HARTWIG Match Team

YOUR ALTERNATE IS PART OF PLAN A.

A few weeks ago, we set out for Bornholm. We never got there. Looking back, I’m glad we didn’t.

Instead, we spent the night in Świnoujście, enjoyed a good dinner and slept well. It wasn’t the trip we had planned, but it was exactly the trip we should have made.

Driving home afterwards, I kept thinking about why that decision had felt so easy. Then it reminded me of something I had learned during my years in aviation.

Before every commercial flight, Flight Operations doesn’t just release a routing to the destination. One or more alternate airports are part of every flight plan. Not because anyone expects an emergency, but because changing conditions are expected. Weather changes. Winds shift. Runways close. Having an alternate isn’t a backup plan. It’s part of the original one.

At sea, I think many of us approach things differently. We study the forecast, plan the route and picture ourselves arriving at our destination. But how often do we leave the harbour already knowing exactly where we’ll go if today’s destination is no longer the right choice?

When the forecast for Bornholm deteriorated, we didn’t have to invent a solution. We simply changed course to Świnoujście because that option already existed in our minds. The difficult part wasn’t making the decision. The difficult part had been done before we even cast off.

Over the years, match racing taught me to adapt quickly. Aviation taught me something equally valuable: the best decisions are often made long before they become necessary.

The sea has no interest in how determined we are to stick to the original plan. It only rewards good decisions, and those usually begin before the lines are cast off.

So before your next passage, ask yourself one simple question:

If we can’t safely reach our destination today, where will we go instead?

I’m curious.

When you leave the harbour, do you already have an alternate harbour in mind, or do you start looking for one only after the weather has changed?

Too beautiful not to share…

Nicht jeder Segeltag beginnt mit Sonnenschein. ☕🌧️

Manchmal weckt dich das Trommeln des Regens auf dem Deck. Der Himmel ist grau, der Wind pfeift durch den Hafen und alles lädt dazu ein, sich noch einmal umzudrehen.

Und dann gibt es diesen einen Moment.

Eine heiße Tasse Kaffee in der Hand.

Du atmest tief durch, schaust aufs Wasser und merkst: Das Wetter hat sich nicht geändert. Aber deine Stimmung schon.

Nicht jeder Tag braucht Sonne.

Manchmal reicht ein guter Kaffee, um aus einem grauen Morgen einen guten Moment zu machen.

Kaffee rein. Kopf an. Wind egal. Move on. ⛵☕

Arrivederci, Italia. 🇮🇹❤️

Was für eine Reise.

Von Bari über Gallipoli, Brindisi, Rom, Capalbio bis nach Castiglione della Pescaia und schließlich Pisa.

Schöne Strände.
Historische Städte.
Kristallklares Wasser.
Wunderschöne Pools.
Beeindruckende Kunst und Architektur.
Unvergessliche Sonnenuntergänge.

Vor allem aber:

Zeit zum Abschalten.
Zeit zum Genießen.
Zeit, einfach im Moment zu sein.

Italien hat uns wieder gezeigt, dass die schönsten Reisen nicht die sind, bei denen man möglichst viel sieht, sondern die, bei denen man möglichst viel fühlt.

Grazie mille, Italia.

Wir kommen wieder. ❤️🇮🇹

🌅🌊❤️

Yesterday’s sunset reminded me of something.

No meeting.
No deadline.
No race.
No phone.

Just the sound of the water, a light breeze and a sky that changed every minute.

For a moment, nothing had to be optimised.

Nothing had to be achieved.

Sometimes we spend so much time chasing the next goal that we forget why we started the journey in the first place.

Out there, watching the sun disappear below the horizon, I was reminded that success isn’t measured only by what we accomplish.

Sometimes it’s measured by whether we were present enough to notice moments like these.

Yesterday was one of them.

Fair winds,
Jens

THE BEST CREWS DON’T AVOID MISTAKES.
THEY AVOID THE SECOND ONE.

One bad start.

Dirty air.

Less speed.

Boats rolling over you.

And suddenly everything feels urgent.

Years of racing taught me something important:

The first mistake rarely decides the race.

The second one often does.

Many crews panic.

They abandon the plan.
They force manoeuvres.
They try to win everything back immediately.

And usually lose even more.

The best sailors do something different.

They stay calm.

They trust the process.

They wait for the next opportunity.

Because a poor start is information.

Not an emergency.

The crew with the fewest mistakes usually wins.

Not the crew without mistakes.

That crew doesn’t exist.

⛵ What was your last “second mistake” that could have been avoided?

MOST CREWS SAW WIND.
WE SAW A PATTERN.

The yachts were faster.

They should have beaten us.

They didn’t.

Leadership Lessons from Sailing #34

Years ago, during a Yardstick regatta, we found ourselves racing against yachts that were significantly faster than ours.

On paper, we had no business winning.

But most crews were focused on the wind they could see.

We were focused on the pattern behind it.

The breeze was oscillating.

Shifting back and forth in a repeating cycle.

Every time the wind headed, crews reacted.

Every time it lifted, they chased the last shift.

And that was the mistake.

Because reacting to a shift is not the same as understanding it.

Once you recognise the rhythm of the oscillations, the race changes.

You stop sailing to the wind.

You start sailing to the next wind shift.

You cross the course at exactly the right moments.

The distance becomes shorter.

The gains compound.

I have won Yardstick regattas first ship home against significantly faster yachts this way.

Not because we had the fastest boat.

Because we understood the pattern before others saw it.

And this isn’t just true in racing.

Whether you’re crossing a bay, planning a passage, reading a tidal gate, building a business, or leading a team:

Patterns beat reactions.

Most people see events.

Few recognise patterns.

And those who do often win long before the result becomes visible.

Be honest:

Are you reacting to what is happening?

Or are you recognising the pattern behind it?

Jens Hartwig

Former Match Race Sailor | Founder, Ocean Legacy Club

📖 Mind Before Wind

Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/055vXGLi

Somewhere between silence and saltwater
the season begins again.

First Baltic Sea sun of 2026.
No race countdown.
No pressure on the start line.
Just calm water, warm light and the feeling of finally being back where the mind slows down.

Sometimes the best sailing moments
are the quiet ones nobody posts about.

But those are often the moments
you remember the longest.