Comment on the call, we’ll give you access to the recording too!
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/97992003934?pwd=R2xlcU1MS3haK2F4SFd4bm1KS1ZIUT09
24 February 2021
Chapter 12 (Racing) is now OPEN
You now have access to the final chapter of the Road To Gold!
Chapter 12: Racing can be found under My Courses > Road To Gold.
Unlike many sailors who treat Racing as the main course, on the Road To Gold it’s your just dessert for so diligently navigating your way through the previous 11 chapters. Because you’ve done your homework, you’re ready to win, or at the very least to exceed your previous achievements.
Any aspects of Road To Gold you want clarified? Don't forget to send in your questions for this weekend's Live Coaching Call at [email protected]. As usual, the call will take place 1730 GMT Saturday evening (27th Feb) and we'll be sending the Zoom link out later today.
Plus, we wanted to say THANK YOU for the continued feedback! A selection of recent messages...
- "I think the RTG is a great concept. I feel privileged to go through these steps with you, Hamish and the other brilliant sailors you have invited and who are attending the course. I have learnt a lot so far and I am confident RTG will have a positive effect on my sailing in the years to come. I can't wait for the season to start so I can implement the learnings and improve on my gaps."
- "Thank you to you and Hamish for creating and providing such a terrific learning experience! I’ve enjoyed all of the information you and Hamish have presented, and look forward to continuing to learn more."
- "Really like this course! It is helping me already. Also getting more confidence."
- "Thank you guys! The program’s discussion about venue, playbook, and knowledge build in advance is so obvious but, easy to skip over until someone makes you think about it. Really have enjoyed the RtG, and the structure it has provided."
We really appreciate these kinds of comments – it's great to know the program has already made a positive impact on so many sailor's lives.
Just because we've reached the final chapter of the Road To Gold, doesn't mean it stops here. For one, we have The Test coming soon, but we also have plenty more in store...
So watch this space, and chat soon!
Andy
17 February 2021
Chapter 11 (Final Planning) is now OPEN
It's that time of the week!
We've just opened up access to Chapter 11: Final Planning, so feel free to go through the material at your own pace...
“Every battle is won before it's ever fought.” So said Sun Tzu, the 6th century Chinese philosopher and military strategist in his book, The Art of War. This is true in sport and particularly in a complex, technical sport like sailing.
A lot of the winning is done months, and sometimes years before you even get to the big regatta...
Thanks to everyone who joined us for Live Coaching Call #10 last Saturday. If you couldn't make it for the call then, the recording is now up on the site. Keep an eye on your inbox for this week's Zoom invite (in the next day or so).
As ever, submit your burning questions — about Planning, or anything else you're struggling with — to:
Cheers,
Andy
10 February 2021
Chapter 10 (Mental Strength) is now OPEN
Chapter 10 is online for you to access — either right now...or at a later date!
It used to be that any athlete who looked into the murky world of psychology or mental training must have something wrong with them. It’s not like that anymore. Developing your Mental Skills is widely acknowledged as every bit as vital a part of an athlete’s all-round training as physical conditioning.
After 24 years of failing to follow up on their 1987 Rugby World Cup triumph, even New Zealand’s mighty All Blacks admitted they might have to look to their brains rather than their brawn for the solution to their World Cup yips. That’s what this Chapter is all about. The Mental Strength to make sure you come out on top when the pressure’s running high...
Thanks to everyone who joined last Saturday's coaching call and put your questions to Hamish. If you missed the session you can check out the video recording/MP3 download by clicking here.
Also please get your questions to Hamish for this coming Saturday's call at [email protected]. Mental Training is a very broad topic so we're excited to see where the conversation takes us!
Cheers
Andy
3 February 2021
Chapter 9: Weather is now open
Chapter 9: Weather (Wind, Waves & Tide) is ONLINE. Feel free to get stuck in right away, or at your own leisure...
While offshore sailors live and breathe the weather forecast and every bit of data they can get their hands on, just because you’re a short-course racer competing on 30-minute race tracks doesn't mean you can afford to ignore the weather forecast!
In this chapter, you'll see why you need to practise studying the weather models and any tidal data that can help give you that winning edge. Remember, just a few of those ‘winning edges’ can add up to a massive advantage on the race course.
The wind is the fuel and the engine that powers your boat. So before you start the day, how often do you ask yourself: “How can today’s weather help me win the race?” While most of us have a reasonable understanding of how the wind behaves at surface level, we’re going to get as geeky as a glider pilot in our thirst for understanding the wind as a three-dimensional beast...
