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First Impressions: Sail1Design Test Sails the Farr B/One

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 13 December 2012, Annapolis-  Heading down to the launch site in downtown Annapolis to meet the Farr team of Ian Gordon and Keith Carew, as we crossed the bridge we saw a light northerly and flat water. Since the temperature was not much above 50 degrees, this was going to be just fine.

The Farr Bavaria One (known as the B/One) is a new boat being built by Bavaria Yachts in Germany, and designed by the Farr Yacht Design team. The design parameters were set by Bavaria, and our sail test sought to get a feel for how well they did:   [Read more…] about First Impressions: Sail1Design Test Sails the Farr B/One

Zim Sailing Responds to ICSA Championship Boat/Sponsor Agreement

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This letter was published this morning on the ICSA List-serve and sent directly to Sail1Design. It follows our earlier publication here

 

Earlier this fall, the NEISA Executive Committee approved a directive that has forced the ICSA President to convene a special meeting of the ICSA Board of Directors to discuss the sponsorship contract with LaserPerformance (LP) and the manner in which it was negotiated.  Notice of this meeting was sent out to the NEISA list serve on December 4th.  The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow December 11th.

It has been offered that the new sponsorship agreement mandates the use of LP brand boats in the spring semifinal and championship regattas and that this constitutes a ‘change in conditions’ for ICSA championship.  This means that a host venue that does not have LP brand boats can’t host these events. Each of the schools affected (MIT, Fordham, Columbia, SUNY Maritime) have been sent a direct email from the President of the ICSA stating this.

It does not seem apparent that all regional conferences have received public notice of the upcoming meeting. Zim Sailing would urge those that have an opinion on the matter to send an email as such to their respective board members (http://collegesailing.org/contacts/) in advance of this meeting so each board member can act in the best interests of their representative conference. 

Although the specifics of the agreement are confidential, the ICSA have shared the following salient points:

  • LP will provide ICSA with fleets of new Lasers and Radials for the Singlehanded Championships
  • LP will provide a cash contribution to ICSA
  • LP will provide media support (i.e. video coverage)
  • LP will now be the Official Boat Supplier for all of ICSA championships (including semifinals) except for match race. This new agreement requires all of these championships be held in LP or Vanguard built fleets of boats.
  • The agreement is for eight years

There has been some opinion exchanged via the Sailing Anarchy (http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=139886&hl=%20college%20%20sailing&st=) Sailing Scuttlebutt (http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14539) as well as the Sail1Design Airwaves ( https://www.sail1design.com/airwaves/high-school-college-news/971-controversy-in-the-icsa-the-future-of-the-college-sailing-dinghy) forums. 

Of interest is LP’s response offering the following: 

“LaserPerformance has nothing to hide and should the ICSA decide that the contract is not in the best interest of its members, we would be happy to still continue our support for Collegiate sailing by providing the 36 Laser or Laser Radials to the ICSA at our own expense.”

Obviously Zim Sailing is in not in favor of this agreement. While the intent may not have been to create a monopoly, it certainly has.  We believe the ICSA has a great opportunity to rescind the agreement as LP has offered to do.  Singlehanded’s would still be supplied boats and Double handed hosts would be free to buy and use whichever equipment met their needs the best.  The media coverage could be easily sought by another sponsor.  College sailing offers a fantastic demographic to many large companies with “real” marketing dollars.  I believe energy drink companies, bank and insurance companies would be very attracted to the college sailing market. 

Zim Sailing has worked very hard to support our growing customer base by building high quality durable boats and having the replacement parts needed to serve our customers.  If there is an opportunity to further support college sailing we are eager to participate.  The ICSA is your representative body, please ensure they have your thoughts and feelings in mind as they act on your behalf.

VIDEO: The American Youth Sailing Force is San Francisco’s Team in the 2013 RedBull Youth America’s Cup

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Submitted by Vince Casalaina, Media Coordinator, American Youth Force Sailing Challenge

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A year ago when RedBull announced their sponsorship of the Youth America’s Cup, five of us began planning for this day. We started with good sailing resume’s but little else.  Today we stand as one of the teams competing in the RedBull Youth America’s Cup where we will represent Oracle Team USA and the City of San Francisco.

I can’t begin to describe the emotions running through all of us in the American Youth Sailing Force as we waited for the results of the tryouts. We knew going into them two weeks ago that it was a “win or go home” competition. So now that we have our spot in the regatta assured, the most important question is what’s next for the AYSF? Two big words, Training and Fundraising.

Over the past five months we’ve done a lot of cross training in big fast catamarans to develop some basic boat handling skills. Now that we know we’ll be competing, we can focus on training both on and off the water. We’ve seen the level of physical fitness we need if we want be the best prepared team come September 1st.  We’ve also seen how much there is to learn about team mechanics and crew positions on the AC45 boats.

