Hobie Sailor of the Month - Zach Railey

A number of sailors had outstanding results and breakout performances at last week’s US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR. However, no sailor was as dominant as Finn sailor Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. Railey cruised through 11 races in the 25-boat Finn class and won by an 18-point margin. He won six races and finished the regatta with nothing worse than a third-place result in any race. US Sailing caught up with the 2008 Olympic silver medalist following last week’s ISAF Sailing World Cup event to discuss the win and his training leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in Weymouth, England. 

US Sailing: How did it feel to win your first ever gold medal in an ISAF Sailing World Cup event?
Railey: It was great to get the first one, and to do it in the U.S. and in Miami where I spent a considerable amount of time training and racing was extra special. I sailed at the University of Miami, so it’s always nice to get a win here. It means a lot to me because I was able to have my family here to share the moment with. Of course my sister Paige is here competing, and my parents were able to come down for the final day of racing.

US Sailing: Are you satisfied with how you are competing now as we approach the Olympics this summer?
Railey: I think we’ve put together a solid overall plan to get me prepared for Weymouth. We are on schedule, if not ahead of schedule with six months to go. We also understand that there is a long list of things that need to get done. That’s one of the important things about knowing that this is a four year process. You have to continually get better all the time. One of the hardest things to do is to take a few steps back before you can take steps forward. For us, we are not afraid to change things and experiment to see if we can get better. Hopefully everything comes together for the Olympics. We feel confident about what we are doing.

US Sailing: What type of experimenting are you doing with your preparation?
Railey: We are experimenting with everything, including on the technical side, with different sails, cloth materials, sail shapes, panel layouts, mast characteristics, how we sail the boat, our technique, decisions on the race course. It really never ends. We also experiment with our physical fitness by making sure we are at the correct weight, with a focus on weight distribution, body fat percentages, nutritional combinations of what I am eating on the water versus off the water, what I am eating before a race, post race, during a race. The list is exhausting. We are constantly working on things and checking them off the list. The goal is to have everything covered in six months for the Olympics.

US Sailing: Discuss your training regimen and what goes into the decisions you make to be at your best physically?
Railey: We’ve been working hard with our performance enhancement team. Chris Herrera from Bow Down Training has put together a great program. Right now we do cardio sessions in the morning. During the regatta, cardio is very light if we do any. It depends on how heavy the wind is forecasted that day. If we expect heavy wind, we won’t have a morning cardio session. After I sail, we debrief, get something to eat, and go to gym for a couple hours. There is one more big event this year and that’s the Olympics, so we understand that if we have a six or seven day event, we know that it is six or seven days we could have been lifting at the gym and getting stronger to get ready for ultimate goal at the Olympics. When I am not at the event, I am at the gym twice a day with cardio in the morning and weights at night, Monday through Saturday. I take Sunday off or I’ll do some light jogging or stretching.

I can’t give enough credit to the performance enhancement team and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. From our physical therapists to sports psychology, I believe we have competitive advantage because of their work. The time and effort we put in off the water is starting to show on the water. We push ourselves physically more than we ever have.

The program is specifically tailored to what I need in the Finn. It factors in things like my body type and what my metabolism is like. Stu McNay in the 470, for example, is doing a program completely different than what I am doing. Our bodies are different. Our weight is different. The needs in the boat for what our bodies and muscles need to do are different. What’s amazing about the program is that they are so specific and detailed for what we need as an individual athlete. I don’t think there is another program in the world that can do what Bow Down has done. The science that goes into it is incredible.

US Sailing: What is it like to have discussions with your family about actually having the opportunity to sail with your sister Paige in the Olympics?
Railey: It’s very interesting that we have this opportunity and obviously our family is excited. We don’t know how we are going to handle it yet. We want it to be a competitive advantage for us. There are lots of different pressures at the Olympics. Having my family there to relieve some of those pressures is really going to help us. It will be an incredible experience and a lifelong dream for our entire family. I can’t wait for it to happen. It has been a dream since we were little kids. To miss out on it in 2008 and for Paige to come back as strong as she has is impressive. To realize that goal will add to the experience of the Olympics. It will be a massive competitive advantage for us.


(ussailing.org)