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Taylor Penwell

Kiwi’s Out Front: Yachting New Zealand’s Have a Go

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I’ve been coaching for ten years in the United States and internationally. Two months ago I moved to New Zealand to run a sailing program at the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club in Picton, located on the top of the South Island in the Marlborough Sounds. An interesting fact for me was that this small club hosted an Optimist Nationals years back in which winning America’s Cup skipper Peter Burling took home first place. As a nation, we all know that the Kiwi’s produce top notch sailors. As a country of under 5 million people compared to 330 million in the US, they also have many less people to pick from. So the beckoning question is, “what makes a nation with a small group of sailors so successful?”

I’ve found that one answer to this question is the country’s organizing sailing body, Yachting New Zealand’s, Have a Go. The other week, the Have a Go program came to my area, and I gave the Yachting New Zealand coach Simon a hand. This program is centered on getting the country’s youth into trying sailing by having kids take a day off school (who doesn’t love skipping school?) to come down and give sailing a go. 

Have a Go was started and is able to continue through its sponsors. With Team New Zealand starting the initiative, the Lion Foundation joined to accelerate the program. Volvo also got involved by giving each coach a brand new car to pull the mobile trailer full of boats and gear from place to place. The other major sponsors are Zhik who supply the wet-suits and life jackets for sailors, Doyle Sails, and a NZ marine supply company called Burnsco, who supply spray tops.

Through these sponsors and with the help of many others and donations, the Have a Go program cost can remain low. The cost per sailor for a full days program is less than $20 US. A staggeringly cheap amount for a day on the water of sailing instruction.

Here is a bit more information on how it all works…

Who we are

Volvo Sailing… Have a Go! is Yachting New Zealand’s initiative to get children into sailing. Offered to schools throughout the country in term four and one, it is designed to give primary and intermediate school students the opportunity to try sailing in a safe and well-managed environment.

The aim of a Sailing…Have a Go! day is to provide kids with a fun, safe day on the water, with the hope that it captures the child’s imagination and they want to learn to sail. Host clubs are encouraged to use this opportunity to promote their learn to sail programme and club activities.

With a focus on water safety and building confidence in and around the water, kids are taught the importance of wearing adequate clothing and correctly-fitted life jackets, rigging, parts of the boat and the basic ideas behind how to make a boat sail. All this education is disguised by fun activities, capsizing and often a sneaky water fight!

“I really enjoy getting to help kids get out of their comfort zones through the Volvo Sailing… Have a Go! program. It is rewarding watching them out on the water for the their first time, have fun, and conquer fears. Many of the kids end up getting involved in the local sailing club which is always cool to see that I’ve had an impact on their sailing journey.” – Have a Go instructor Simon McVeagh

Yachting New Zealand have three trailers that travel the country, complete with six Optimists, one Weta trimaran, two Topper Taz and a RIB. They also provide all the gear, including wetsuits and lifejackets.

All schools need to do is show up to their local sailing club and go sailing.

Volvo Sailing… Have a Go! is suitable for students in years 4-8. Delivered by a fully qualified and experienced Yachting New Zealand instructor and assistant during school hours, the programme is offered to groups of 12-15 students as a:

  • Full-day session –  one group for a full-day experience. $28 NZD ($18 US) per student
  • Half-day session – one group in the morning and another group in the afternoon. $18 NZD ($12 US) per student

Schools are responsible for:

  • Transport of the participants to and from the venue.
  • Providing at least one teacher or parent to be present during the course of the programme. They are welcome to come out on the water and have a go as well.
  • Ensuring all students have parent/guardian consent forms (provided by Yachting New Zealand) on the day and are able to swim 50m with a buoyancy aid.

Students with a disability

Sailing is a sport that allows everybody, regardless of ability or disability, to take part on a level playing field and the Volvo Sailing…Have a Go! programme is easily adaptable to ensure all students can participate and enjoy with their peers.

The Weta trimaran has proved to be very versatile and safe in a variety of conditions. It is fantastic for children who are initially nervous about sailing, building their confidence by going out with an instructor and other children.

It can be easily modified for people with a physical disability to take part in the sport alongside their peers.

Our coaches have all completed the inclusive coaching module, training stemmed from best practice of the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation. This training enables our instructors to be confident, knowledgeable and creative in adapting the programme to suit children with a disability – and nobody is left behind watching.

Where we came from

The Volvo Sailing…Have a Go! programme began in 2006 with one trailer. The Team New Zealand 2000 trust provided the original funding to get the programme started and the Lion Foundation continued to help as the programme evolved from one trailer to two and, in 2009, three trailers. In 2013, Volvo Cars New Zealand came on board as the naming rights sponsor in support of youth sailing.

Volvo Sailing…Have a Go! has taken more than 40,000 people sailing.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ygx1c85S5w

Have a Go is a breakthrough initiative and gets so many young people introduced to sailing who otherwise might never have. The goal is to get the interested students from Have a Go involved with their local sailing programs. Many of the students who came down for the Have a Go course in my area have decided they would like to join my clubs next Learn to Sail courses.

This program run by Yachting New Zealand is unlike anything in the states or provided by US Sailing. If a country the size of New Zealand can successfully run an initiative like Have a Go, a much larger country like the US, who has tremendous amounts of potential sponsorship funds should be able to put something similar in place to involve potential sailors at a young age and at a cost affordable to them. 

https://www.yachtingnz.org.nz/learn-sail/volvo-sailinghave-go

2018 Etchells World Championships Report

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The 2018 Etchell World Championship concluded this past Saturday. 94 teams competed to prove who was the best in the world. The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in the Brisbane suburb of Manly, hosted the championship which kicked off on Sunday, October 21st and finished on the Saturday the 27th.

Day 1: The feeling on shore was that the day was going to be grand. But once competitors reached the sailing area out past Green Island, the 8-10 knots from the southeast that had been gracing the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Manly were nowhere to be found. With light wind direction varying from 010 to 110 degrees, it wasn’t a surprise when the postponement pennant was raised before midday.