Having the support of Oracle Team USA allows us access to all their accumulated knowledge about getting the most out of sailing the AC45s.  Their two boat training program gives us a jumpstart on what it takes to race them competitively.

At the same time we are in the gym and on the boats, we will be moving forward on raising the funding our program needs. While we have received early support from both sponsors and donors that helped get our campaign to this point, we are now kicking our fund raising into high gear. We need to raise a lot more money since this will be our “job” from March through early September next year.

We are looking at corporate sponsorship to raise significant dollars and individual donor contributions to supplement that.  We also have plans to hold fundraising events both in the Bay Area and Seattle to broaden the base of our support.  Crowd source funding sites like Kickstarter will give us the opportunity to reach out to much bigger groups of people to find our needed cash. As you can see we

Our team has partnered with the non-profit Skiff Sailing Foundation so we are able to accept tax-deductible donations. You can find out more about how you can help us at www.americanyouthsailingforce.com and clicking on the donate tab.

I want to wholeheartedly thank everyone who has helped AYSF to this point. The success of this team cannot be solely placed just on the sailors. The guidance and backing from numerous people and businesses have been the true backbone of this team. We know that with your support we will keep growing on that.

Keep following the team as we take the next big step forward.  You can stay tuned in by following us on our website, facebook page and video site for more exciting news as we pave the way towards the 2013 RedBull Youth America’s Cup on San Francisco Bay.

Ian Andrewes

Team Manager

 

Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/AmericanYouthSailingForce?ref=ts&fref=ts

 Video page

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B649F56C67CB086

 

 The American Youth Sailing Force – Team San Francisco

Ian

Andrewes

23

David

Liebenberg

21

Michael

Menninger

23

Matt

Pistay

22

Tommy

Pstalka

22

Mikey

Radziejowski

21

Evan

Sjostedt

19

 

Media Coordinator

Vince Casalaina                  [email protected]             510-841-8524

 

Still Photographer

Erik Simonson                      [email protected]         650-355-1080

 

Lightning Boat Grant Program – Now Accepting Applications!

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By Airwaves writer Martha Pitt

Attention sailors:  Want to experience high level sailing in a competitive boat, have all of your sailing paid for this summer while receiving mentoring from a class veteran? The International Lightning Class Association has just the opportunity!

            The Lightning Boat Grant Program offers sailors age 19 and older the opportunity to sail a race ready Lightning for the season.  Recipients receive a championship condition boat, practice and race sails, a mentor, and funds to cover the sailing related expenses for the 2013 summer racing season (May-September).

Spring Classic Regatta, Lake Pymatuning, PA. 39 Boat Start. 

            The program started in 2007, and is entering its 7th season.  It began as an opportunity for both the class to expand by drawing in young talented racers, and for aspiring young sailors to break into the circuit, those who may not have the funds to buy their own boat and pay for a racing program; it is geared towards college students and recent graduates looking to race in a competitive one-design fleet at minimal cost.  The recipients receive a boat for a season and set up their own program for the summer season for almost no cost. As a testament to the success of the program, multiple boat grant recipients have purchased their own Lightnings after their grant summer was over.  Past recipients include, Bobby Martin in ‘07(Boston University ’08), William Brown ’08 (Brown University ’10), Clinton Hayes ’08 (University of Vermont ’10), Caroline Patten ’11 (HWS ’11), James Simmons ’12 (URI ’12), . Though generally new to the boats, with the great equipment and guidance from other Lightning sailors, the grant recipients have faired well racing with top-ten finishes at major regional events and top-thirty finishes at the North Americans. James Simmons used his grant boat to qualify for the World Championships next summer in Italy; he has recently purchased a boat and will be headed to Italy in June 2013 to compete. The Class’s strong international presence also assures the Boat Grant teams a chance to compete against athletes from around the world during the summer season.

            I was able to speak to Will Brown who was a grant recipient back in 2008 and has since remained involved, now acting as the co-chair of the Lightning Boat Grant Committee. To Will, the program has been a success in large part because of the mentors and the great members of the class. For him, “one of the more challenging aspects was learning how to properly tune the boat, but every member of the class was more than willing to help. The fleet is one of the deepest and most talented fleets I have sailed in which leads for very serious racing but it also has a great off the water atmosphere with tons of sailor camaraderie.” Though some might be intimidated by the strength of the class and its deep field of competitors, for Will, that was one of the greatest benefits; “I mean — forty plus boats on the line at a dozen regattas each summer? That’s pretty amazing. And with this much talent, your team absolutely gets better at each regatta.” 

