Buckeye Sailing

Hey Everyone,

Recently on SailingAnarchy they interviewed Bora Gulari, the current holder of the Moth speed record of over 30 knots and a alum of U of M's sailing team.  They asked him the top 3 things that make a difference when improving ones sailing. His response was:

1. time in the boat
2. time in the boat
3. time in the boat

SailingAnarchy then posted a response to this by another guy who doesn't have alot of time to spend in his boat.  He did some research and found some other ways to improve one's sailing:
1. Video and Mirror Neurons: movements that you can do that only roughly approximate mastery are improved, radically in some cases, by watching video of a master practitioner. Visual Neuroscience tells us that by watching video closely and repeatedly, we activate all of the same neural pathways used when we actually sail. One note of caution may be to be selective whom you watch (I'll not be posting on YouTube as an act of altruism to the class).

2. Visualization: Instead of daydreaming in the car, practice focused, vivid, first person visualization of specific scenarios when sailing. Research says that visualization, if linked with moderate practice, should let you sail as well as your mono zygote twin while sailing 25% less!

3. Sleep: The world champion is jetting around sailing in the far corners of the Earth, messing up his sleep cycle and denying his brain optimal imprinting of Procedural Memory (the stuff you do well if you practice). Imagine how well he'd do if he slept properly.  So if you can't sail, take a nap.

4. Formative Causation: Ever wonder why you're able to complete the N.Y. times crossword if you do it at night rather than in the morning? How come nobody could run a sub-four minute mile for decades and then one guy does it and wham, three more do the same within six months? How come flying gybes were so hard to do three years ago, but today eight year olds throw them routinely after only eleven minutes in the moth? Morphic resonance is the only plausible explanation and, the good part, this means anytime any sailor is practicing formative causation, he or she makes us ALL better.

I thought this was interesting and amusing.  Hope you do too.

Chaz