What Should I Be Doing This Summer to Improve My 49er Skills?

This is one of the most common questions I’ve heard recently, particularly from teams who plan on staying domestic through the spring and into the summer. Whether you are still in school and looking to make the most of your time in the 49er this spring and summer, or considering whether to head to Europe this summer, here are some thoughts to help you make the best plan for your training as we head into the summer.

Structuring Your Training Blocks

When you’re starting out on your 49er journey, your priority should be maximizing hours on the water to build up the foundational skills that contribute to success on the race course. Time by yourself is extremely valuable in the beginning, because it allows you to slow things down, take the time to pay attention to the details, and work on the boring skills that will pay dividends later. Injecting some time around other boats can make training more fun, and racing will allow you to benchmark your skills. Incorporating parts of all three of these approaches into your training this summer will be critical to maximizing productivity on the water. Here’s how that might look.

Time By Yourself

Successful teams build structured training blocks, breaking down their sessions into specific skill development areas:

• Boat Handling Drills: 49ers are unforgiving. The more polished your maneuvers—tacks, gybes, and mark roundings—the more competitive you’ll be. Dedicate time to high-rep, high-pressure drills that simulate race conditions. This should be your primary focus early on, and it doesn’t require any other boats on the water.

• Downspeed Boat Handling: Spend time by yourself learning to sit next to a mark. Work on Around The Mark Without Tacking drill, work on double tacking, work on switching from forward to backwards flow and the other way around. These skills will pay dividends near other boats.

TRain With Other Boats

Training with other boats will keep things fresh and fun. Maximize this time by working on speed, and when possible, applying pressure to your boat handling skills. If you have other boats around, find boat handling drills that force you to get your maneuvers done in a specific timeframe. Learn to lee-bow, tack to cover, duck and set under pressure. Sneak a little bit of speed work in every time you can line up with other boats.

Racing Opportunities this summer

Checking in with the fleet is not only important from a skill development standpoint, but it’s also the fun part, so I recommend that every team at any level organize their summers around a regatta schedule. Start by identifying your peak event for the summer and work backwards from there.

This summer, I think that there are probably three events that span the full spectrum of needs for teams as far as targeting peak events:

Long Beach OCR: For teams who will exclusively stay domestic, the Long Beach OCR / 49er North Americans should be the peak event of the season. This will be your opportunity to line up with international competition who will be in Long Beach to start learning the venue for 2028. I expect to see quite a bit of training before and after this event, so be sure to connect with the fleet on WhatsApp to see what is going on.

Junior Worlds: This summer the Junior Worlds will be in Copenhagen in late July/early August, and will be an ideal peak event for those who can attend. The level of competition at the top of the fleet will be quite high, but but the depth won’t be nearly as strong as most open international regattas. This provides a great environment to benchmark your skills and see where the bar is internationally.

Open Worlds: Top teams will plan on peaking this year at the 49er Worlds in Italy in October. This will be the pinnacle of racing for the year, and if you’re reading this article, chances are, you shouldn’t be planning on using this as a peak event!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think that California will be the main training hub in the United States this summer, and I expect to see this become more pronounced in the next three years. Organizing your summer around a peak event will give the summer more structure, and give you a benchmark opportunity, but regardless of your peak event, be sure to plan periods of training by yourself to maximize hours on the water, and training with other boats to focus on skills that are hard to practice by yourself.

US 49er Class Vision

In the last few months we’ve been hard at work laying out a vision for the 49er class to harness the momentum of the 2028 Olympics coming to our backyard in Los Angeles, and with that vision in place we’re ready to push hard to make it happen. Learn more about the vision below.

Using Regattas in Year One to Benchmark Progress: A Strategic Approach

The first year of any Olympic campaign is a foundational phase, and its success often hinges on the clarity of the goals set for this crucial period. For sailors navigating year one, international regattas are less about perfecting racing tactics and more about using these events as critical benchmarks to measure progress in the areas they are focusing on at home—especially boat handling and fundamental skills.

Why Benchmarking Matters in Year One

The demands of international competition expose sailors to the rigors of elite-level racing. These regattas, while not the primary driver of skill development early on, provide an invaluable lens to assess the efficacy of training programs and highlight areas that require fine-tuning. At this stage, success isn’t defined by podium finishes but by how well the progress in practice translates to high-pressure racing environments.

For sailors focused on improving their boat-handling repertoire, frequent attendance at international events is not necessary. What matters most is the quality of instruction and coaching between regattas. With a robust training program led by world-class coaches, teams can minimize international appearances during year one while maximizing the value of each event they do attend.

Maximizing the Value of International Events

Because these regattas are fewer in number during the initial stages of a program, the stakes for making the most of them are higher. Each event should be approached with meticulous preparation and purpose. To ensure sailors and teams are performing at their best:

• Training Should Peak Ahead of Regattas: Arrive ready to "fire on all cylinders," with boat handling, decision-making, and mental preparation refined in advance.

• Data-Driven Evaluation: Events offering advanced tracking systems, such as SAP Analytics, are ideal during this stage. These tools provide a wealth of data that allows sailors to evaluate performance metrics and compare their skills with the rest of the fleet. This quantitative feedback is essential for tracking progress and identifying specific areas to address back home.

Striking the Right Balance

Overexposure to international regattas in year one can dilute the focus on fundamentals and lead to burnout. Instead, teams should prioritize a balanced schedule that allocates ample time for targeted training while integrating just enough competition to validate and refine skills. By year two, when the focus shifts more toward speed requiring more time around other boats, and more time on the race course. The foundation laid in year one will allow sailors to excel.