Justin Coplan – 2008 Grant Recipient – winning race #6 of the 2009 World Championship, Burlington, VT (60 boat fleet, 10 Countries represented)

            2008 recipient Clinton Hayes had a similar experience; “the boat is a great introduction to the fundamentals of small keelboat sailing without having to own a keelboat. We learned a lot of basics of rig tuning that is transferable to all types of sailing. Everyone in the class is super friendly, always willing to help. They are known for competitive racing and fun times. I can say from personal experience that this is true.” The summer of 2008 marked the 70th Anniversary Regatta for the class with 125 boats competing in the event in Newport, RI, and Hayes insists that he will be back for the 80th! “Its a great boat,” commented Hayes, “so easy to set-up and travel with but a real challenge to sail well. The level of the top 20 at 2008 NA’s was ridiculous! I hope to get back into Lightning racing when I settle down a little.”

Will Tyner – 2011 Grant Recipients, Team Tyner – Bow 42, racing in the 2011 North American Championship, North Cape, MI (56 Boat Fleet)

          For Andy Camarda, who sailed at URI and was a boat grant recipient in 2010, insists that “the summer of the boat grant was the best summer of my life. The fleet was great, super supportive, everyone would answer questions and were generally a lot of fun.  The racing was tight and I learned a ton about close racing tactics and boat tuning.” Andy is from Chicago where there is no Lightning fleet, but if there was one he says that he would buy a Lightning in a minute! The highlight of his summer was going to the Pan Am qualifiers in Tampa, FL. The extremely tight 20 boat fleet made racing very exciting, and Camarda’s golden moment was winning one of the races!

Andy Camrada – 2010 Grant Recipients – Team Camrada sailing at the 2010 Spring Classic, Pymatuning, PA (39 Boat Fleet)

 

            L
ast year’s recipient, Jamie Simmons, has found a new passion for sailing in the Lightning class, and it has given him a new outlet to race now that he has graduated. “This is a good direction to go after college sailing” explains Simmons. “It was a great experience, the racing was exciting and everyone is easy going and super friendly. I look forward to sailing more Lightning regattas.”

Jamie Simmons – 2012 Grant recipients, Team Simmons – Bow 36, racing in the 44 boat fleet at the Atlantic Coast Championship, Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Photo: Arthur E. Petrosemolo

            If you are interested in this unique opportunity, the application can be found on the Lightning class website – www.lightningclass.org. 

Applicants are graded on the following criteria:

1. Plan for use of boat, including projected regatta schedule.  Applicants will need to provide a narrative describing who will be sailing, what they plan to do with the grant money, where they plan to go to practice and compete, when they plan to sail, and how they will get there. They should describe their transportation resources, options or needs, etc.

2.   Proximity to an existing Lightning Fleet

3.   Strength of sailing resume

4.   Recommendations

5.   Ability to care for the boat and where it will be stored.  

An interview of top applicants is also factored in. Applications are due on December 31st and applicants will be notified prior to March 15th. The ILCA will award at least two teams grants for the program.

Sail1Designer of the Month – Charlie Buckingham and Team America

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Sail1Designer of the Month – Charlie Buckingham and Team America for their Selection to the Oracle Team USA Youth Team

By Airwaves Writer Martha Pitt

Earlier in November, six teams of America’s youth sailors trained and competed in San Francisco for the opportunity to be one of two teams selected to represent the US in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup to be sailed in September 2013. The teams were selected out of a group of applicants and were all made up of accomplished sailors with a range of backgrounds but all with great expertise. Few, however, had sailed the AC45s before, and so the trails were not only about showing off pre-existing skills but were also about adjusting, listening to limited instruction, and learning how to handle and sail the boats. The trials consisted of just two days of rigorous sailing under the watchful eyes of Oracle team coaches Philippe Presti and Darren Bundock for a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity to train with a world-class team and compete for the US in such a prestigious event. Team America was selected to represent the US while skipper Michael Menninger and the American Youth Sailing Force will represent San Francisco.

No stranger to sailing success, Charlie Buckingham accompanied by his Team America crew set themselves apart from the competition and earned themselves one of the two berths in the event. Buckingham, a 23 year old from Newport Beach, CA, was recruited by teammates Jake LaDow and Nevin Snow who initially assembled the crew. Also on Team America is Jake Reynolds, Graham Landy, John Wallace and Matt Whitehead. Buckingham graduated from Georgetown University in 2011 with multiple sailing honors and championships, including two- time ICSA College Sailor of the Year and four-time All-American; Buckingham is also a member of US Sailing’s Olympic Development Team, competing in the Laser.

Read below as Charlie gives shares a little more about Team America, the tryouts, and what the months leading up to the premiere event in September will hold.

What were the tryouts like? Was this your first time in the boats?

The tryouts were interesting for a number of reasons, the first one being that none of us had really sailed together before and it was everyone’s first time on the boat. Luckily, we all knew each other pretty well and had a general idea of our positions going into it, but beyond that we didn’t really know what to expect. When we stepped on the boat, the Oracle guys aboard pretty much gave us the keys and said, “go for it.” It ended up being much more of a trial and error learning process than we thought it would be. The Oracle guys stepped in and gave us information when they thought it was necessary and we were able to ask them as many questions as we wanted, but they weren’t as involved as we thought they would be on the water. That said, getting used to the boat was a bit daunting at first, but through trial and error coupled with advice from the Oracle guys, we were able to get more comfortable with our roles, communicate more efficiently, and improve our performance.

