RACING SAIL BOATS

From 180 mph

to 8 Knots!

"Cheat Sheet" For Racing

(Mark Roundings and Jibes)

I began racing sailboats relatively late in life, at the age of 44. However, I had the privilege of learning from a few highly successful sailors; in my first 10 months, I sailed on 5 boats, and 4 of them were winning boats and I was already coaching at the Sea Gals events, in collaboration with the WSA (Women Sailing Association) in Long Beach, CA. In 2019, I went crazy by racing 89 days, including events in New Zealand, MEXORC Race Week, Newport to Ensenada, and the FARR 40 World Championship (Boat: Foil, Skipper: Gordon Leon).

From 180 mph to 8 knots:

Previously, I was a champion motorcycle racer, reaching speeds of 180 mph, and achieved 3rd place at Daytona Bike Week (2006) among 75 men. It was the first time since the early 1980's that a woman had competed in that race, so I made history by standing on the podium. I also made history at the Canadian Superbike Championship (Qualified 4th against over 50 men) and won a Women's Championship in Canada (2005).

Transitioning from 180 mph on a motorcycle to the "relatively boring pace (for me)" of 8 knots on a sailboat, the adrenaline rush was not there at all! Then, of course, I chose to be a bow woman. After learning various positions in my first year, I was eager to absorb as much knowledge as possible, I finally found some adrenalin on the bow!

I had planned to write this article a few years ago, but I thought I was not good enough and unfortunately, Covid struck, and during that time, I developed a frozen shoulder (doing nothing at home!), tendinitis, arthritis, and a torn tendon, which kept me away from racing for almost 2 years.

Every maneuver involves over a dozen of small details

— From the front, middle, and back of the boat.

It's a dance where timing and synchronization are crucial for success and maintaining maximum boat speed. Here's a summary of the top five steps per maneuver, to always keep in mind for most situations (Symmetrical Spin):

Weather Mark Rounding:

1- Pole Up

2- Topping Lift Up

3- Pre-Feed (Guys and Sheets)

4- Hoist the Spinnaker

5- Jib down

Jibing downwind:

1- Pole Back or Square the Pole

2- Pole Up 

3- Trip & Topping Lift Down

4- Made

5- Pole Back (pull the new Guy)

Lower Mark Rounding:

1- Jib Up

2- Pole Down & Human Guy

3- Collapse the Spinnaker - Release Guys and Sheets to the Head Stay

4- Shoot Down

5- Power Up As Fast as Possible

I hope this gives you a clear understanding and boosts your confidence in what steps to take.  Furthermore, I've prepared a detailed article (9 pages) that you can refer to anytime, packed with additional information. You can download it here.

FULL ARTICLE :

Step-By-Step Racing Maneuvers from a Bow Perspective:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Please contact me if you have any questions or if you need me to speak at your event. :-)

Nadine Lajoie, Bow Woman 

949.421.7562 / nadlajoie@gmail.com

International Speaker

& #1 Best-Selling Author

    A Few Accomplishments

• Ex-champion motorcycle racer in Women and finished 3rd at Daytona against 75 guys, 1st time in history!
• Made history at the Canadian Superbike Championship, qualifying 4th against men
• Finished 9th (against 5 Olympians), in Beach Volleyball Canadian Championship, despite being 5'1"
• Finished 9th in a Sail Boat FARR40 World Championship
• Ranked in the TOP 10% in Canada for my finance business for 11 years, before moving to USA when I semi-retired at 36 years old!
• Finished 4th in Piano in a competition in Quebec when I was 15 years old
• Inspired over 8.9 million people through my TV and radio interviews before I stopped counting

My goal is to inspire many more millions of souls through my accomplishments and tribulations, life lessons and all the challenges I faced, in many areas of my life, and how we need to keep pushing and never give up, even if we don't feel like it!