With the postponement in effect, the crews were trying their best to avoid the gazing sun by taking refuge in whatever shade they could find. The breeze decided to show around the mid afternoon with 12 knots, the prospect of two races for the day had past and only once race was scored the first day. The right of center side of the course proved to be the place to be going upwind on the 2.5 nautical mile haul to the windward mark.

The first race went to Havoc, AUS 1461, skippered by Iain Murray, with Grant Simmer and Richie Allanson aboard. After the racing Murray said, “It is nice to start the regatta, and sail well in the first race. There are a lot of anxious people out there so getting a good start and first beat to windward, where you can find your rhythm without too much angst is a great way to begin a campaign. We have been working hard on our trim in the last couple of days with our coaches. We have found an easier way to sail the boat, which allows us a little more flexibility in the waves, and not as cranky boat as we’ve had in the past.”

Reigning World Champion Steve Benjamin, with Michael Menninger, Ian Liberty, Jonathon Goldsberry, on board Stella Blue finished 18th in the first race. Benjamin said, “The race course was absolutely perfect. The race management was spot on, and they waited just the right amount of time to get the race away and it was dead true.”

Day 2: The ultra-light and variable wind at the beginning of the regatta posed a challenge for the race committee who wanted to do the best job they could in making sure they got the racing in. Nine races in total would be ideal, seven makes for good times, and six is acceptable for the championship to count.

With another postponement, it was clear that the day would only have one race. With wind settling in at 12 knots, the longer Course 1 was chosen, which adds an extra leg with an upwind beat to the finish. Though the conditions weren’t cooperating as hoped, it did not deter the competitors enjoyment. War Canoe, USA 1363, skippered by Michael Goldfarb, with crew Morton Henriksen and Skip Dieball are in 12th place this evening scoring a 14th and a 18th place. Goldfarb said, “We are so psyched to be here. It is an amazing place to sail. It is a big, open piece of water. It’s also really exciting, and there are so many boats. It is also a difficult and challenging stretch of water, so in combination with all the great sailors that have amassed here, well, there is not a lot of room for mistakes. We love it here, and appreciate all the hospitality. The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron is fantastic.”

Day 3: The third day looked like it had a great chance of getting both scheduled races in. With the plan being that the 94 boat fleet sail the shorter course, Course 2, to save some time. The first start saw a U Flag and after a general recall in the second race, the race committee went to a Black Flag. Unfortunately, both races claimed victims and the bar saw some sailors much earlier than anticipated.

The first race had a steady 10 knots with the tide running from South to North. Unlike the first days race, starting left was favoured, but you did want to cross back early, and not end up near the islands, for this put you out of the game. Those that did mentioned above, slaughtered those coming out from the right. The second race was positioned closer to the Yacht Squadron and the shorter Course 2 was run with a range of 2.3 nautical miles.

It has to be said that consistency pays off in racing. Many of Etchells regatta champions have been won without the winning boat having a first place finish in any race. Such was the case after the second day of racing finished with Mark Thornburrow, Mike Huang, Alexander Conway and Will Ryan on HKG 1406 leapfrogging over Lisa Rose who held the top spot last night. A fourth and a fifth place today gave them a five point spread over the second place crew.

“It has been great and the biggest thing, which applies to all the Etchells, has been the sharing of information. The skill is there, so it really has come down to getting used to the big fleet. So it is about trying to manage that, and also the tide flows. We have been paying a lot of respect to the latter, so are really happy to not have been pinged, so far. There is plenty of space on the line, so it is about finding your lane and we really are having a good time.”

Day 4: Two races were conducted on the fourth day of racing. This brought the total number of races completed to six, which at minimum constituted the series. Everyone was pleased to have reached this marker and many thanks to the race committee team under the helm of the Wilson Brothers for this. Like in previous days, the U Flag was displayed in the first race, claiming a number of victims. The race committee decided to use the Black Flag in the second race and just one crew had an early visit to the bar after the start of race six.

Lawrie Smith, Richard Parslow, Goncalo Ribeiro and Pedro Andrade on Alfie GBR 1434, won race six. They were part of a day when the internationals did really well, and regularly occupied top ten spots during all the mark roundings Others included Skanky Gene USA 1464, America’s Jud Smith driving Roulette, and then USA 926, Oatmeal, which was Peter Duncan, Andrew Palfrey, Victor Diaz de Leon, and Sasha Ryan.

Day 5: The fifth day of racing came with a nice 10 knots of breeze. But there was a catch, and that catch was the tide beginning to ebb from the full moon the night before. The massive tide caused the walkways to the floating marina to be almost an uphill walk to where the boats were. By the fifth day more of the international teams had worked out the tides which resulted in many more of them in the top places at the mark roundings and finishes.

Race seven got off without a hitch but race eight had to be abandoned after two legs. The fleet then asked if the start time for racing could be moved up for the last day in order to get nine races in.

Leading into the final day for the overall win, along with those for the Master and Senior Divisions, rested with Martin Hills skippering Lisa Rose AUS 1449 and crewed by Julian Plante, Sean O’Rourke, and a talented local sailor by the name of Mat Belcher, who can draw upon his eight 470 World Championships. Hill said, “It is so difficult, with the long 1.2km line here, and just a shift on that first leg can give you 15 places before you know it. Get on the right end of that and it is great. The wrong end, and well, it is hard to pass 40 boats.”

Lisa Rose held a three-point lead over second place Gen XY, with Racer C seven points behind them. The Corinthian Division is by far the biggest in the fleet with over 50% of the armada contesting for this most coveted of trophies. The Corinthian leader was in 16th place overall, with a Black Flag from the third day of racing really hurting them.

Final Day: A classic mix of sun and just enough wind for the last two races characterized the final day of racing. Teams assembled on the race course for the earlier start with breeze from the southeast at 7 knots. The shorter Course 2 was selected and the first race would go to the leader, Lisa Rose skippered by Martin Hill, but the racing wasn’t over. Race two got underway with the breeze building to 12 knots. With the moved up start time, race committee was able to run the longer Course 1 for the last race of the championship. Villiam Voermann, Lucas Down and Gary Van Lunteren on Triad took the final race. Voermann said, “A good clean start, and a textbook race with fast boat speed were essential. We played the shifts as well, as there were a couple in the first half of the first work to windward. So we stayed in phase, and kept mostly to the middle and ultimately it opened for us. The tide also dragged us up to the weather mark, as it began to ebb.”

