Yachts & Yachting — February 2018

Above

Whether leading

or mid-fleet,

keep the bigger

picture in mind

Ben Saxton at the top mark was really

amazing but also a bit scary. We learnt

a lot about angles and the importance

of keeping up the speed at all times.”

Keeping calm is a skill that Bettine

had to successfully master in order

to earn her ticket to the Endeavour

in the rst place. “I went into the

nationals very calmly and had no

expectations for the event and so I was

calm before every race and could focus

purely on what was happening on the

course rather then boat positioning

and other people. It is a lot easier to

make plans and understand what was

going on if you are not worried.”

To help others whose aim it is to one

day sail at the Endeavour Trophy she

says her advice would be “to always

have a plan, have something to fall back

on if you have a bad start. is will

always help you to focus on the bigger

picture rather than the small details, and

help you get out of a mess of a race.

“Never put yourself under pressure

and always remember to have fun

and stay calm, there is no point

sailing if you are not enjoying it.

“Also, never rush your crews, they will

be trying their best and putting pressure

on them will only ever build tension

in the boat. Have patience, sailing is

a sport where many components are

out of your control and if things are

not going your way just stay calm and

try to think about what you could be

doing wrong and what the people at

the front are doing dierently to you.”

THE PAST PRO

Nick Craig, six-time

former Endeavour

winner, has represented

championship wins

in the OK, Finn,

RS400, B14 and

Merlin Rocket classes. is year he

took second place sailing with Holly

Scott, representing the D-One class.

He says: “I’d say winning a ‘ticket’ to

the Endeavour Trophy is mainly down

to lots of hours on the water over the

years, sailing against the best sailors

possible to keep pushing myself on.

“I self-analyse every race and try to

work out how I can sail better

next time. I like to try new things

outside of the main events to seek

new ideas and ways of going faster at

the main events. ere is no single

winning formula – a boatspeed or

racing edge usually comes from lots

of small things put together over

years of training and practice.

“My advice would be to enjoy your

sailing by sailing in boats that you

enjoy, which also have a good social

scene. Sailing in lots of dierent classes

gives great variety of tactical and

technical experience and allows you

to see how many dierent people sail,

all of whom you can learn from.”

THE VETERAN

Roger Gilbert, sailing

with wife Jane for

the International 14,

steadily yet condently

sailed an impressive

series to take third

overall. Like previous winners, they

are multi-class champion Endeavour

veterans (RS400, RS200, Merlin Rocket,

International 14), with 10 appearances

and results never out of the top four.

“Over the years I have learned that it

helps to pace yourself because up to ve

races in a day requires concentration as

invariably the conditions change over

this period,” advises Roger. “No one

ever gives up as everyone is a national

champion and used to being at the front,

or working their way to the front.”

“Place changes throughout the

eet are inevitable, so the game is to

simply not worry too much about the

number of boats passing, provided

you have passed more than you’ve

lost on each leg.” Advice that’s true

with any competitive series!

“It is easy to get frustrated by other

boats taking a gamble and ‘seeming’

to get lucky going the other way but in

reality everyone is trying hard and has

a reason why they go the way they do

so they weren’t lucky – just clever!”

I self-analyse every race... A boatspeed edge

usually comes from lots of small things

ROGER MANT

WHAT MAKES A CHAMPION? FEATURE

44 Yachts & Yachting February 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk

DINGHY ENDEAVOUR AC_GC_hjg_TH.indd 44 14/12/2017 17:00