Yachting World - July 2018

92

post-race debriefs

5 tips HOW TO RUN A CONSTRUCTIVE DEBRIEF

alk around the dock of any grand

prix circuit just after the boats have

returned from a race day, or even a

training session, and you’ll see the crews in

a huddle. The post-race debrief is part of the

ritual of top-level competition and possibly

where the most learning is done. Without

analysing your successes and failures on

the race course, how do you know what to

improve next time?

Yet in lower levels of the sport the debrief

is more the exception than the norm. Debriefs

can feel intimidating and, wrongly handled,

may see crew morale plummet.

Here, Ray Davies lays out the methodology

for creating a supportive environment where

mistakes are greeted as an opportunity

to learn, and where everyone feels able to

put their hand up to errors without fear

of retribution. Once a crew embraces this

approach and puts it into practice, the

improvements can be exponential.

ANDY RICE talks to America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race winning tactician RAY DAVIES

W

Crew of the TP52 Gladiator talk

through their performance during

the 2018 Sail Racing Palma Vela

event in May – the curtainraiser to

the Mediterranean racing season