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Audi Melges 20 (One Design – 52 Boats) 1. Ninkasi, Audi Melges 20, John Taylor , Jupiter, FL, USA, 1-11-31-4-14-1-5-1-1-10-[31]; 48 2. Cajun Underwriting, Audi Melges 20, Marcus Eagan , Mandeville, LA, USA, 6-27-13-2-7-5-11-3-4-5-[27]; 56 |
Club 420 Association and US Sailing Collaborate on 2014 U.S. Youth Sailing Championship Qualifications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2013
North Kingston, RI — The Club 420 Association announced today that it has collaborated with US
Sailing to support the manner in which youth sailors are invited to the 2014 U.S. Youth Sailing
Championship.
Invitations will be issued to U.S. Youth Sailing Championships’ applicants using one of two criteria: the
resume review process currently in place; or, a new early acceptance process determined by a sailor’s
placement at designated national and regional events. Sailors who finish within the prescribed placing at
the selected events will be automatically invited, provided their 2014 U.S. Youth Sailing Championship
application is completed by the due date on the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship’s Notice of Race,
which will be posted in January. All early acceptance events will occur between January 1 and June 20,
2014. Any slots left unfilled will be returned to the pool of spaces available to sailors applying by resume.
For 2014, the top eight (8) eligible teams from the Club 420 Midwinter Championships and the top two
(2) eligible teams from the Girls Doublehanded Championship will be offered an invitation to participate
in the 2014 U.S. Youth Sailing Championship in the doublehanded fleet of their choice (Club 420, I-420,
Formula 16 or 29er).
Sailors may also apply for an invitation to the 2014 U.S. Youth Championship by submitting a resume in
January. Learn more about the selection process and criteria for the 2014 U.S. Youth Championship
(http://championships.ussailing.org/Youth/US_Youth_Champs.htm).
“This is a significant step for US Sailing and an enhancement which positively impacts the membership
of the Club 420 Association” says John Vandemoer, Executive Director. “We look forward to working
with US Sailing on this and additional initiatives in the coming months.”
About the Club 420 Association – The Club 420 Association was established in 1980 to promote, foster,
encourage and sponsor one-design sailing for youth sailors. The Association annually sponsors a North
American Championship, US and Canadian National Championships as well as regional and team racing
championships across North America while promoting the class to all ability and experience levels of
youth sailing.
For more information visit www.club420.org
For more information contact:
John Vandemoer, Executive Director ([email protected] )
Club 420 Association and US Sailing Collaborate on 2014 U.S. Youth
Sailing Championship Qualifications
US Performance Academy: Blending High Academic Achievement with High Performance Sailing
Editors note: Sail1Design came across this idea awhile back, and we asked the founders to share their story about a really cool idea. Enjoy, and please post comments at the bottom of this piece.
Update: Position open at USPA: http://sailingjobs.sail1design.com/employment/us-performance-academy-learning-coach-opportunity-listing-2880.aspx
When a school’s website is www.smartsailor.org, it leaves no doubt as to the focus of the program. The brainchild of educator Peter Smith and former US Optimist Dinghy Association President and Current 29er World Council member Blake MacDiarmid, both lifelong competitive sailors, US Performance Academy is bringing a fresh, new approach to the way youth sailors learn, train and compete at the highest level. With a custom USPA-specific SailX.com online trailing simulator, conditioning programs modeled on Oracle TeamUSA’s efforts and a hydration partnership with Vita Coco, USPA is blazing a new path to excellence.
No longer will developing scholar athletes have to choose between the best in academics and championship, Olympic or America’s Cup dreams – now you can have it all. An independent, small school ecosystem of excellence, USPA is a first of its kind environment combining the best in 21-century learning and the most advanced classroom technology with an innovative, ultra-performance sailing program. With a leadership advisory group that includes Olympic Medalist Lucas Calabrese, MIT Head Coach Matt Lindblad and Former Yale Advancement Officer John Ormiston, USPA is poised to effectively change the way student athletes learn, train and succeed as the school of tomorrow, today.
“Like I did with iPads at my previous school, our goal is to create something truly unique, something that has never been done before in sailing. Based on the feedback, I think we are on the right track,” says Smith, who is Chief Academic Officer.
Leveraged technology, feedback loop training and integrated learning and Olympic level training, conditioning and coaching are the basis of the USPA approach. Based in Miami but accessible anywhere in the world via an individualized 21st Century cloud-based digital learning platform, USPA is the missing link between the emerging talent of the new generation of American Optimist sailors and the retooled U.S. Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. With pre-G 6-8 programming, a comprehensive College Preparatory 9-12 degree program and PG opportunities, Smith says “We meet students where they are to create the optimum learning experience. We are fundamentally changing the paradigm of school vs. sailing to school and sailing, and clearly t’s a win/win approach.”
Importantly, USPA scholar athletes are not limited to one class of boat. From Optimists to i420s, 29ers to F16s – the program integrates your performance with your studies, without dictating a boat or one size fits all academics. Students are empowered to perform at the highest level – and exceptionally prepared for success in college classrooms, international racecourses and professional careers.
And on the performance side, MacDiarmid believes we need to look to the future with an understanding of the past. “After listening to the onboard mics coming off the Cup boats or considering the ‘12 London Games it is no secret we have to create a better pipeline for the development and cultivation of American performance sailors. With unprecedented recent success for Americans at the International Optimist Championship level based on new methods of coaching and preparation, we know how to bring that talent forward in a balanced way – and that’s a big part of our direction.”
MacDiarmid is straightforward about what USPA is all about. “Working cooperatively with Leadro Spina, Charlie McKee and Josh Adams from U.S. Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider, we are focused on introducing younger sailors to high performance sailing in a structured, innovative way. And by integrating their studies directly into the process in a collaboratively, we are leaping over a critical barrier to success because smarter sailors are faster sailors – that’s the bottom line.”
