You’re the tactician! Now what?

“Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true.” Aesop’s fables.

If you have raced on sailboats for some time, one job you might aspire to is fill the role of tactician. Every boat with a crew of more than one must have a tactician or one person who is in charge of making decisions on where the boat gets placed on the race course and how. I can tell you with 100% certainty that decisionmaking by committee while racing does not work. There are way too many other jobs on the boat that must be done well all the time to make decisionmaking by consensus effective.  So, for all you aspiring tacticians, here’s hoping your wish comes true and let’s take a look at some skills and techniques you can use to succeed in that position. 

 Before we get into how to be an effective tactician let’s first look at what the role is and isn’t so we have a clear picture of the tasks the tactician takes on while racing. 

Gary Jobson (right) guided Ted Turner and “Courageous” to a successful defense of the America’s Cup in 1977. Photo courtesy of Gary Jobson.

All successful sailing teams are made of a group of individuals, who by performing the tasks assigned to them as individuals, become greater than the sum of their parts.  The tactician on a racing boat is merely one of the roles. Here are some similar roles from other sports and business for you to consider:

·      Conductor of an orchestra

·      Play calling quarterback in football

·      Point guard in basketball

·      Operations manager in business

·      Sales manager in business

·      Dugout manager in baseball

The tactician is not the CEO or the skipper of the boat. I think it is very important to think and act like the tactician is simply another important role on the team, no more, no less. With this attitude grounding your actions you are sure to build a supportive team around you. 

Assuming you are new to this role, let’s take a look at things a good tactician will do at various points of a regatta and race.

Pre-event:

Just as it is important to have your boat prepared as well as possible it is important as the tactician, to have yourself prepared. Before the event you must do all you can to be prepared in order to help your team be effective. Before the event be sure to:

·      Thoroughly read the Notice of Race. I like to keep a rulebook handy as many references are given to specific rules. 

·      Thoroughly read Sailing instructions. Ditto on the rule book. Note things like, racing areas, start times, last race time cut off on final day, scoring system, communications with competitors (notice board location, VHF channel). 

·      Review racing area in depth. If you are unfamiliar with an area get a chart or look one up online and review (Navionics has a great free one at https://webapp.navionics.com/#boating@12&key=cqlfExysjU )

·      Review weather and water conditions. What is expected weather for event? Water temp plays a big role in clothing selection.

·      Send an e-mail to the team. You might want to do this with the skipper but some things that need to be included:

o   Expected weather

o   Start times

o   Times, you plan to dock out each day

o   Goals for event.

o   Welcome new members to the team!

o   News on updates to boat, sails etc..

o   Practice schedule, if able to practice in lead up to event.

o   Social schedule

 Setting the tone by being organized and communicative right from the start will pay big dividends down the road. As the tactician, you need the full support of team and by doing your homework and showing you are there to support them you will start off by instilling a spirit of working together towards a common goal. 

Tom Whidden (left) was the tactical wizard behind “Stars and Stripes” win of the 1987 America’s Cup to take back the America’s Cup for the USA. Dennis Conner (right) at the helm. Photo courtesy of Tom Whidden.

At event:

            Once you are at the event site and before racing starts there are few other tasks you will want to accomplish. 

·      Attend skippers meeting. While any changes to the Notice of Race or Sailing Instructions must be physically posted on the notice board I find that is it is important to attend the Skippers meeting in person. Here you can get a feel from the organizers and race committee on what they are thinking in the lead up to the event. Is there weather they are worried about? Do they have equipment issues? Are they shorthanded? All these things can affect the racing and are good to know about. 

·      Introduce yourself to organizers and RC chairperson. They are likely to be volunteers and they enjoy getting to know who they are running the races for. It’s more rewarding for the committee if they can put a face with the names on the scratch sheet. During an event you might want to know how many races the committee is thinking about for a day or what their thoughts on weather moving in are. By having a small connection, you are much more likely to get some insight. And maybe make a new friend or two.

 On the first day of racing have a “pre-brief” with the crew. If you have a large team it is best to have this on land before docking out. With medium-sized teams and a boat with auxiliary power this can be in the cockpit on the way to the course. Smaller dinghies or keelboats this can be while sailing to the course. Things that should be covered:

·      Start times

·      Number of races planned

·      Scoring system for event (is there a throw out or do all races count?)

·      Penalty system, is there an alternative penalty system in place? 

·      Anticipated weather for the day and event. 

·      Communications from committee? What VHF channel if any? Who is monitoring for your team? 

·      Review each person’s role on the boat. Make 100% sure everyone has a job-this is a team.

·      At this point you will want to lay out how you want to receive input. You can’t have everyone talking all the time about what is happening on the course or you will be overwhelmed. I suggest picking one experienced person, not a trimmer or the helmsperson to be your eyes on the course. This person should be giving consistent updates on speed and height relative to other boats (even on boats with instruments) and looking outward with you at the long range wind. He or she should also be helping you see other boats and anticipate potential interactions with them so there are no last minute surprises. 

