How Pro Sailors Really Prepare for a New Season
From the outside, it might look like the sailing season starts when the boats hit the water again. In reality, that moment is just the visible part of a much longer process. By the time the first regatta rolls around, most professional sailors have already put in months of work, often away from the spotlight.
Preparation isn’t one thing. It’s a mix of habits, routines, trial and error, and a lot of repetition.
Getting the body ready
Modern sailing is physical. Really physical. Whether it’s hiking hard in a ILCA, moving fast on a foiling boat, or grinding through long days on the water, you can’t afford to show up underprepared.
Most sailors spend the winter building strength and endurance. Core work, legs, back, shoulders, nothing fancy, just what actually transfers to the boat. Cardio is a big part of it too, because regatta days are long and fatigue changes how you think as much as how you move.
Mobility and injury prevention tend to creep higher up the priority list the longer a career goes on. Missing weeks of sailing because something small flares up is the fastest way to fall behind.
Eating to race, not just to train
Nutrition has gone from “eat enough and hope for the best” to something far more intentional.
That doesn’t mean extreme diets. Most sailors just want consistency, steady energy, decent recovery, and no surprises halfway through a race day. Hydration, timing meals around training, and understanding what works for your own body make a bigger difference than any trendy plan.
The best setups are simple and repeatable. If you don’t have to think about food on race day, you’re already ahead.
Looking back to move forward
Before thinking about what’s next, most teams spend time breaking down what already happened.
Data from past regattas gets pulled apart: GPS tracks, boat speed, maneuvers, starts, decisions that worked and plenty that didn’t. Video review can be uncomfortable, but it’s also where a lot of progress comes from.
This isn’t about over-analyzing every mistake. It’s about spotting patterns. Where do we lose boats? When do things start to unravel? What conditions expose weaknesses?
Answer those questions early, and you save yourself pain later.
Making sure the boat and team are right
Confidence in the boat matters more than people think.
Pre-season is when teams go through everything: hulls, rigs, foils, control systems,sails, instrumentation. Things get serviced, adjusted, replaced or simplified. Small changes are tested early so they don’t become big problems mid-season.
When you trust the boat, you sail differently. You push harder, react faster, and spend less time second-guessing.
No matter how much prep happens ashore, sailing is still learned by sailing.
Early training blocks are usually about volume, getting back into rhythm, sharpening boat handling, and rebuilding communication. Then intensity ramps up. Starts, short races, pressure situations. Good teams look for good training partners, because nothing replaces lining up against someone fast.
By the time the season starts, everything should feel familiar again.
At the pro level, results are rarely about one person.
Pre-season is when crews reset expectations, refine how they communicate, and make sure everyone is aligned. New teams use this time to build trust quickly. Established teams use it to avoid getting stale.
Some teams bring in coaches or performance specialists; others just spend more time talking things through. Either way, clarity saves points on the racecourse.
And yes, having fun
This part gets overlooked, but it matters.
Sailing seasons are long. Pressure builds. If everything becomes serious all the time, something eventually cracks. The best teams still mess around a bit in training, try things that might not work, and enjoy being on the water together.
Fun doesn’t make you slower. Losing it usually does.
Before the first start
By the time the fleet lines up for the first race, the real work has already been done. There’s no single right way to prepare for a season, but there’s a common thread among the teams who start strong.