Please visit www.SmartSailor.org to learn more about the USPA experience.
Connect with USPA:
Email: [email protected] [email protected]
Web: SmartSailor.org
Facebook: USPerformanceAcademy
Twitter: @USPAAcademy
VitaCoco – Official Hydration Partner of USPA
SailX.com – Official Online Training Simulator of USPA
Tactics with Mike: Sail1Design Multitasking
By Airwaves writer Mike Ingham
“EASE THE OUTHAUL” my skipper barks. Now, in my opinion barking almost anything does no good, but in this case, we had just had a 3rd row start, the gas masks were fully deployed. We were stopped well below the line as we watched the entire fleet sail away. Outhaul tension was ridiculously far down the priority list. A psychologist would have had a field day.
I have a theory; that good sailors are good at focusing, multitasking and prioritizing. I have no psychology background, no scientific proof, and no studies to back me up. Perhaps others have made this leap before, but I have never heard anyone connect successful sailing and multitasking. In short my theory is baseless but for my own experience and observation. So be patient and hear me out because despite the lack of scientific backup, I think there is a lot to learn from those that know how to multitask.
I did some digging to learn more. According to Wikipedia, “multitasking” is a computer term meaning the CPU is doing more than one thing at a time. Evidentially (my further Wiki reading informs me) we humans don’t really multitask at all, instead we “context switch” (taken from another CPU term) meaning we switch from one task to the other not actually able to focus on more than one at a time. A computer processor can have multiple “cores” so they really can multitask. We have but one brain so we can’t.
To context switch, whether computer or human, first we need to store some information about what we are currently doing, switch to the next task, store info on that task before we switch back to the original task (or yet another) and so on. Every time a CPU does this loses significant efficiency, and so do we.
We are not going to worry here about semantics, so we will stick with the term “multitasking” for the purpose of relating the idea of balancing all the things we have to do in sailing. But what is important no matter what you call it, is that it is not an easy process.
For example, suppose the helmsman is sailing in open water upwind. The focus might go something like this:
- Stare at jib telltales for 5 seconds
- Glance at waves for 2 seconds
- Telltales for 5 sec
- Waves for 2 sec
- Telltales for 5 seconds
- Main leach telltale for 2 sec
- Telltales for 5 sec
- Double check jib trim from spreader for 2 sec
- Telltales for 5 sec
- And so on
The key to making it work is to truly focus most of the time on the jib telltales and only glance away for a few seconds at a time. And remember to focus back on the tales.
One trick I like to use when I do this is to glance and memorize what I see. Then when I am looking back at the highest priority while I process what I just memorized.
For example, to add some detail to the above:
- Jib telltales 5 sec
- Main leach telltale 2 sec (memorize what I see)
- Jib telltales 5 sec (decide main telltale too stalled, ease main a little)
- Main leach telltale 2 sec (memorize what I see)
- Jib telltales 5 sec (decide if I eased the right amount)
- Waves 2 sec
- And so on
Then I hear “starboard tack boat coming in 10 boatlenghts, we are close to crossing”. I change my focus:
- Look for starboard tacker for 5 sec
- Jib telltales 5 sec (while think about how we are converging, decide it really is close. It is
super important here to keep going fast or we won’t cross for sure) - Look at boat for 10 sec while decide if we can make it across
- I say to the tactician: “Don’t think we will make it, do you want a tack or duck”
- Tactician: “keep going at all costs, so duck”
- I say “ease jib and vang” as I duck
The priority changed to the duck, and a whole new set of tasks to multitask for that process. Then I head up to close hauled again and reprioritize the jib until the next event that trumps speed.
We only have so much mental energy and we need to put it to good use. It turns out that we humans are terrible at multitasking, but the best sailors are less terrible at it. For proof in my theory look to the guy that was focused on the outhaul during his 3rd row start. He could not help it –he was not a good multitasker. We don’t need to look far for millions of other examples we witness (or sadly guilty of ourselves) of misdirected focus. Misdirected focus is poor multitasking and does not lead to good results.
Further proof is in myself. When I feel sharp I feel very aware of my surroundings. I seem to be able to keep focus, but then quickly glance at something and go right back to focusing on what is important. Then instinctively when something changes, I know to change my focus to that new priority to get around a mark or whatever needs to be done. Then I am right back on making the boat go fast again. When I can’t quite make those changes, get lost in my priorities, those are not good days.
There you have it; my theory that the most successful sailors multitask really well.
2013 Sail1Design Coach of the Year Nominations
It’s that time of year again! Sail1Design seeks your nominations for the S1D Coach of the Year. We are asking for your nominations based on a coach that embodies the qualities (and more) listed in the article below. Please send a 300-word nomination to [email protected]
This is your award! The Sail1Design staff will choose the winner only from our readers nominations! Nominations will close on 15 January, and the winner will be announced before the end of the month. This is a great opportunity to recognize a coach that you feel makes a difference!
All good coaches, regardless of their chosen sport, share some important fundamental qualities that transcend technical knowledge, or specific x’s & o’s. In other words, whether it’s a basketball, tennis, hockey, football, chess, or sailing coach, there are certain key characteristics to good coaching, and none of these really requires technical knowledge of the sport they are in.
Here are some of those characteristics: logistics, organization, energy, leadership, passion, creativity, patience, dedication, motivational skill, humility.
I would bet that you could take a good coach, put him or her in a new sport, and that coach would find some success. Think about the best coach you ever had, and visualize that person in another sport, and you might see just how that person could adapt and still be a difference-maker.
