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World Champion tactician Bucky Smith talks about his
brilliant Etchells role By Tracey Johnstone - 18 March
2009 Tactician Bucky Smith was a key member of the Australian team that
achieved a resounding victory in the Audi Etchells World Championship 2009
held in Melbourne in early March. Aboard the Jason Muir skippered Etchells, Racer XY, Smith and his
fellow crew members Paul Wyatt and Matthew Chew worked as a highly polished
team to finish 20 points ahead of the next team and to walk away from the
World Championship with one race to spare. At the completion of the Worlds Smith took time to analyse the team’s
program and racing strategy. What follows is a comprehensive and fascinating
insight to the Muir campaign and how Smith contributed to the success of the
team in the Worlds. Was Jason
Muir clear on what your role was on board his boat for the Worlds? BS - Jason asked me to come on board as tactician and headsail
trimmer. The great part about that was Jason and his team were already very
well rehearsed in running the boat, making it go fast. I was truly able to
come on as tactician and focus 99 per cent of my attention on that task. I believe this was one of the keys to our success. I had all the
tactical information at hand and was able to sit on the boat constantly
running tactical options and scenarios through my mind to make my decisions.
This would not have been achievable without Jason driving the boat perfectly,
Matt making the boat go as fast as possible and giving me his tactical input
as well, and especially without Paul keeping in my ear about our bigger
picture strategy we had come up with before each race. He dealt with things
like our overall positioning on the race course and the compass numbers info.
This enabled me to make informed, quick decisions. Once Muir
had confirmed your inclusion in his team what did you do to prepare for the
Worlds? BS - Basically I came on board about four weeks before the Worlds. The
boat was already prepared very well and was up to speed. We did a few club
races together and the Brisbane Fleet Championship, which we won. After the
fleet championships we were able to identify areas of improvement in our
on-water processes including crew work, tactical information gathering,
starting strategy and decision making. We then took the boat to Melbourne and did the Entire Pre-Worlds
regatta. There we kept building on what we were learning about how we were
racing the boat, interacting and communicating on board. Unfortunately, the
weather in Melbourne during the week before the Worlds prevented us from
doing much non-race training, but I was always confident in our boat speed
and our race processes were coming together well. We spent a lot of time that
week working on the boat and preparing it for the Worlds in terms of
fittings, polishing, etc. The boat must have been the most well polished boat
there after we were done with it that week! What preparations
did you do during the Entire Pre-Worlds event as a precursor to the Worlds? BS – The Pre-Worlds was our main preparation in all areas, but most
particularly our starting, use of the weather models and tactical
decision making. Unfortunately, we scored an OCS in the Pre-Worlds so our
overall result didn't look too good, but we were happy with our progress, our
boat speed during this regatta and our on-water processes were beginning to
click. This regatta also gave us a bit of an idea of "who's who in the
zoo" in terms of competitors, who was fast and so on. How aware
were you of your Worlds competition and what did you do to in response to
this competition? BS - The Pre-Worlds regatta gave us a good idea of the main
competition and really just confirmed in our minds which of the teams were
fast. In terms of specific competitors I have always maintained that I was
well aware of the calibre of who we were up against. Every race I was well
aware of the company we were in. I had the utmost respect for competitors like John Bertrand (and his
team of Ben Ainslie and Andrew Palfrey), Jud Smith, Chris Bush, Stuart
Childerly, even the Barry boys, along with many others in the fleet. In fact,
we went through the entry list after the Pre-Worlds and specifically
identified who we thought were going to be the top ten. This was tough
because so many were top crews. We memorised their bow numbers and sail
numbers and the Barry boys were on the list right from the start. This made
it much easier to know who was where on the race course and I think this is a
testament to how much respect we had for the fleet basing some of our
decision making on where our top competitors were positioning themselves on
the race course. For each