Big thanks to everybody who came onto the call to ask their questions last Saturday! You can check out the recording (with timecoded questions) here: https://www.roadtogold.net/courses/1235980/lectures/29876801
If you've just joined us on the Road To Gold, we hold our Live Coaching Calls at 1730 GMT every Saturday evening. Hamish and our special guests answer all your burning questions, whether it's about this week's topic or any other aspect of the program. If you can't make it for the live call, you can always send us in your question(s) beforehand and check out the session recording when it's uploaded. We try our best to answer every question, so please email them to us at at
Until next time!
Andy
27 January 2021
Chapter 8 (Strategy) is now OPEN
You now have access to Chapter 8: Strategy under My Courses > Road To Gold.
Good strategy is about feeling as ‘at home’ at a championship venue as you do at your home club. Strategy is something you can start working on weeks, months or even years out from the regatta. The sooner you know that the venue for your major championship is, say, a go-left kind of venue, the sooner you can work on the skills that are most likely to come into play.
One of the go-to weather experts for America’s Cup teams over the past 20 years, Hamish explains how to formulate your Strategy according to the Day Types and the other factors that come into play both above and below the surface...
Any aspects of this chapter you want clarified? Don't forget to send in your questions for this weekend's Live Coaching Call at
Also, I just wanted to thank you for your ongoing feedback – we really appreciate knowing that Road To Gold is having such a positive impact!
Some recent comments...
"I think the Road To Gold is a great concept. I can see there is a lot of hard work behind this, and I feel privileged to go through these steps with you, Hamish, and the other brilliant sailors you've invited who are attending the course. I have learnt a lot so far and I am confident RTG will have a positive effect on my sailing in the years to come. I can't wait for the season to start so I can implement the learnings and improve on my gaps!"
"Thank you for the Road To Gold program. I really like what you are doing and it has inspired me to level up my coaching game."
"The course is helping me see things very differently. Already improvement after the past two days of training."
"I am in complete amazement of what you have achieved with this! Fantastic sailors discussing the life we love. Well done." (from a recent Live Coaching Call – make sure you're jumping online to get your questions answered, while we're still running them!)
Please, keep these kind of comments coming ... And anything else on your mind, email me at [email protected].
Hope you learn a TON from this week's chapter.
Cheers
Andy
PS. Earlier this week we published our conversation with Russell Coutts who has been working through Road To Gold. He shares his feedback on the course, and the things that he thinks you should be paying most attention to. But mainly this is an exploration of his early years, from messing about in boats to getting more serious, up to 1984 when he won the Olympic gold medal in the Finn class. You can check out our session with Russell here.
26 January 2021
Two NEW Bonuses: Russell Coutts Interview + Training Kit
We may almost be two-thirds of the way down the Road To Gold (has it been 2 months already?!) but as promised, we're constantly working to improve earlier parts of the program.
Last week, Hamish and I interviewed Russell Coutts to ask him about his own personal Road To Gold. Russell shared his thoughts on...
- why he was able to succeed at such a young age
- why having fun was a critical part of his learning
- why the ethos of Road To Gold was at the core of his success almost 40 years ago, and
- why the same principles are just as valid today.
If you go back to Chapter 1, you'll find the bonus interview in there, or you can watch it right now by clicking here (there's an MP3 download if you don't want to look at our ugly mugs for an hour...)
If THAT wasn't enough, we've also put together a Road To Gold Training Kit, in the form of three printable PDFs:
- PRIORITY CHECKLIST – get a topdown view of the entire Road, quickly figure out the weak areas that need your most attention
- PROCESS PROMPT SHEET – 60 training ideas you can use as inspiration to make sure you’re not leaving anything on the table
- TRAINING PLANNER – set your goals, break down the year into manageable training blocks and stay on track in 2021
The kit is designed to work alongside the full program, so please print them out, use them and let us know how you get on! As always, we love to hear your feedback.
Hope you're having a great Tuesday and I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow for Chapter 8: Strategy...
Cheers
Andy
20 January 2021
Chapter 7 (Tactics) is now open!
It's that time of the week again...
We've just opened up access to Chapter 7: Tactics, and we can't wait for you to get stuck in!
Tactics is about making clear decision making in the moment, responding fluidly to the ever changing situation around you. It was clearer decision making that Pete Burling and Blair Tuke were looking for when they approached Hamish about coaching them for the gold medal in Rio 2016.
