The physical demands of offshore sailing

ASL - December 2009

The physical demands of offshore sailing

Fit For Sailing

Andrew Verdon offers potential offshore racing crew tips on how to prepare physically for the big races this summer.

Racing yachts offshore is one of the most demanding physical activities you can undertake. It is classed in the same category of extreme endurance activities as  mountain climbing.  The environment is harsh, being often cold, wet, dark and noisy, and  it puts a large amount of physical stress on the body while asking for extended concentration and endurance to improve the performance of the boat.

Two of the most demanding positions, which impact directly on boat speed, are the driver and the trimmers. If concentration is reduced in  these two critical positions then the boat speed may drop  by tenths of a knot and this could be enough to lose time for line honours or a handicap result.

What is the best way to prepare the body (and mind) for this? The obvious answer is to get time on the water before the race. But what can you do on your own outside of sailing? There are  three main areas you need to work on:

Whole body strength – follow a program that includes the upper and lower body. Upper body pushing and pulling exercises are an obvious choice but you need to include lower body exercises in the programs. Exercises like squats, lunges and deadlifts will strengthen the legs and trunk. Avoid machines and work all areas with free weights (dumbbells and barbells) to help the stability in the core and the joints.

High intensity cardio – offshore races have long periods of inactivity then short bursts of intense action. Sail changes are a good example. The best way to prepare the body for this is interval style cardio workouts. Interval just means you work then rest over repeated  cycles in a structured workout. The best gym machine for this would be the rower as it recruits the whole body as sailing does.

Swimming would be another good option outside the gym and boxing would be a good class option. Running would be a less desirable option.

Stretching –  flexibility is crucial for good performance and to allow the body to work in strong, stable and safe positions. It is left out of many programs but is vital to prevent injuries. Aim to complete 15-20 mins of full body stretching twice across a week. It can be done as part of a workout or separately. I get many clients to include 10-15 mins in front of the TV each night to de-load the body at the end of the day and help them prepare for a good quality sleep.

Finally, I went to some offshore experts to see what they had to say on the topic from their own personal experiences and over  many miles sailed around the world. For main trim I went to Michael Dunstan, who has been competing in the east coast racing circuit on  the TP52 What Yot. For headsail trim, Alby Pratt of North Sails who has won three Hobart’s on Wild Oats. Finally I caught up with Chris Nicholson who recently finished second in the Volvo race on  Puma Racing and Gordon Maguire, the Volvo veteran who currently helms the maxi

ICAP Leopard .

I asked each of them what advice they could provide to help with the physical demands of sailing offshore. Mike, Gordon and Alby answered it from a perspective of your own body’s demands while Chris suggests some equipment, clothing and nutrition areas to focus on.

Trimming the mainsail during offshore races: Michael Dunstan

The obvious muscle groups are the arms and shoulders. Turning a winch, working the traveller, pumping the mainsheet downwind, pumping a backstay ram. Probably the forgotten muscle group is your core. For handling a winch, I believe a lot of power and speed comes from your core strength. Your core also is working constantly keeping you stable and balanced as the boat goes up and down waves upwind.

Trimming headsails and spinnakers: Alby Pratt

The most important thing is good core strength and stability as you are sitting for long periods without any support on something that is constantly moving, and hanging onto a rope which is sometimes reasonably loaded.

Driving during offshore races: Chris Nicholson

Without a doubt the set up of the rim load on the wheel and the balance of the boat is key to the performance of the boat and driver. Obviously this will pretty much prevent most injuries and allow the driver to perform better for longer.

The other thing is to drive for shorter periods of time – 1.5 hrs is more than enough – and to do the usual things of eating and drinking enough. Comfortable boots or shoes with good inner sole are vital to stop getting a sore back or knees.

Driving offshore: Gordon Maguire

Repetitive strains on the rotor cuff muscles is a major problem on long offshore races and repetitive strains on the shoulder and tendons of the arms. The only real solution is a preventive one. Often people don’t do anything about it until the shoulders start hurting and that’s to late! Changing the position you stand in behind the wheel helps. Rotating between standing and sitting helps in light winds but when it’s windy you have to stand, therefore you must change your hand position on the wheel all the time. Not just small changes but even rotating them over to change the shoulder muscle use.

Second thing is core strenght. Your back needs to be in good shape. When standing at the wheel for long periods your back can take a beating in a big seaway. Keep your core strength up with pilates or other core stength exercises.

The everyday workingman’s plan for offshore race prep

Let’s look at a case study of a male preparing for an offshore race of three days or longer. He works full time, has a wife and kids at home and sails one day on the weekend, with not a lot of spare time.

This is what I would recommend as a basic weekly plan:

• 2 x 20 minutes of strength training over the full body.

• 2 x 20 minutes intense cardio work completed in interval style.

• 3 x 20 minutes of trunk strength / flexibility.

This can be combined into a 60 minutes workout or kept separate and done each day for 20 minutes per day.

• I am an old very heavy sailor and find the hardest part of offshore sailing dashing across the cockpit after trimming and climing up to the rail. Having been a swimmer all my life my core strength is great, just dodgey on speed now. Great article, thanks
  Tom Nelson on 09-Feb-10 08:06 AM