Yachts & Yachting — March 2018

SAILING ENERYGY/WORLD SAILING

“I am still learning how to sail big

boats, but as a lot of it is owner-driver,

I find myself in the tactician role, and

the biggest skill I need to learn, above

all else, is communication. Even if the

decision is not absolutely right, as long

as the whole crew is committed, at least

you will be doing it well and efficiently.

“Away from the race course, I try to

speak with the hands-on members of the

crew, like the bowman or the pitman,

and try to understand what makes it

hard or easy for them, so that we race

clean, and we minimise the errors.

“The other thing is to have a bit of

patience. In a 470 you are tacking on

every shift, but with big boats you

have to think more tactically – yes

you might be going through a header,

but is it really worth a double hitch?

“On a 470 you have no instruments,

you are looking at your performance

relative to the boats around you. I am

still trying to get used to using the

instruments. On a Fast40+ start, for

instance, you ping (take GPS position of )

both ends and you know exactly where

the line is. On a 470 start you have to use

intuition and skill, and a visual transit. It

took me a little time to change the start

routine that I was used to. At first, all I

wanted to know was the speed and the

compass direction of the boat. However,

I am learning; true wind direction and

angle, and polar data, are very helpful,

especially on longer distance racing.”

OFFSHORE AMBITIONS

Luke has been pushing his comfort

zone and taking on some offshore

challenges. He cites the Volvo Ocean

Race as his ultimate goal – not just to

sail it, but to win it. At the age of 30 he

admits he has a lot to learn, but he also

has plenty of time in which to do so,

and he is looking forward to clocking

up the miles and gaining that all-

important experience where he can.

A firm favourite was the 2017 RORC

Caribbean 600. He explains: “I am a West

Coast Scotland boy; I was brought up

sailing in beautiful surroundings, and

that race reminded me of being a boy

again. We were pushing it hard in the

race, but the delight of having nature

all around you; I didn’t stop smiling

for 600 miles. Even when it was wet, or

toocold,ortoohot,orjadedfromno

sleep,itwasajoyfromstarttofinish.

“From a racing point of view, I enjoyed

constantly pushing the boat day and

night, and trusting the crew to do the

job when I was taking a rest. Sailing at

night was special, different senses come

into play. It was a real challenge to steer

the boat without seeing the horizon. You

can’t feel the rate of turn of the boat, you

can’t feel the motion in the same way,

and you can’t see the waves coming. This

was really good for my reactive learning;

to find a rhythm that would default to

a high average, rather than squeezing

out the last 0.1 per cent of boat speed.”

TALKING TOKYO

Looking ahead, with just over two

years until Tokyo 2020, Patience and

Grube returned to top 470 competition

in October 2017 winning Enoshima

Olympic Week in Japan at the 2020

Olympic venue. The duo followed up this

impressive win in January 2018, topping

the table at the 470 North American

Championship, Miami. A week later

they put in a dominant display to win

the World Cup Series, also in Miami.

Luke describes that event: “We came

here looking to measure where we are

in the fleet and work out what we need

to do to win the world championships.

“We weren’t looking for a result

as such, we were more interested in

finding the cracks we need to work

on. But we’ve sailed out of our skin,

gone really fast, raced smart and well,

and we’re really happy to have won.

“We’re buzzing right now,

filled with energy to work hard.

After many years in this class it’s

important to keep the excitement,

the desire. Sometimes it’s hard to

remember why we do what we do.

“We’re looking down the barrel of a

shorter preparation period for Tokyo

but for us that puts us in a really cool

position, and there’s no doubting

that we’re dangerous right now. ”

Whilst Luke has now firmly set his

sights on bringing home Olympic gold in

2020, he is now determined to continue

to make the time to race other classes.

“Up until now, Olympic sailing had

always come first, I had never put one

step forward away from that other

journey. But our sport is changing and

you adapt and get on with it. Now I know

just how beneficial this variety has been,

and I won’t stop racing other boats now.

“It will be a long road, but what I have

come to realise, on the year out, is that

it wasn’t about running away from the

Olympics. It was about learning other

skill sets, and transferring them back. It

has been an extremely valuable time.”

Above

After wins in

Enoshima and

Miami, Luke is

now fired up

about being

back in the 470

09

NEXT MONTH

Hannah Mills

looks ahead

On sale

09 March

LUKE PATIENCE: How to make the

switch from dinghies to keelboats

Find a boat with a good

reputation; listen and learn

from the best.

Understand the

mechanics of the boat

through each manoeuvre.

Talk to the crew members,

know each process and

the time it takes.

Time your decisions.

Every move needs to be

decided well in advance

and everyone should be

aware of the alternatives if

everything doesn’t go

exactly to plan.

Communicate. The

whole team needs to know

what is about to happen

next in good time.

It’s just a boat like any

other! If you’re slow

change something. There

are fewer movable parts

on a keelboat so when it

comes to refining boat set

up, the answer is often

easier to find.

On a Fast40+ start you ping the

line... on a 470 you use intuition

LUKE PATIENCE INTERVIEW

28 Yachts & Yachting March 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk