Full rig or radial?

by Pam

When I first met Doug he weighed about 192 lbs. When we started eating together, I soon realized that I was going to end up gaining weight and that just wouldn’t do. I introduced him to something called food combining and convinced him of its health benefits.

Unbeknownst to me Doug doesn’t do anything half way. He jumped into food combining with both feet and in a matter of about a month he’d dropped 30 lbs. He stabilized at about 162 and said he’d never felt better. At that point he didn’t look like his skin fit anymore and people were beginning to politely inquire about his health. Oops!

He competed in the Master Worlds in Halifax and sailed a full rig and came in 6^th in the Grand Master full rig division. It was a windy series and he swore he couldn’t hang with the guys in front. He could hold his own downwind but they’d gain about 10 seconds every upwind leg. He made a couple of stupid mistakes that probably cost him a place or two and it was before his multiple eye surgeries so he was pretty much legally blind (kind of like now). Nevertheless, he was certain that even if he’d sailed a perfect regatta, he couldn’t win at that weight, in that fleet, in the full rig.

Doug tried to put on weight before competing again but it just wasn’t happening. He decided to switch to the radial rig for World competitions and stay at what he thought was a healthier weight. He came in 4th after a three way tie in Brisbane in the Grand Master radial division. He didn’t blame losing on his weight but on his technique in open water. He had one race where everything clicked and felt right and he was launched and won by a good distance. But that only happened for one race.

Robert Scheidt, a 40 year old master, competing in a full rig in the open fleet in Oman last week was sailing against the fittest and best Laser sailors in the world. He weighs about 2 pounds less than Doug does right now. Hmmm.

As a female learning how to play golf a few years ago, I soon learned the difference in muscle power and technique. My male golf partner could out hit me from day one and I couldn’t match him no matter how hard I tried. Then I took some lessons and learned the secret power behind proper technique. A swing with proper form produced a beautifully light sounding ‘tink’ and seemingly, without effort, the ball was flying through the air with the greatest of ease. My partner had muscle and I had technique and I was winning.

I can’t help but wonder if Doug is doing himself a disservice by not embracing the opportunity to fine tune his technique instead of focusing on tonnage.