{"id":68874,"date":"2020-06-30T18:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=68874"},"modified":"2023-05-06T22:42:42","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T02:42:42","slug":"lockdown-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/lockdown-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Lockdown Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Around <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n To stay connected while under \u00adstay-at-home, we launched our weekly \u201cAround the Sailing World<\/em,\u201d video series, found at sailingworld\u200b.com, YouTube and Facebook.<\/span>\n Dave Reed <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Racing<\/a> is canceled. For everyone. Everywhere. Every day. For the foreseeable future. Except online. This is the new reality spreading across the sport as fast as the COVID-19 virus spreads its devastation around the globe. Shelter-in-place replaces \u201csee you tomorrow.\u201d Physical and social distancing replaces \u201csee you at the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Sailors, both you and I, hunker down, protecting ourselves and others we don\u2019t know, waiting for \u201cit\u201d to pass as we pass the time with epoxy and gelcoat projects, splicing and boatwork, and exercising to stay fit. We use our free time to prepare for the season to come, when\u2014and if\u2014it ever does. We turn to Virtual Regatta<\/i> <\/a>for our tactical fix, to keep our mental skills sharp, to pretend we\u2019re really racing. But gaming gets old, for me at least, because it lacks the real elements we seek: wind in our \u00adfaces, water sluicing past the hull, the companionship of teammates and competitors, the test of skill. And yes, the beverages that follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

But humans are an adaptable lot, for better or worse, and we sailors know that when the headwind shifts, we adjust our sails or tack. We find a way to the next mark, always with velocity made good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

With sailboat racing, the learning never does stop, which is why, in the onslaught of the pandemic, we suddenly change tacks and find new ways to connect and learn: through webinars hosted by practically every sailmaker on the planet, with virtual boat tours from manufacturers, and live interviews with sailing celebrities and experts alike. US Sailing, for example, launches its excellent \u201cStarboard Portal\u201d with more programming than we can possibly watch and still honor our work-from-home responsibilities. Even I jump on the Zoom bandwagon, launching our \u201cAround the Sailing World<\/i><\/a>\u201d web series in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

With a laptop and an internet \u00adconnection, I\u2019m instantly \u00adconnected \u2014every Monday at noon\u2014with all the racing and contributing \u00adeditors of this magazine: the elusive Ed Baird, globe-trotting Jonathan McKee, plane-hopping Gary Jobson, rock-star sailing couple Taylor Canfield and Stephanie Roble, all-star coach Steve Hunt, and even our crooner and musician Peter Isler. Week after week, we continue to connect, sharing stories and videos, giving updates from our respective corners of the country, and engaging with amazing special guests. Although we\u2019re physically disconnected, I\u2019ve never felt more connected with those who\u2019ve long contributed to the magazine. It\u2019s easy and it\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Many a professional sailor, sidelined by the loss of the busy season of spring regattas, has been forced to reinvent themselves as well, some turning to virtual coaching as a means to make ends meet and uphold the continuum of knowledge sharing, which is at an all-time high. Mike Ingham, for example\u2014a regular contributor, Olympic-medal winning coach and one-design expert\u2014finds himself finally doing what he\u2019s been meaning to do for a long time: coaching online. \u201cI\u2019ve been too busy to actually get anything off the ground,\u201d he tells me recently. \u201cNow, I have the time to do it and refine it, and I\u2019m \u00adreally enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Ingham\u2019s model is simple. He\u2019s crafted a series of four-week Zoom sessions on various topics such as \u201cCreating a Process for Tactics and Strategy.\u201d As a longtime J\/24 bow guy, the J\/24 speed and tuning catches my eye. Each session is two hours, followed by a virtual happy hour for those who want to stick around after class. After all, it is a social sport, and we crave interaction with our fellow sailors almost as much as high-level coaching. He opens it up to a maximum of four J\/24 teams\u2014at $500 a team\u2014to keep it personal and interactive. With my own early J\/24 season in Newport on hold, I reach out to my skipper and crewmates and suggest we join Ingham\u2019s course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first week starts \u00adconceptual, and each week gets more and more in-depth for specific conditions, including turning details, techniques and tricks I have accumulated over the years, and downwind,\u201d Ingham explains. \u201cSo each week builds on the last. It\u2019s designed for the whole team, and though it is often focused on the driver and trimmer, because that is where most of the speed comes from, it also includes speed roles for the rest of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

When we Zoom into class on a Monday night in early May for our first session, the screen is packed with the faces of 20 or so complete strangers, connected from kitchens, bedrooms, offices, basements and living rooms in Illinois, Washington, Rhode Island and San Diego. We go around \u201cthe room\u201d and introduce ourselves, sharing our individual \u201c\u00adsuperpowers,\u201d and then jump right into the content. Using a combination of screen sharing and good old-fashioned whiteboard, Ingham starts with an explanation of a sail\u2019s broad seam and luff curve, and ends the class hours later with a dive into setting up the rig properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll admit, looking at all the strange faces, sometimes distracted by objects behind them, takes getting used to. I\u2019m hesitant to raise my emoticon hand for fear of being put into the dumb-question corner. I now know firsthand what my kids are going through with their new virtual school arrangement, and all I can say is, thank goodness I don\u2019t have to do it all day, five days a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

When class is over, I put my \u00adnotebook away, roll out of my beanbag chair, and head to the kitchen to whip up a tequila and ginger beer for the virtual happy hour with my new friends around the country. We share J\/24 sailing stories, and there\u2019s plenty of laughs and banter as Mike noshes on the guacamole and beer his wife delivers to him off camera. When the time comes, I bid good night and \u201cleave the meeting.\u201d It\u2019s late, and I\u2019ve scored a few new tips about setting up the rig, so anticipation for next week\u2019s class is high. Hopefully, in four weeks\u2014when, and if, we go racing\u2014my teammates and I will be far more advanced than we\u2019ve ever been for the first race of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Excited about our first session with Ingham\u2019s online coaching, I send a note to our skipper, Ian Scott, which reads, \u201cMan, we gonna be fast this June.\u201d To which he responds, \u201cDamn right!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The boat will be ready. Our brains will be ready, and you can bet we\u2019ll be thirsty, as usual. I guess you can say, as much as things change, they do remain the same.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the heart of the winter COVID-19 lockdown sailors got resourceful in ways to connect and learn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Dave Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20200630","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"159","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Sailors get resourceful in ways to connect and learn during the winter of COVID-19.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"W77652QSENFJRNESVWPHXNUTFM","arc_website_url":"story\/racing\/lockdown-learning\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[576,1479,177,178,1498],"class_list":["post-68874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-from-the-experts","tag-print-2020-summer","tag-racing","tag-sailboat-racing","tag-wet-notes"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}