Tactics is at its most critical on a day when the wind is oscillating; it can be different types of oscillations which may be moving at wind speed or they may be moving slower than wind speed, and the shifts may be lasting for three minutes or they may be lasting for 10 minutes, and many more scenarios.
There is always more to learn and last weekend Olympic Champion Santiago Lange joined the live coaching call to tell us that's why he's following the Road To Gold closely, to keep his head in the game whilst competition is in short supply. He also shared a surprising opinion about starting, that he just so happens to share with Pete Burling...
If you couldn't make the live call, the recording is now up on the site. Keep an eye on your inbox later today for this week's Zoom invite (and possibly a highlight from last week's call). We'd love to have you on the call with us live, and you can be sure that Santiago won't be the last world-class sailor we get on our calls!
As ever, submit your questions ahead of time (about tactics or otherwise) to:
Lastly, we really appreciate you following us this far down the Road, and now that we're fully into the decision-making section, we hope you're taking notes and getting lots of ideas to bring to your game 💪🏼
Cheers!
Andy
PS. We are looking to expand the scope of each and every Chapter of Road To Gold, but we need your help to do so! If you consider yourself an expert in one particular aspect of the Road (or know someone who fits that description), please get in touch with us at [email protected].
I've laid out the RTG structure below as a little reminder:
- The Beginning (Getting on the Right Road)
- Fitness & Nutrition
- Boat Handling & Boat Maintenance
- Boat Speed #1 - Best Speed
- Boat Speed #2 - Race Speed
- Starting
- Tactics
- Strategy
- Weather (Wind, Waves & Tide)
- Mental Skills
- Final Planning
- Racing
13 January 2021
Chapter 6 of the Road To Gold (Starting) is now open!
Chapter 6: Starting is ONLINE for you to access — either right now or at a later date!
Some of us can’t start to save our lives. Some of us have our favourite type of approach to the start and try to make it fit to all occasions. Square Peg in a Round Hole Syndrome! This chapter looks at the fundamentals of starting, whilst we remind you to ask yourself what you are actually trying to achieve with your start. Because sometimes ‘winning’ the start can end up losing you the race...
Some very interesting insights on last Saturday's coaching call! Thanks to everyone who joined and put your questions to Hamish and our other guest experts. If you missed the session you can check out the video recording/MP3 download by clicking here. And get your questions to Hamish for this coming Saturday's call at [email protected]
Now we're getting to the halfway point of Road To Gold, we'd also love to hear your thoughts on the program – what do you love about it? What would you like to see more of? At some point we'll be putting together a Road To Gold V2.0, but we'd also like to improve this edition where possible too! So please, send in your praise/criticism/general musings to [email protected]
Cheers
Andy
PS. If you're not able to follow along week-by-week, be assured that there is no such thing as 'falling behind'! The course content will be available for as long as you need it, and you'll likely need to come back to it multiple times. Some areas you'll need help with more than others. The program rolls out over 12 weeks, but this is a tool that you'll be able to use for years to come.
6 January 2021
Chapter 5 of Road To Gold is now open!
Boat Speed #2 - Race Speed is ONLINE. Feel free to go through it immediately, or at your own leisure...
Race Speed is learning how best to mode the boat for different strategic or tactical scenarios or emergencies on the race course. For this you’re going to need a minimum of one training partner, a benchmark to measure how well you can go in a high mode and how fast you can go in a low mode, upwind and downwind.
There's a whole lot of things that are coming into play in Race Speed; you need to be heads up, you need to be able to change gears. And you need to be able to mode the boat, higher or lower, depending on the wind and the tactical situation that's evolving in front of you.
With the right drills and the right attitude in your training group, you can achieve world-class speed with just a few dedicated teams. So looking into 2021, if you're not already, how are you going to incorporate this into your training?
By the way, thanks to everyone who joined us for the Coaching Call on Saturday, including Penny & Russ Clark who came on to give their insights on the 505. Olympic gold medallist Lily Xu and Jon Emmett also dropped in to share their experiences, specifically on sailing quickly through chop in single-handed classes, as well as the best exercises for working toward the perfect technique. The session recording can now be found under My Courses > Live Coaching Calls.
The Road To Gold chapters are all about giving you the right structure, to help you spot your gaps and make sure you're always focusing on the areas you SHOULD be. But if you feel there's anything missing from the program, make sure you join us on the calls and get your specific burning questions answered. You can even come in and share your unique outlook on the sport – we'd like this program to be as collaborative as possible!
