Dutch 49erFX sailor Odile Lambriex van Aanholt won gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics with long-time crew Annette Duetz, then faced a full reset: Duetz retired after the Games, van Aanholt became a mother in mid-2025, and she is now racing the clock to prepare a new partner for Los Angeles 2028.
Her new crew, Karlinde van Arendonk, is a fascinating pick. A former elite field hockey player with barely any sailing background, she beat more than 100 candidates from both sailing and non-sailing backgrounds in a nationwide search run through the Dutch Sailing federation. Van Aanholt says she chose her partly for chemistry as much as skill — and that leads into her first big tip: have fun. She pushed her federation to accept that enjoyment is a performance tool, not a luxury. In her experience, a relaxed, happy crew finds a 'flow state' far more easily, and that free, uncluttered mindset is what lets a sailor read gusts on the water, stay calm in a crowded fleet and react to wind shifts without overthinking.
The flow state is her second theme. Sailing a skiff demands mind and body moving together — feeling the mainsheet load in your fingers while reading ripples on the water. Van Aanholt works on dipping in and out of that state during a race, and she admits it is harder now that she spends part of every session coaching her rookie teammate.
Which brings up tip three: know when to coach and when to stay quiet. She has learned that letting van Arendonk figure things out herself produces deeper, stickier learning than constant instruction. Her aim is a crew where both sailors lead their own tasks, not one who merely follows orders. The balance is quick pointers in the moment, plus space to make mistakes.
Tip four is about expectations. Nobody can be the fastest in every wind condition, so her goal is a solid top five across the board, backed by a couple of 'superpowers' — light-air speed and clean manoeuvres — to bank confidence where it counts. When priorities clash within the team, speak up, and keep it simple: start, speed, strategy are the three levers that matter most.
Her final tip targets the hours sailors spend ashore or waiting for a postponement flag. Visualisation builds the muscle memory you cannot get on the water, and swapping phone-scrolling for a card game with fleetmates keeps the mind active and relaxed without feeding pre-race nerves.
Why should a traveller care? Because these ideas translate neatly to anyone learning to sail, chartering with friends or squeezing a week on the water into a busy life. Prioritise fun, accept that mistakes teach, aim for competence everywhere plus one strength, and use idle time well. The piece, published in association with Musto, also notes the brand's new eight-piece range of waterproof bags and luggage for sailors, from daypacks to expedition wheeled cases — handy if you are packing for a flotilla or a regatta and want your kit to stay dry.
