In this great article for Sailing World, US Olympian and 470 crew Dave Hughes dives into the fine details of building well-balanced trapezing technique.
> Each spring, my attention to trapezing is recaptured with two events: the J.J. Giltinan Regatta in Sydney, and the Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca, Spain. The J.J.s are the 18-footer world championships, and exemplify some of the tightest and wildest racing that skiff sailing has to offer, with every member of the crew trapezing. Quite simply, those regattas are a catalog of balancing successes and failures. Teams sailing at the highest level demonstrate smoothness, calmness and steadiness. They are “fighting” to maintain control of their bullish skiffs, but it doesn’t look like fighting; rather, it looks like balance and control.
Spain’s Bay of Palma, on the other hand, is home to the Princess Sofia and the de facto spring training ground for Olympic hopefuls. It is to Olympic sailing what Florida is to the Major Leagues. It’s cold, choppy, windy and anything but easy sailing — perfect for separating the Olympic-trapezing wheat from the chaff. Palma showcases arguably the best trapezing in the world.
One of the biggest challenges of trapezing is that you must perform your normal sailing roles, such as sail trim, strategy and tactics, at the required level, but with the added dimension of playing an enormously more significant part in boat balance. This is true whether you are a Club 420 junior sailor, an Olympic competitor or anything in between. But regardless of skill level, the fundamentals of proper technique are the same. First, let’s go over a few definitions. < Finish the article HERE on Sailing World.
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