Andrew Capbell - A steady hand at the tiller, an old cliche but true

by Andrew Campbell on 25 Mar 2009
'A steady hand at the tiller.' By now you know that I like making fun of cliche and then usually find myself finding reasons to defend the conventional wisdom.

After the last couple of weeks racing on three different boats with two other helmsmen and picking the tiller up at the third event, when it comes to keelboats: the steadier your tiller, the better you will go. We are always trying to find and hone in on the small range where we know we are in the groove and the boat is going really well. Likewise, we all know how easy it is to hit a bad wave and be knocked out of the groove very quickly. Better helmsmen are those who get into that groove the fastest off the starting line and then manage stay in it for the majority of the race.

One of the easiest ways to improve your upwind speed is to make it easier on yourself by finding the groove quicker and staying in the groove longer. There are 3 quick things you can do to improve your upwind steering:

Steady hand on the tiller - Just like John McCain asked for during his campaign, finding ways to literally steady your hands is priority #1. In the Laser in lighter air and in most boats where I have the helm, I steer in the 'Pan-Handle' style with the tiller extension behind my body instead of in the more common 'Microphone' style with the tiller across my body. By having the tiller extension behind me I can then put my knuckles on the deck and get immediate feedback about how much I’m moving my tiller. In most conditions, smooth and slower tiller motions are critical to long-term speed. You should have a reason before you move the tiller: ie a wave or another boat, otherwise your rudder should be used sparingly. By driving with your knuckles on the deck you maintain control over the tiller extension and prevent any unnecessary movement. Having the tiller extension behind you also creates a 90 degree angle with the tiller itself providing you with the most aggressive angle of leverage on the tiller. If you hold the tiller extension in front of you any small movement with your wrist causes exaggerated movement in the tiller. Next time you’re practicing give it a try and see if you like it, you can always go back.

Anticipate, Anticipate, Anticipate: I seem to always come back to this point, but improving anticipation is the single biggest way to improve your sailing performance. Seeing a maneuver or a set of waves well ahead of time is critical so that you can start moving your tiller accordingly earlier and over a longer period of time. The vocabulary I used on the Etchells and Melges 32 these past weeks was centered around: 1. Making half-motions with the tiller, and 2. Making the turns take twice as long. However it is important, that if the motions should take twice as long, then that means you need to start the motion twice as early. Hard turns, jerky tiller movements literally 'rock the boat' (to continue with another cliche), but are SLOW. Reducing the speed of the turns and focusing on smoother motions with the tiller take a lot of anticipation and forethought about what your plan is to get around a bad set of waves, or through some nasty traffic.

Put yourself in a position on the boat to make good decisions: This one is easily overlooked by most coaches, but can make a big difference. Often, sailors get in bad habits about where or how they sit while at the helm. It is important to sit in a position that helps the boat go fast, so if the crew weight needs to keep the bow in the water, then scoot forward, or backward accordingly. But more importantly, it is critical to sit in a place where you are comfortable and able to maintain focus on good helming through maneuvers and throughout the entire race. This often comes from practice, knowing what your footwork will need to be and knowing where you’re comfortable on the boat, but the biggest priority needs to be placed on you being in a position to make good decisions, then being in a position to make the boat go faster. Ideally you’ll practice to the point where the two locations are one in the same, but decision-making often trumps speed in the upwind-steering game. Finding where these positions are physically on the boat is a major step to improving your steering.

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