It must feel pretty amazing to have been chosen – what does it mean to you to be selected and skippering?

Our whole team is so excited and honored to be selected! It means the Oracle guys saw potential in us and now that selection is over, we can concentrate on taking the right steps toward the competition under the guidance of the best team in the business. I am definitely pretty psyched to be at the helm too!

Who else is on your team?

Jake Ladow (San Diego, CA), Jake Reynolds (San Diego, CA), Nevin Snow (San Diego, CA), John Wallace (St. Pete, Florida), Graham Landy (Virginia Beach, VA), and Matt Whitehead (Panama City, FL). I’m lucky to have these guys as my crew because they’re all incredibly incredibly talented sailors that bring a wide range of sailing skill to the boat. They did really well during the trial and adapted to the AC45 quickly in two days, so I’m excited for what the future brings with them.

What do the next few months look like for training?

We’re in the midst of figuring it out since selection was so recent, and there are some things that are still unclear, but we have a general idea of what the future looks like in the short term. We don’t have access to the AC45’s for a bit, so a lot of our training and development will be on an individual level. First and foremost, we saw how physically demanding the boats can be, so we are all going to maintain strict, demanding fitness programs. Beyond that, the Jakes, Graham, Nevin, and John are all a part of college programs so they will continue with college sailing while doing catamaran and high performance sailing when time permits. Matt Whitehead doesn’t compete in college sailing, but is a keen multihull sailor and looks to campaign for Rio 2016 in the Nacra 17, so while he isn’t in school, he’ll be doing a lot of cat sailing. I’m campaigning full time for Rio 2016 in the Laser, so I will be resuming my Laser training while adding more time at the helm of catamarans or other high performance dinghies.

What do you think is going to be the most important part of your training? What will it take to win in September?

I think fitness and boat-handling are key points of focus for our team. If we know we are strong, fit, and have good enough boat-handling to get around the course efficiently in strong winds, we will be able to us our sailing abilities more effectively.

Any other comments about the trials or anything in particular you are looking forward to over the next few months?

I can’t give enough credit to my crew. They did an incredible job over the two days, which had the biggest effect on our performance. I also want to thank the guys at Oracle Team USA, especially Philippe Presti, Darren Bundock, Julien Di Biase, Rome Kirby, Kyle Langford, and Sam Newton for being welcoming hosts and showing us the ropes. Finally, I’m really excited to work with both my teammates and Oracle Team USA toward the RBYAC!

Best of luck to Charlie Buckingham and Team America as they train to compete and represent the US in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup! More information on Team America, Oracle Team USA, and the America’s Cup can be found at www.americascup.com

Staying Sharp in the Offseason

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Staying Sharp in the Offseason, Airwaves Writer Zach Brown

The fall season has concluded leaving most college sailors eager for some down time but motivated for the ever important spring season.  One of the most difficult aspects of college sailing for many teams is managing the winter offseason.  Some programs can sail all year while others cannot, but there are unique ways for any team to sharpen their sailing skills to come out swinging in the spring.  Warm weather Midwinter circuits, fitness, team race playbooks, statistical score analysis, team bonding exercises, and focused non-sailing activities are just some of the strategies college teams implement to maintain or improve during the offseason.

Sailing Cross Training

The best training for sailing is more sailing.  Yale sailor Graham Landy expanded on this point, “This year I am trying to find more ways to sail during the offseason, which should help a lot at the beginning of the spring season.” Many one-design classes have midwinter racing circuits in Florida such as the V15, the Snipe, and the Lightning. 

It is important to cross train in a non collegiate boat during the offseason to develop new skills that can be applied to college racing.  Sailing longer courses in general helps for big picture tactics and speed focus. The Miami Olympic Classes Regatta offers intense competition in non college boats.  The snipe is a great cross training boat because it teaches rig tuning and sail shape while still placing significant emphasis on tactics.  Sailors interested in the Snipe should get in contact with Augie Diaz or Brian Kamilar to plan a trip down to Miami for some snipe winter circuit racing on Biscayne Bay. 

The V15 challenges similar skills important to collegiate boats with a bit more speed in the game.  The V15 Midwinters is a fun event over the winter holiday that combines both fleet and team racing.  Interest in the V15 Midwinters should be directed towards Ben Spiller.  An alternate form of sailboat racing over the winter for those who have access to frozen bodies of water is ice boating.  Midwest sailing legend Gordy Bowers claims that ice boating teaches solid apparent wind fundamentals and boat feel, not to mention extreme speed and fun.

