From the Coach Boat: Thomas Fogh

By Carol Cronin

Thomas Fogh finished second at three Olympic Trials (once with his brother in the Tornado and twice with his double-medalist dad, Hans Fogh, in the Soling). In 2013, he started working with the non-Olympic Pan Am classes in Canada, in preparation for the 2015 Pan Am Games. After two years of watching regattas and running clinics, we figured he’d have some good perspective on the Snipe.

1. What was the hardest thing to learn about the Snipe? And the most obvious?

While I understand the technical aspects of the sport, I had never sailed a Snipe prior to my coaching the class, so I had to understand how the boat worked. There are many controls that can affect the trim of the boat I had to figure out the order and when to pull what. After some time it became much clearer and now it is much easier to work with the various teams. What makes the boat difficult to sail is the fact you have some many controls. You never really stop changing your trim

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2. What do you see as the biggest challenge for newcomers in getting up to speed in the Snipe?

The class is really helpful for newcomers. Everyone is welcomed to the family with open arms. Many sailors are happy to help pass knowledge about tuning and sailing the boat. Having said that, the fleet is very competitive, so it can be frustrating for the new teams in terms of results.

3. What’s the biggest improvement you’ve seen over the past two years?

Most of these teams had never had this type of high level coaching before, so they were all excited to be part of the program. I did not really go into this program with an outright goal in mind as I was not sure where the fleet was. My only focus was to make everyone have better boat handling and get faster. It has been gratifying to see all the teams willing to try, learn, and in the end, to watch them improve.
When I first started, the group’s technical knowledge was limited. Most went off numbers they had written down from the past, which were very similar from light to heavy. During our tuning I asked all of them to try different things to see what works and what does not. We tried different sails, masts, and rig set ups, and then made on water changes. I now see many of the teams doing things during races they would never have thought of in the past.

4. Any interest in sailing a Snipe? Why?

Having been around the class now I would love to race a Snipe. I love that the boat is technical and the racing is so close. I just hope I do not get embarrassed by my team.