Learning to Win
1 Jul 2010 Australian Sailing - April/May 2010 Persistent Shift Those who fail to learn from their mistakes are bound to repeat them, says Tony Bull. Lost a yacht race recently? I know I have! In fact I am sure that the vast majority of people reading this are nodding sagely. We have all done it on a regular basis. It’s not that the opposition wins them but we tend to lose them. Sometimes we lose days before the race even begins through poor preparation, but mostly we lose them on the actual race course. In any sport it is virtually impossible to jump in and win consistently without effort, and sailing is no different. We need to develop our skills and knowledge to enable us to perform at an appropriate level. Exposure to sailing at an early age in fairly rudimentary vessels enables a sailor to develop innate skills which will stand them in good stead through the years. The ability to perform simple tasks like steering, tacking and gybing as second nature frees up the mind for the m