Key Takeaways

International regattas in year one are not about accumulating victories but about validating progress. Thoughtful preparation and strategic event selection will ensure sailors gain meaningful insights while maintaining the focus on their long-term development. Prioritize quality over quantity, use every opportunity to benchmark, and return to the training base ready to build on the lessons learned.

With this approach, sailors can make steady, deliberate strides toward excellence, ensuring they are ready to shine on the world stage when the time comes.

2024 ACR Showcases Growing Depth in U.S. 49er Fleet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

American Coach's Regatta Showcases Growing Depth in U.S. 49er Fleet

[Miami, FL] — December 7, 2024

Entering the US Sailing Center on day three of the 2024 American Coach's Regatta sponsored by 49er.ca and Racing Alpha, the competitive spirit and motivation of the North American 49er fleet is evident from the moment you set foot in the boat park. Nevin Snow arrives on bicycle from a morning bike race to the end of Key Biscayne, mind focused on the goals of the day. Grant Janov swaps his gym bag for sailing gear after his daily 6am lift. By 8:30am, dollies sit empty by the launch ramp; the fleet is already out, putting in training reps before a 10am first warning. While the fleet here is small, the aspirations of all eight athletes competing are huge, and following in the footsteps of 2024 Bronze medalists, Ian Barrows and Hans Henken, the fleet has a sense of how much hard work it will take to realize those goals in 2028.

Sunday wrapped up a weekend of grass roots racing in Miami, featuring four talented teams, including three from the United States and one from Puerto Rico. The event highlighted the motivation of the North American skiff fleet to build on the momentum of the 2024 US Bronze medal in the 49er class as the fleet prepares for a home Olympic Games.

Returning skiff class veterans, Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid claimed victory in the 11 race series, but their win came through grit and determination in challenging conditions. The regatta featured intense battles and moments of brilliance from every team, with all four crews leading races at different times. Snow and MacDiarmid’s ability to recover from challenging situations and adapt under pressure proved key to their success.

“This is the first step on our path together as a team, and it was exciting to see things falling into place so quickly,” Snow shared, reflecting on his recent pairing with Ian MacDiarmid, who along with his previous helmsman, Andrew Mollerus was ranked in the top 5 teams worldwide for much of the last four years. “While the fleet was small this weekend, the intensity was high. Everyone put some money into a prize purse to raise the stakes a little bit, and the environment was a perfect opportunity to push our limits as a team in a scrimmage setting before heading to Europe for the competition season.”

Nevin and Ian represent an international standard of excellence that has set a stake in the ground for younger teams, and the generational handoff of knowledge is bearing fruits even in this early stage of the four year cycle, with the younger teams taking race wins and applying pressure throughout the event. At 18 years old, Jordan Janov had the best US finish ever at a Europe-based 49er Junior Worlds last summer, and with over 50 training hours per month logged on Racing Alpha since launching a full-time 49er campaign three months ago with brother, Grant Janov, their dedication is paying off as they continue to close the gap on the leaders.

“Nevin and Ian have been super helpful in ramping up our learning curve,” commented 18 year old, Jordan. “We don’t have the big fleet opportunities in our backyard that the Europeans have, but sailing against Nevin and Ian shows us where the bar is, and our goal is to make their lives a little bit harder every week!”

Highlighting the fun, but intense culture of competition, Jordan and Nevin have an ongoing side deal: “The ice cream bet is between Nevin and us; whoever wins the day, the looser has to buy them ice cream. Each day we’ve been tied going into the last race, and I’ve lost each day… but we’ve got one more left!”

The 2024 American Coach’s Regatta reflects the legacy of U.S. 49er sailing success, with Ian Barrows and Hans Henken’s bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics and the McKee brothers’ bronze at the Sydney 2000 Games inspiring the current generation. Liam Walz and Abie Griggs were exposed to the 2024 effort for much of the last quad, training with the top teams in Miami, but this season they are reinvigorated, and the motivation shows. The teammates have been putting time in at the gym and on the water to prepare for their first international event in March. As the organizer of the event, Coach Willie McBride emphasized the importance of connecting training with real-world racing in small domestic regattas like this one. “This obviously isn’t a big international event, but we ran this event to give teams the opportunity to put their skills into practice,” McBride explained. “We spend so much time in the winters working on boat handling and speed, so it’s crucial to stay in touch with racing and remember how those skills apply on the course. This weekend was about benchmarking our skills in a racing environment and learning as a group. My goal as a coach is to get one of these on the calendar each month or so, and I expect that they will only get more competitive over the next year.”

Puerto Rico’s Andre Reguero and Andre Guaragna brought a dynamic international presence, leading around several mark roundings, and showing resilience despite a few setbacks with equipment malfunctions. The duo represents a growing interest from North American teams, that coach McBride hopes to cultivate as part of a long term vision. “With the level of commitment we’re seeing, the future of American 49er sailing is incredibly exciting,” McBride said. “These sailors are putting in the hours and creating a culture of excellence that will carry them forward on the international stage. The opportunity of 2028 is a strong motivator, but if we can leverage that to create a fun, healthy ecosystem of skiff racing in North America, it is just the start!”

The U.S. 49er teams now turn their focus to intensive training through December, January and February before the first major competitions of the 2028 quad kick off in March. This regatta served as a vital step in their journey, reinforcing the value of teamwork, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of improvement.