However, if you CAN'T make the call at 1730 GMT this Saturday — and we know there are Road To Goldsters from all over the world, across many different timezones — then you can email your question(s) to Hamish directly at [email protected], and we'll make sure we get round to them.
One last thing: if there's any other feedback you want to give us, we'd love to hear your thoughts at [email protected].
Until next time!
Andy
30 December 2020
Chapter 4 of the Road To Gold (Boat Speed #1 - Best Speed) is now open!
Chapter 4: Boat Speed #1 - Best Speed is ONLINE for you to access and work through right now...
One of the most important things to understand on the Road To Gold is how much we can achieve right in our back yard. Rushing off to compete at international regattas is not that much fun when you haven’t yet sorted out your boat speed. This is important stuff which is why we've divided Boat Speed into two chapters.
It’s why it arrives early in the sequential learning order. You can go out and you can really learn to go fast and you can really get a feel for the boat even without necessarily training against another boat. You can just go out and do the hours and get better and better at sailing the boat until you can do it blindfold. You need to be fast before you can make good decisions. This is important stuff which is why we've broken speed into two chapters.
Best Speed is about finding your maximum VMG on any leg of the course.
As usual, this weekend's Q&A call will be on Saturday 1730 GMT, with Zoom invite to arrive in your inbox shortly. The focus will be on Chapter 4 content but feel free to ask about any sailing challenge you're facing. Either email Hamish your questions directly at [email protected] or fill out the quick form by going to My Courses > Live Coaching Calls.
Hope you enjoy this chapter, and we look forward to continuing down the Road To Gold with you into 2021.
Happy New Year! 🥂
Andy & Hamish
23 December 2020
Chapter 3 of the Road To Gold is now open!
Chapter 3: Boat Handling & Boat Maintenance has just gone online, so go ahead and start consuming the content and filling out the worksheets.
Contrary to what a lot of people think, good boat handling is not a God-given talent, it’s one of those areas that – with good planning and some hard work – you have no excuse to get sorted out and squared away. With good mental attitude, a solid program of training drills, you can and will nail your boat handling. Boat maintenance is another ‘no excuses’ part of your campaign. You either learn the skills to keep your equipment in tip-top condition, or you bring in the experts to make sure equipment failure is never an option.
After winning the 470 World Championships at their first attempt, gear failure got in the way of Dave Barnes and Hamish Willcox defending their title the following year. OK, so a 3rd place in 1982 wasn’t too shabby, but another Worlds win would have been infinitely better.
So this Chapter is all about two key areas which are both ‘Controllables’. If you’re not on top of your Boat Maintenance and your Boat Handling, you’re leaving money on the table. And we don’t do that on the Road To Gold! 😉
We hope you enjoy working through this section, even if it’s slap-bang into the Christmas season! Remember, this weekend is the next Q&A call with Hamish where you can put your questions directly in the chat box. But we always give special priority to those who send in their questions in advance, either to [email protected] or the form in My Courses > Live Coaching Calls.
And while the focus of the Call will be on Chapter 3, we will hold some time to talk about any of the other Chapters in the course curriculum.
Right! Get to it, and start your way on Chapter 3...
Cheers
Andy
PS. We’ve put some Cheat Sheets and Templates together for you in Chapter 3. Let us know what others you’d like to see.
PPS. There's an interview with top sailing physiologist Dr Pete Cunningham in Chapter 2 as a special extra. With some interesting insights into just how much Ben Ainslie changed his body composition to move from being an 80kg Laser sailor to a 100kg Finn sailor...
21 December 2020
How to make the Human Body make your Boat go Faster, with top Olympic Sailing and America’s Cup expert Dr Pete Cunningham
Coming up soon is an interview with one of the biggest experts in fitness and physiology for high performance sailing, Dr Pete Cunningham. For 13 years Pete was the Senior Exercise Physiologist and Head of Sports Science and Medicine with the British Olympic Sailing Team, working closely with the likes of Ben Ainslie, Shirley Robertson, Sarah Ayton, Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson and Iain Percy. It was Iain Percy who then took on Pete as Head of Sports Science and Sports Medicine with Artemis Racing, America’s Cup Sailing Team for AC34 and AC35.
Pete’s going to be on the call to answer the questions that members of Road To Gold have submitted about Fitness and Nutrition. On the weekend we covered a lot of ground in this subject when Hamish answered a number of great questions on this topic. We’re going to go even deeper today with Pete’s insights into the subject of how to get the human body into the best possible shape to make the boat go faster.