The popular Iron Lotus crew of Tom King, Ivan Wheen, David Edwards and Greg O’Shea finished 13th place overall, making them the top Corinthian team, with a 49th place as their worst result once their Black Flag had been discarded.

The Grand Masters was won by John Bertrand, with Noel Drennen and Ben Lamb. The top female helm was Jeanne-Claude Strong who apart from collecting a race win, also finished in 20th place overall with her crew, Seve Jarvin, Marcus Burke and Jen Danks.

Chairman of the organizing Committee, David Irvine, was a proud man at the end of the final day. “Who would have thought around five years ago when we decided to go for it that we would be standing on the deck now, with just presentations to go, which will be my last official duty. In addition to the turnout, I think the conditions have been another highlight. We concentrated on giving people the best regatta we could on the ground, and the vibe in the boat park has been great. My back is sore from all the pats, and my right hand from all the shakes. That’s the best news, and I am very humble and very proud to be associated with this regatta.” In closing Irvine also said, “The number of people involved has been phenomenal. Today we had 27 people out there on start, mark, and safety. We had to make more shirts for the entire group, and it was in excess of 160. Their efforts equate to well over a thousand hours too. It is fantastic for the club, as well as the class. The Wilson brothers have been fantastic, and none of it would have been done without the committee that arranged it all.”

Congratulations to the to 1st place finishers aboard AUS 1449 skippered by Martin Hill and crew Sean O’Rourke, Julian Plante, and Mat Belcher who finished almost twenty points in front of the second place finishers. Second place went to HGK 1406, skippered by Mark Thornburrow with crew Mike Huang, Alexander Conway and Will Ryan. Coming in 3rd place by only two points was AUS 864, skippered by Matthew Chew with crew Brian Donovan, Ben Vercoe, and Ashley Deeks.

 

Results

https://www.sailwave.com/results/2018EtchellsWorldChampionships.htm

The 2019 Etchell World Championship will be held in Corpus Christi, USA and the 2020 in Perth, Australia.

2018 Comet International Regatta Report

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Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club hosted the 2018 Comet International Championship on September 7-9th. The regatta was well attended with 23 Comets competing. The teams came from six different states along with four teams from Bermuda. Seven races were run in a variety of overcasting conditions ranging from light air and flat water on the first day, heavy air with gusts up to 17 knots on the second day, and rain with medium breeze on the last day.

The Comet class was designed by C. Lowndes Johnson in 1932 as a trailer version of the Star boat. The design combines a 16ft hard chine planing hull with a sloop rig. As a two person boat, it is one of the most affordable one-design classes. Since the Comet was first designed and built in 1932, many boats still sailing are classic and of wooden construction. In recent years, Whitecap Composites of Peabody, Massachusetts, have started building new boats for the class. At this years International Championship, seven of the eight new boats built by Whitecap Composites were in attendance.

A Class owned Comet was chartered to the championship host Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club Commodore Brian Murphy and son Teddy Murphy. Optimist sailor Teddy was skippering the Comet and showed the fleet that he has the “right stuff” for the class, finishing most races just behind the lead pack. Teddy received the Court and Ginny Memorial Trophy for being the Top Youth Finisher.

Congratulations to Rudy Bailey of the West End Sailing Club of Bermuda and his crew Olivia Eagles of Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club for handily winning the series without even having to sail the last race. Second place went to Mark Beaton and crew Barbara Colie of Mantoloking. It was no surprise Mark and Barbara did so well due to the fact that they have been competing all season together in a number of different one-design classes. Finishing third was Dick Harmon with crew Mark Wissner from the Leatherlips Yacht Club of Ohio. Fourth went to Talbott and Lee Ingram from the Shrewsbury Sailing & Yacht Club. Coming in fifth place was Bermuda sailors Peter Bromby and crew Nick Finegan.

First place finishers Rudy Bailey and Olivia Eagles pictured above.

Everyone was delighted with the facilities and friendliness of the club and the regatta went off without a hitch. Many thanks to Bill Nutzel who was awarded the Class Citizen Trophy for being an outstanding Regatta Chair for Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club, the housing coordinator Tom Lentine, the PRO Kevin Murphy and his excellent committee, and to the many Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club members who had a part in making this a successful regatta.

Results can be found here, http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/17005#_newsroom+results

2018 Express 37 Nationals Report

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The Berkeley Yacht Club was host for the 2018 Express 37 Nationals. The three day event kicked off on Friday, September 28th and finished on Sunday, September 30th. The sailing venue was primarily the Berkeley Circle of San Francisco Bay. The twelve team field consisted of boats from northern California along with a team from southern California. 1st place went to Shawn Ivie and crew on Limitless, followed by Bartz Schneider skippering Expeditious in 2nd, and 3rd place went to Brendan Busch on Spy vs Spy.

Racing kicked off on Friday with breeze from 12 to 15 knots. Just prior to the first start, Golden Moon and Elan collided and both boats returned to the marina to access damages. Team limitless was over early in race one but battled back to finish first across the finish line.  Due to their proximity to the collision, Stewball was late to the start line but despite this bad start, the team managed to climb back and finish second.

After assessing the damage, Elan determined they were out of the remainder of the regatta. Golden Moon patched their hole and returned to join the fleet for race two. Wind conditions remained similar to the first race and Limitless grabbed another first.

Saturday was designated for the “distance race.” However at the days start, the wind was not cooperating. The first race kicked off at 11:30 in the morning with 5 to 6 knots, resulting with the wind dropping towards the end of the race and the boats in the back of the fleet having a very slow slug to the finish. The fourth race was postponed a half hour and the signal boat was moved a half mile west. Soon after the signal boat moved, a 10 to 15 knot westerly came in and the 15 mile distance race was on. Spy vs Spy took first, Golden Moon came in second, and cumulative results were now shuffled with many ties.