Fitness

Get to the gym.  The offseason is the perfect time to increase strength and control body weight.  Every college sailor has access to a school gym and free time due to the lack of sailing practice or regattas.  Create fitness goals and consult a trainer whether the focus is cardio, strength, or weight gain/loss.  Yale sailor Cam Cullman commented that fitness and health is a key component to “putting ourselves in the best possible position to win a national championship. That’s always the goal.”

Fitness and health doesn’t strictly mean spend hours at the gym and only eat salads.  College presents many opportunities to improve or maintain shape in intramural sports and pickup basketball or indoor soccer games.  Also, sailors can always benefit from increased flexibility, core strengthening, and spiritual relaxation at yoga class.

 

Team Racing Chalk Talks  

Print copies of the Team Racing Call Book, cut out paper boats, and go through scenarios.  The offseason is a great time to sit all the players of a team race team down and go through each play to get everyone on the same page. 
Landy reflects on Yale’s team racing chalk talks: “After we return for the spring semester we begin team racing preparation with around two hour-long sessions per week.”  Team race talks can be very effective if rules and scenarios are discussed, illustrated on the board with diagrams and boats, and then seen in video examples. 

Statistical Score Analysis  

Geek out with historical results.  It’s ok to use the classrooms skills learned in college to improve sailing results.  Use basic math and statistical proficiencies to understand if risk takers scores win out over conservative sailors’ scores at the end of regattas.  Two-time Olympian Stu McNay studied the Danmark Trophy results in his college years.  He looked at individual scores over a ten year time period because it was one of the most competitive regattas of the fall season and the wind was fairly consistent.  Historical regatta results tell a story and there are plenty of takeaways.

Team Bonding Exercises

Hangout as a team outside of mandatory sailing events.  Ski trips, team sports, and team dinners are great customs that keep teams united.  Team harmony is invaluable and there is no better time to mend competitively strained relationships than enjoying social activities together over the offseason.  Skipper-crew relationships can be strengthened doing yoga classes together or workouts that highlight team success over individual achievement. 

Non-Sailing Activities

Take time to be a college student and enjoy time away from sailing.  Landy offered great advice about the offseason being a great time to enjoy other aspects of what college has to offer.  Taking enough time off from all things sailing related is healthy and crucial to success in the spring.  It is important to start off the next season fresh and excited to go sailing. 

J24 North American Championship 2012 Final Results

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J24 North American Championship 2012 Final Results

Updated Saturday, Nov 17, 17:44pm

< td align="center">23

Place

Bow #

Skipper

Sail #

Total

Race 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9
1 19 John Mollicone 5235 30 1 3 3 7 1 (9) 6 2 7
2 32 Rossi Milev 5483 34 8 1 (15) 12 2 5 1 4 1
3 21 Travis Odenbach 5432 40 5 6 8SCP (10) 7 2 3 3 6
4 4 Peter Bream 5287 41 2 2 1 1 9 4 (30DNF) 7 15SCP
5 11 Mike Ingham 5443 43 (12) 4 9 2 8 1 8 6 5
6 28 Carter White 2785 44 10 5 7 4 4 (12) 5 5 4
7 20 David Van Cleef 5277 45 9 7 6 8 (11) 8 4 1 2
8 37 Greg Griffin 3244 63 (16) 16 10 5 5 13 2 9 3
9 15 Robby Brown 799 65 3 12 4 9 3 17 9 (23SCP) 8
10 1 John Denman 5430 74 7SCP 8 5 11 10 10 13 (30SCP) 10
11 9 Ron Medlin Jr. 1829 91 7 19 8 15 (22SCP) 3 17 11 11
12 34 Mark Pincus 3416 107 15 11 12 (25) 14 15 11 15 14
13 25 John Heaton 592 108 22 13 13 6 6 (25) 15 15SCP 18
14 18 Clark Dennison 2291 118 11 14 11 3 21 18 22 (24) 18SCP
15 23 Frank McNamara 4202 130 6 20 22 (29SCP) 25 14 7 16 20
16 3 Michael Pentaleri 3895 134 (26) 22 16 24 12 19 10 18 13
17 5 Bill Derr 3740 134 13 (24SCP) 19 13 22 16 14 20SCP 17
18 14 Downing Nightingale III 1915 137 14 21 18 20 15 7 21 21 (30DSQ)
19 24 Rathbun/Promer 4242 138 18 17 14 19 20 6 24 20 (30DNS)
20 7 Rob Wetmore 2573 140 23 10 25 21 24 11 16 10 (30DNS)
21 31 Dick Tillman 1451 147 19 25 23 (27) 13 26 12 13 16
22 6 Robert Gibbs 2827 156 20 15 26 18 (30SCP) 23 19 14 21SCP
23 13 Paul Anstey 451 162 (24) 24 17 14 24SCP 22 23 19 19
24 10 Jim Farmer 5206 178 21 23 21 28 19 21 18 27 (30DNS)
25 30 Charles Bumgardner 555 186 (28) 26 28 16 27 20 20 26 23
26 29 Eric Gotwalt 2739 187 17 28 27 23 -29 26 22 21
27 8 Robert Ramsey 4174 188 25 27 20 22 (28) 24 25 23 22
28 17 Rick Jarchow 216 190 27 9 24 17 26 27 (30DNS) 30DNS 30DNS
29 27 Brad Cummings 3733 234 (30DNS) 29 29 29 29 28 30DNS 30DNS 30DNS

