Top non-Olympian

Robert Deaves speaks to 2004 Enterprise World Champion, RS400 and OK National Champion, Nick Craig

Nick Craig is arguably one of Britain’s best non-Olympic sailors. After nearly two decades racing at the front of national, European and World level fleets, Nick had his most successful year to date in 2004. His tally last year included winning the Enterprise World Championship for the first time, the RS400 Nationals and Inlands, the OK Dinghy Nationals and a silver medal at the OK Dinghy World Championships, not to mention countless open meeting wins in these classes.

This remarkable year for Nick ended on a high with a convincing win at the prestigious Endeavour Trophy in October. But, rather than rest on the laurels of his success, Nick is looking to the future with enthusiasm, ambition and new projects. With many goals still to achieve and new targets to set, there is no slowing down for this very motivated and highly tuned sailor.

thedailysail: How did you get into sailing and what route did you follow?
NC: I got into sailing at the age of eight because my Mum and Dad did a bit of Enterprise racing at my local club, Frensham Pond. I crewed in a Cadet and initially didn’t like it; I wanted to play football instead but I did enough to really get into it and loved helming. After Cadets, I missed out on the youth scene because I really wanted to carry on with two man sailing but I was far too big to steer a 420. Instead, I did a bit in a Laser, but didn’t like them much so got an OK and an Enterprise. It was a good learning curve at the time, racing against some very good sailors.

TDS: Why did you never get involved in the RYA coaching schemes?
NC: I did have some RYA coaching in Cadets, though most of the quality coaching came from Mike McNamara. However, the RYA aren't involved with OKs and Enterprises, so there was no more direct coaching from them.

TDS: Who or what has had the greatest influence on you when you were starting
NC: The biggest influences when I was young were my Dad and Mike McNamara. My Dad was hugely enthusiastic and took me to every sailing event I wanted to go to in Cadets for six years which was the best learning experience I could have. It was a big sacrifice for him and my Mum, something that was not always appreciated when I was a snotty teenager! Mike McNamara was a fantastic coach in Cadets, hugely knowledgeable and energetic - we used to head all the way from Farnham to Exmouth to join in his weekends coaching for the ‘locals’.

TDS: What people have helped you over the years in terms of sail tuning, coaching, advice, boat to boat and which ones have had the biggest influence on you?
NC: The biggest influences in the last few years have been Andrew Rushworth and Jim Hunt. [Ed note: Between them Andrew, Jim and Nick won a total of five out of the nine races sailed at the OK Worlds in Parkstone last summer - in a class where until 2004, no British sailor had ever won the World title.] I spent a lot of hours tuning in the OK with both of them, and each time we definitely made a noticeable jump in speed. Last year proved particularly valuable training with Jim because he started the year quicker than me upwind with me quicker downwind - with all that information sharing and time on the water, we both moved up a gear. [Jim and Nick finished 1st and 2nd at the 2004 OK World Championship.]

TDS: Do you think fleet-only clubs, such as your home club Frensham, do a better job in terms of attracting newcomers or making better sailors than the clubs who focus on just handicap racing?
NC: Yes definitely - handicap racing is pretty dull and pointless because it is totally weather dependent and a lot of the handicaps are wrong anyway. Class racing is definitely the way to go and more clubs should stick with it.

TDS: What was your first major win?
NC: My first major win was the Cadet Inlands in 1990.

TDS: Did you ever consider a career in sailing such as a sailmaker or professional sailor?
NC: No, I didn't fancy sailmaking or working in the industry because I have the practical skills of a stupid donkey! Professional sailing would have been nice as I love sailing, but when I was 21 the only professional route was yacht sailing and I much prefer dinghies and I wasn’t good enough to go down the Olympic route.

TDS: What were your goals last year and how many did you meet ?
NC: My main goal last year was to win the OK Worlds. It’s what I put most of my time and effort into. I came second so in a sense the year was not a success. But I wasn't too disappointed because I felt I did all I could and the week just didn’t really go my way - just the way it happens sometimes. And with my great crews, we won most of the other big events we did, so all in all it was a very good year. But I am definitely up for trying to win the OK Worlds again this year - it has still proved elusive, even after six serious attempts at it.

TDS: If you had to point to one factor that has led to your success last year, what would it be and why?
NC: Mainly because all the big events were windy, which was our forte. Also we had a more professional approach. In the past, we had struggled to stay out of the bar but throughout last year we were a lot more disciplined, spending a couple of dull but productive days on boat preparation and staying out the bar until the last night of the events. (Where we always made up for our earlier abstinence!)

TDS: What drives you to keep going year after year at this level?
NC: I enjoy it! I love the whole process of trying to get faster during the year, the anticipation before the big events knowing that this will test the year's work, racing in big quality fleets is a great buzz and the socials at the end are usually great as well!

