Mark lines to save miscommunication
This year, I spent my holidays working in the French Figaro class. My role was to be a préparateur – the French name for someone whose job it is to prepare and fix boats before and after races. Often, the Figaro results are separated by just minutes, meaning that any competitive edge makes a huge difference, and it’s vital the boat is prepared.
Some of the préparateurs in the fleet are legends of the sport in their own right, having prepared boats which have gone on to break record after record and win race after race. For me, ‘learning on the job’, one of the most valuable things was walking up and down the pontoon and seeing how the pros were improving the boats.
In solo racing, the general ethos is to make everything as simple as can be – because sleepdeprived humans are more likely to make mistakes, and so the more we can limit them, the faster the boat sails the course.
One thing I learned was the importance of having markers and labels for everything. On the top boats, every line, track, jammer, stack bag, water bottle, button and spreader, is marked with settings or labelled. When out on the water, 48 hours in, with two hours’ sleep, it just makes every process slightly easier.
On non-racing crewed boats, although there is less extreme sleep deprivation, there is always a need for good communication. Mishaps and misunderstandings can gradually build stress levels as the day unfolds, and the final straw is when the boat inevitably hits the dock, and the pin flies off the hand grenade, ruining the day for the whole family or group. We’ve all been there.
Marking things could really help crew members, especially when there are differing levels of experience. We often mark safety equipment, but why not anything else? For example, marking the halyard and reefing lines, or if you have a tricky regular berth, marking the mooring and fender lines so people know how much to pull them in. The easier things are the better, and simple steps like these will reduce stress and the risk of accidents.