race day what were your preparations? BS - One of the main things we focussed on was our routine. It became
mechanical, second nature. First up was meeting at Jason's unit. We would get
our gear together, check our weights on the scales, then head down to the
cafe next to the Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Every morning we had a coffee at
this cafe and went through the day's weather forecasts and models for a good
45 minutes. We would discuss different race strategies, scenarios, start line
situations and have a look over the results as they progressed. I would write down all the weather model data I was using and things
to watch out for on the race course for the day and take this to the
boat when Matt was giving the bottom of the boat a wash. We didn't really
have set times to leave the dock, nor did we try to be first on the water
each day, we just followed our own routine and stayed focussed. On the water we did the usual tactical data information gathering in
terms of wind directions, what the wind was doing in terms of wind shifts,
how close the wind was to the weather models I had, upwind and downwind
sailing angles, wind strength, headsail choice and rig setup. All this all
usually occurred up to about ten minutes to the warning signal. Then we
focussed on start line angle and line bias, head to wind angles, taking our
start line transit and determining what phase the wind was in, what side of
the course may be favoured and what would be the favoured tack after the
start particularly during the five minute starting sequence period. We wanted to have our place on the line decided before three
minutes to go particularly because the light winds meant it was hard to get
to the end of the line in time and I wanted to make sure we were in place for
the first shift or to have the ability to position ourselves after the start
to what I thought would be the favoured side of the course. Mind you, we
didn't get this right every time!. We re-did this pre-start process if there was a general recall.
We were bitten in the pre-worlds where our OCS was due to the line being
moved after a general recall and I didn't re-take the transit. I was
convinced we were not over on that start; on the old transit that is!! So we made a good point of going through our process again each time
and checking for changes. How did
you approach each race day in terms of strategy? BS - Our strategy was initially formulated based on the weather models
I was getting, looking at the start time and what the weather models were
saying the wind would do around that time. It was then finalised on-water
when I was able to compare what the wind was actually doing to the weather
models predictions and my own personal judgements. An overall start and first
beat strategy was usually agreed upon by ten minutes to go to the warning
signal. We also had to adapt to any changes in the final 15 minutes to the
start. We changed strategy only a couple of times with five minutes to go. I
even changed strategy after the start if needed, particularly in Race 7 when
the big left-hand, backing shift caught me out. The other main element of our individual race strategy was our overall
regatta strategy. My plan was top 15 places in the races would be
respectable, consistent top ten placing would put us in the top five overall
and in a position to play the game at the end of the regatta, and top
five placing on average would easily win the regatta. This meant we had
a mistake and risk-minimising strategy, but taking the opportunities as they
presented themselves. Essentially, keeping it clean at the start, getting on the lifted tack
or head to what I thought was the favoured side of the course, getting the
boat going as fast as possible for as long as possible, minimising tacks
upwind to keep the boat at full speed as long as possible in the lighter
conditions, sailing in lanes of clear air, staying in phase, and so on,
achieving top 15 at the top mark, chipping away from there if the opportunity
presented itself to win a race later in the regatta then we could get a bit
of separation and leverage, but not risk losing places in the process. Easier
said than done though ! We had a stab at Race 6, the windier race, when the top four boats
were well clear, that is us, Bertrand, Childerly and Taylor. We saw some
pressure up the last beat to the right and tacked away from the top four
bunch not risking places behind. We actually hit the pressure and tacked back
onto a good 20 degree lift which looked very nice, but the pressure and lift
only lasted about one minute and we came back in fourth. That was the only
time winning a race crossed my mind. A top five placing was my aim each time.
