Tradecraft topics: Transitions technique

Next in a series of postings concerning sailing tradecraft, offering various tips on technique, is the topic of transitions technique.  Transitions are the state changes that result from maneuvers we perform in sailing the boat around the course.  Of course, these are linked necessarily with information about crew positions and duties for who is doing what, when.

First, we generally organize duty positions on board Volant for buoy racing into 6 crew.  Three of the crew have compound duties that could be split up should we have 7, 8, or 9 crew on board.  Here is the typical breakdown: 

A definitive source for guidelines on crew positions and duties is the spreadsheet document I created years ago and have refined and improved ever since.  Find it here: Crew positions and duties guide-6 crew-Beneteau10R-Volant and also on the Resources page.  Sailing instructors call this a "playbook."

We engage in a diverse set of skilled maneuvers in sailing the boat, from shoving off to returning to the dock, organized more or less like this:

And, of all the possible maneuvers we practice, there is a manageable set of primary transitions from one state to another, that depend on collective team skill for mastery:

And a set of secondary transitions that are good additional skills to have in our toolbox.  Two of these - reef and peel - have a new procedure now that I messed with rigging changes at the end of the 2024 season:

The crew positions and duties guide referenced above is the definitive source of our "playbook", but I excerpted materials on duties and transitions from the Elements of Performance Sailing presentation and created this 

summary of crew duties and transitions technique  [Updated January 5, 2026]

I think it may be easier to follow this summary document than the master spreadsheet because it is more targeted to the transitions we always use.  It also has the advantage of organizing tasks into a rough chronology, showing us the order in which events occur.  See the white/cyan/blue color coding on the transitions technique pages.

👉  ACTION ITEM: 
Please, look over this duties/transitions summary, linked just above.  Focus on what roles you want to fill.  Raise questions, offer comments, make suggestions - a great way to be engaged!  Help me support your sailing goals!  

There may be a temptation to think that this much task organization is a bit compulsive for fun sailboat racing.  But what every crewmember does on board the boat affects every other crewmember.  Becoming hypersensitive to the course racing situation, and maturing into a script of taking action efficiently before requested or needed, is a key to great teamwork!

If you haven't yet, you will experience a magical sailboat race where actions and movement are purposeful and efficient, communication is direct and succinct, no urgency is experienced nor shouting heard, the tactical situation around us unfolds seemingly in controlled slow motion, and the sailing achievement is truly earned as a team, not a group of individuals.  Let's get to this sublime level and sustain it!    

"It's out there - the perfect lap - every corner, every gear change.  Can you see it?  Most people can't." 
- Ken Miles, Ford vs. Ferrari