However, we all know that great coaches not only possess these core qualities, but indeed they are also masters of the subtleties, rules, and technical chess moves of the sport they are involved in. Very often, great coaches are former players themselves, and often they are good, but not necessarily great players. In any event, it seems virtually certain that actually having been in the arena at some level, having been a true game player, is a necessary ingredient for a great coach.
So then, what an important advantage sailing coaches have, since the sport allows lifelong top-level competitive opportunities. While it would be impossible for a middle-aged football coach to live, first-hand, what his players go through on the gridiron, middle-aged sailors and coaches can stay current, and can compete right alongside the world’s best sailors, and even win world championships in sailing. Opportunities exist in team racing, match racing, and all types of one-design classes offer regattas, year-round. In this manner, sailing coaches have the ability to get inside the sport, at the highest levels, learn more, and feel the same things that their players go through out on the race course. The empathy gained here is a very powerful tool that great coaches employ when coaching.
Getting into the rhythm of a sailboat race, realizing first-hand the excitement and frustrations of the sport, preparing mentally for each race, “knowing when to tack”, these are all things that coaches must be able to talk to their players about, and talking to them about these things is so much more clear and present when done by someone who is actually good at them, and has done them recently at a high level.
For example, it was always easy for me to say to a team, “make sure when you are in FJ’s at the starting line to allow yourself more leeward room to accelerate since the foils are small and the boats need to go bow down first before they start lifting.” It was really easy to say. It was quite another thing to actually do it, and to go out on the starting line, in FJ’s, and practice what I preached. That was a LOT harder, and I drew a great deal of empathy with my players from that situation and recognized better ways to talk about it and to talk them through it, having been there myself. This is especially true in team racing, where coaches can see plays easily on the coach boat or on the drawing board, but it’s one thing to talk about a mark trap at Mark 1; it’s another thing altogether to go out and be able to execute it. Without being, or having been, in the arena, sailing advice and technical coaching can be somewhat hollow compared to other sailing coaches who know it first-ha
nd and live what they coach.
So, when you look to your coaches for advice or to get to that next level, or if you are a interested in sailing in a college program, take a moment and check out the coaches resumes, just as they will most assuredly be checking yours. The list that makes coaches good coaches should be there for sure, but see if the coaches list how, or if, they stay current in their profession and have the passion to go out on the racecourse themselves. Great coaches usually always have a story, and very recent one, of a lesson learned at a regatta they sailed in themselves. They love to sail and get better, if only to become a better sailor and coach.
While there is a short list of coaches who choose to (and can) do it all, many top collegiate programs now share these coaching qualities by hiring an assistant or co-head coach, who is very often a recent college sailing alumnus and is active in dinghy racing and brings that empathy, right away, to the team. The head coach then ties everything together with experience, maturity, management, and knowledge of the game.
If you’ve ever noticed, baseball coaches actually suit up for games even though they certainly won’t be playing. This historically comes from the old “player-coach” model, and perhaps, this connects them with the game and the player more intimately. Sailing offers the unique ability for all ages to compete at the highest levels of the sport, and great sailing coaches take advantage of this, “suiting up” themselves and making themselves better at coaching by sailing competitively.
We invite you to share your thoughts about coaching using our forum below, and to nominate your coach for our second SAIL1DESIGN COACH OF THE YEAR. Please submit a nomination to:
[email protected] and explain in 300 words or less why your nomination deserves to be the S1D Coach of the Year.
Last years winner was Steven Hunt. To read his nomination letter and learn more about him, go here: https://www.sail1design.com/general-news/1056-s1d-coach-of-the-year-steve-hunt
Meet the Optimist Dinghy
by Airwaves writer Emma White
The optimist, originally designed by Clark Mills in 1947, became a registered One-Design boat in 1995; after a few modifications. It is roughly 8 feet long, precisely 3 feet and eight inches wide, and weighs approximately 77 pounds. Although, many describe this boat as a floating bathtub, it does not stop youth sailors from competing and having fun. Sailed internationally in more than 100 countries with approximately 200,000 sailors registered in optimists. Optimists are safe and are easy for kids to sail who want to hit the water and have some fun. Optimists are also sailed competitively. Whether it be state, national, or even international competitions, opti sailors enjoy the thrill of racing this boat. Sailors learn invaluable skills from high-level coaches, make life-long friends, and learn skills that increase independence through various clinics and regattas offered to them.
Optimist sailors range from the age of 10 to15 years old. They are eligible to compete in national and international events. These sailors represent the ‘red’, ‘white’, and ‘blue’ fleets. The divisions further separate the sailors by age. Sailors aged10 are placed into White fleet, followed by sailors aging between 11-12 who are in Blue fleet, and finally sailors aging between 13-15 who are in Red fleet. Although, the fleets divided the age group of 10-15, they all compete with one another on the starting line and in the race course. Results of regattas are delineated by “fleet” and the top female competitor is usually recognized. The use of fleets is just one way to identify each racer. Racing is available to sailors younger than 10 years of age and this group of sailors is referred to as “green fleet”. National and local events are organized for these eager, opti-enthusiasts as well, allowing them to get a head start on opti competition before they join the older sailors.
A wide age range of opti sailors also translates into a broad weight range of the junior sailors. A study of the 2011 Optimist Worlds (a competition among the most skilled opti sailors in the world) which was held in New Zealand, pinpoints the range and average weight of the top ten optimist sailors of the regatta. The average size of the finishers were 110 pounds, with a range of 30 pounds. This means that optis are for sailors of all sizes, and it also means, contrary to popular belief, optimists are not boats that sailors outgrow at the age 13.
Many of opti sailors have aspirations of competing at the Olympic level. In fact, nearly 50 percent of the United States Sailing Team are previous opti sailors. Optimists are provide a strong sailing foundation, fun and they are competitive.
