ISSUE 105:  The Psychology of Playing Catch-Up

Sailing is quite a mental game. Few other sports place such a high value on sharp analytical thinking, so it is surprising that racing sailors don’t focus more on psychological training. A sailor can have the fastest boat in the world, for example, but this won’t help much if they are “psyched out.”
     Nowhere is this more evident than when something goes wrong on the race course. It’s difficult enough to remain focused while things are going well, but when you suddenly find yourself doing much worse in the race than expected, you may need to concentrate on a psychological comeback as well as  a physical one.
     Try your best. You can never ask more of yourself than to do   the best you possibly can. So when things don’t go so well and you start blaming yourself or feel like you aren’t a very good sailor, focus on doing everything as well as you can. Try to hit every shift, make awesome tacks, go faster than the boats around you and have perfect spinnaker handling.
     Think positively. When the going gets a little rough, it’s not unusual to feel hopeless at first. But you have to fight against this feeling. It may be unrealistic to win the race, but it’s almost always possible to do a lot of catching up. Aim for this positive outcome.
     Celebrate small successes. Sometimes when you’re back in  the pack there are not a lot of good things happening. That’s when you need to look hard for any small things to feel good about. Maybe you gained a little distance on a boat ahead or had a great jibe. Acknowledge any progress you see.
     Focus on your strengths. If your sudden trip to the back of the fleet makes you doubt your ability to surmount a comeback, focus on things that you normally do well.   It may be that you are very fast, good at boathandling, or tactically smart. Use these skills to help build your confidence and to get yourself back in the race.
     Remember past successes. You have undoubtedly faced similar challenges in the past and had at least some success. These experiences may give you hope and some ideas about how to handle the   current situation.
     Break the race into pieces. It may be overly intimidating to think about the huge comeback you need to make. In that case, divide the race into smaller segments and try to make a mini-comeback in each. For example, you might set a goal of passing 3 boats on the next leg.
     Have fun! Think about all the things you enjoy while racing. The feel of wind on your face, the power of the boat sailing upwind, and so on. By focusing on the present you will get your mind off past mistakes and you will . . . have fun!
     Not all these techniques will work for everyone and it’s probably impossible to do all these things at once, so pick a few that make the most sense for you. Just remember that mistakes are inevitable, but what sets the good sailors apart is how well they are able to recover from them.  •