What were
you and the team doing in the race in terms of on-water tactics? Who did what
and what were the key activities that really made the difference in your
performance? BS - Jason steered the boat fast. Matt made the boat go fast with rig
setup and mainsail trim. Paul did higher-level strategy and compass numbers
and kept in my ear the whole time about all his thoughts, I did tactics
and headsail trim. Obviously, I didn't do tactics in isolation. I ran ideas past all the
boys and often tacking or gybing was a confirmation from Paul or Matt. The
key about this was we really came together as a champion team and we all
performed our tasks well individually which meant each other person didn't
have to give anyone else's task a second thought. Jason and the boys put a lot of trust in me tactically, but operating
in their team environment made performing the job easy. There was no second
guessing, no issues, just positive comments and tactical contribution from
the boys with information and ideas to consider before I made the hard
decisions. I will say though that when the chips were down the boys did go a
bit quiet here and there ! But really, they put a lot of faith in me and I'm
very proud and relieved at the same time we were able to put together such a
clean consistent scorecard. Did you
study Bertrand’s start tactics from the first few races to determine whether
you would follow his start and course decisions or make your own “path” to
each mark? BS - We went home every night and studied inside out the Tack Tracker
software for each race. We knew where every top boat was tending to start on
the line, what they were doing on the first beats. We tried to decipher their
on-water tactics and strategy from this. It was a great tool of which we took
full advantage. In the end though we made our own decisions based on our own data and
information gathering. This is particularly evident on the last two races,
Races 7 and 8, where you can see we separated from John (Bertrand) a bit on
the first beats. However, I did have this in mind in Race 8 when I was
choosing where to start on the line. I wanted to be five or ten lengths up on
the line in a nice lane from John and continue out for a bit and see where we
were on the first cross, then consider how things looked after that. What
preparations did you do for second last day of racing knowing you were on the
brink of potentially winning the Worlds? BS - We didn’t do extra or unusual preparations. We decided over our
morning coffee to change very little in our preparations; just go out there
and continue to do our thing, follow our processes, be consistent. We would
see how the cards fell during Race 8. The thought of winning the Worlds with a race to spare only entered my
mind after Race 7 when we closed in on John on the overall points by a
couple of points. I was fully aware of the situation. If John had one more
high-scoring result and we kept it clean in the top five or ten in Race 8, we
could take it out then and there. I didn't say anything to the boys on board
to keep the pressure down. I know Matt and Paul were thinking about it
too, but it just didn't come out because we were so focussed on our
pre-start processes. About the only thing we did differently was write down the scores of
each boat in the top five that morning to take out with us so we knew the
score. How did
you approach Race 7 – tactics, crew psychology, boat preparation? BS - Our same pre-race preparation and processes took place off the
water, on the water and in the prestart. I'm sure there were more nerves
than usual involved this day, but for some reason I had the same feeling
of confidence in our processes and to be honest this confidence built and
built with every race and every top five or top ten finish. On the morning of
that race day we did a few double checks on equipment just before leaving the
dock; pulled out the tools and checked every shackle, nut, bolt, screw, knot,
sail, the rig, etc. How did
you feel at the end of Race 7? BS – Nervous, but confident. We had so many boats sail past us in
between races 7 and 8 and give us support and this help some suggesting
we engage in a close quarters match with John. But we discussed it and
decided the odds were on them for a match race and we would most probably end
up on the protest room if we went near John, Ben and Andrew in the pre-start.