Rigging Information:
– One hull
$1– Fiberglass
– One sail
$1– The sail is held up with a sprit and two battens
$1– Sail-ties connect the sail to the boom and mast
$1– To adjust sail shape, change the sprit, vang, and outhaul tension
– Use a rudder and centerboard
Thank you to the following sources for making this article possible:
https://sites.google.com/site/optiracingusscmc/faqs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimist_(dinghy)
http://pix.daveheinphotography.com/Boats
International Sailing Academy Joins the S1D Team
The International Sailing Academy is happy to join the Sail1Design community. We are a Laser and Optimist winter training facility for youth, masters and Olympic athletes. Our location in Mexico provides warm climates and great conditions for sailors to prepare for their events. Below you will find our first article about starting technique in the Laser. If you have any other questions, please send us an email at [email protected], and don’t hesitate to visit our website to find a clinic for you!
Downspeed manoeuvres for better starts
After having done my pre-game research and having a good idea of where I want to start, I set up on the line, then use the remaining time (usually between 1 minute to 1:30 left) to create a bigger hole to leeward, and defend from poachers. The skills to increase your hole are known as “downspeed maneuvers” and they can be classified as:
a) shooting up,
b) sailing backwards,
c) double tack.
The most common is shooting up. This requires a very strong ability in sculling. Use your tiller to pivot your boat down while sheeting out. As long as your sail is completely luffing, you should be able to pivot around your daggerboard without moving forward. From a near close hauled course, add leeward heel and sheet in slightly and sit back & out to swing your bow back into the wind while minimizing forward movement.
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It is important to gain distance to windward to remain “bow even” with the other boats, but never too much to risk going over the line early, or forcing the boats around you to do the same. Having “shot up” into the wind, there will be several moments when your boat is NOT slipping sideways towards the port end of the line. This is where you make gains. Once you start going backwards again, you need to re-gain control by sculling down again. Having repeated this several times, you will open up a gap to leeward and allow for the other boats to drift away. You can also use the technique to make your hole look unappealing to poachers. Be careful not to break Rule 42. The jury is watching for your tiller to cross the centerline; so scull down to close hauled on starboard tack, then make sure you initiate your turn back up with just your sail & body weight, and let the tiller follow the boat.
Sailing backwards requires you to avoid other boats. Think of this skill as a ‘reset’ for entering a hole. If you’ve either fallen back from being bow even with the other boats around you, or gotten too close to the boat to leeward, or essentially just too crammed in – sail backwards so that you can re-approach the line with better control and space. The steering is the hardest part. Getting used to steering backwards is crucial(an easy one to practice on your own, though!). Once you have really good control of where the boat is going, you should be able to reverse out of the lineup with ease. Here are the basic steps:
1. Make sure your boat is dead stopped. Any forward movement will cause the boat to tack when you press your boom out.
2. Aim your rudder straight back at first
3. Slightly press on your boom until you get some speed, gradually increase pressure on the boom as your reverse speed increases. Too much will cause you to tack unwillingly onto port.
4. Push the tiller away from you to bring your bow down, and stern to windward. Keep pushing your sail out past 90 degrees or else it will fill with wind, and your attempt to reverse will be over.
Once you’ve reversed out, you can now decide whether you want to sail back into the same hole, or bail out and go find another one further down the line.
Only when you have enough space to windward, should you attempt the double tack. The double tack means that you will momentarily be losing your rights, and sailing back towards a group of angry starboard tackers. However, this is an absolute game changer if you can pull it off. It is important to effectively complete 2 tacks without any acceleration. You do this by simply backwinding and luffing.
Initiate a shoot up then backwind your sail immediately by pressing the boom away from you. If you have any forward movement, this should tack you onto port fairly easily.
Once on port, luff your sail and quickly switch your hands on the tiller, so that you can scull if needed. Now you need to do a port tack shootup to reverse the process. Do it quickly before the boats to windward notice!
scull down, shoot up, push the boom away from you, and you should be on starboard tack before you know it.
Voila! you have created a bigger hole to leeward of you that you can use to accelerate!
Practice:
1. Setup 2 marks about 10 boat lengths apart
. sail your boat up to the starboard end and stop once you become overlapped by heading up head to wind and slightly backwinding. Begin repeating the process of sculling down, then shooting back head to wind and try to NEVER become un-overlapped between the 2 marks. Obviously the longer you can make your drift time between starboard end and port end, the more your are eliminating drift. Once you have reached the port end of the line, stop your clock then repeat the drill and try to beat your time. If you can keep your boat under control for more than 4 minutes without losing overlap, that is mighty impressive!
2. Setup two marks about two boat lengths apart. This is your hole on the startline. Every 2 minutes you will have to protect your hole for 1 minute. Do this by eliminating drift, sailing backward, or double tacking. Accelerate at go.
Max St-Maurice
International Sailing Academy
Tactics with Mike: Find the Starting Line
By Airwaves Writer Mike Ingham
I think just about the hardest role on entire boat is the bow. I don’t mean the mechanics, yes that is not easy, but a good athlete will figure that out. I mean calling distance to the line. It is a science and an art –and it is tough, and can for sure make or break a regatta. In the absence of instruments, it is impossible to know for sure where the line is, but here are some helpful things we do to know where the line is.
Line sights:
- By far the best way to know where the line is it to use line sights.
- It’s best to sight from the far side of the line (instead of inside one of the ends) so you can line up the ends.
- A lot of times the shore is not clear, or is generic. All you can do is the best you can.
- We start with the end of the line has something you can sight down and see on shore on the other side.
- Once my bow person confirms they are happy with their sight, from that end, I like to sail down the line, right on the line so the bow person gets used to seeing the line sight.
- Then, if there is a line sight available from the other end, we get that in the same way.
