Performance training and diet for singlehanded sailing

[Black Jack]

Rather wank off about new boats and what one can buy - lets discuss nutrition, diet, physical training and increasing sailing mental awarenenss as it relates to single handed and short handed sailing.

It is actually the only thing that matters because we all know the sailor most fit, mentally aware with good skill will kicks ass.

 

[Black Jack]

I'll start. To begin with I am self employed, work too many hours (over 60 usually) and needed to make some changes to i can go at this level both professionally and recreationally As i approach this 60th decade.

I have returned to the gym after many years. I try to go 4 times a week. I work on cardio and strength training and balance spending a full hour with no fucking around or resting. Changed my diet to be leaner cutting out most sugars and no bread. I have reduced my alcohol consumption to 2 drinks a week. 2 liters of water in the morning and 2 glasses before i go to bed. I can now run a 10 minute mile in 2 months, do 20 pull ups and 30 sit ups. I have returned to swimming doing 20 mins twice a week. I take supplements.

I am packing my meals today for a singlehanded event. It is fitting in with my training and performance goals. I will see if I noticed any changes for the better. On thing is for sure, I will not be as tired as I was last year when I return to the dock.

 

[Marty Gingras]

I'll start. To begin with I self employed, work too many hours (over 60 usually) and needed to make some changes to i can go at this level both professionally and recreationally As i approach this 60th decade.

I have returned to the gym after many years. I try to go 4 times a week. I work on cardio and strength training and balance spending a full hour with no fucking around or resting. Changed my diet to be leaner cutting out most sugars and no bread. I have reduced my alcohol consumption to 2 drinks a week. 2 liters of water in the morning and 2 glasses before i go to bed. I can now run a 10 minute mile in 2 months, do 20 pull ups and 30 sit ups. I have returned to swimming doing 20 mins twice a week. I take supplements.

I am packing my meals today for a singlehanded event. It is fitting in with my training and performance goals. I will see if I noticed any changes for the better. On thing is for sure, I will not be as tired as I was last year when I return to the dock.

That should more than suffice. I'd avoid caffine/stimulants too, in keeping with your empahasis on hydration plus it's best not to trick your mind/body into performing.

 

[SSolo]

when solo you burn similar calories as a Tour de France rider!
most of the calories is 'stress burn' of sailing on the limit when solo
but much depend on the race, its length and how much you want to win

we worked with the Team GB nutritionists for TJV and RdR etc.
main thing is fluid - lots of it every day (pee clear is the message)
then quality calories ie lots of pasta, also used SIS (Sport in Science) calorie fluid supplements to get in the necessary 8000+ calories/day, and we lost weight!

there are a number of good sport nutrition texts that are well worth reading
When packing, we had spreadsheets of calories/weight / fluid to calculate how much to eat a day, how much fluid to drink etc
Have your food worked out in advance and stick to it with weekly/daily 'treat's' includedN
No caffine at all for 3 moths pre race (that includes CokaCola, 7up etc, it sneaks in to lots of drinks) - then you can use the 'caffine hit' when required when racing

Fitness wise - gym training lots of reps and wights. swimming is excellent for cardio and upper body stamina

Sleep management is important, find your sleep rhythm and practice napping/sleeping under pressure and in single and multiple blocks of your sleep rhythm

You may want to work with a psychologist to learn to mange mood change, learning how to focus on goals etc

and lots of time offshore practicing
as they say "Train hard, fight easy"

 

[slug zitski]

Rather wank off about new boats and what one can buy - lets discuss nutrition, diet, physical training and increasing sailing mental awarenenss as it relates to single handed and short handed sailing.

It is actually the only thing that matters because we all know the sailor most fit, mentally aware with good skill will kicks ass.

Upper body strength for sailing

I Don’t know the best diet

Shorthanded sailing is about mental endurance . A diet that encourages this must be worthwhile

In the past , before ocean races , we were instructed to have our ears cleaned

Eye strain saps energy

 

[El Borracho]

Two things not in your post:

Quickly falling asleep. If an hour of tossing, turning, thinking is normal for you that could be a singlehanding problem.

Motion sickness immunity. Can you go below on a bouncy day to stare straight down at a notebook or computer without ill effect? How about cooking? That can take some practice.

Oh, one more. How about 8 hours sitting around in soaked foulies in horrendous cold weather. Fun to practice.

 

[sam_crocker]

Oh, one more. How about 8 hours sitting around in soaked foulies in horrendous cold weather. Fun to practice.

Don't forget to tear up $100 bills while you're doing this for the most realistic effect.

 

[Rantifarian]

I looked into how long you need to quit caffeine to regain sensitivity for some longer running races. 2-3 weeks is enough to get most of the benefit.

Go get all of those little niggling injuries looked at. The shoulder than gets grumpy after a big weekend trimming, the easily tweaked back, that old knee injury. Go see the appropriate medical professional (physiotherapist here in Australia) and see what strengthening work you can do to improve them.

If you have some extra weight to drop and find it tough, try doubling or tripling the amount of vegetables you eat. I find it easier to focus on a positive goal than a negative, I like well cooked veggies, and you are likely to eat less of everything else if you are stuffed with veg.