The final day of the nationals started with 4 to 5 knots of breeze shifting from all directions. By the time the first race was scheduled to start, the wind had vanished with the entire San Francisco Bay turning to glass. The sailing instructions stated no races were to be started after 14:30. Finally, at 13:15, a wind line approached from the Gate and at 13:35 a race was started. The 10-13 knots of breeze was enough to get a fifth race in but not enough time was left to start the sixth race and the nationals had concluded. Race five saw Golden Moon picking up a first place with Expeditious taking second.

A big congrats to the teams for making the Express 37 Nationals a success. Also a special thanks to race committee member Bobbi Tosse for all the information on the championship report.

Results can be found here, http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/17473#_newsroom+results

Youngest team turns heads at M32 World Championship

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A team supported by the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Boat Foundation recently competed in the M32 World Championship held in Chicago from September 20th to the 23rd. The program was organized by St. Mary’s College alumn Markus Edegran and his team of top notch younger sailors. The M32 is a high performance foiling catamaran class which attracts many of the top professional sailors in the world. The twelve teams consisted of many World Champions, America’s Cup Winners, Olympic Medalists, and Volvo Ocean Race sailors. This event was the culmination of a very interesting story for the St. Mary’s College team, finishing a very respective 7th place in a competitive fleet.

Markus Edegran started competing in the M32 on the World Match Race Tour in the 2017 season. Edegran crewed for Malcolm Gefter in an event in Newport and after the regatta had finished, Gefter said he would be happy to donate his M32 to the St. Mary’s College sailing program. Edegran called the college and asked if they would be willing to accept the donation and support the racing of the boat. The St. Mary’s program was more than happy to support an Alum in one of the highest levels of sailing. Edegran said, “the goal was to have a strong presence at the 2018 World Championship in Chicago and showcase the kind of sailing you can do after graduating from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and competing on the college sailing scene.”

Skipper Edegran started to put together the five member team. On the traveler was Matthew Whitehead, who has a great deal of experience in high performance catamaran sailing. Whitehead grew up sailing the F18 catamaran and has been the youth world champion four times with his skipper Taylor Reiss. Reiss also joined our team early on. Australian Cameron Seagreen who has experience in the M32 on the World Match Race Tour was the trimmer. Mustafa Ingham from Bermuda was the powerhouse of the team, making sure the boat got around the course super fast. Ingham spent a year training on the GC32 for the last Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda. The team members hold a resume of consisting of two Youth America’s Cups, eight Youth World Championships titles, and a Match Racing World Championship title.

World Championship Report by Skipper Markus Edegran

“The team spent a few weeks preparing for the M32 Worlds in here in Chicago. Several teams gathered for a pre-worlds regatta. We were newly formed and thrown into the mix with highly experienced opponents. After finishing the practice event in 5th place, we had a long list of areas to improve on. We spent the time between the practice event and World Championship getting tuned up and ready to go.

The first day of the 2018 M32 World Championships saw very light winds. We managed to get a clean start and stuck to the left side of the course in the first race which led to us finishing 2nd. It was a great way to start to the event. As the breeze lightened, race two provided to be very tricky with the team finishing in 9th. A third race was attempted but the wind did not cooperate and racing and concluded for day 1. Our team was sitting in 4th place overall after day 1.

Day two brought the opposite problem of day one, with high winds causing a slight delay. With wind speeds averaging in the mid twenties resulting in very intense and unforgiving racing. Five races were completed very quickly before racing was called for the day due to breakages and fatigue. Unfortunately, the races for our team did not unfold as we had hoped. We found ourselves in good positions throughout the day but often fell on the wrong side some very shifty conditions. In the final race of the day we managed to lead from the start only to have a breakdown which kept us from trimming our mainsail around the extremely windy course. Despite the shortcomings, our team did perform well within the boat given the conditions and managed to save the boat from a couple instances where things could have gone very wrong.

Day three saw the race course closer to the city in an attempt to create a flatter sea state from the swell that had built overnight. The breeze continued to soften throughout the day, creating a very challenging race course where wind oscillations were tough to point out. We were able to keep a fairly consistent score line until the last couple races. We ended the day with two tough starts that put us towards the back of the back of the fleet. Fortunately, in the final race of the day, the breeze was very light which created many opportunities to climb back through the fleet. Despite starting in last place and being many boat lengths behind the next boat, were were able to get back in touch with the race after the first two legs and were able to pick out the perfect line up the first upwind to catch up to the leaders. By the final turning mark of the course we had moved into first by a good margin and sailed to our first place finish of the event. It was an amazing moment to end the day, especially considering the competition we were up against.

 

We were able to carry the momentum from day three into the final day of the event, scoring a 3,2,1 in the first three races of the day and moving into the top 5 on the leader board. With only two more races left in the event, we were aiming to keep the consistent score line and hope to finish as high as fourth in the event. Unfortunately, the competition proved challenging and our team finished the last two races near the back of the fleet. With mixed results on the final day, the team ended the World Championship in 7th place. The result was tough knowing we left many points on the table, but given the caliber of the competitors we finished ahead of, our team was very proud of the result as the youngest team on the race course.

Our team was very fortunate to be able to compete at such a high level sailing event against the best sailors in the world. This experience was invaluable and was only made possible thanks to the generosity of Malcolm Gefter and the tremendous support from the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Boat Foundation. ”

 

Markus Edergran, St. Mary’s College of Maryland ’16

 

Ultimate 20 North American Championship Report

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Lake Norman Yacht Club in Mooresville, North Carolina hosted the 2018 Ultimate 20 North American Championship this past weekend. Also known as the U20, the Ultimate 20 is a 21 foot ultra-light designed racer. Nineteen boats hailing from Texas, North Carolina, Ontario, Minnesota, South Carolina, Florida and Michigan came to compete in the championship.

Boats were able to get tuned and ready during their practice race Wednesday with racing kicking off on Thursday. The race committee was optimist about squeezing in five races for the day with light winds at 4-6 knots with an occasional gust to 10 knots. Four very competitive races were scored with three different first place finishers, a testament to the quality of teams in attendance. With very unsteady winds by the end of the day, the race committee decided not to go for the fifth scheduled race.