- On our boat I like when the bow and the tactician discuss the line sight, I think that helps give the bow confidence. And that way second person on the boat has the sight, so they can add sanity to the final approach if necessary.
Line sight off the line:
Probably as important as the line sight, is a sight some distance from the line.
- This is anywhere from say 6 to 1 boatlength off, wherever there is some obvious sight.
- It gives a great reference along the way to the actual line sight.
- I really like it because since the bow gets to choose where the sight is, it can be something conspicuous and maybe not even on shore, like a channel marker.
- Geometry dictates that the distance changes as we go down the line. For example, if our “off the line” line sight is a big building 4 boatlengths off at the pin, at half way down that means we are two boatlenghts away, ¾ of the way down the line it is one boatlength.
Look back and forth:
Sometimes there is not sight because it is hazy, or whatever, then it is harder. Here are some ideas:
- Looking both ways. Simply looking at the boat, then pin a few times works ok.
- But I find that if I then turn around and do it facing backwards and looking back and forth at the boat then pin recalibrates my eye.
- For example, suppose I look back and forth and think we are 3 boatlengths off, but then turn and look back and forth again and it looks like we are 5 boatlengths off. Well, the truth is probably right in between at 4.
- Before the start sometimes I try this while running the line where we are pretty sure we are on the line. By looking back and forth then turning around and doing so again, then back, I train my eye.
The RC eyes:
The human eye is pretty good at looking at another human eye and knows where it is looking.
- If you are talking to someone and they look from your eye to your ear, you know it
- I do the same with the line. For the most part, the RC is looking straight down the line and you can see which way they are looking at with surprising clarity.
- The further we are from the line, the less you can see of the eye, but even the direction the head faces works well.
Some other object near the line:
Rarely, but sometimes, there is something anchored near the line.
- Like a mid-line mark or a crab pot
- Most likely this marker is over or under by a good amount. But even so, knowing that some crab pot is say 4 boat lengths below or above the line is a great reference.
Other boats
I am not always the best at this, but I am learning the importance of watching the fleet. Even though I trust my bow person, I modify what they are telling me by looking at the fleet a few boats to windward and leeward.
- If the fleet is pushing the line, I go with them but hang back just a little.
- For example, if there is 15 seconds to go, my bow is saying we are on the line, yet everyone around me is accelerating, I accelerate too, but lag behind just a bit.
- If there is a sag in the line, I will halve the distance between the fleet and where my bow person is saying the line is.
- For example, if my bow is telling me there is 4 boatlengths left yet we are nose out from everyone around me, I might time it so I start with a boatlength to spare so I don’t take undue risk.
- One way of accomplishing this is I empower my bow person to wave me forward and hold me back with hand signals. I might get a wave forward even
though we are close to the line because the fleet is all ahead of us, or a hold back even though we are not near the line if they think we are exposed. - The tactician is keeping track of the fleet too and if the fleet is surging ahead, calls for an aggressive start, if they think it is lagging; they will call for me to pull the trigger a little late.
Communication:
- I like the bow to always call distance with one finger per boatlength close hauled on starboard –not perpendicular to the line.
- That way if the line is skewed one way or the other, the distance / time still makes sense.
- I like someone besides the bow person to call time loud and clear so the bow does not have to look at their watch. We like to keep the bow focused on the line.
- I don’t like a lot of chatter from anyone, there is a lot going on and it can quickly become information overload, but the tactician needs to use the same techniques that the bow is to keep track of the line too. Then jump in if and when they see something the bow person does not.
Practice starts
More recently, if there is time, I have been doing 2 practice starts before each race. I have found this a great warm up drill.
- We do 2 minute starts, no time to waste!
- Ideally it is using the real line, around the area we want to start.
- But if that is not practical, we start at a crab pot or anything we can find.
I’ll say again that I believe the single hardest position on the boat is the bow calling the line. There are so many variables; all while bouncing around –it is tough. And to top it off, the personality of the RC and/ or fleet can affect how the line is called. So there is no guarantee, but the above is the closest we have come to a formula for success. But you need to stay alert, things change and you need to be ready to take advantage of that.
Turkey Team Race: The Rebirth of Youth Team Racing?
By Airwaves writer Grace Lucas
This past weekend the Annapolis Yacht Club hosted a team race regatta, much like the CJ Buckley Team Race Regatta, but on a much smaller scale. Anyone could enter, provided that they had a full team of 6; 3 skippers and 3 crews, however the registration was capped at 12 teams. My CJ Team, The Powerpuff Girls, entered together, excited to have an excuse to sail together again.
Saturday morning, everyone was at the AYC junior sailing building by 8 o’clock, except for a few late stragglers, one of whom was one of the Powerpuff Girls who was flying in from Maine that morning. Once we got the lay of the land, we all waited for the skippers meeting, which came promptly at 9 am outside on the deck to accommodate the large number of people there. It was brisk outside, around 40 degrees, but definitely sailable. We were lucky to have very talented and knowledgeable coaches at the event, all of whom coincidentally sailed at the College of Charleston!
Since high school sailing had ended three weeks prior to this event, I was eager to get out onto the water, despite the chilly air. The Powerpuff Girls were one of the two teams that rigged SSA (Severn Sailing Association) boats, which is where we would be switching boats for the weekend. 24 boats were sailed; 6 SSA boats and 18 AYC boats. The regatta ran much like a high school team race regatta, with teams switching boats after almost every race. However, once we got out on the water, we didn’t start races immediately. Due to a delay for one of the teams, we did a couple of practice starts before the team racing actually began.
