Crewing

I'm a skipper at heart. I have a competitive streak on the water that is brutal. Not driving drives me crazy.

As many of you know I've sailed with others on E-Scows for the past 10 years or so. The reason is simple - money. To be successful in scows you need to be able to sail the race without concern for equipment, crew, or sails. Money is needed to deal with equipment and sails. I simply had to choose between the priorities of family and sailing.

So I started crewing. First I crewed with someone who needed the help a lot, assuming I would get the satisfaction from helping him win. Driving from the crew spot doesn't work. We had fun but neither of us was satisfied.

Then I chose to crew with the rock star, George Welch, the guy that didn't need my help. I could learn from him. I did too. But I also think he benefited from my help. I got more trophies in the few years with him than all my years on my own. Now he is running into the family/sailing choice and our days are fewer.

Recently I sailed with William Hudson at Keuka for a race. I've sailed with him before. It's always fun. He has a new boat and sails taking that aspect out of the equation. So he can get to the top tier of sailing by building a crew and working on his own game. He's not natural on the sticks but a real hard worker, smart, and motivated. It's a family boat too with wife and kids sailing.

In the one race we sailed, the competition was limited and we did the horizon job on the fleet. It was close for 1 1/2 legs though. William is a typical sailor who over thinks the race. He seems to believe that when he gets close to another boat he has to out sail them. It is a common misconception. The race is not won through moves, but through perseverance. The guy who wins makes the fewest mistakes. Simply keep your eyes on the wind, make good calls and you will end up where you should. It really is as easy as that.

But to get there you need to practice, not tactics, but boat handling. Both the crew and skipper need to understand the skills and limits of the crew. You can't sail these thing anywhere you want. Only when skipper and crew are in synch can you succeed in getting down to the business of tactics.

William will do fine, with moments of glory. His boys will grow into the role. In fact, William, I suspect you will be kicked off your own boat by your boys in less than 5 years.

Crewing has its own rewards. I'm thinking of it as a coaching opportunity now. We'll see how that goes. I'm thinking of it as a caddie for a golf pro. I'm not hitting the shots but I like to think I have something to do with the win.

Of course in MC Scows there is no crew. It's all on my shoulders: boat, sails, and tactics are all on me.