 

Day two started with everyone checking their forecasts to see what the wind would be doing. With extremely light and shifting winds predicted from the west, the prospects were not looking good. The race committee decided to postpone ashore and wait for at least 4 knots of breeze to fill. After the AP flag was lowered everyone hoisted their sails and left the docks, only to have the breeze die and the race committee sent everyone back to shore. The breeze never filled in and no races were scored on the second day of the championship.

The third and final day of racing was forecast to have 4-8 knots of breeze. However, these predicted conditions didn’t quite materialize and winds were light at 3 knots. These conditions caused some shuffling among the scores, with many boats who after having placed well on the first four races, found themselves at the back for race number five. Boats were hoping to get at least seven races in to get the drop. Race six was started and by the time boats reached the windward mark the wind had died and they were standing still, pointing in all directions. The wind did fill in enough during the sixth race to finally finish but the race committee decided it was not worth attempting race seven.

Local knowledge played a huge advantage, with four of the top five boats from Lake Norman Yacht Club. The podium consisted of all Lake Norman Yacht Club teams. First place went to Mighty Mouse skippered by Tim Porter, second place was A3+ skippered by Mark Aspland and third place went to Rumbullion skippered by BJ Jones.

A big thank you to all the competitors and congratulations to the winners.

Results can be found here http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/15868#_newsroom

Nacra 15 North American Championship Regatta Report

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The Nacra 15 North American Championship was held at the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, Louisiana this past weekend. Twelve races were scheduled over the three day event sailed on Lake Ponthcartrain. The championship consisted of seven boats looking to be crowned the best Nacra 15 in North America.

The first day of racing kicked off at noon with unusual winds for summer on Lake Ponthcartrain with 10-12 knots from the southeast with an occasional gust of up to 19 knots. “The Nacras were flying!” said PRO George Hero. George Hero also mentioned that everyone on the race committee was amazed at how fast the boats accelerate from a dead stop to full on top speed. The first race was a two lap windward-leeward course with a windward mark that was .8 miles upwind which lasted about 30 minutes. The second race finished closer to 40 minutes with a longer windward mark at 1 mile. The good breeze held for the afternoon and the race committee was able to get 4 races in.

The first race was scheduled for 10:30am on Saturday. The weather forecast was light and variable with scattered thunderstorms all over the region. The race committee postponed the first race due to lack of wind and sailors waited ashore for the breeze to fill. Around 11am the winds started to fill in and the race committee set out to get a race off. A light 4 knot breeze filled in and the first race of the second day of competition got underway. On the downwind leg the wind direction shifted 60 degrees and the race committee changed the course accordingly and hoped the wind wouldn’t die altogether. With thunderstorms moving in, the race was shortened at the leeward gate and after finishing the fleet was signaled to return to the harbor. Halfway home the storm hit with heavy rain and wind gusting over 30 knots causing two Nacra teams to capsize.

Once the storm cleared, 6 of the 12 races needed for the championship were completed. The fleet headed back out to the course at 3:30pm to a fairly steady 5-8 knots from the south. The race committees goal was to get all of the races for the regatta in and thus the windward mark was shorted from 1 mile to .5 miles. Two additional races were scored, bringing the events total to 8, and everyone was back ashore by 4:30pm.

 

Sunday was predicted to have similar wind conditions as Saturday but with a lower chance of thunderstorms. The race committee was bound by time to finish the additional four races needed. The sailing instructions limited the last start to no later than 2:00pm. The first race scheduled for 10:30am was postponed due to light winds but around 11am the southerly breeze filled in. It wasn’t much but it was enough to get the competitors around the course. With four races to complete in three hours, the windward mark was set at .5 miles upwind and the required races were completed in time.

First place finishers Nico Martin and AnaClare Sole carded six 1st place finishes in the twelve races. Their 18 points beat out the second place team of Ben Rosenberg and Sidney Charbonnett with 24 points. Third place went to Jack Sutter and Charlotte Versavel.

Congratulations to all the sailors who made the regatta. A special thanks to PRO George Hero for his hard work and words along with the race committee and everyone else involved in making the event.

Race results can be found here http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/17177#_newsroom+results

49er & 49erFX North American Championships Regatta Report

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The 49er and 49er FX North American Championships were hosted by the Richmond Yacht Club in San Francisco this past weekend. The field was comprised of eleven 49er and two 49erFX teams vying for the top spots of the continent. Fifteen races were scored over the four day event which saw some fantastic racing.

“On the first day of racing, I had a hard time figuring out if I was in San Francisco or the Chesapeake Bay,” said PRO Lynda Corrado. The winds were shifty and below 5 knots until the early afternoon, and once the winds filled to 10 knots, the 30 degree shifts made racing interesting for the competitors and the race committee. The characteristic San Fran winds started Friday and appeared with 15 knot winds and a full day of racing was had. Improving on Friday, wind conditions on Saturday and Sunday were a steady 18 knots. Corrado said that once the weekend hit, “I undoubtedly knew where I was.”

The shifting winds on Thursday and Friday resulted in the race committee team doing a constant job of making sure the whether mark and start line were correct and square. The races went smoothly with only one general recall. PRO Corrado claimed responsibility for the general due to not having the line square for that sequence.

The finishes were always tight in the 49er fleet. In most of the races, the fleet was very compact and the racing was exciting from the start until the finish. The top spot at the regatta was a battle between Andrew Mollerus and Ian Barrows. Mollerus, with 7 first place finishes in the fifteen races took first place, ending with 24 points. Barrows was a close second with 28 points and finishing third was Taj Parekh.

The 49erFX top spot went to home club skipper Neil Marcellini of Richmond Yacht Club with 22 points.

Congratulations to all the podium finishers and a special thank you to all the competitors and race committee team who made the North American Championship a success. Also thank you to PRO Lynda Corrado for her work and recap of the event.

Results can be found here https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=16525

Creating opportunities with Bow Sailing

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Bow Sailing is a non-profit organization based out of the Virgin Islands whose mission is to empower local Caribbean youth through sailing and mindfulness life skills. The meaning of the organization name comes from the word “bow,” meaning the front of a boat as well as a sign of gratitude. Bow Sailing seeks to merge together both the sailing and the mindfulness components of the word.

