Mastering Data to Win E-Book

Mark Chisnell

• Herausgeber: Fernhurst Books Limited
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Sail to Win
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 161

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

The modern racing yacht is awash with onboard instruments and electronics giving enormous amounts of data. But few people fully understand how to get the most out of all the information at their fingertips, let alone make it useful for the team to enable them to win races. But ace navigators, Mark Chisnell and Gilberto Pastorella, do – both have worked with professional sailing programmes all over the world – from America's Cup to Maxi, ORC / IRC and one-design fleets. In Mastering Data to Win they take the reader through the process: from understanding the concepts, ensuring accuracy, using the data to win races and then post-race analysis to find performance gains. By mastering your instruments you can make the right calls every time and know for certain when to tack, which shift to look out for and how the tide can work with or against you. With colour diagrams and photographs throughout, this instructional guide turns information into excellence. Accessible to those new to racing, it also has a depth of information that will transform the performance of even professional sailors.

Leseprobe

With thanks to:

Our sponsors

The Stella Maris team for their input and photos

ClubSwan Racing / Studio Borlenghi for their photos

THE AUTHORS

PROFESSIONAL NAVIGATORS

Mark Chisnell

Mark Chisnell

Mark Chisnell’s writing includes 18 books, with translations in six languages. He has written narrative non-fiction books about adventure and endeavour at sea, as well as suspense and mystery thrillers. Mark has also written technical books on the art and science of racing sailboats. His journalism on travel, sport and technology has been published in some of the world’s leading magazines and newspapers, including Esquire (UK), the Sunday Telegraph, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, New Zealand Herald and South China Morning Post as well as many sailing magazines internationally.

Mark began his writing with travel stories, while hitch-hiking around the world. He got a job sweeping up and making tea with the British America’s Cup team in Australia in 1987 to earn the money to get home. He worked his way onto the boat as navigator and has sailed and worked with six more America’s Cup teams since then. He’s also won three World Championships, sailing as navigator.

Mark Chisnell is now Rules Advisor at Ineos Britannia, the America’s Cup team of four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Ben Ainslie.

Gilberto Pastorella

Gilberto Pastorella

Gilberto was born in Milan, Italy. He started sailing when he was 10 and the sport quickly became a big part of his life. He became a dinghy instructor in 2005 and skippered his first racer-cruiser offshore in 2007.

In the meantime, he quickly realised that his mind enjoyed dealing with numbers and mathematical problems; he graduated in applied mathematics in 2011.

From there, he always tried to keep these two passions together, working as a navigator for various teams but also opening an online-offline school to teach the secrets of numbers on board to other sailors and working for companies that were installing and developing electronic systems.

Currently he races both inshore and offshore and works as a data and technology consultant for companies in different industries. Gilberto translated the previous version of this book, Sail Smart, into Italian. When we were looking for someone to update it with Mark, Gilberto was the obvious choice.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 The Role of the Navigator

CHAPTER 2 The Key Elements of Data On Board

CHAPTER 3 Setting Up an Instrument System

CHAPTER 4 Some Instrument Techniques

CHAPTER 5 Instrument Techniques Using the Polar Tables

CHAPTER 6 Data Collection & Performance Analysis

CHAPTER 7 What’s Next

CREDITS

FOREWORD

Ian Walker

Everywhere you look in society there is a rise in the importance of data and a need to not only create good, clean data but also to understand its value. As the saying goes, beware ‘rubbish in, rubbish out …’ Whether you like it or not, the rising importance of data is a fact of life, and it is increasingly a fact of life in performance sailing. Mastering data will improve your team’s performance, particularly your starts, and lies at the heart of your strategy and tactics. As a racing professional helmsman and tactician I have become increasingly dependent on that data and those who help to manage it.

Fortunately I am lucky enough to have sailed with many of the best navigators in the world, including Mark Chisnell, with whom we won the Gold Roman Bowl last year (1st overall IRC Round the Island Race 2022). The best navigators stand out by knowing what information to share and when. As an example, in a quiet period they may discuss the geometry of the next leg or some thoughts on strategy or the wind or current, but as you approach an important layline they will not only be giving their best estimate of the calculated time to the layline but they may also share some ‘What Ifs’ such as ‘we are one minute to layline but we would lay if the wind shifts 10 degrees to the right …’

For this information to be valuable it also has to be as accurate as possible (within the limitations of your electronics package and the conditions). This is the reason why this book is fundamental reading not only for any aspiring navigator but I would suggest for all members of the crew. I think it will open peoples’ eyes to the importance of the role and the need to dedicate time to calibrating your instruments and refining your polars.

As the book says, ‘navigator’ is not really the right term now for somebody whose role has expanded well beyond trying to work out where you are and which direction to head in. It is one of the most interesting roles on board and I think if I had my time again in sailing, I would maybe come back as a navigator. Good navigators need to be very well prepared, well organised and good under pressure – I would suggest that reading this book is a pretty good place to start that preparation!

