Regattas, especially “away” regattas, are super fun. What’s not to love? Great sailing, terrific friends, fun times both on and off the water. Wake up, get to the boat park, set up your boat, hit the water, kick butt in a few races, head back in, enjoy dinner with friends, talk sailing late into the night, and then wake up the next morning and do it again for a handful of days in a row.
If it’s a big regatta, such as a district or national championship or perhaps an even bigger trophy, you’ve worked hard to get there: boat preparation, getting yourself ready to compete by spending time in the gym, on-the-water practicing, and eating right.
But let’s face it: once you’re at the regatta, your usual schedule gets completely upended. To give yourself the best chances to succeed at achieving your goals at the regatta, you need to make taking care of yourself a priority, just as you make taking care of boat work a priority. Sometimes that means a little sacrifice, even while you’re at the regatta.
While some regattas leave you physically exhausted at the end of the day, others aren’t as demanding. Earlier this summer, I sailed in the Snipe National Championship, competed this year (it rotates around the country) on Lake Okoboji in gorgeous northwest Iowa. The venue was lovely, and organizers were able to make sure that nearly everything was done to perfection. Of course the one thing they could not control wasn’t very cooperative: the wind.
We ended up racing on only three of the five scheduled race days. And on the days we did race, light and shifty air meant that sailors enjoyed hours of what I’ll term “explosive boat yoga”: crunching up in a little ball in a very small area, until it was time to tack or gybe, which meant catlike transition to being in a little ball in a slightly different very small area. Not exactly physically draining.
After the first few nights, I realized I wasn’t sleeping very well. But our cottage was dark and cool and quiet; my window literally overlooked a cornfield. What was the issue? While at home I train hard; at the regatta I wasn’t working very hard, so I had excess energy. Turns out the cottage was a nice run’s distance from the regatta venue, so for a few days, instead of driving back with my skipper, once sailing was done for the day, I’d swap Aigles for Asics and run a few miles home. Much better sleeping — and that of course is a key element for success on the race course.
Proper hydration and nutrition also lay the groundwork for making good decisions on the race course. I’m writing this from San Diego, where I’m sailing in the Snipe Western Hemispheres. Hurricane Norbert has lingered off the coast, creating some definitely not-like-San-Diego conditions by pumping tropical moist air our way. Rather than sunny and pleasant, it has been quite hot and humid. And because the usual weather doesn’t demand it, most places around here don’t have air conditioning.
When we got off the water today — after a nearly hour-long tow back to the yacht club after a long day of racing — it was over 90 degrees, and we were out of drinking water. A quick shower at the club while chugging some water before a team debrief felt good, but didn’t quite do the trick. It would have been fun to hang around the club in a small piece of shade chatting with our fellow sailors from a bunch of different countries with an adult beverage in hand, but we’ll have all week to do that.
Instead, my skipper and I set a few different priorities. Good dinner, more water, and air conditioning. We found a terrific Thai restaurant just up the street from the club, ordered up a light meal with a good balance of carbs, protein, and veggies, and soaked in the air conditioning. And I feel so much better.
As soon as you finish the last race of the day, you can prepare for the next race day. Take an inventory of how you feel after you cross that finish line. Are you tired or still eager for more activity? Thirsty or hungry? Hot or cold? Make taking care of those issues your top priority, and success will follow.
By: Kim Couranz
