Sailing: Search for even keel

John Merricks and Ian Walker adapt to life with the big boys of international sailing

Following our silver medal in the 470 dinghy class at the Atlanta Olympics we were selected to represent Britain in the 1997 Admiral's Cup team, sailing in the Mumm 36 class. At 36 feet long with a crew of eight the Mumm 36 is the smallest boat in the three-boat team for the event in Cowes at the end of July, but it is considerably bigger than anything we have sailed before and it is a challenging new project.

With only six months' preparation, time was short if we were to catch up with established competitive, international teams who have been racing on the grand prix circuit for years. We remain confident that many of the techniques and tactics that brought us to the top of the one-design 470 class will help us in the Mumm 36, which is also a one-design class.

This seems to be happening. We have now raced in four international regattas and there are many signs that we have what it takes to be successful this summer. At each regatta we have seen improved results to such an extent that at last week's world championship in Punta Ala, Italy, we won a race and were lying second after six races. The most encouraging sign is how our boatspeed has improved.

As with Formula One cars, you have to have the right equipment to power you, but it takes time to learn how best to set it up and develop a feel for keeping it at top speed. As with Formula One cars it is also a hopeless cause trying to race the best without good speed. Slow boats, like slow cars, rarely win races - no matter how well you sail them. Despite lacking the budget for new sails and despite having not fully optimised the hull and keel we were very competitive at the world championship.

As well as good speed you need a good team. We learnt quickly that keelboat sailing is a team game and you are only as good as your crew. We have an excellent team, blending youth and experience. This will be important in the Admiral's Cup where the racing is a mixture of fast and furious inshore short courses and the longer Channel and Fastnet races.

So how do we train and what do we do next? We have a steep learning curve in these boats and we need to keep learning. Unfortunately the easiest way to learn is by your mistakes and they can prove costly. One of our campaign goals is never to make the same mistake twice. We must adhere to this. We also try to improve quickly by analysing our strengths and weaknesses so that we can focus on the areas that need most improvement. In this next month we will have the boat back in England to work on close- quarter boat handling and sailing in tidal conditions.

The other big new area, especially for us, is offshore sailing and in particular sailing in the dark. We will be delivering the boat from Italy to France as well as sailing fully crewed to Belgium and back from the Hamble. We also have a 24-hour Channel Race in two weeks. If we feel we need more then more will be put in the programme.

To keep improving our speed and tactics we will be racing in a European Series regatta in Belgium and at the Source Regatta in Lymington. Alongside all this sailing, time has to be found to manage the campaign, look for sponsors and optimise the boat as well as maintaining personal fitness.

This is important not just because of the intensity and duration of the Admiral's Cup, but also because we will be seeking to win the 470 world championship in Israel starting just seven days after the gruelling Fastnet finishes.