Bow Sailing was started in April of 2017 by founders Tyler Rice and Liz Nurse as a mindful charter boat business. The business offers yoga, meditation retreats and opted for drinking smoothies onboard instead of painkillers. They hosted mindful retreat charters and coached kids sailing on their home island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. They found that they were able to make the largest impact working with children, and decided to make a big shift in their focus. Tyler and Liz say this shift was “one of the most rewarding decisions we’ve ever made.”

Founder Tyler Rice with students

When asked how youth sailing was started, Tyler said “we saw a couple of young local kids sailing an optimist while in Union Island in the Grenadines two years ago. The sailors were using the optimist to dive for sea eggs that they would eat. They didn’t know quite how to rig up the boat but they loved sailing for the love of being on the water and where it could take them. It was only natural to teach them how to rig up the boat and give them some tips on how to sail upwind. One thought led to another and quickly we were planning another trip down to work with a whole group on Union Island, which resulted in camps on three more of the islands and before we knew it we had a program desired by islands all over the Caribbean.”

Tyler and Liz ran with the idea and saying, “we recognized that there were so many locals throughout the Caribbean with the desire to experience the ocean and sailing but were missing the resources, (either boats, coaches, or funding) to make that a reality. We believe that a love of the ocean and knowledge of sailing is a birthright of anybody raised on an island. We also believe that if you are surrounded by water, you should at least have the opportunity or invitation to experience sailing.” They enlisted the help of friend William Torillo as the head photographer and media creator to help spread their organizations story.

Bow Sailing has made an impact on these islands so far,

-St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
-Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
-Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
-Anguilla
-St. Vincent
-Mayreau
-Union Island
-Carriacou

 

Utilizing the communities resources, if the island has a sailing club or available dinghies, the sailors will borrow them for the duration of the camps. Sometimes if the island doesn’t have the boats, they will source them from a nearby island and transport the boats from island to island. The distinguished instructors and coaches are drawn from a network of friends from all over the world who take the time out of their busy schedules to give something back to others. Everyone involved works together to provide the coaching and resources required, as well as the food and shelter for staff. The programs use optimists, 420s, lasers, sunfish, picos, open bics, hobies and IC 24s for boats.

“We’ve been very lucky to be invited to run these programs by each island, and everyone wants to see the coaches and kids succeed.” – Tyler Rice

Bow Sailing believes that mindfulness is an integral part of life and especially competitive sports. The main components of mindfulness that we teach are the ability to be present and focused, as well as the practice of connecting with gratitude.

Liz Nurse teaching mindfulness practices with students

“We start each morning and afternoon session with a mindful practice of some kind- whether it’s yoga, meditation, or tai chi. We are strong believers that the sport of sailing teaches mindfulness by increasing awareness of the elements, the water and the wind, along with becoming more present and focused to feel connected to nature and purpose.” – Liz Nurse

The importance of eating well is something the camps stress for a clear and focused mind. During their Anguilla camp this summer, the Four Seasons Hotel and Resort gave a lot of support by sponsoring the program and also organizing a career day at their resort. The career day provided an amazing opportunity to feed the sailors nourishing meals and demonstrate the importance of fueling our bodies so that they can succeed in sports and life.

When asked if they could have any three things for Bow Sailing, Tyler and Liz listed,
1. A home base on St. Thomas
2. A staff dedicated to the mission
3. A Bow Sailing camp in every Caribbean territory each summer.

The plan for the home base in St. Thomas is to offer sailing as a school program for local public schools. Schools will have designated days for after school sailing where students will have the opportunity to go through a semester long learn to sail program and from there have the option join the weekend race program is they desire. From here we hope to grow to a point where sailors have opportunities to travel with the sport of sailing. Even if it’s as close as Puerto Rico or down island, these travel opportunities open the doors and minds in monumental ways. Watching a sailor that normally wouldn’t have even experienced sailing, grow through this program and get recruited into an American University because of sailing would be a dream come true for Bow Sailing.

How can someone get involved in Bow Sailing?
Write us a note at tyler@bowsailing.com

How can someone donate to Bow Sailing?
Send us a donation at Paypal or Venmo or write us a check! For more information email Tyler at tyler@bowsailing.com

Check out more at Bow Sailings website, http://bowsailing.com

2018 Hobie 16 North American Championships Regatta Report

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The 2018 Hobie 16 North American Championships came to and end this past weekend at Navarre Beach in Florida. 67 teams from from across North America competed in the five day event which held mainly light wind conditions. The layout of the sailing area caused the race officers to run a split fleet format with teams seeded in four flights and competing in two starts per race. This format was run for the first three days of racing and then the fleet was split into gold and silver for the final two days of the championships. Taking first place was Enrique Figueroa and Melisa Gann of Puerto Rico. Figueroa and Gann dominated the event, winning with a total of 48 points and finishing almost 30 points ahead of second place boats at 77 points. A four way tie ensued for second place. The tiebreaker resulted with Mark Modderman and Alexander Liu of the USA in second, and Pat Porter and Heather Matthews of the USA in third place.

 

Day 1

Racing got underway with light winds from 5-7 knots after a morning postponement. The wind didn’t hold for long and two races were scored. Day 1 was commanded by Ken Hilk and Darcy Jensen of Gulfport Yacht Club with first place finishes in both races.

 

Day 2

Another delay in the morning gave way to 5-10 knots of breeze that eased as the day unfolded. The conditions on the race course proved challenging with many shifts and changes in velocity that provided many passing opportunities. The fleet was quite compact due to the wind direction in the tight sailing venue, making clean air and open lanes tough to find. Enrique Figueroa and Melisa Gann of Puerto Rico took the lead after the days three races.

Day 3

The third day of racing saw light linds from 4-7 knots with a persistent shift to the right. Like the day before, trying winds tested the sailors on the racecourse and picking the lanes and shifts to tack on were critical.

