Sailing: Switch the sandpaper, speed up the boat

Since my last piece, we have had a short "rest" between rounds. Like a championship boxer, we needed to take the pressure off while our corner team went to work. Having won the last three races of the first round-robin, spirits were high as we were greeted on to the dock by our team song and a large supply of pizza.

I'm used to swapping kit with my opposition after races, getting into the bar and talking up how good we were. This was wholly different. No sooner had our boat been lifted from the water than the team went to work. Within hours of crossing the finish line our pride and joy looked more like a gnawed carcass being attacked by termites than a high-tech weapon. This is where the attention to detail fascinates me. The modifications seem very small for so much work, but together they will, we hope, make all the difference.

We sailed the boat against our old trial horse GBR 52. We know historically how the boats compare. Now we saw whether making a rope-fitting lighter, moving a piece of equipment from one position in the boat to another for sailing upwind, cutting down excess lengths from bolts or even the use of different sandpaper on the hull has made a difference. These, combined with alterations below the waterline, produced a measurable change in performance, but the time for testing is limited, so we entered the second round with our fingers crossed.

The second round of racing began with sailing's version of "the longest day". My former rowing colleague Matthew Pinsent and his new wife Demetra arrived in New Zealand for their honeymoon. Matt was fascinated by the technology and scale of the operation. After having the same conversation as I had on arrival about why we rowers didn't look after our boats better, a few of our Olympic sailors and our chief designer, Derek Clark, were off into serious techno-speak ranging from why rowing boats aren't longer to the use of other materials on the hull. Matthew's ultimate answer was that if you're winning already, then why chase your tail looking down blind alleys? The sailors are still mystified as to why we don't make life easier for ourselves with technology, but I remember fondly the old days when performance came down to pulling the stick harder than the other guy.

Following a quick introduction to sailing, Matt and Demetra were invited on to our hospitality boat while we took to the water to race Team Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes. The race started well, but after the first lap the wind died completely and our speed machine ground to a halt. I imagined what Matt must be thinking having come halfway around the world to watch us bobbing about at a speed which he could have beaten in a rowing boat.The climate here is so strange that only a mile or so away we found more breeze wind and the race was immediately restarted. The Americans seemed quicker into the wind, but we caught them downwind and managed to challenge their boat-handling. Our afterguard engineered a couple of situations where Stars & Stripes came close enough to make contact and we came out better.

When the boats get close the noise level from the equipment and hull goes up hugely and the driver is unable to tell all the crew exactly what he is about to do. Instead we must all read his next move. This is where a good sailing brain is required – something I may not have. What I do have, though, is a reasonably cool head, and I try just to do the simple jobs well. Very basically, I try to keep the sails looking tightly trimmed until the last moment they are required. Then I have to help to get them out of the air and on to the boat – as opposed to trailing along behind acting like a brake. If I look after my job then I know our after-guard will make smart decisions, our foredeck team will keep the sails dry and we will sail the boat quickly.

By outmanoeuvring the Americans we managed to ensure they fouled us and had to perform an immediate penalty turn. In doing so they allowed us to escape and win. We returned to the dock at 8pm, drained but delighted. Matt and Demetra enjoyed their first sailing race – he assured me he had found it fascinating throughout. Word has it they made full use of the facilities on board our hospitality boat, including the well-equipped cabins below. He said it was just a bit of jet lag they needed to sleep off. Oh well, he is on his honeymoon.

Greg Searle, the Olympic gold medal rower, is a grinder with GBR Challenge