TDS: What are your long term goals?
NC: My main long-term goal is still to win the OK Worlds. Beyond that I have just got into Finn sailing and having some fun, but I have no Olympic aspirations as I am nowhere near the talent levels of Ainslie & co. But I have done a couple of weekends in it and really enjoyed the challenge of sailing against the best.

Having won the OK National Championships on six previous occasions, Nick's win in 2004 was no surprise, but it was harder than usual as it was the pre-Worlds event with most of the world's best OK sailors present. Nick is often one of the most prepared sailors arriving at regattas, with many hours of boat and physical training behind him.

TDS: How much physical training do you do at various times of the year?
NC: In the build up to big events I do one to two hours physical training each day. That might sound arduous but cycling to work and back beats sitting in a car.

TDS: What do you regard as your best ever result and why?
NC: My best ever result was winning the OK Europeans in 2002 - a quality fleet but also the week when I have sailed best and came back from a poor opening two races. It was one of those weeks where I just couldn't get a shift wrong and everything just fell into place.

TDS: You've sailed Enterprises for over 12 years now winning the Nationals in 2003 and finally the Worlds in 2004. What interests you in the class and what makes a good Enterprise sailor?
NC: I first started in the Enterprise in 1992 and have sailed it on and off since then really. The interest is still there with 70 odd boats at the big events, but it's not the hotbed of competition it was in the 1980s. It's a shame really because it's a fantastic racing boat - no class gives such close tactical racing. The issue, maybe, is that it is hard to sell this to people outside the class because the boat doesn't look sexy and frankly is not that fun to sail unless you are racing it. You may not want to take an Enterprise on your own on the sea just for fun whereas you would do that with boats like an RS400 or International 14. Enterprise sailing demands excellent starting and tactics because the boats are closely matched in speed and the racing is intensely close, which is why so many of the great Enterprise sailors of the past have gone on to achieve so much more in other classes.

TDS: You started sailing the RS400 in 1998, and again achieved success in 2004?
NC: Yes, I've been sailing the RS400 for nearly seven years, and again I've sailed it on and off since then. I have won the Inlands three times and Nationals in 2004 after coming a close second twice before. However, I think the demands of a good 400 sailor is similar to that for an Enterprise - starts and tactics - but also downwind asymmetric sailing. The gains and losses here can be massive so getting the angles and waves right is key. The RS400 is great for this because the range of angles that it can be sailed at are probably bigger than any other asymmetric boat.

TDS: How do you adjust between sailing three vastly different classes?
NC: Upwind the OK, RS400 and Enterprise are reasonably similar to sail so switching is fine. Downwind sailing is harder because they all demand very different styles so I find that quite tricky. I usually have to sail defensively downwind early in the week when switching boats before getting back into it and can go for it a bit more. It is actually hardest for my poor crews - I did a lot in the OK last year so my crews in the other boats often wondered what was going on because I wasn't saying a lot. And in the OK all the ropes get thrown forward to keep the traveller clear - a very bad habit in two man boats because I lasso every rope round my crew's legs!

TDS: If you have a bad regatta, how do you pick yourself up and start to motivate for the next one?
NC: Motivation isn’t a problem because I just want to get back in the boat and make amends! After a really bad regatta, I’ll usually do something else for a few days and not think about it before having a really good think about what went wrong and what I can learn from it. The positive is that you usually learn more by being beaten than through winning.

TDS: Do you ever suffer from nervousness pre-race or during the race and if so how do you deal with it?
NC: Staying occupied is the best way to avoid nervousness. It tends to happen when you are sitting about with your mind wandering, so I tend to spend time checking the course, wind, beat bias and so on, so there is little time for nerves. Experience also helps, I think with doing more championships you have seen more situations so kind of know what is going to or can happen, so you tend see it as less of a reason to be worried.

TDS: What do you consider the most important things a mid-fleet sailor can do to move up a gear and start to win nationally?
NC: The biggest thing you can do is get out there and compete against the best sailors possible. That is the fastest way to learn. So find the toughest class and travel a bit. It is also important to become your own coach - every time you sail, try and work out what could have been done better and what the people in front did differently rather than just do the same thing each week. Building on that, be prepared to try new things and take some poor results in order to learn. For example, if starting near the committee boat is a weakness, try moving outside your comfort zone and start right next to it - it will mean a few disasters but it's the fastest way to learn.

TDS: Have you ever used coaches? If yes, who and how was it a benefit to you?
NC: Not much, I was mostly self-coached. But I did use Paul Brotherton for a weekend in the RS400 a few years ago. He was very good - taught us a few starting and windy weather tricks which we're still using to good effect today. And we did have a day with Iain Percy in the OK last year. Unfortunately it was windless but he still managed to teach us an awful lot.

TDS: When you are coaching what are the main points you look for?
NC: There are no magic fixes in a day so I always look for as many ideas, styles and tricks that people can go away with and try in their own time to really get some long-term benefit from the day.

Read part two of this interview here tomorrow