Day 4

The fourth day of racing was the first day the teams were split into gold and silver fleets. Conditions were similar to the first three days with light winds from 4-8 knots. Some aggressive starting in the gold fleet resulted in some general recalls and later the U and black flags by the race committee. After the days three races, team Figueroa/Gann of PUR extended their lead in the championships.

Day 5

After a on-shore delay the final day of racing finally held medium winds which enabled teams to at least single trapeze. The 8-10 knots of breeze were welcomed by the fleet after four days of light winds. Continuing upon their previous days of consistent sailing, Enrique Figueroa and Melisa Gann finished strong and took the top place followed by Mark Modderman and Alexander Liu in second, and third place was Pat Porter and Heather Matthews.

Class organizers were pleased with the Florida event and the large turnout of teams. The event was the qualifier for the 2019 Hobie 16 World Championships from November 1st-16th hosted on Captiva Island in Florida. Next years 2019 Hobie North American Championships will be held in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia in September.

Results – http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/16222#_newsroom

Event Website – http://hobieclass.com/2018-hobie-16-north-american-championships/

Source, Rich McVeigh

Photos, Brennon Willamson

2018 Laser North American Championship Regatta Report

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The Moorings 2018 Laser North American Championship hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, California concluded with some fantastic racing by the classes top competitors. 167 sailors, representing 26 countries competed in the Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 classes. The Laser classes saw competitors ranging in age from 14 to 63, a true testament of the classes solidity. The event was also a qualifier for next year’s Pan American Games for many countries. The Alamitos Bay Yacht Club has a history of hosting great events. Regatta Chair Ed Spotskey said, “this is the kind of event ABYC likes to do. Our team really puts our best foot forward to make this a special event for the international sailors.”

The event saw tight racing with Charlie Buckingham of the USA winning the Bruce Kirby Cup in the Laser class. Brenda Bowskill of Canada taking first place in the Laser Radial class and USA sailor Abbie Carlson winning the Laser 4.7 class.

Day 1: The first day of racing had wind starting at 6 knots and building to 14 knots. Charlie Buckingham took the lead in the first day in the 69 boat Laser class, finishing with a 3,2,1. Closely behind with a tied 7 points were American Chris Barnard and Brazil’s Bruno Fontes. The Laser Radial class also saw tight racing with Canadians Brenda Bowskill and Sarah Douglas separated by just one point. Abbie Carlson of the USA and Spencer Leman of Canada were tied for first in the Laser 4.7.

2018 Laser North American Championships, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, Long Beach, CA ©Tom Walker

Day 2: The large fleet of racers took the water for the second day of the event. A handful of siblings decided to attend the championship and make it a family experience. David, 17, John, 15, and William, 13, race on West Okoboji Lake, a six-square-mile finger of water near the Minnesota border. In a van laden with SAT workbooks, towing a tier of Lasers, the Alexander family made last the minute road trip to ABYC because of the large field of competitors. All three have their sights set on the Olympics. As David pointed out, “We figured we’d just go out and give it our best shot.” The trio has David and William racing full rig Lasers, and John in a Laser Radial. Another sibling duo was Jessica McJones, 21 and her 17-year-old brother Gavin, of nearby Rancho Palos Verde. While Gavin has been on a summer sailing circuit including the Youth Champs in North Carolina and Nationals in Houston, Jessica has just returned from her sophomore year at the US Naval Academy. Competing in the Laser Radial fleet is reminiscent of their Opti sailing days, Gavin said, when his focal point was beating his big sister. “I would just go tack on her,” he laughed, “and I still do.” Gavin said, “I’ve never sailed in such a large fleet, with so many boats on the start line. It makes racing more challenging. You can’t always tack when you want, if you don’t have a clear lane, so you can miss the shifts. And it’s hard to play the waves on the downwind run. It’s way more defensive driving.” Gavin stood 11 positions ahead of his sister at the end of six races. “It’s all very competitive and I want to do well,” Jessica said, but secretly admitted, “I’m kind of rooting for him.”

In the Laser Radial class, Brenda Bowskill had an impressive day, posting 1,2,1,1,1,1 finishes. Sarah Douglas held onto second place and Joseph Hou of the USA moved into third place.

2018 Laser North American Championships, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, Long Beach, CA ©Tom Walker

 

Day 3: No racing was held on the third day.

Day 4: The final day of racing culminated with all the excitement of a major championship, including collisions, general recalls, knock-downs, and dismastings. The fleets attempted to unseat the leaders who had set themselves on the top from the first day.

Olympian Charlie Buckingham, USA, who has dominated the Laser Standard division since day one, triumphed for the 2018 Bruce Kirby Cup. With half his finishes in the regatta first-place bullets, the four-time Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association All-American, from nearby Newport Beach, held off an attack by three-time North American Champion Chris Barnard, USA, and Olympian Bruno Fontes, BRA, who finished second and third.

At the top of the leaderboard in the 80-boat Laser Radial fleet was Olympian Brenda Bowskill, CAN, who never relinquished her clutch on first place since the first day. Bowskill sailed for Canada in the 2016 Olympic Games and her performance had opponents noting she was ‘one with her boat.’ Fellow Canadian Sarah Douglas, another Olympic hopeful, took a solid second, followed by Joseph Hou, USA sailing at his home yacht club.

In the 4.7 class, Abbie Carlson, USA, and Spencer Leman CAN, were tied or trading places throughout the regatta. In the end, Carlson edged out Leman, for the Laser 4.7 honors with Erik Hou, brother of Joseph Hou, taking third.

“What makes me most proud, as Race Chair for an event of this caliber, is all the teams from around the world and the US who make a point to come up and tell us what a wonderful event this is, and how terrific the hospitality is at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club,” said Spotskey. “They truly appreciate being here, competing at and enjoying this awesome venue. That makes us feel pretty special. That’s why we do this.”

Tom White, representing The Moorings, added, “It’s an honor for The Moorings to be a part of the International Laser Class 2018 North American Championship, hosted by the beautiful Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. We could not have asked for a better platform to showcase our yacht charter vacations.” With a global field of people who love to sail, from teens to septuagenarians, the Laser class an ideal alliance. “All of us at The Moorings look forward to working with the ILCA again in the future.”

