Maybe it’s an advantage to start a new sport—say sailboat racing—from scratch. No bad habits, no muscle memory to unlearn. I’m used to coaching sailors at the top level, men and women who are trying to win something big, like an Olympic or Paralympic medal, or a world championship. Arguably, these top-end teams have far more good habits than bad, but helping them reverse their few bad habits has always been the most challenging part of my job. With that said, I've always wondered what it would be like to start fresh. So, when Erich Estes, an athletic coachable beginner, wanted to learn to race, was intrigued. He was my clean slate.
Estes is a 40-something professional with a demanding job and a family. He was working at home from his lakefront cottage and sneaking in short sails between work meetings or picking up the kids from school. While searching for YouTube tips on how to sail, he stumbled on racing, and long before his first start, he was hooked. Somehow in his browsing, he also stumbled on my obscure and rarely updated website and reached out for coaching.
Intrigued by the thought of an untainted disciple, dived right in. First up was choosing the craft of choice. wanted him to train on a singlehanded dinghy. Anything else has teammates, and that would add unnecessary complications. More importantly, a dinghy is the only way to learn balance, and thus feel. Even if he had a specific endgame, such as to compete in a J/70 or something along those lines, still would have had him start on a dinghy. On our choice of a Sunfish, Estes said: My personal preference was for a smaller boat because could strip down the experience to the essentials and the athletic part. Plus, there was a strong local fleet.”
Good last point—a local fleet is important. Other singlehanded boats could have worked just fine, but the local support group that comes with a local fleet is invaluable.
This story is from the Fall 2022 edition of Sailing World.
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This story is from the Fall 2022 edition of Sailing World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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