We’re going to try an experiment with a combination of some of the interview on Facebook Live, but also being recorded on Zoom. It would be great if you can join us for the live call at 11am GMT (London time). That’s coming up in the next hour. If you can’t make it, you will get the recording afterwards.
Cheers
Andy
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/94899445495?pwd=OE5zTzA0V09vSUhlYkFja0pmZG9hZz09
18 December 2020
Week 2 Coaching Call - Fitness Q&A - Zoom Invitation
Just about 24 hours until we hold our Q&A Live Calls with Hamish on Zoom (5.30pm GMT Saturday evening/ 6.30am Sunday morning in New Zealand). The Zoom invite can be found at My Courses > Coaching Calls.
You’re always welcome to ask questions about any of the subjects we’ve covered so far on the Road To Gold, but the special focus this weekend is on Chapter 2: Fitness & Nutrition.
Remember to ask your questions by emailing:
or going to My Courses > Submit your questions to Hamish.
Looking forward to seeing you on the call!
Andy
P.S. We’ve set 5.30pm GMT as the standard time for every Saturday evening from now onwards. This will be subject to change but we’re trying to keep it consistent. Apologies if that doesn’t work well for your time zone, but we’ll always aim to get your questions answered if you can’t make it to the live call, and then you can catch up on the recording when we post it a day or so later.
16 December 2020
Chapter 2: Fitness & Nutrition is now OPEN
Hi there!
You can now access Chapter 2 under My Courses > Road To Gold. Any aspects you want clarified? Don't forget to send in your questions for this week's Live Coaching Call (details to come soon).
Fitness for sailing is a big topic: we need endurance, strength, flexibility, stamina, the right weight for our class – the list goes on! Accordingly, this is a pretty long chapter (almost 2 hours of content, not including Hamish's 45 Minute Core Strength & Flexibility Workout). But as always, go through the program at your own pace. You've got lifetime access, and you'll want to revisit a lot of the material at a later date to make sure you've properly taken it on board.
On a separate note, we would greatly appreciate it if you could give us some feedback on Chapter 1: The Beginning. We've been getting some great responses from you...
"I am taking the RTG program very seriously and see this as an opportunity to take the next steps. This is the first systematic training program I have attended in my sailing career, and I hope it will bring me the guidance I need to make improvements...The questions asked in Chapter 1 one were very challenging!"
"It’s great to be on this course. Already, just the fact that i’ve signed up and paid the money has put me in the mind set of: ‘I’m not just going to go to another event going through the motions and end up in the same position’. This has made me really enthusiastic to improve."
What did you like? What could we do better? What kind of extra resources would you like to see?
We'll constantly be adding to and developing Road To Gold, but we're going to need your help to stress-test it! In a way, Road To Gold is going to be a collaboration between us, as your feedback enables us to create the best program we can for you. You'll find a short form at the beginning of Chapter 2 where you can leave us your thoughts (or if you prefer, send me an email at [email protected]). Cheers!
Andy
PS. Some people asked for an editable worksheet last week. This week, we've got one! You can download it in Intro to Fitness.
14 December 2020
How Are You Implementing Road To Gold in Your Campaign?
We’ve only just launched Road To Gold yet it’s becoming how obvious different parts of the process appeal to us all in different ways. There is no cookie-cutter process to winning in sailing. Or in any sport for that matter.
On the Live Call with Hamish this past weekend, there were two very strong strands of questions that came through:
- Technical Questions about Measuring and Calibrating the best equipment, with particular reference to sail and mast testing.
- Questions about Team and sailing with the Right Partner in the boat.
If you were on the call, perhaps you noticed how Hamish was keen to steer off the technical questions at a certain point and dig into the human side of campaigning. Both are completely relevant, but one of the points he makes repeatedly throughout the 12 Modules of RTG is to assess where YOU’RE at on your personal Road To Gold.
Is static bend testing of five different mast sections a relevant use of your time and money if you capsize on every other gybe downwind?
Just because the World Champion is bend testing five rigs doesn’t necessarily make it right for you. Assess where you’re at, and set your plan accordingly.
Road To Gold gives you a framework to be honest with yourself, and for your team mates to share that same framework, so you’re ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.
With Christmas and New Year fast approaching, it’s that time of year when we tend to take stock of what we’ve done the past 12 months, and where we’re going for the next 12 months. I hope Road To Gold will give you a strong framework to build from, to create a sense of direction even when things seem so uncertain.
