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Speed tacks

Hiking out

Modern gym exercise

Modern gym exercise

Military Burpees

Inclined crunch curls

Excercise 6

Excercise 5

The Captain’s coaching

The Captain’s coaching

Dad dancing

Hurling

Whatever your yacht size, for anyone
other than the helm or afterguard,
every tack necessitates a mad monkey
scramble across the coachroof, avoiding
stepping on lines or fingers and ducking
under the swing of the vang and boom.
Speed and agility are key skills to getting
across to the best rail position first and
hiking weight outboard.

Not encouraged in gentlemen’s racing,
but with so few of those around these
days, its de rigeur to have a good weight
of rail bait for the club racer. Hopefully
the yacht owner has padded the rail, or
the guardrail will feel like cheesewire
as you lean out, stretching to push your
weight as far outboard as possible. Not a
position for the unfit.

From a standing position, drop down

to a standard press up, and then bring

your feet quickly forward and in a single

motion push yourself up on your toes into

a jump while stretching your arms and

legs wide into a star shape. After landing,

return to standing position. That’s one

rep. Try ten of those. And if you’re not

panting for breath by the end, do it again

holding 10kg dumb bells.

Sit-up benches vary in complexity, but

basically raise the feet end to at least

45-degrees and hook your feet under.

From lying position with arms crossed

across the chest, stress your stomach

muscles and lift your torso. Each rep is a

trio of three raises – one looking forward,

one lifting then twisting to the left, the

third lifting and twisting to the right.

That’s one rep. Do 15 of these.

Often misunderstood as an all-over body

work-out, the David Brent-styled, post-

race party boogie is the ultimate all-over

body workout. Fuelled on Jamaica’s

finest, even the most gym-dodging crew

can perform Travolta-esque moves...

well at least that’s how it is remembered

through hazy clouds the next day. If

in doubt, start with hand moves from

the Essex book of dance and work up to

Saturday Night Fever.

No regatta sailor is worth their salt unless

they have had to feed the fish en route

with their previous evening’s indulgences.

But as no yacht owner or crew want to

share that experience, you have to make

sure you are as far outboard as possible on

the leeward side, which in itself requires a

degree of contortion, let alone the cramps

that assist in the stomach evacuation.

Try doing upwind in full wet weather gear

without catching in your hood. 65

“But you try and tell the young today that... and they won’t believe ya”