Manto Strong: A Sailing Community Picks Itself Up After Sandy

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By Airwaves Staff Writer Elizabeth Dudley

 

 

Mantoloking, New Jersey is a predominately sailing community built on a barrier island.  For the past century, residents have added bulkheads to their properties and built dunes on the ocean to keep the island from naturally shifting so that houses and streets would stay intact.

This small community received a devastating blow from Superstorm Sandy.  In the words of Annapolis resident and sailor Ashley Love whose parents have a house on the island, “[Today] Mantoloking is a post-apocalyptic war-zone.  200 out of 500 houses are damaged, 60 are completley gone.  As in gone, not a splinter of them left.”

 

As a result of the storm, seven new inlets from Point Pleasant to Cap May cut their way through Long Beach Island as they would have naturally if not for dunes and bulkheads.  Two of those new inlets are in Mantoloking and are the cause of the loss of 30 some homes.

Dunes are gone and beaches houses are suspended 15 feet in the air by their pilings.  Love noted that one house “looked like a doll house” with one of its walls completely ripped off revealing the contents of an otherwise intact house.

Very few Mantoloking residents stayed during the storm.  Once the winds and the rain subsided though, in an effort to get correct and timely information out to home owners, one boy who had stayed to brave the storm, ventured out in his wetsuit with a GoPro.  Maneuvering around downed power lines and gas leaks, he took pictures to prove which houses still stood, which were damaged and which were no longer.  

The day Sandy made landfall in Mantoloking, Love was out of the country for work.  When she began receiving news of the devastation, she immediately reached out to her friends and neighbors, mainly sailors, for help in collecting supplies. 

 

Love was overwhelmed by the response.  She said her friends even went to Davis’, the local Eastport bar frequented by the sailing community, to collect money and canned food from the kitchen.  Tarps, army bags, sheets of plastic, gas cans, batteries, screws, tape, extension cords and rope were all collected in her apartment building while Love’s neighbors kept watch over it and helped her load it into her car.

At Home Depot, Love and her sister were touched by yet another sailor who had recognized her laser dolly.  He helped them use a piece of wood to make a cart out of the dolly so that they could quickly fill their car with plywood and begin the trek north.

Back in Mantoloking, a week after Sandy had hit land, the gas system was being flushed and houses were being assessed by the authorities.  Those assessed received either a red or green tag.  The Love family house received a red tag which meant, “Enter at your own risk”, which for the Love’s, added a sense of excitement. 

Love writes, “We’re sailors! We are used to standing on uneven surfaces.  We are used to putting ourselves at risk for the highest reward.  Weather doesn’t hinder us; we go into it willingly for the thrill of adventure.  You can’t be rewarded for sitting still.”

So, dressed in a ski helmet, drysuit, gloves, tool belt and GoPro head cam, Love prepared to enter her family’s home.  She was accompanied by a fellow sailor and neighbor who had abandoned working on his own house to be the first to enter the Love’s house.  The family was also soon joined by a former crew on the Love’s E-Scow, Matthew Sullivan, who drove all the way down from Boston to jump into the thick of it and help get the Love family back on their feet.  The family says that because of his support, they were able to get through that first crucial week.

Excitement mounted as more and more family treasures were passed out of the house and another group of neighbors who had fared better in the storm, offered their house as storage.  And so Love and her neighbor spent the day salvaging what they could and preparing the house for the snow storm that was still to come.

Compared to the damages others sustained in the storm, the Love family was lucky.  But they also felt as though sailors and the sailing community are well equipped to deal with events of this nature.  Love writes, “From keeping an eye on the weather, dressing for bad-weather and preparing boats for bad weather […] our tools are at an arm’s length away and if they’re not, the guy you sailed with last week or your neighbor has what you’ll need.” 

“If a ship goes down, if a house goes down, we know we’ll all be there be build another one so we can keep getting back out there into the fray.  A red label on the door is not going to prevent us from moving forward.  Our sailing community just took a wrong shift and got into a major collision that cost us places in the race, but that just means we’re going to steer the boat down a new course, without wishing we’d done something differently.  Shifts come, waves come, storms come, but the bottom line is the crew is alive and healthy.  Everything else can be replaced because we know we have each other and we have the memories that will still live in everyone who we shared the good times with before.”