Ian Walker

General Manager, North Sails UK

Olympic Silver Medallist, 1996 & 2000

Skipper of Volvo Ocean Race winner Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (2014/15)

Introduction

A change in the Racing Rules of Sailing in the mid-1980s led to performance-related electronics being allowed on sailing boats for racing. Since then, advances in modern technology and a different type of racing have all helped to alter the navigator’s job to the point where it is almost a misnomer and has got little to do with the original job description of ‘bringing the boat safely from point A to point B’. Today, the problem is how best to process the myriad of data that comes out of the instrument system, understand the story that it is telling and make it useful for the team.

This is the problem to which this book is devoted. We concentrate on how to get the right information out of the electronic equipment to help the boat win races.

Everyone on board a racing yacht will use the instrument system at some time or another. Tacticians for wind information, helmsman and trimmers for boat speed, mastmen for time to the next sail change. But someone must be responsible for this information, its accuracy, collection, assimilation, comparison to what has gone before and projection into what lies ahead.

We will be concentrating on the equipment that’s normally used in the mainstream of yacht racing, what we’d call the instrument system. While radars, autopilots and weather satellite systems all have parts to play in specialised ocean races, they are of little direct consequence to those of us who do not wish, or have no opportunity, to race around the world or across oceans. So we are going to ignore those aspects of the navigator’s job.

The modern navigator’s role often includes many other responsibilities than the ones we will cover in the book, including all the input and knowledge on the weather situation during the race, paperwork before and during the regatta for entry, protests and much more. We consider all these very important tasks, but we decided to keep the scope of the book very focused on the numbers and the data that are really at the heart of what a navigator does on and off the water.

Development Of This Book

In 1992 Mark wrote the first edition of this book, called Chisnell on Instrument Techniques. Two decades later, in 2012 it was updated as Sail Smart. This time, we decided not to leave it so long and, working together, we have updated the text.

As a book mostly focused on the theory behind the use of numbers on board (rather than being about the equipment and technology) the text has not aged badly. However, we agreed that there were new aspects of the navigator’s role, and the use of numbers, data and information on board a sailboat, that were worth adding.

Electronics systems on board become more advanced and more affordable with every passing year, and learning how to use them and interpret the numbers is key to every modern keelboat sailor who wants to compete. We hope that this new book can help more and more sailors to understand the importance of mastering data to win!

Mark Chisnell & Gilberto PastorellaJune 2023

CHAPTER 1

The Role Of The Navigator

MARK: During the period that this book was being rewritten, the British Optimist fleet visited my local sailing club for one of the year’s big events. I walked around the dinghy park (with our dog), dazzled by the array of beautifully prepared racing equipment. Afterwards, when I returned to the book, I wondered; how many of those children have ambitions to race bigger boats – keelboats, or yachts? And how many of those want to be the navigator aboard those yachts?

I’d bet a few pounds on the answer being … zero. Zippo. None. Nil. I’d guess that to the last boy and girl they a) don’t know much if anything about the navigator’s role, and b) they will all want to steer whatever boat they are racing. However, if they’re good enough and they follow a path out of dinghy racing and onto bigger boats, they will soon discover that there are very few sailors driving. There’s a lot more doing all the other jobs. And one of the most challenging, interesting, and influential is navigator – but it’s also the least understood; even amongst the other crew on a competitive modern racing yacht, the role of the navigator can be something of a mystery.

How many Optimist sailors see themselves becoming navigators?

The output from the navigator’s work is obvious enough – the numbers on the yacht’s displays are there for anyone to see. Everyone should hear the times to the laylines, waypoints and buoys called out by a navigator who’s on their game. Some of the crew will overhear the conversation between the navigator and the tactician on the potential impact of wind or current on the next leg. Those who are in the speed loop will get input from the navigator as they feedback performance data from their computer. The whole crew should listen to the navigator’s briefing on the weather before a race, or the debrief after the race, where the navigator might produce data and graphs analysing the yacht’s performance. And yet, despite seeing and hearing all this, few of the crew will have any idea about the work that went into delivering all this information.

This is a little strange, given the changes that have taken place in wider society in the last couple of decades. This is the age of big data, some of the world’s biggest and most successful companies are now founded on the collection and manipulation of information – of data. Popular books on statistics, decision making and information technology hit the bestseller lists, like Nate Silver’s 2012 Signal and the Noise, which was Amazon’s #1 non-fiction book that year – and essential reading for anyone interested in processing data in any form.

Sailboat racing has not been immune from this transformation; for instance, there are now some excellent data analytics apps that are readily available. This was not the case two decades ago. However, the potential for data analysis and use has perhaps not been as widely absorbed, or as exploited, as it could be. The very first edition of this book was released into a world where putting instrument systems and computers on boats was still an innovation. Now we carry many, many times the computing power of those early onboard systems in the phone in our pocket. The potential for the use of this data to win sailboat races is enormous – and the ‘navigator’ sits at the very heart of this opportunity.