 

LASER STANDARD

  1. Charlie Buckingham USA
  2. Chris Barnard USA   
  3. Bruno Fontes BRA
  4. Henry Marshall USA
  5. Juan Maegli GUA

LASER RADIAL

  1. Brenda Bowskill CAN
  2. Sarah Douglas CAN
  3. Joseph Hou USA
  4. Ricky Welch USA
  5. Maura Dewey CAN

LASER 4.7

  1. Abbie Carlson USA
  2. Spencer Leman CAN
  3. Erik Hou USA
  4. Katherine Nelson USA
  5. Sammy Farkas USA

Results

https://www.sailwave.com/results/2018_Laser_North_American_Championship.htm

U.S. Youth Match Race Championship Regatta Report

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The U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup was held last weekend by Oakcliff Sailing and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, in addition with the support of US Sailing and the event sponsors, Gill North America, Hobie Polarized Sunglasses, NBSSA and North U. The Competitors must have reached their 16th birthday, but not their 21st birthday during the calendar year in which the event is held. The U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship (“USYMRC”) for the Rose Cup is an invitational event based on Requests for Invitation from qualified skippers. The event is classified as a World Sailing Grade 3 event with teams consisting of crews of four with at least one male and one female and a maximum crew weight of 680 lbs. 10 teams competed in Sonars for this year’s event.

History: The Rose Cup started as an invitational youth match racing event in 2010. It was founded by members of Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach, California, and the Newport-Balboa Sailing & Seamanship Association (NBSSA). Its mission is to assist in the promotion of youth match racing in the United States and improve the quality of US competitors in national and international competition. Thanks primarily to the efforts of US Sailing Match Racing Committee Vice-Chair and five-time US Match Racing Champion, Dave Perry, US Sailing made the event one of its three match racing championships, and it officially became the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship in 2015.

At each USYMRC, the presentation of the Nick Scandone Sportsmanship Award is always a highlight. This trophy was named for the late US Paralympic Gold Medalist Nick Scandone who, in addition to winning the Gold Medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, was beating both able bodied and physically challenged competitors throughout the last year of his life as he fought ALS or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” Nick’s persistence against seemingly insurmountable odds provides inspiration to winners of the Scandone Sportsmanship Trophy and to all sailors. The Rose Cup was named by NBSSA for America’s Cup, Congressional Cup and offshore tactician Andy Rose, for his contributions to youth match racing for the Governor’s and Rose Cups.

Day 1: The first day of the National Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup was a sunny day with 7 knots of breeze from the Northwest in the forecast, but the only thing sailors had when they got onto the water was calm glass. The ten teams of four, most of whom hail from Southern California. All eyes were on these young, talented sailors to see what they can do, especially after two days of coaching from match racing legend Dave Perry.

Day one of racing started hot and windless. We saw signs of a Southerly and loaded the sailors into Seawanhaka’s Sonars to be towed out to the race course. While they waited for the wind, the kids kept cool and had some fun with an unofficial flip and dive contest. When the breeze filled in around 1pm, it was blowing 4-6 knots from the Northwest.

“Trust your eyes!” was the advice that coach Dave Perry shouted to the competitors as they prepared for the first flight of the day. With a fluky four knots of breeze, the teams that could spot the pressure came out on top.

“I would identify the puffs and the favored side, relay that back to the rest of the crew, and then we would all talk about it,” said Cameron Feves’ trimmer, Tanner Chapko. Feves and his team from Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club went undefeated all day. Another winning strategy was leading back to the line in the prestart. “A lot of competitors have been starting late but it’s too costly in this light wind,” said Feves’ bowman Lukas Kraak. “Most of our races were won at the start.”

Jack Parkin and his team from Riverside Yacht Club, who also went undefeated, employed the same strategy. In their Flight 5 match against Porter Killian they hit the line in the lead with speed and that’s where the race was won.

Day 2: Day two of the US Youth Match Racing Championship began the same as the first day: an AP flag drooping under the hot summer sun. Despite the heat and lack of wind, there was certainly no lack of youthful exuberance amongst the sailors or coach Dave Perry.

“We’ve had a lot of long hours waiting for the wind but we kept each other laughing and had a lot of really good conversations,” said Jack Parkin’s pit person, Ashton Borcherding.

The breeze filled in at about 4pm with a shifty 4 knots gusting 6 from the South. In Flight 7 of the first Round Robin, Parkin and his team from Riverside Yacht Club (CT) duked it out with Cameron Feves and his team from Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club (CA). The two undefeated teams went toe to toe in a classic East Coast versus West Coast showdown. After an intense dog fight in the playground they started neck and neck on the line but it was Jack Parkin who took the win.

“Our winning strategy has been something Dave Perry says to us often: you can’t really win races, you lose them,” said Parkin. “Everybody is going to make mistakes so it’s about minimizing how big they are and how often they happen.”

Defending champion David Wood and his team from Balboa Yacht Club finally ended Jack Parkin’s winning streak in Flight 9.

“We saw some big pressure coming down from the left and we knew there was less current too,” said Wood’s bowman Daniel Pegg. “We thought we could dig into that lefty and ride the lift up to the weather mark so we went for it and it worked out.”

“I couldn’t have been more proud of the way the 40 competitors dealt with the long hot delays,” said regatta coach Dave Perry; “they kept their spirits up, and as a result the racing was competitive with many passes on the course, which is the sign of expert match racing.”

Day 3: The lack of wind resulted in no sailing on the final day. Oakcliff Sailing organizer Bill Simon said, “We were happy to get the whole round robbin in given the weekend conditions.”

Winning team was Jack Parkin, Ashton Borcherding, Bram Backman and Wiley Rogers.

Results

  1. Jack Parkin
  2. Cameron Feves
  3. Ansgar Jordan
  4. Cole Harris
  5. Conrad Vandlik
  6. Porter Killian
  7. David Wood
  8. Jack Reiter
  9. Robert Turigliatto
  10. Christophe Chaumont

Link to Resultshttps://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_match_race_results.php?regatta_id=16679

 

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