With the help of the Facebook group Mantoloking/Bay Head: Sandy Recovery started by Love and Sullivan, information is being shared quickly.  People and their belongings are being brought back together like the woman who thought she had lost everything until a post in the group informed her otherwise.  Names of plumbers, contractors and engineers have been circulating as well as information on rerouting mail and back on election day, how to vote.  It is an open forum that is making a difficult situation just a little bit easier.

The community of Mantoloking has a long road ahead of itself but most are prepared and ready to move forward.  The people of Mantoloking are “Manto Strong” because they’ve always lived by “whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”.  They have come together as neighbors, as sailors, as a community, and they will only be stronger becaus
e of it.

Sponsor Spotlight: Get a Ph.D from YALE CORDAGE!

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Get Your Ph.D. from Yale. Performance handling. Delivered.

“Ph.D. is light and grippy, perfect for the mainsheet on my foiling Moth, where every ounce counts. Yet it’s strong and secure enough for the mainsheet on my 44′ performance racer/cruiser.”

http://www.yalecordage.com/
—Jonathan McKee, two-time Olympic Medalist, seven-time World Champion

  • Grips in your hands comfortably, making sheets easier to grab, hold, adjust, and control. No more wrestling with hard, wiry ropes.

  • Grips winch surfaces securely, so you can use fewer wraps to control loads more easily; release more smoothly and cleanly; and minimize slipping, catching, and stuttering.

  • Grips and holds highly loaded knots and hitches.

  • Glides through blocks faster and more smoothly for more effective trimming, tacking, and gybing. Ph.D. even glides around shrouds and other high-friction areas more easily than standard sheets. Enables much smoother A-sail gybes.

  • Glides when released without kinking or hockling. There’s no bulky core-and-jacket combo to hold a show-stopping twist!

  • Splices quickly and easily— in under 3 minutes… honest.

Covered under U. S. Patent 7,134,267. Manufactured under license from SRT.

Ph.D. Racer

Ph.D. is different than any rope you’ve used or seen before. It feels like fuzzy polyester but performs like 100% Spectra®. Ph.D. securely grips in your hands and on winch surfaces to give you safe and deliberate handling, yet it glides through blocks like a dream, with virtually no stretch.

Ph.D.’s exceedingly strong Spectra S1000 fiber manages high loads, while Yale iGrip-treated outer polyester fibers make it easy and comfortable to handle and grip.

The key to this 12-strand single-braid’s superior combination of performance, handling, and strength is in its unique base-strand construction: Super-strong Spectra S1000 fibers are pre-stretched, bundled, and then encapsulated in sleeves of Yale iGrip, Yale’s proprietary fiber coating process, which dramatically improves grip on winches and in your hands.

“Four years in development, Ph.D. delivers true game-changing performance.”

Thanks to the innovative engineering team at Yale Cordage, the old-fashioned, bulky double-braided core-and-jacket combo has evolved into a silky-smooth high performance line.

Get your Ph.D. from Yale Cordage and make an intelligent investment in your performance.

 

Ph.D. Splices in Under 3 Minutes.

This eye splice is more than twice as strong as a knot!

Tools Needed:

• Fid*
• Knife
• Pen
• Tape

*See chart to select the right fid length.

 

Measuring and Marking the Eye

A

  • Mark the rope at one full fid length from the tail end (1).

B

  • Form the eye to the desi
    red size, laying the rope’s body alongside the tail.
  • Mark the rope’s body (2) adjacent to 1 and again (3) adjacent to the rope’s tail.

Closing the Eye

C

  • Tape the rope’s tail to the fid’s angled end as smoothly as possible.
  • If using a closed thimble or hardware, place it in the eye.
  • Insert the fid into the rope’s body at 2, running the fid down the core.

D

  • Push the fid’s tip out through the side of the rope’s body at 3.

E

  • Pull the fid and the rope’s tail through the rope’s body until 1 and 2 come together.
  • Mark the tail where it exits the rope’s body (4).
  • Grasp the tail, and slide the rope’s body up the tail toward the eye about 3 inches.
  • Cut the tail at 4 at a 45-degree angle.

Burying the Tail

F

  • Grasp the eye, and smooth the splice down the rope’s body to draw the tail end back up into the rope’s body.

Whipping or Stitching

This splice is more than twice as strong as a knot — even before whipping or stitching!

A brummel or whipping will help to prevent no-load separation.

 

http://www.yalecordage.com/

Eye Splice Instructions


Feeling the Need for Speed?

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 An Overview of the North American Speed Sailing Championship Invitational and Q & A with the event’s Winner, Rob Douglas.