It was extremely fun to be back on the water. Just three weeks felt like eternity, and once I was back in a boat I realized how much I really missed sailing. Emma, my skipper, and I even got chastised for smiling too much during a race by one of the coaches (which we thought was even funnier). The conditions were very appropriate in portraying what high school and college regattas can be like. The wind was oscillating rapidly, and the pressure was very up and down. To succeed, it was extremely important to remember to sail your boat well. Just getting off the line well and consistently tacking with headers could make or break a team. Our coaches, Cole Allsopp, Russ (Rustle) O’Reilly, Brendan Healy, and Zeke Horowitz, watched the races closely throughout the day, and gave us feedback and advice, all of which was very beneficial, especially for those of us wanting to take it back to our school teams.
The racing had to end early for a couple of the teams, as AYC had its annual awards at 3:30, which the AYC kids had to attend. Right before the last start of the day there was a giant collision between two boats, which left one boat with a hole in its hull. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, the coaches stayed out on the water with the remaining teams and ran drills for an extra half-hour to maximize time on the water for the teams from out of town.
After the AYC annual awards, all of the contestants met in the Skipjack (the bottom level of AYC) and ate dinner together and then consolidated for a debrief with the coaches, in which we discussed various scenarios throughout the day.
Sunday was quite different from the day before. The conditions were more severe. The wind started in the upper teens and built throughout the day with gusts up to 35-40 knots. The temperature started in the mid-20s and rose slightly throughout the day, even though it felt like it got colder due to the wind chill. All of the sailors were at AYC by 8:30, and many did not want to sail. Even our visitors from Maine and up-state New York thought that it was too cold to sail, which I thought was ridiculous. To Emma and I this looked like a great opportunity to practice in big breeze, and in all honesty, it just looked like fun! Joel Labuzetta and Alana O’Reilly, our AYC directors, made the decision to go out and sail, an announcement that was met with groans from most, but cheers from one third of the Powerpuff girls (for which we were berated). Luckily for us, we started a day with a bye, so we immediately headed over to SSA to wait for the first round of races. Sadly, we waited and waited and no boats ever came from AYC. Sailing had been called off due to the weather, so instead we had chalk talks upon chalk talks (which were really white board talks) with our coaches, with only one burrito break (which was really plenty). We talked in depth about the play two weave, and got opinions from various coaches on how they prefer certain maneuvers to others. We also learned that this same weave should be performed when in a 1-2-3 because it covers the entire course while not giving opportunities to pass. Another thing the coaches went over, were various team racing (and just sailing) rules, which seemed unnecessary at first, but then turned out to be extremely helpful in clarifying why calls consistently go certain ways, and how to phrase the situation when describing it in the protest room so that the call will more than likely go in your favor.
All in all, I am very excited this event took place. CJ Buckley was easily my favorite regatta of the summer, and I think that more non-high school team racing events need to happen. For so many youth sailors, the only people we hear about team racing from are our high school coaches, and as brilliant as they are, it is nice to hear about different opinions from different coaches. This event, hopefully, is the start of a new trend in the youth sailing world. Team racing is fun! It requires flawless boat handling, while also understanding and managing course awareness more than in fleet racing. As cliché as it sounds, it pushes good sailors to become great sailors because they have to manage a plethora of aspects that are not pertinent in fleet racing. Plus, it is a bit more interesting to watch, which is a plus side for all the parents who we drag around the country all year!
Observations from College Match Racing Nationals
By Airwaves Writer Clinton Hayes
November 22-24 2013 ~ St. Petersburg, FL
This year I had the pleasure of coaching the Stanford Match Race Team. I got to watch lots of prestarts, tacks, gybes, sets, and penalty kills. What became apparent was that boathandling and boatspeed were very important and got teams a long way on the College Match Racing Circuit. I was impressed but not surprised to see that the top teams at Nationals all had near perfect boathandling and good boatspeed. At a high level, the difference comes down to actual match racing.
Below are patterns I saw time and time again. I probably watched about 80 prestarts and the best teams were better, or got better during the event at doing the little things right. I’m not the best match racer in the world (ISAF says I’m the 433rd best) and I didn’t invent these tactics but after watching so many races I’m willing to go on record with what I think.
Prestart
-With the exception of extremely light wind always force a dial-up when entering from port(blue). Crossing ahead of the starboard boat feels great until they tack into a controlling leeward position and prevent you from gybing. As the event went on, more and more teams realized this and were more successful because of it.
-When dialed up to port of your opponent and not on final approach(usually the initial dial up) work hard to keep your bow right at head to wind so you can quickly tack to port when the opportunity presents itself. To often the port boat would lose flow and fall to starboard tack. A clever starboard boat will then tack and come back to dial up the port boat again. Many times this repeats itself with the port boat never able to recover.
extra tip: If you’re the port boat in this situation, build speed on starboard before tacking back for the second dial up. This way your second dial up is just like the first and you’ll have at least as much flow as the starboard boat.
-If you’re in trouble, stop and sit head to wind. If you’re controlled by the other boat, sailing on starboard early in the starting sequence is almost always a bad thing. Just sit head to wind and wait for an escape route to present itself.
In the final approach to the line…
-When leading: Think low and slow. Who cares if you start late as long as you’re still leading when you cross the line. When the other boat is not pushing you don’t ever sail horizontally toward the pin.
-When pushing: Think high and fast. Tack into the push to create separation. You’re trying to push the leader into the starting box to a point where you can, at the very least, tack and start on port.
-Remember global strategy! If you want the left then don’t get hooked. I saw lots of people accidentally get hooked when the left was super favored. Leave yourself some room for error. Be quick to match your opponents down moves and delay a bit to match their up moves. If you want the right either choose to push or purposely get hooked.
Upwind
-I was surprised to see the lead boat choose to split and not cover their opponent. You obviously can’t always tight cover your opponent but you can choose to stay near them so they only gain distance on you instead of fully passing.
-When in doubt, lead to the right and lose cover to the left. Especially in the fairly consistent winds in St. Petersburg. Sounds simple but too often teams did it the other way and got passed.
