When the pros are caught on camera making mistakes it proves there\u2019s no such thing as a perfect sailorYou probably saw the collision between the Allagrande Mapei Racing and Team Holcim PRB IMOCAs just moments after the start of the Ocean Race Europe. In the way spectacular disasters are, it was as harrowing as it was addictive to watch. The ease at which Holcim\u2019s foil cut through Allagrande\u2019s headsail cloth was sickeningly impressive, and it\u2019s lucky no one was hurt. But it was also proof of how remarkable these boats are.
\nThe crash was a hearty reminder for us all: mistakes happen, even to the most skilled sailors. If you\u2019re human, you make mistakes, especially in sailing. We need high-profile moments like this to change the culture around mistakes and to remind us that errors don\u2019t make you a bad sailor.
\nThere\u2019s a story many new sailors tell themselves: \u201cWhen I get good enough at sailing, I won\u2019t mess up anymore.\u201d Perfection feels like the goal, but that\u2019s a myth: perfection is unachievable.
\nThe reality is that mistakes are inevitable. Just consider all the factors that go hand-in-hand with sailing: fatigue, stress, appetite for risk, cognitive overload. Then combine it with the context of changeable weather, unpredictable competitors and high stakes decisions. It\u2019s ludicrous to think otherwise.
\nI believe we all get allocated the same number of mistakes in life. They just scale relative to your environment and abilities.
\nBeginner sailors make \u2018rookie\u2019 mistakes like tying fenders wrong and dropping them overboard or putting up the wrong headsail.
\nIntermediate sailors make bolder mistakes, like reefing too late or making sloppy nav calls, usually just when they need a reminder to stay humble.
\nThere was also a crash in Leg 7 of the last Ocean Race
\nPros make high speed, high stakes mistakes like aggressive start line tactics or split-second miscalculations. What changes as you progress isn\u2019t the quantity of mistakes you make, it\u2019s the type of mistakes. And while a crash in the Ocean Race might seem bigger than a poorly tied knot, I\u2019ve seen beginners suffer near-panic over small errors. How awful a mistake feels has more to do with you than the slip-up itself.
\nI hate making mistakes. I hate looking silly or messing up, or worse: being blamed. It probably stems from a fear of rejection. It\u2019s something I have to actively work on.
\nMistakes are part of learning and avoiding them means avoiding improving. And the more we fear mistakes the more likely we are to make them. Just put someone under pressure and watch them tie a knot while shouting the oh-so-tempting \u201churry up\u201d and you\u2019ll see their hands shake, their brain fog over and voila, it will be tied wrong.
\nWhen mistakes happen, what matters most is how you manage them. My mother\u2019s voice still rings in my ears: \u201cI don\u2019t care who started it. Just sort it.\u201d She was talking to my brothers and younger self, but it\u2019s just as relevant at sea. If mistakes are inevitable and we all suffer the same amount, then worrying about blame in the moment is useless. Just look at Kiel: both teams immediately set about repairing their boats to make the next leg. The protest will be resolved later, but the priority was getting back in the race.
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAs the sun slipped below the horizon, so did the noise of the day. The thermal wind softened, the engine\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Has \u2018social media influencer\u2019 sailing gone too far?\u2019 \u2013 Nikki Henderson<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOur defences have run out: social media has well and truly infiltrated our precious, antiquated sailing world. It\u2019s terrifying to\u2026<\/p>\n
On the day the Kiel crash dominated my social news feed, I was helping friends handle a mini crisis of their own. One crew member\u2019s passport had been packed in the wrong bag and was halfway to Hamburg on a Boeing 777. If we\u2019d wasted time focusing on whose fault it was, we\u2019d have missed the window to get the passport on the return flight. But we let it go, jumped into action, and two generous strangers ferried it back across the Atlantic just in time for departure. Faith in humanity, restored.
\nSo, if you want to help make sailing more welcoming for us all, leave the blame behind. If you, or someone else makes a mistake, focus first on sorting out the problem then, second, reduce the chance of it happening again by analysing, learning and implementing better systems.
\nSo, thank you Holcim PRB, Allagrande Mapei, and the Ocean Race team for giving us a real-life example of elite sailors learning from, not hiding from, their errors.
\nThe goal isn\u2019t to eliminate mistakes; it\u2019s to handle them well. Sure, the crash was expensive, dangerous and costly in the moment. But maybe it will save others from similar fates \u2013 not by avoiding mistakes entirely, but by avoiding the catastrophic aftermath that comes when errors are buried instead of addressed.<\/p>\n
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When the pros are caught on camera making mistakes it proves there\u2019s no such thing as a perfect sailorYou probably saw the collision between the Allagrande Mapei Racing and Team Holcim PRB IMOCAs just moments after the start of the … <\/p>\n