By: Maggie Lumkes

Cohen Photography 

This October, Martha’s Vineyard was host to thirteen of the world’s fastest sailors. No, not on sailboats, on kiteboards.  The Black Dog and Lynch Associates sponsored this year’s North American Speed Sailing Championship Invitational. The two week-long event was held on 3 different courses around Martha’s Vineyard. I have the pleasure of working with the event’s PRO Brock Callen Sr. who would show me the courses and walk me through what it takes to make an event like this happen from the RC perspective. 

Here is a short breakdown of how this kind of event works:

Over the two week event, the PRO and Timekeeper meet daily to go over forecasts and game plan for course location.  If the wind is less than 20 knots sustained, they generally do not attempt a heat.  Each “heat” is an hour long during which each “rider” is allowed to run the 250 meter course as many times as he or she possibly can.  At the end of the hour a red flag is raised signaling to the riders that the course is closed.  During that time, the course can be adjusted to the breeze, or picked up for the day.  The course is either port or starboard, and it is set square, or at a slightly deeper angle off the wind for the riders.  Each rider has at least two boards, one for port courses, and one for starboard courses.

The day I was lucky enough to be the safety boat, was the day before Hurricane Sandy hit – so we were able to get 3 heats in the big breeze.  A heat only counts when there are two riders with average speeds over 35 knots! This process of running heats continues over the two weeks, to get in as many as possible.  This year, 10 heats counted towards the final results.

When it was all said and done, one rider was consistently at the top off the pack. After the event, I got a chance to talk with the winner and current world speed record holder, Rob Douglas, and ask him about what it takes to be a competitive speedsailor.  Here is what he had to say:

 

Cohen Photography 

Q)      Can you describe what kind of training it takes to prepare for a 2 weeklong event, both mentally and physically?

A.  The NASSCI happens in October, so I’ve been sailing regularly since April, 3 to 4 days a week and my physical sailing condition is at its annual peak.  Mentally, the NASSCI is actually a nice break.  We have 2 weeks to compete and this reduces the stress vs. a short event with light winds where anything can happen.  The speeds are also usually below 50knots and this is not stressful compared to almost 60 knots in a 10 ft wide trench.

Q)      What were some of the strengths you had going into this event over your competition?

A. Equipment! It’s a big advantage for me.  Cabrinha kites are powerful, predictable and stable.  Mike Zajicek is the best board builder in the world…….my boards are now in their 4th generation of development! 

Q)      How do you make your final board and kite decision’s going into each heat? Can you talk a little about the different types of boards you have and what they are designed for?

A. Wind speed, wind angle and wind quality usually determine my equipment choices.  Sometimes other race factors go into the decision process. i.e. what are the top 5 riders doing and what is the current event standings.  I use either a speed board or a slalom board……..speed board in winds over 25kts and slalom board in winds below 25kts.

 

Cohen Photography 

Q)      How do you stay consistently at the top of your field?

A.  Consistent gear development; physical conditioning and time on the water!

Q)      What do you want people to know about speed sailing?

A. Speed sailing is the oldest discipline in sailboat racing. Who is the fastest from point A to point B? Whether it be from New York to San Fran……the Grand Banks to Gloucester!

Q)      How many events a year do you compete in, and what is next for you?

A. I usually compete in 5 to 6 kitesurfing events per year.  The next event:  world speed sailing record attempt in France during Nov/Dec 2012

Q)      Can you describe the different types of kite boarding competition? Obviously you are very involved in the speed sailing side of things but, now that course racing has been added to the Olympics, is that something you are considering?

Speed, Course, Slalom, Freestyle, Wave and Long distance are the disciplines within kitesurfing.   The Olympics is something I am NOT considering.  I want to sail and train in windy conditions…..the Olympics is a light wind event.

Q)      How did you and your brothers get into kiting, do you push each other to get better, train in the cold, try new equipment, what is it like having your family to train with?

A.  Its great having brothers to kite with………I wouldn’t be kiting if it wasn’t for them.  Who else is going to catch and land the kite when it’s blowin’ 50kts!!!!! lol

Q)      What do you recommend for people who want to get involved in speed sailing?

A.  Do it!  We need more sailors, more ideas and more innovation within the sport of speedsailing!

 

Photgrapher Bio

Matthew Cohen is a Newport, Rhode Island based photographer that specializes in the nautical stock, assignment, and fine art for regattas, yacht clubs, associations, major editorials, corporations, and private clients. Matthew takes his Canon professional digital cameras and lenses to the ends of wave breaking bowsprits, tops of massive masts, and even higher in helicopters in order to bring you rare and exquisite photos for years of admiration. When asked what motivates him to rise before the break of dawn in the Caribbean, rip around in chase boats, or even endure frigid temperatures of sailing in the dead of winter, he replies, “It’s all about pushing myself to achieve progressive accomplishments, and loving it.”  When in the Rhode Island area, visit his NEW Gallery – 160 Spring Street, Newport, for his award winning fine art and log on to
cohenphotography.com!

http://www.cohenphotography.com

 

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