During Racing:

            Once you get into the starting sequence to start the race your job really begins. It is important to speak in calm measured tones. As a person in charge, your tone sets the tone for the boat. 

 ·      Speak in a calm measured voice. Keep information short and to the point. People are listening to you and doing their jobs simultaneously. Keep your tone steady.

·      “Paint” the picture to the team of what is happening and what you think will likely be happening in the short term. “Looks like a puff coming that is going to be a lift or us”, “Get ready to hike”.

·      Anticipate, anticipate, anticipate—Your job is to look ahead and see a path for your team through the boat on boat situations that will be developing. Eyes out of the boat at all times. 

·      Verbalize situations you see coming. A couple of examples could go like this. “#1018 coming on starboard (you are on port). Looks like we are bow to bow, not crossing. I want to keep going straight, get ready to ease sails and let’s duck #1018.” Another could be: “#1018 coming on port (you are on starboard), they are just clear ahead. If they cross and tack on us be ready to tack right away.” Use if-then statements so crew is prepared for any eventuality. 

The Start:

            The start is often the hardest part of the race for the tactician. Because the boat can literally be steered in ANY direction before the start, you and the helmsperson must have an understanding of how much (or little) you are going to be in charge of the direction of the boat in the pre-start. Typically, the more the gap in experience between the tactician and the helmsperson the more the tactician will be in charge of each move of the rudder before the start. Some things to keep in mind before the start.

·      Verbalize to team what area of the line you would like to start in.

·      Say what the ideal plan is after the start (assuming you get the start you want). Some options could be, go straight, tack ASAP or go straight and then tack after so much distance.

·      Do some practice starts, using a shortened sequence (2 or 3 mins). This helps get the team working together and helps you further see which end of the line of better if any. 

·      When sailing parallel to the line and tacking or gybing from starboard onto port, always try and gybe in an open area. Ideally with no boats overlapped to windward or leeward. 

·      When on port tack on final approach, if you are overlapped with boats to windward. Be sure to create a big enough gap you can tack on to starboard easily. 

·      Make sure you have one person calling the time and in a consistent cadence. For every start. This simple thing is quite important.

 Gate marks:

            Rounding leeward gate marks deserves a special mention here. This is because of when the boat is rounding the leeward mark the whole of your team will be “head down” and involved in the evolution. Also since there is a choice that must be made about which mark to round you must, as the tactician, make your plan clearly known. Be extra attentive and descriptive of what you want to see happen. Take a look at this list of some ideas on how to be effective setting up and rounding the leeward gates.

When choosing which mark to round you are balancing which mark is more upwind and closer to the favored upwind side versus which mark has less traffic and bad air. 

·      Say as early as possible which gate you want to go to. If one mark is clearly the choice say that as early as possible. Keep reinforcing that call as you approach the mark. People have a hard time listening when they are focused on the performing a physical task.

·      If you are not sure which mark, say that too. Verbalize which way you are leaning but expressing that you may need to make a last minute change is OK.

·      Do not make a change at the VERY last second. Unless you are sailing a single or doublehanded boat and very well practiced this has a low percentage chance of working out. Stick with your original call. You might not gain boats but you are less likely to lose. 

Focus at all times on doing a good solid tactical rounding. Keep the team focused on their job during the turn and not doing others people’s jobs. 

Tom Whidden helps skipper Lindsay Owen Jones aboard the super yacht “Magic Carpet”. Photo courtesy of Tom Whidden.

After the race:

Once the race is over, you will have a result. The race may or may not have been a good one for your team. As the quarterback and leader, keep an even head about the result. Do not get too up or too down. Look ahead to the next race as soon as possible (after everyone has had a breather and something to eat or drink). 

If possible, be the first boat to be prepping for the next start. This sends a message to the fleet that no matter what the result you will be competing. Getting good at sailing is as much about perseverance as anything. Keep in mind that if you are sailing in a 30 boat fleet and in the first two races you have a result of a 4th and a 25th, you have the same exact result as a boat that finished 25th and 4th. There is no difference other than what is in your head!

After the day:

 After the day is over it’s important to have crew debrief in order to discuss what went right and wrong and what can be improved upon. The timing of this is important. I see a lot of teams dive right into a debrief as soon as they hit the dock. An important part of your job as the tactician is to gauge the mood of the team and do what you can to make the debrief a learning and positive experience. Often the debrief is better held the following morning when your team is fresh and well rested. A good way to start the debrief is to go around the team and have everyone give a minute on “what I can do better”. This should start with you and the owner of the boat. 

After the event:

 After the event is over and you’re home, find a few minutes to write the team a note and sum up the event. Be sure to list all the things that went well and list areas for improvement. Ask for their input on what you can do better and what the team can do better. I know many teams that keep this information in shared documents so the team can keep progressing and avoid making the same mistake over and over again.

Growing as a team together is so completely rewarding for all involved and you as the tactician have a large role in making that happen. In many ways it is more fun than the actual racing! Best of luck!