Preparation

Two of the most remarkable acheivements in sailing this year were Ken Read's victory in the Etchells worlds and 'Shark' Kahn's win in the Melges 24 worlds. For those of you who don't know, the Etchells is a 30 foot keel boat and the Melges 24 a (surprise) 24 foot keelboat. Both are one-designs, which means the boats are identical in the sense that they are as close to the same speed as possible. The hull, rig, and appendage dimensions, shapes and weights are all carefully controlled and limited. Even total crew weight is limited. The only differences among boats are the sails, the way the boats are set up and the way they are sailed. Both fleets were filled with great sailors.

Ken managed to beat the next boat in his fleet by 49 points. He counted 6 firsts and a second out of 93 boats for a total of 8 points. Next was Judd Smith, perrenial bridesmaid, with 57 points. Last year's champion Stuart Childerley tied for sixth with Dennis Conner. They both had 118 points.

'Shark' Kahn only barely managed to nose out Harry Melges (yes, a Melges 24 Melges) to top the fleet of 68. But the remarkable thing about his win is that he is only 14 years old. He was only one point ahead going into the last race. He showed exceptional poise in hanging onto the lead to finish the race third, while Melges, trailing him early in the race, took risks to try to catch up and wound up with his worst finish, a 21.

What did these two efforts have in common? Preparation. For instance, Ken's Etchells weighed in for championship at exactly class minimum, while his combined crew weight weight was with 1/2 lb of maximum. Kahn's program was equally well prepared. No stone unturned for boat speed, plus practice, practice, practice. The lesson seems to be: visualize what you want for a result, then figure the steps you need to take to get there, then follow them. Don't expect to be able to skip any.

Unfortunately, I've never been very good at doing this. I tend to procrastinate in stead of prepare, party instead of practice. So that's why I'm not a world champion. Or maybe there's something else involved. Talent? Still, until I get my preparation skills honed, I'll never know.