#ICRA - All three boats on the podium at Cork Week last month demonstrate the benefits of not only rig tuning but also focused coaching, according to Mark Mansfield.

The UK Sailmakers racing consultant and four-time Olympian, who shared a series of ‘how to’ articles on Afloat.ie earlier this year, was responsible for tuning the rigs of all three boats on the podium in the 2018 Beaufort Cup.

Two of the top three also has coaching sessions with Mansfield — including the Beaufort Cup winning J109, Joker II, which spent a day at his Cork base before the Defence Forces crew under July’s Sailor of the Month Barry Byrne sailed to second place in the Round Ireland.

Mark Mansfield is coaching Irish cruiser racer campaigns Photo: W M Nixon

A typical tune-up and coaching day, Mansfield says, begins with tuning the rig onshore, then fine-tuning on the water before a helm and crew coaching session that typically involves straight-line speed practice and changing gear in varying wind conditions, as well as sail-handling techniques.

What might seem fairly straight forward for the experienced helm or crew member is the kind of revision that makes the difference between a respectable showing and a place on the podium.

Class 3 at Cork Week was another testament to that, as Mansfield had input into all three podium finishers. In particular, Ronan Downing’s half tonner Miss Whiplash outperformed Johnny Swann’s Harmony despite arriving in Ireland only a week before Cork Week — thanks, suggests Mansfield, to a focused coaching evening in the run-up to the regatta.

More recently, Mansfield brought his expertise to Cowes Week in the Etchells 22 Class, and this week he will join John Maybury’s Joker II at the ICRA Cruiser Nationals in Galway.

Mansfield is available for professional rig tuning, coaching or sailing on any boat. For more details contact [email protected]