 

[slug zitski]

I looked into how long you need to quit caffeine to regain sensitivity for some longer running races. 2-3 weeks is enough to get most of the benefit.

Go get all of those little niggling injuries looked at. The shoulder than gets grumpy after a big weekend trimming, the easily tweaked back, that old knee injury. Go see the appropriate medical professional (physiotherapist here in Australia) and see what strengthening work you can do to improve them.

If you have some extra weight to drop and find it tough, try doubling or tripling the amount of vegetables you eat. I find it easier to focus on a positive goal than a negative, I like well cooked veggies, and you are likely to eat less of everything else if you are stuffed with veg.

Yah ..loose a few kgs

you would be surprised at how much a few kgs of blubber slows you down

when working on deck it’s about fast reflexes and little frog jumps

 

[Black Jack]

Interesting look at caffeine. I suppose switching to decaf will work.

8 hours of quality sleep per night in training shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Wacka_Elvis]

Good topic… I race DH but the same applies…

Had a good season last year which has given us a lot of ambition for 2023, so I started focussing conditioning during this winter.

Main focus has been mobility, and then building strength whilst off angle.

First sail today and could definitely feel the benefits.

Diet has started in the last week, and like the above it is reducing carbs, adding protein and veg, plus reducing booze…Let’s see how it goes - I have a terribly sweet tooth that I need to wean myself off

What do other do for race fuelling:

- Calories / day?
- go to brands / foods?
- litres of water / day?
- supplements?

 

[Rantifarian]

Hydration is so heavily dependent on the person, temperature, humidity and activity level that estimating is reasonably worthless. The Science of Ultra podcast has some very interesting episodes early on regarding hydration and electrolyte replacement if you are interested in a scientific approach

 

[Foolish]

Several years ago I did extensive study on the subject of Meal Planning For Improved Performance in Long Distance Singlehanded Racing. I wrote the paper you can download here: https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D7718709_68878570_6823572 This was written as a supplement to my Singlehanded tips book. Have fun! And by the way, you are all wrong about coffee!

 

[Black Jack]

^ Excellent food for thought. i will have to experiment with a reduced caffeine intake while training. It may not be relevant to this but I do find if i cut back on regular coffee for a few weeks before I do a big solo motorcycle adventure tour - when i am riding I drink coffee for alertness and concentration - it works for me. Also it is really nice to have a warm beverage to sip when sailing - warming my core ensures there is more blood in my hand and feet when I need to go forward.

What do folks do post solo/shortanded high intensity activity event? A full day of active sailing is quite draining on the body and mind. I am usually knackered a day or two following. I try to hydrate throughout the race period with sports drinks but mostly non sugar flavored waters. Will continue with them the next days. Returning to a light day of training helps too. Are there diet choices folks recommend to bounce back faster?

 

[FlyingCircus2]

I've always wanted to give pemmican a try on distance races. I think the norse added berries to make it more edible.

 

[Rantifarian]

I find a magnesium supplement helps with getting quality sleep and recovery when working hard in the heat. I have found zero research to back it up, but I have a tablet every day or two when training in summer and seem to feel better for it.

My opinion on sports drinks is that you are much better off getting your electrolyte and nutrition through food, if your activity levels allow you to. I have made my own drink mixes for ultra running, using maltodextrin powder, table salt and a little cordial for flavour. The amount of salt that you get from a seasoned meal is absolutely unpalatable in a litre of drink. Similarly, the carbohydrate quality in most sports drinks is no better than eating a handful of lollies. A few salty snacks, a biscuit with each cup of tea, probably better for satiety, boredom and your teeth

 

[_samwise_]

Not a racer and never will be, on a 28' Triton so singlehanding is more of a survival situation for me. Im also not one of those crazy sailors- dont enjoy sailing and hate being offshore. I try to take 20 minute naps. AIS receiving is essential for me, sitting outside for an hour while sleep deprived watching a ship is not tenable. I am always sleep deprived to some degree on the first day or two, the idea of preparing your sleep schedule beforehand dont work for me- there's no way I'd do that if I dont gotta.

Eat literally whatever I can, any idea of a diet or whatever goes right out the window. I never eat enough offshore I also dont have a fridge so that really screws me. Canned soups, ramen, cant really cook anything offshore despite having a gimbal. I am partial to the premade Indian food packets. Some flavor and rice is easy enough to make offshore in one pot. Dont care about how much it costs.

I don't notice any ill effects of my caffeine addiction, I drink canned lattes offshore and it satisfies caffeine requirements while being easy on the stomach. Could use pills but again coffee helps the mental state. I also smoke a pipe offshore if the weather has been settled for awhile, helps pass time and keep me sane. It's 100% a mental battle. If I couldn't have coffee offshore I'd jump overboard. (Knock on wood, almost happened a couple times on accident)

The best thing you can do to train your body beforehand is fill a hard drive with movies. Offshore is 90% sitting still or laying down, moving is a chore so you won't do much of it. Frankly going to the gym would be good cause your body does atrophy qsafe. If your boat is set up right everyone onboarding should be possible for someone of moderate strength.