Downwind
–Know what gybe is the long one and set up to have clean air while sailing on it. This means gybing before your opponent when its starboard gybe or not getting rolled if its port.
Other
–Keep the protest flag(Y Flag) out of the skippers hand! Bring extra line and tie it inside a crew members lifejacket. Its so funny to watch skippers fumble around trying to grab the flag and lose control of the other boat. Only it’s not funny when it happens to you.
–Do your homework: The team that checked starting laylines and practiced sailing around the starting line the most won this regatta. Congrats Georgetown!
Weta Trimaran Regatta at Tauranga NZL
Glamour weather just added to the fizz at the NZ Wetafest held at Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club over the weekend.
We arrived late Friday afternoon to a light sea breeze and quickly rigged and got out on the water for the rum race. Everyone was a little unsure of our course, except perhaps the local Phil Scherer who sails with his son Lawrence. But basically we made our way around the sand bank in the middle of Tauranga harbour with the sound of thuds to keep us company as everyone managed to smack into the sandbank at least once each, no sneaky cutting corners in Tauranga!
Saturday dawned sunny with another light sea breeze that filled in just in time for the start of the Rogaine orienteering race. Sailors were given a map and instructions and had to search the harbour for hidden codes and they could get the codes in any order that they wanted. With high tide at 11.30 there was a lot of discussion about what way to go first and the tactical advice was coming thick and fast.
Jon Bilger explains the race “We were given a chart showing a dozen locations that ranged from navigational marks, to wharfs & beaches that were marked with the important secret codes. Tauranga harbour has numerous navigation marks, and so this is more challenging that you would think! The rules stipulated that you could find the locations in any order but you needed to be back at the beach in 1.5hrs otherwise get penalised points. Stella, my 8 year old daughter, who like her father is quite competitive, was fired up to win. Stella was in charge of the map in a plastic bag, and we cleverly tied the pencil to the bag, as losing the pencil into the water was not an option. All seemed to be going well until the lead in the pencil broke! Writing with just the lead was proving difficult for Stella, and even more so for Dad. Undaunted, Stella managed to wrangle another pencil from the organising committee (in a chase boat) with ever the dramatic comment of “thank you so much, you saved my life!!” We maintained relative calm on-board until towards the end. We could not find a navigation mark with our last clue, to find out later this clue went missing! Stella warned me that we better get back to the beach on time, and it turned out that her time on distance was very good… we had 30 seconds to spare, and managed 2nd place. Phew!!”
Phil Schearer used his local knowledge to advantage to take out the race, getting 9 out of 11 codes and getting back to the beach in the time limit to avoid a penalty.
After lunch everyone headed out for some informal sprint racing with coaching from Chris, a warm up for the main event on Sunday. That night TYPBC put on a delicious barbecue dinner. Discussing the day’s events with a few beers as the sun set over the club was a great end to a really fun day.
Sunday Warren from TYPBC ran six hotly contested 20 minute races for us. The racing was awesome, overtaking just before the finish, a lot of competitive match racing tactics and some full on starts. The wind started light and built to 12 knots, perfect Weta weather. We raced just to the right of the sandbank and the tide made for some interesting local effects. I used my downwind speed to gain much needed ground on many of the races.
Twice I was in 4th or 5th on the final run and managed to just grab a second. In the third race I rounded the top mark for the final time just behind Will Cobb I gybed at the same time as him and went for the roll. But we sailed drastically different angles and I sailed myself into a hole while Will soaked low to take the win. The next two races the wind went up a notch and I took two quick wins while Will got a 3 and 4 allowing me to get back in the game. For the last race it was all on, Will had a great start and jumped out to a good lead, but I mowed him down on the last run and rolled him about 15 meters from the start line. Will soaked low and this time I matched him so that I could stay in the same wind, but the boat end was drastically favoured, the wrong side for me. I did a quick gybe to swing behind Will but he reacted quickly to get his boat around and put himself in between me and the line. Meanwhile we were so focused on each other that we didn’t notice Brent and Liam Charlesworth coming storming in on a better angle, luckily we were just enough advanced that Will took 1st and I took 2nd by a millimetre to secure the regatta.
All said and done it was a fantastic weekend, really enjoyable racing, tropical weather and the orienteering race worked out really well. I would like to thank T
auranga Yacht and Power Boat Club for all their help and the Weta Class Association for putting on such a great regatta.
http://www.wetamarine.com/about/news/587-tauranga-puts-it-on-for-nz-wetafest
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY WINS 2013-2014 ICSA MATCH RACE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2013
Contact: Jen Vandemoer Mitchell | Toile à Voile for ICSA | [email protected] | 763-234-8286 m.
Photo Credit: Genoa Fedyszyn
St. Petersburg, Fla. (November 24, 2013) – The Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Match Race National Championship for the Cornelius Shields, Sr. Trophy was completed today after three days of racing. The event began on Friday, November 22 and was hosted by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club and the University of South Florida. Competitors sailed out of the St. Petersburg Sailing Center and racing took place on Tampa Bay.
Ten college sailing teams qualified to compete in the championship having advanced from their own conference qualifiers. Each team had four crewmembers one of which was required to be female. The teams sailed 23 foot Sonar Sloops.
Match racing is a unique racing format in that it is just one versus one. One boat is pitted against another boat and a team of umpires supervises each race. This is not an average dinghy regatta; it takes a great deal of organization and contribution from many people. St. Petersburg Yacht Club helped to run a great event and the team of umpires was fantastic. Thanks to: Glenn Oliver, John Pratt, Don Becker, Barbara Farquhar, Charlie Arms, Vicki Sodaro, Carrie Greene, Phil Pape, Susan Wallace, Eric Robbins and Tom Rinda for your hard work.