Andy Rice
PS. If you were on the Live Call, did you enjoy that little story about the young Finn sailor from Poland at the 1996 Games? Hamish was referring to Mateusz Kusnierewicz who won the Finn gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1996. Listen to this interview I did with Mateusz a couple of years ago. The bit I’m referring to starts at 2:50 into the audio.
https://www.sailjuice.com/articles/mateusz-kusnierewicz-sudden-death-olympic-medals
What an incredible story, which ties in very well with Hamish’s own story about Mateusz on the Live Call...
13 December 2020
First Weekly Coaching Call
Thank you to everyone who joined us on Zoom for our first Weekly Coaching Call yesterday, and special thanks to those who sent in their questions. We managed to cover some interesting topics, including “How to pick out the best sail from a batch”, “When do you know if you’re sailing with the right partner”, and “What do I do if my father is my coach and he’s always giving me a hard time?!”
And we appreciate the feedback – good to know you're already getting value out of Road To Gold...
"Fantastic first session! Well done Andy and Hamish, so looking forward to the next steps!"
"Great session, Cheers guys!"
"Thank you, phenomenal so far"
If you didn't manage to make it, the video recording is now under My Courses > Live Coaching Calls. We've put timecodes if you want to jump to specific questions, and you can also download the call as an MP3 file to listen on the go.
Three days until Chapter 2 opens up, and the coming week will be all about Fitness & Nutrition. As with the opening Chapter, we'll be opening up questions for next weekend's call shortly after the course content goes online. So if anything comes to mind while going through Chapter 2, don't forget to send us a message at [email protected].
Cheers!
Andy
11 December 2020
New Feature: English Subtitles
Thanks for your feedback on how to improve Road To Gold. In response to some of our members who are concerned about their English language skills, we have now implemented SUBTITLES on the videos. All you need to do is select English under CC (closed captions) in the corner of each video. For now, they're computer-generated and so there may be a few errors, but we are working on providing full subtitles very soon. In the meantime, we hope this helps you get the most out of RTG!
11 December 2020
Who You Got In Your Gang?
It’s great to see so many Road To Gold members are going through that self-assessment Baseline Test we asked you to fill out at the start of Chapter 1.
If you haven’t yet done it, please do it here, for your own sake. It’s also very useful for me and Hamish in terms of how we shape the course content.
About 24 hours from now (5.30pm GMT Saturday evening/ 6.30am Sunday morning in New Zealand) is when we’re running the first of our Q&A Live Calls with Hamish. Remember to ask your questions by emailing:
Below is an unedited list of the areas that members of RTG believe they need to work on the most. This is in relation to Chapter 1: The Beginning, where we look at the absolute fundamentals of your campaign. Take a skim through the list. Pretty interesting! How many of these can YOU relate to when you think about YOUR sailing program?
One of the common themes that comes through is the need for Training Partners. This is a strong message that comes through Road To Gold, that most of the things you need to tick off in order to become WORLD CLASS, you can actually do at home. There are some things you can achieve by yourself, a few more you can get done with just one training partner, and then to tick off pretty much all areas you only need a training group of five teams (and a smart coach) to tick off the remaining areas.
So, how are YOU doing with YOUR training group? And if you don’t have one, what can you do to get the wheels in motion?
A MESSY (BUT REVEALING) LIST OF WHAT SAILORS WANT
- Setting a goal and creating a team that follows the same goal with enthusiasm.
- I have a boat and crew but I don't have a plan for progression or a support group
- More trainings, less racing.
- time on the water/fitness
- placement on the sail course, position against the other boats
- Not close to target weight.
- Building the team, where I do not have all the control.
- being the right weight
- cardio, time and improved downwind speed from a reasonable high level to the worldclass laserstyle kinetics.
- Coaching analysis pre-post races / regattas. Equipment.
- mental
- I would have to say the coach. He is our coach for everything and that makes it very intense.
- Tactic and strategy
- A teammate, other boats and a coach
- Gathering a good team.
- Support group is missing
- support group
- practice correctly
- Funding and more time
- Practice
- Proper plan
- Weight should be closer to the target and more equally divided among the whole crew.
- more weight would help
- finding the right crew
- Getting the right support group
- customizing equipment, regular training sessions
- Efficiency of time
- Avoiding injury, fitness
- time on the water
- Finding a team that could take some pressure of from me as a sailor by helping me plan and manage things that are not actually related to sailing, but necessary for a campaign.
- the weight
- I am unsure of the most efficient class to pursue a campaign in.