Seasickness isn't so bad, it would lay me out for the first 2 or 3 days, but now that I'm taking meclizine I simply don't get it anymore knock on wood. It's kinda nice cause seasickness has a time dilation effect. Active suffering vs being bored as hell. Now I just stare at the wall or watch movies. Sometimes I can play video games on my laptop if I have surplus power. Looking at the ocean was romantic for the first day or two when I started sailing offshore, now it's just days of staring at the wall. Sometimes you see some sea life and it's cool, mostly it just makes me depressed.

Got into a real storm once where I was bailing bilge water into the sink while the cockpit was getting swamped, everything was soaked in the boat cause green water was smashing into my companionway boards. Windvane was busted and my electrical had shorted and died a couple days ago. November just east of Norfolk. Nothing really prepares you, it's just traumatic.

 

[sidmon]

^ Excellent food for thought. i will have to experiment with a reduced caffeine intake while training.

Webb Chiles has made the obervation that the two things your body will not do without are water, and sleep.

There have been numerous military studies regarding caffeine and it effects on alertness when sleep deprived. No magic elixirs out there that will replace sleep, but these studies show that judicious use of caffeine is a positive in a solo sailing environment:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12424548/

Effects of caffeine, sleep loss, and stress on cognitive performance and mood during U.S. Navy SEAL training.​

https://p3.amedd.army.mil/performance-learning-center/sleep/sleep-deprivation-countermeasures

Sleep Deprivation Countermeasures​

https://www.military.com/daily-news...ecommends-new-policies-better-troop-rest.html

Tactical Naps, Caffeine Jolts: Military Sleep Study Recommends New Policies for Better Troop Rest​

 

[Snore]

My best advice comes from kayak racing. I have done 6 Everglades Challenge races (Tampa to Key Largo) and one race around Florida.

#1 Avoid processed foods, including candies high in sugar- for some reason many who use them are prone to fatigue-induced hallucinations.

#2 Coffee should be seen as a legal "perk-up"/caffeine delivery method. The best way to get caffeine into your system is to take instant coffee (Bustello or Starbucks) place it in your mouth, ideally between cheek and gum, while washing it slowly down with water or sugar-free Gatorade (or similar product).

#3 Now that I deliver yachts I like to cook nice meals. But when I raced kayaks, that was a waste of time and effort. Research dehydrated meals, there are many with reasonable sodium levels, and good taste. Buy the meals for 2 or 3 people- but do not eat the entire meal all at once. A large meal will send you into a long, deep sleep cycle. Instead "graze-feed". Eat the meal a little at a time over an hour or more.

#4 Master the art of the "mental enema" or meditation. Learning how to clear your mind will allow you to quickly get to sleep and REM rest.

#5 Download a fog horn or other obnoxious sound tone to use on your timer. Before executing #4 set a timer.

Feel free to message if you have questions.

 

[inneedofadvice]

Not a racer and never will be, on a 28' Triton so singlehanding is more of a survival situation for me. Im also not one of those crazy sailors- dont enjoy sailing and hate being offshore. I try to take 20 minute naps. AIS receiving is essential for me, sitting outside for an hour while sleep deprived watching a ship is not tenable. I am always sleep deprived to some degree on the first day or two, the idea of preparing your sleep schedule beforehand dont work for me- there's no way I'd do that if I dont gotta.

Eat literally whatever I can, any idea of a diet or whatever goes right out the window. I never eat enough offshore I also dont have a fridge so that really screws me. Canned soups, ramen, cant really cook anything offshore despite having a gimbal. I am partial to the premade Indian food packets. Some flavor and rice is easy enough to make offshore in one pot. Dont care about how much it costs.

I don't notice any ill effects of my caffeine addiction, I drink canned lattes offshore and it satisfies caffeine requirements while being easy on the stomach. Could use pills but again coffee helps the mental state. I also smoke a pipe offshore if the weather has been settled for awhile, helps pass time and keep me sane. It's 100% a mental battle. If I couldn't have coffee offshore I'd jump overboard. (Knock on wood, almost happened a couple times on accident)

The best thing you can do to train your body beforehand is fill a hard drive with movies. Offshore is 90% sitting still or laying down, moving is a chore so you won't do much of it. Frankly going to the gym would be good cause your body does atrophy qsafe. If your boat is set up right everyone onboarding should be possible for someone of moderate strength.

Seasickness isn't so bad, it would lay me out for the first 2 or 3 days, but now that I'm taking meclizine I simply don't get it anymore knock on wood. It's kinda nice cause seasickness has a time dilation effect. Active suffering vs being bored as hell. Now I just stare at the wall or watch movies. Sometimes I can play video games on my laptop if I have surplus power. Looking at the ocean was romantic for the first day or two when I started sailing offshore, now it's just days of staring at the wall. Sometimes you see some sea life and it's cool, mostly it just makes me depressed.

Got into a real storm once where I was bailing bilge water into the sink while the cockpit was getting swamped, everything was soaked in the boat cause green water was smashing into my companionway boards. Windvane was busted and my electrical had shorted and died a couple days ago. November just east of Norfolk. Nothing really prepares you, it's just traumatic.

You should buy a house.