The match race regatta format is five stages and racing took place on a Windward/Leeward course with mark rounding’s to starboard. Races in the first stages of the regatta are meant to take 15 to 17 minutes to complete and in the Semi-Final and Final rounds 18 to 20 minutes to complete.
In stage one all ten teams competed in a single round robin. This stage lasted the entirety of the first day of racing. The day began with winds out of the East at about 8 to 10 knots, but the breeze gradually decreased throughout the day. Light winds made for difficult to match racing. Maneuvering the boats is slow in light air and teams had to be on their toes to keep their boats moving fast.
After day one Yale University was in the lead with only one loss to Georgetown University. Boston College was in second with two losses followed by St. Mary’s College of Maryland in third place also with two losses.
Stage two consists of two rounds of racing. One between the top six teams from stage one or the Gold Round and the other between the remaining four teams or the Repechage Round. This racing began on day two with about 8 knots of wind, which started to shift and eventually die causing about a four-hour postponement in racing. The breeze filled back in from the Northwest and built to around 10 to 12 knots so racing could resume. By the end of the day, the sailors were hiking to keep the Sonars flat.
The Gold Round was a single round robin and determined the seeding for the Quarter Finals. The Repechage Round was also a single round robin and the top two teams advance to the Quarter Finals with the Gold teams. This stage took the entirety of day two. Yale University held onto their lead, while St. Mary’s College moved up to second place and Georgetown University moved into third place. From the Repechage Round the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin advanced into the Quarter Finals.
Today, the third and final day of the regatta contained a lot of racing and luckily the wind was the strongest it had been throughout the weekend. The day began with breeze out of the Northeast at about 12 knots. It continued to build up to 18 knots at times and teams were hiking hard. Waves also got bigger throughout the day to add to the challenge of the racing.
Stage three or the Quarter Finals was the first racing of the day. The eight teams in this round were paired to compete so the highest seed sailed the lowest seed (1 v 8, 2 v 7, etc.). This was a knock out series. The winner of each pair was the first team to score at least two points.
At the same time the ninth and tenth place teams raced each other, the first to two points, to determine ninth and tenth place. The University of West Florida defeated Oregon State University in two races to finish the event in ninth.
The only flight in the Quarter Finals that went beyond two races was between Boston College and the College of Charleston. Charleston came out on top winning the third race and therefore scoring two points to advance into the Semi-Finals. Also in stage four, the Semi Finals was Yale University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Georgetown University.
In the Semi Finals the winner of the 1 v 8 Quarter Final was paired against the winner of the 4 v 5 Quarter Final, and the winner of the 2 v 7 Quarter Final was paired against the winner of the 3 v 6 Quarter Final. The College of Charleston sailed Yale University and St. Mary’s College of Maryland sailed Georgetown University.
The College of Charleston defeated Yale and Georgetown defeated St. Mary’s in close racing to move them into the Finals. Mike Callahan, the head coach of Georgetown University, felt that their pairing with St. Mary’s was the most challenging racing for them of the event, “St. Mary’s was the best prepared team there,” he says. Georgetown had lost to them twice in earlier rounds in the regatta. “It was a confidence boost to beat them,” Callahan says.
In stage five, the Finals determined first and second in the regatta and the Petite Finals determine third and fourth. St. Mary’s defeated Yale in the Petite Finals taking third place in the event.
The Finals came down to the College of Charleston and Georgetown. Georgetown was controlling Charleston during the starting sequence of the race, but both boats were over the line early. Georgetown was able to clear the line first and come into the race with starboard tack advantage. They were then able to cover Charleston for the remainder of the race and win the Cornelius Shields, Sr. Trophy for the ICSA Match Race National Championship.
Callahan says that their team was able to practice a little bit in Sonars before the event thanks to their assistant coach Janel Zarkowski who helped to find Sonars for them to sail. “We did not get much practice, but enough to feel ready for the event,” he says. Their practice was in heavy wind, so the first two days of the championship they struggled with boat speed. But by the third day the wind was stronger and the Georgetown sailors felt more comfortable.
Final Results:
1. Georgetown University
Nevin Snow ’16
AJ Reiter ’17
Alexander Post ’15
Katia DaSilva ’15
2. College of Charleston
Ryan Davidson ‘16
Brandon Folkman ‘16
Ali Blumenthal ‘15
Jake Reynolds ‘16
3. St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Jake LaDow ’15
John Wallace ’14
Kaitlyn Noreen ’16
Ian Liberty ’14
4. Yale University
Chris Segerblom ’14,
Max Nickbarg ’14,
Graham Landy ’15,
Marly Isler ’16
5. University of Wisconsin
Whitney Kent ’15
Megan McMahon ’17
Harrison Faust ’14
Ian Walter ’16
6. Stanford University
Scott Buckstaff ’17
Hans Henken ’15
Cam Hutton ’14
McKenzie Wilson ’14
7. Boston College
William Bailey ’15
Domenic Bove ’15
Katja Sertl ’16
Harry Koeppel ’17
8. University of Michigan
Will Cyr ‘14
David Oliver ‘14
Ansley Semack ‘14
Chris Cyr ‘16
9. University of West Florida
Harrison Prochaska ‘14
Zach Grant ‘15
Anthony Scott ‘17
Danielle Le ‘16
10. Oregon State University
Brian Hickman ‘15
Aike Burger ‘16
Austin Sandifer ‘16
Cragan Smith ‘1
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To learn more about the event, the competitors and results visit the event website: College Sailing website: http://2013matchrace.collegesailing.org/.
Results are updated in real time on the College Sailing Scores site: http://scores.collegesailing.org/.
The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. Visit www.collegesailing.org to learn more. Marlow Ropes (www.marlowropes.com) is the Official Rope of College Sailing.
