There was a United States Air Force fighter pilot who is broadly recognized as the greatest fighter pilot who ever lived.  This despite having only flown 22 missions in the Korean War, never firing his guns and never claiming a kill.  How could this be?  And what could I possibly have learned about boating from this? Read on to find out.

First, a bit more about our protagonist.  Despite his limited combat experience, he arrived in Korean just a few months before the conflict ended, he had already developed a reputation in his squad and throughout the Air Force as having extraordinary skills.  He could do things in an airplane no other pilot would even attempt, let alone execute.  

After the war, he was given a chance to attend the Fighter Weapons School, the pre-cursor to what is now known as TopGun.  He finished first in his class. Just like in the movie, he was given the chance to stay on as an instructor.  As an instructor, he claimed he could start in a disadvantaged position to any opponent and, within 40 seconds, defeat him.  He supposedly never lost during his almost decade of flying as an instructor, winning him his famous nickname, “40 Second Boyd.”  

Colonel John Richard Boyd (1927 – 1997) went on to become the head of academics for TopGun and wrote the tactics manual for the school, elements of which are still in use today.  He then became an advisor at the Pentagon and is considered to be the father of the Lightweight Fighter Aircraft Program which produced such incredibly airplanes as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F/A-18 Hornet.  These were founded on one of the two things Boyd is well known for, the Energy-Maneuverability Theory (click here to read more on his theory).

His other major theory, and the focus of this article, is what Boyd claimed set him apart as a fighter pilot.  It wasn’t that he thought he was smarter than other pilots, although he did – he had a reputation for arrogance and stubbornness – it was because, when he was behind the stick, he had an iterative process that he did not deviate from.  This process became a central theory of fighter pilot training and has since been adapted for general aviation training (where I was first exposed to it), business, politics and sports.

Now, I am no fighter pilot for sure, its been over a decade since I’ve flown a plane as Pilot-in-Command, and I have had my share of bumps and scrapes in boats and will likely have more.  But when I am behind the helm, this is the process that I am continually thinking about and, whenever waste comes in contact with rapidly spinning airfoils, I immediately and consciously use this to “work the problem.”  The process?  The OODA loop.

OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide and Act

It is a loop because, once completed, you do it again.  And again, and again.  Boyd believed the pilot who could iterate the OODA loop the fastest, won – usually within 40 seconds in his case. My perspective is for recreational boaters, general aviation pilots, or anyone who is operating a machine of any type, the OODA loop will dramatically improve safety and enjoyment and, if consciously practiced until it happens almost unconsciously, will provide the tools to calmly and confidently sense, process and respond to emergency situations.  Here is the OODA Loop as drawn by John Boyd.

I have helped countless people learn and improve their docking over the years and they frequently ask what I’m thinking about.  Guess what I think about when I’m docking?  Nothing!  I am just using the OODA Loop.  Here is a practical example of how the conversation might happen in my mind – although at a faster pace – just not as fast as John Boyd.

Hypothetical Situation:  Backing a single-engine center console into a slip starboard side to with a 10 knot wind 45 degrees abaft the bow on the port side: 

• Observation – boat too steep an angle from dock.  Stern closer than I would like.  Bow further away. 

• Orientation – Wind isn’t blowing the bow to starboard as much as I thought.  

• Decide – Might land OK, but better to square the boat a bit.  Decide to take action.  

• Action – Helm hard to port.  Small shot of reverse to pull stern away from dock and square boat.  REPEAT OODA LOOP.

I may run through this loop, 10, 20, maybe even or more 50 times in the final approach to a docking, i.e., the last 20 – 30 seconds.  I always try to remind myself that an OK answer on any cycle through the loop is to abort the approach.

Capt. Gregg Clark is a test captain for BoatTEST. He holds a 200 GT master license and has boating and yachting for 40 years. He owns a 56’ Vicem and is co-owner in a 40’ high-performance racing sailboat. He can be reached at captgregg@boattest.com.

This article is courtesy of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt Magazine, for this and more go to greatlakesscuttlebutt.com