Pam Lee has competed in high level double-handed racing for four seasons, from Figaro to Class 40s. Here she shares winning tips for sailing two-up with Andy RiceThe team dynamic in double-handed sailing is very different compared with fully crewed boats, says Pam Lee.
\n\u201cIn your classic IRC team you really need to have a clear hierarchy,\u201d she explains. \u201cYou have the driver, the navigator and the tactician making the big decisions at the back of the boat, and further forward the trimmers and the pit and the bow who are not necessarily integrated into the decision-making process.
\n\u201cWith just two of you in double-handed, there\u2019s still going to be a skipper who remains responsible overall for the boat and crew. But what I\u2019ve found over the last four years \u2013 and put into action this past season sailing with Jay [Thompson] \u2013 is that everything should be a discussion, that two heads are better than one. We\u2019re having a continual, ongoing discussion about all aspects, whether it\u2019s nav and tactics, or trimming or even the setup of the boat.
\n\u201cEven though last season\u2019s campaign was built on my sponsorship, my project, I wanted to bring in a person who has a whole range of knowledge and experience, that\u2019s similar but also different from mine. So they\u2019re going to have interesting points of views. They\u2019re going to have other things to contribute and the advantage of having that team-mate is that you can pick their brain and test ideas and tell them your ideas and see what they say.\u201d
\nHere are Pam\u2019s five tips for getting the best out of the partnership, especially when the going gets tough:
\nAlthough there are times when it\u2019s good to hand steer \u2013 including race starts \u2013 getting really familiar with your autopilot is key. Photo: Jean-Louis Carli\/Alea
\nAnticipate disagreements
\nIt\u2019s good to have some in-depth, honest discussions between the two of you before you set out on the race. How you want to work together on the boat, what the other person feels their strengths and weaknesses are \u2013 and what you feel your strengths and weaknesses are.
\nYou\u2019re going to be working in an intense environment where you\u2019re short on sleep and maybe wet and cold, so the more you can work out in advance between you, the better.
\nTalk about when things go bad before they go bad. Obviously you\u2019re going to debrief things afterwards, but if you\u2019ve laid out your objectives in advance you\u2019ll manage the difficult moments at sea with much less conflict and more of a shared direction.
\nDon\u2019t be a hero
\nWhen you have just two of you on board, there\u2019s very little room for making a mess of things. If things go wrong it can have serious consequences. If something bad happens to you, the other person is completely on their own.
\nOn a fully-crewed boat in the worst-case scenario of a man overboard you\u2019ve got many people to help drop the sails and turn the boat around. That\u2019s not the case when you\u2019re double-handed. You need to really, really think about the other person in all situations.
\nOn an IRC boat in calmer conditions you might think about running up on the foredeck without clipping on. But you can\u2019t afford to cut corners with safety when you\u2019re two-up.
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In light winds when you think you can manage a gybe without waking up your team-mate, don\u2019t do it unless you agreed on the parameters for a solo manoeuvre beforehand. It\u2019s selfish to attempt complex manoeuvres on your own unless you\u2019ve both agreed to \u2018take that risk\u2019, in certain conditions; the consequences of mistakes affect you both.
\nSelf-care \u2013 staying warm, well fed, and rested \u2013 is also not just a personal matter but a duty to your team-mate. If one sailor \u2018crashes\u2019 physically or mentally, the entire project is compromised.
\nFind your default setting
\nJay and I have a default setting where we\u2019ll be prepared for anything. Between us, I\u2019d tend to fall into the role of steering and doing most of the cockpit-based jobs while Jay is pretty much working the mast and bow area. Often I\u2019ll go forward and help him set things up on the foredeck and then go back to the cockpit.
\nWe have our specialities, our skills that we like to put to work. Jay is super-happy going up the mast and doing the climbing, while I\u2019m very comfortable in the water, so I\u2019ll do any of the diving to get something off the keel or whatever\u2019s needed. But there\u2019s a lot of overlap in our roles, and when things are less stressful we deliberately switch roles to get as comfortable as possible in each other\u2019s roles.
\nI always say that on an IRC boat, everybody should do trimming for a day, and go up on the bow for a day, so that everyone understands each other\u2019s roles. That\u2019s what we do in double-handed sailing too, but when the pressure\u2019s on and you need to get things done as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible, that\u2019s when you revert to your default setting.
\nLee and Thompson celebrate finishing the Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or. Photo: Jean-Louis Carli\/Alea
\nBefriend the pilot
\nWhen you\u2019re sailing double-handed, the autopilot is your best friend, it\u2019s like your third crewmember. Through the manoeuvres you don\u2019t have enough hands to steer the boat and pull all the sheets, especially in tough conditions or if something goes wrong, so you need to get to know and trust your autopilot. We spend a lot of time experimenting with it, finding the best settings and marking them down so we can get back to those settings easily.
\nBut we\u2019re also sailors and it\u2019s really fun to drive the boat, and it\u2019s good not to get too reliant on the autopilot. You still need to steer the boat manually to work out whether you need to be surfing down the waves slightly differently, or if you need to trim the sails differently.
\nI always drive the starts because it\u2019s so close quarters with the other boats. But after 40 minutes of concentrating you\u2019re going to start getting tired, and that\u2019s when you need to start relying on the autopilot.
\nYou\u2019re still adjusting it the way that you trim the sails. You\u2019re tweaking the autopilot settings to changing wind strengths or sea states. Jay and I play with the settings until we get it to the point where it feels right. There\u2019s always that last bit of speed to squeeze out of the boat, whether it\u2019s heel angle, trimming the sails, and so on, and tweaking the autopilot is part of that same process of refinement.
\nManage the \u2018marriage\u2019
\nI\u2019ve lost count of how many days Jay and I have spent at sea together over the past year. And on top of that, all the preparation for the project as well as all the training and everything else. One thing I know for sure is that we saw each other more than Jay saw his wife and I saw my boyfriend! So of course it\u2019s going to be intense.
\nOver time there\u2019s a risk the other person\u2019s habits can go from being amusing to irritating, but don\u2019t give in to that. Add a pinch of salt to everything, give your team-mates some leeway (and hope they do the same for you).
\nSailing\u2019s not a sport where we\u2019re going to be comfortable all the time; we\u2019re going to be cold and wet and short on sleep, so try to show some generosity and compassion when you\u2019re communicating with your team-mate.
\nWhen they do things that annoy you, let it slide, and remember you\u2019re probably doing things that annoy them too. Treat them as you would in a relationship, or a good friend or family. You love them, so you let things slide. This is your team-mate. They share the same dreams and goals as you. They\u2019ve committed a lot of time to do this with you and you\u2019ve committed a lot of time with them, so show each other that mutual respect you both deserve.
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The post How to win at double handed sailing: Expert tips appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pam Lee has competed in high level double-handed racing for four seasons, from Figaro to Class 40s. Here she shares winning tips for sailing two-up with Andy RiceThe team dynamic in double-handed sailing is very different compared with fully crewed … <\/p>\n