- Support from government
- Better (more advanced) training partners
- Quality training
- not quite sure
- getting the right conditions for training
- Building the right support group in each aspect of the sport
- Build support group
- boat handling
- Connecting the team, we are good players but we can't play as a team
- I need to improve mentally, in how to approach my racing and focus more on the process and less on the outcome. I have someone helping me with this but it is being harder than I thought to tackle this.
- Training group, i think we arent having a strong enough training group were we are pushing each other enough.
- communication
- Having the right team mates/support group
- Would need a committed team mate
- Right team mates and the right weight
- Misscomunication with coach
- training partners
- Better organized local regattas and training for the local fleet. We are 13 boats and self-organized
- setting clear goals instead of heading for results
- team work
- team mates
- Building dependable capable crew willing to put the time and effort into developing their capabilities, and adding to the overall team capabilities.
- Consistent crew who has similar interests/ goals and commitment
- My boat maintenance
- planning my time
- Better equipment and support group
I hope this has prompted a few thoughts of your own. Looking forward to seeing you on the Live Call 24 hours from now.
Andy Rice
10 December 2020
Thanks for all the great feedback so far on Chapter 1. It’s important stuff to cover, even if you feel you’re already on the right road with your sailing.
As I mentioned yesterday, we’re always keen to hear from you. So do get in touch at: [email protected]
Pete Burling’s parents, Heather and Richard, have been following along with the videos. And even doing a bit of fact checking, pointing out that Pete had in fact helmed some doublehanded boats prior to the 49er.
“Pete did two years helming the 420 - age 13 learning the boat with his brother (a close 3rd out of 20 odd boats at the youth trials), and age 14 with Bruce Kennedy finishing 6th at the 420 Worlds. He was then too big to helm and did 3 years crewing (won 420 Worlds twice, 11th 470 Olympics age 17).”
So, just in case you ever thought Pete was an overnight success, it took a while longer than that! I remember interviewing Pete a few years ago just before the Rio Games and he said one of the reasons why he thinks he reached such a high level so young was because he was bigger than average and outgrew the junior and youth classes quicker than most kids. So Pete was dropped in at the deep end sooner than normal, and had the attitude and level-headedness to cope with it, and thrive in that environment.
Anyway, we’r going to be discussing Chapter 1: The Beginning in greater detail on the Live Zoom call this weekend. You should have received an email on that earlier today, so if haven’t received anything (and you’re sure that you signed up for Live Calls), then please drop us a line at: [email protected]
If you haven’t even started on Chapter 1 yet, don’t worry. Road To Gold is for travelling at your own pace. Enjoy the journey and do it well, rather than quickly.
Cheers
Andy
9 December 2020
Chapter 1: The Beginning is now open!
I want to thank you for showing faith in me and Hamish Willcox for joining us on the first ever edition of Road To Gold.
Chapter 1: The Beginning is now open. So please get yourself a notebook and pen, and start consuming the content and the ideas in the videos. Please don’t just Netflix your way through Road To Gold. I mean, of course you can just use this program for mild entertainment, and some of it will stay with you. But you’ll get so much more out of it if you pause the videos, think, and consider how you’re going to look at your own campaign differently.
HOW TO LOG IN AND GET STARTED
All you need to do is click My Courses at the top of the page and then Road To Gold, and you can start working through the sessions.
There are worksheets and questionnaires for you to work through whenever you have time. Again, none of it is compulsory, but the more you engage with the process, the more you’ll get out of it.
CHAPTER 1: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS
Chapter 1 is all about getting the correct foundations in place, and making good decisions from the start. We want to make sure that we're going in the right direction on the Road from the very beginning. Choosing the right equipment, the right support team that's going to match our strengths and weaknesses, and choosing the right boat... Whether you're more interested in the more physical side, or the more technical side, there's going to be a boat for you. Make sure the boat you’re sailing really is the boat you SHOULD be sailing.
It's really important to spend some time focusing on these big decisions, because if you haven't laid the foundations correctly, you're going to end up with a Leaning Tower of Pisa! Eventually your campaign could tip over and crash to the ground...
Chapter 1: The Beginning will make sure you've laid the right foundations in a way that will set you up for a strong campaign to build on.
HELP US FILL THE GAPS
Also, Hamish and I are very open to feedback. Road To Gold is about identifying the gaps in your campaign and coming up with ways of filling those gaps until you’re operating at world class level. We want Road To Gold to be world class, and as one of our early adopters we want you to help us find any potholes in the Road so that we can fill them and make the program even better in the future. Please send us an email to [email protected]. We really do appreciate your help and support.
STAY UP TO DATE!