We had so much respect for this team that I decided on my race plan between
races to set up on the line five or ten lengths above them to give us
both room but be close enough to be in touch with them on the first cross or
half way up the beat. What did
the team agree on for tactics in race 8? BS - Our over-riding strategy throughout the preceding days was to
keep getting our conservative top ten placing and hope each team that was in
contention would stumble and we wouldn't. By Race 8 it was realistically us
and John left for the title. He already had his BFD, but that didn't matter
to me because looking at Ben's results over the years he has come back and
won from some high-scoring early races. We were full of respect for the fact
the BFD probably wasn't on Ben's mind all that much; they would
just come out and get a top five placing in every other race no problems and
they were doing it before our eyes. Race 7 got us closer to them, but they
were still leading the regatta and not looking like doing anything other
than winning. Our individual race strategy was to start five or ten lengths up
the line from John, get a clean start, sail out on starboard as long as
possible in a clear lane until the race course opened up a bit, monitor John
coming off the line, get in phase with the shifts as soon as possible and
analyse things from there. But, unlike Race 7 where we got a perfect
start, in Race 8 we actually got a poor start and got squeezed by the boat on
our lee-bow. I spent a bit of time looking up the line for a gap to open
up to either tack up into and resume starboard tack again or to be spat out
from the front row into clear air on port tack. We tacked from being squeezed
and took a few sterns. The gap I had my eye on opened up and we had the opportunity to tack back
into the front row again or cross and continue out into clear air on port
tack. Luckily I glanced at the compass and commented to Paul we were actually
on a good lift on port tack so I thought we should continue on. Also, Graeme
Taylor, eventual Race 8 winner, was crossing the fleet just in front of us on
port tack. Looking at the angles led me to believe he was probably the lead
boat at the time. We continued on port, sailed into pressure and a good
knock, tacked onto starboard and crossed 90 per cent of the fleet on good
numbers and pressure. My main task then was to try and see where John was. I
had been loosely watching his section of the line and his fleet
positioning the whole time and when we tacked to starboard and crossed
most the fleet I finally saw him a bit deep, but in clear air so he was still
there. I did a few quick counts and put him in the 20s and us in the top ten.
Further up the beat, a quick count put us in the top five at the first
rounding and when I explained the situation to the boys they snapped me
out of focussing on behind and onto focussing on the boats around us and in
front, and start sailing our race in the top five. We were not in a position
to influence John's Race 8 result after the first beat so now every
point between us and him counted for us so we sailed the race like we sailed
every other race against the boats around us. We came down the final run to the finish in fourth at the top mark. We
actually dropped four boats on that run and came in at eight. We kicked
ourselves for this because it was entirely possible those points could
have been the difference between winning the regatta that day or having to
sail off against John in the final race the next day. Watching where John was
on the run all that was running through my mind was that it was entirely
possible they were going to make a comeback down the last run and it was
still ‘game on’’. This shows the respect we had for them. We were not
convinced of anything until we counted the boats between us at the finish and
checked our scorecard calculations. In
summary, what was the winning formula for your team? BS - The winning formula for our team was that we had four great guys
having a lot of fun together out there. We did our individual jobs to the
best of our abilities and developed that "champion team"
environment on board. We focussed on the processes not the results in that we
just aimed for top ten finishes and ultimately top five finishes and not for
the "race win" which often requires taking too much risk to get. We
stuck to our routine every day and I tried to make it as scientific as
possible with the weather models, the wind angles and strengths on the race
course and tactics, that is, as little guessing as possible. Our boat was
well prepared and I was confident we had enough boat speed to be able to play
the on-water "chess" game properly. In
breaking down this ‘winning formula’, what priority would you put on each
element? BS - I think they are all equally as important as each other. Without
a well prepared boat we would break something and maybe not finish a race.
Without good crew work we would make a mistake at a mark rounding and drop 15
boats! Without good weather forecasts I would have been guessing too much on
the wind and conditions for the day. Without boat speed we wouldn't have held
our lanes let alone even poked out in front of our group when we needed. All
aspects are very important and we really focussed on putting all the pieces
of the puzzle together and working on the processes out on the water for good
race management and decision making. What is
your next sailing project? BS - That's a good question. I love Etchells and big fleet one-design
racing. I'd obviously love to do more world titles and I'm sure Jason will be
keen to pull the boat out again in the future too. I'm going to do the
Australian IRC yacht races and regattas - Sydney to Southport and Hamilton
Island Regatta, but ultimately I would love to step up my game to
higher-level projects. At the moment I'm focussed on catching up with the two
weeks worth of work I missed. END Tracey Johnstone PO Box 1411 Mooloolaba QLD 4557 M: 0438 644557 O: 07 5478 3738 Skype: traceyjohnstone |