We said in the introduction that ‘navigator’ was now something of a misnomer, and perhaps changing the name would help – it does sound a little fusty and old-fashioned. Let’s be honest, no cool Oppy kid with the latest shades, a buzzing news feed and Insta or TikTok account is going to be attracted to that job title. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to start calling the navigator the ‘Head of Data and Performance Strategy’ anytime soon. But we shouldn’t let the name take anything away from what an extraordinary role the modern navigator has aboard a racing boat.

The navigator will be deeply involved in all aspects of the teams performance, be it for an offshore classic, like the Sydney-Hobart race, or a one-design title

There is no one else so deeply involved in all aspects of the team’s performance. Depending on the project, the work can start at the design or purchase stage. What’s the boat for? What are the goals of the owner and crew? It might be winning a class at the Copa del Rey in Palma, Cowes Week or Block Island Race Week. It could be winning the ORC or IRC European or World Championships, or one of the offshore classics like the Fastnet or Sydney-Hobart. Perhaps the goal is a major one-design title like the Rolex Swan Cup. Whatever it is, the navigator is the person that will be working with the skipper, project manager or designer to analyse and find the right boat or design for the job.

Next will come the sail package – sail designs need to be tailored to the goals and winning one of those offshore classics is going to require a completely different sail inventory to one developed to win an inshore championship with a predominance of windward / leeward courses. Both of these tasks will require a full analysis of the weather that can be expected at the venues, and that will in turn require an understanding of forecasting, and risk.

The research won’t stop with the weather – the navigator will need to understand everything about the wider geography of the racing venues – tides, currents, rocks and shoals, the mountains and plains that form the backdrop to local weather generation. Then, of course, there will be the paperwork – not the most interesting part of the job, but someone has to do it. And good attention to detail for rule compliance at all stages of entry and competition will be essential.

The navigator needs to know everything about the wider geography of the race venue

For the lucky ones with a new boat, there will be a brand new instrument system to specify, and lots of research to do into new developments in sensors, displays, processors and software. There will be the electrical and electronics installers to talk to, and layouts to design and finalise. The good navigator doesn’t leave anything to chance – if you’re the one relying on the accuracy of the compass, then you’re the best person to decide where to put it.

When the boat is launched and training or early season racing starts, the navigator can begin the process of calibration, and tailoring the data available on deck to the crew. What follows on the water is the visible part of the job. The navigator is in the thick of the action for every moment, supporting strategic and tactical decision-making, and monitoring all aspects of performance – tactical and speed related – to eliminate weakness and exploit strengths.

Back ashore, there will be data to process, and perhaps a debrief to organise and present. These tasks will absorb all the time and expertise available – and for that reason many of the pro teams at the elite level employ experts to do the analysis for them. Aboard a TP52 or Ocean Race boat, the navigator is at the sharp end of a team of people devoted to improving performance – add management and planning to the ‘nice to have’ skill set.

We said in the introduction that we wouldn’t deal with some aspects of the role – and many of the things we’re not going to talk about are part of the tasks that we have just outlined. This book won’t tell you everything you need to know about the navigator’s job. What it will do is lift the veil on the core knowledge and techniques required to be a good navigator in the new information age. At the heart of the book, and at the heart of the job is what it takes to get good quality, accurate data on board a racing yacht. This is really what mastering the data is all about – go and read Signal and the Noise if you don’t believe us.

We’ve provided some examples of how to use that data on board, and in the final chapter we point to some of the ways this might be expanded in the future, as AI tools are rolled out and become commonplace. Never forget though, that the foundation for everything we can do now and in the future is accurate measurement of wind speed and direction, boat motion, sail shape and power development. And achieving that, as we will see, is not easy – but if you have the motivation, curiosity and skills to master the data, then the opportunities in the sailing world are as wide as a Pacific Ocean horizon.

CHAPTER 2

The Key Elements Of Data On Board

There are many different ways to discuss the data on board. This chapter is devoted to helping the reader to understand the logical blocks that he or she has to deal with, and how they are related to each other.

There are three main elements that we will discuss:

It may seem strange to put an electronic system, a software package (or app) and a package of numbers (data) on the same level, but this distinction will help you during the whole book, and in real life sailing, to have a clear and simple idea on how to work and divide your actions into smaller steps.

Instrument Systems

In the book, the term ‘instrument system’ means what sailors would normally call an ‘electronic system’ or just the ‘electronics’.

When we talk about instrument systems we have to keep in mind that we are actually talking about the sum of three main constituents parts:

• The sensors that measure the physical effects, be it boat speed, apparent wind angle or compass heading

• The processor (or ‘brain’) that translates the raw sensor data into a number we can understand, and does some maths to create new numbers

• The displays that communicate these numbers to the world

A wind sensor from A+T Instruments

A processor from A+T Instruments

A multi-function display from A+T Instruments

Everyone else on the boat often just sees the displays, but most of the time, what the navigator has to deal with are the other two parts, the sensors and the processor.

Everyone on the boat sees the instrument displays (here from A+T Instruments), but the navigator needs to know about the sensors and processors