Mark lines to save miscommunication

This year, I spent my holidays working in the French Figaro class. My role was to be a préparateur – the French name for someone whose job it is to prepare and fix boats before and after races.

- Timothy Long

Often, the Figaro results are separated by just minutes, meaning that any competitive edge makes a huge difference, and it’s vital the boat is prepared.

Some of the préparateurs in the fleet are legends of the sport in their own right, having prepared boats which have gone on to break record after record and win race after race. For me, ‘learning on the job’, one of the most valuable things was walking up and down the pontoon and seeing how the pros were improving the boats.