Meanwhile, make sure that you watch the Updates page roadtogold.net/p/updates for any latest news that we want to share with you. And watch out for an email with details of how to jump on this weekend’s live Zoom Q&A call with me and Hamish. Once you’ve gone through the recorded videos of Chapter 1, send us your questions.
EVERYTHING IS RECORDED
Remember, if you can’t make it to the live call, everything is recorded so you won’t miss a thing.
So that’s all from me for now. Thanks once again for your enthusiasm for this new project, and I wish you the very best on your personal Road To Gold.
Andy Rice (and Hamish Willcox)
PS. What if you DIDN’T sign up for the Live Coaching Calls? It’s not too late, for the next 24 hours you can still sign up here. When you buy access to the Live Coaching Calls, you’re getting access to the recordings too, so you can always catch up later if you can’t get on the Zoom with Hamish this Saturday.
8 December 2020
About to Get on the Road Together
We’re not far off publishing the first Chapter of Road To Gold, which means you’ll be able to get going. If you signed on last week, thanks for your patience and I hope you’ve got some value out of Chapter 0 already.
Chapter 1: The Beginning goes online tomorrow afternoon (London time), Wednesday 9 December. That DOESN’T mean you need to be there on the dot! These are recorded sessions and downloads that you will always have – for the rest of your sailing career. You can watch them whenever you have the time.
But... it would be great if you can get stuck in soon after it opens, so that you can get your questions and queries into us before the Live Coaching Call with Hamish this Saturday evening, 5.30pm GMT, for a 60-minute session.
After Chapter 1 is online, we'll be opening up questions for that first Live Call, so to be sure we get your question for Hamish to see during the call, please send your questions to:
If you prefer, there will also be a form for submitting your questions under My Courses > Live Coaching Calls w/ Hamish Willcox. For more info on the Live Calls, check out the FAQs in that section if you haven't already.
Sending in your questions is especially important if you can’t make it to the Live Call. We’ve had a couple of messages from folks in Australia and I’m sorry the timing doesn’t quite work out for you this weekend. But please do ask your questions and then you can wake up knowing the pot holes in your personal Road To Gold have been filled while you slept! Recordings will be made available shortly after the Call has gone live.
Tomorrow we’re also opening up the Road To Gold Clubhouse, which is our private access Facebook Group. It will be like being the first to turn up to a party, because no one has been invited in yet! So go on, be brave, and be one of the first to join. It’ll be a great place to ask your questions and share advice.
To make sure you’re kept up-to-date with the latest RTG news, keep on coming back to our new Updates page (also linked at the top of the page): https://www.roadtogold.net/p/updates
That’s all for now, but back to you tomorrow for the opening of Chapter 1...
Cheers
Andy
PS. Please have a notebook and pen ready for when you go through the videos in Chapter 1, and every other chapter. The more you make notes of your journey, the more you’ll get out of the Road To Gold
7 December 2020
“Chapter 1: The Beginning” Opens This Wednesday
It’s overwhelming to see the range of sailors that have signed up to Road To Gold over the past five days. From keen club racers to reigning World and even reigning Olympic Champions have jumped on board for the ride with Hamish Willcox.
Hamish and I are keen to spread elite-level information and sailboat racing and campaigning as far and as wide as we can across the sailing world. Which is why we’re just as excited to read emails from keen young sailors in India and Argentina as we are from some of the biggest names in the sport.
Chapter 1: The Beginning goes live at 4pm GMT (London time) this Wednesday 9 December. That doesn’t mean you to be there on the dot! These are recorded sessions and downloads that you will always have for the rest of your sailing career. You can watch them whenever you have the time.
But... it would be great if you can get stuck in soon after it opens, so that you can get your questions and queries into us before the Live Coaching Call with Hamish this Saturday evening, 5.30pm GMT, for a 60-minute session.
As Hamish says: “Road To Gold” is for anyone that really wants to improve their performance in sailing. It’s not for somebody who's really not that interested in finding out what's missing in their campaign. It’s definitely about a structured way of learning - about learning things in the right order and about prioritising. The best place to spend your time, effort and money.”
Meanwhile, thank you for all the incredible feedback and enthusiasm for what we’re doing. Drop me a line any time.
Andy Rice
PS. Nice little endorsement from Pete Burling and Blair Tuke on their Facebook page: “Our longtime 49er coach Hamish Willcox has launched a 12-week programme for a world beating sailing campaign. Hamish is a three time world champ, America's Cup and Round the World legend, and he's been a critical part of our Olympic journey. We're proud to call him a mate.”