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2017 J/24 North American Championship Results & Report

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J24 North American Championship Recap and Results
The Houston Yacht Club hosted the J24 North American Championship this past weekend. 29 boats competed in the three-day event. Will Welles skippering Bogus won the regatta handily with a total of 22 points that included four 1st places in the ten races. Mike Ingham on Nautalytics finished 2nd with 31 points. Finishing one point behind Ingham was Travis Odenbach on Honeybadger for 3rd place.
The first day of racing included four and five leg races with winds ranging from 13 to 18 knots. In the first race Will Welles and Mike Ingham finished 1st and 2nd but were both OCS. Luckily for both of them this race was their discard. Local Texas boats Miss Conduct sailed by James Freedman and Giggles sailed by Natalie Harden had good moments on the first day with the pair rounding windward marks in 1st and 2nd place.
Will Welles and his crew on Bogus dominated day two by winning all four races. The winds were lighter from 12 to 16 knots. The final day of racing saw similar conditions to day two. Only two races were sailed on the final day and Bogus was able to hold onto first place with a 7th and a 2nd in the races respectively.

2017 North American Champion Will Welles and his team Bogus

For a link to the J24 North American Results click here – https://www.regattatech.com/scoring/action/showResultsRoster?clubCode=HoustonYC&eventCode=J24NA17&divisionName=J/24
Congratulations to all the competitors and thank you to the Houston Yacht Club for putting on a great championship. A special thanks to Bob Harden for supplying regatta updates.

School Profile: Eckerd College Sailing Team

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Eckerd College, and up-and-coming sailing school, is making waves in the ICSA. They just qualified for, and finished 9th overall, in the ICSA Team Race Nationals, and also are competing at the ICSA Fleet Race National Championship in Charleston, SC. Led by Coach Kevin Reali, the team continues to impress the college sailing world. You can visit their results this season here, and learn more about the team roster here.
News Flash: Eckerd College is hiring a full-time Assistant Intercollegiate Coach!
More on Coach Reali:
Originally a native of St. Petersburg, Reali began coaching at Eckerd college in July of 2012.  Under his leadership, the Triton sailing teams have earned a spot among the premier programs in the country.
Three of Eckerd’s squads qualified for the ICSA Nationals in 2016 in co-ed, women’s and team racing.  The Tritons consistently finish in the top three in the SAISA conference. Check out their latest news.
In 2013-14, Reali and his staff had four student-athletes honored to the ICSA All-Academic Teams. Solvig Sayre was selected to the All-Academic Second Team while Erik Brydges, Melany Johnson and Ann Williamson were selcted to the All-Conference All-Academic team.
On the coaching side, Reali was previously the U.S. Optimist National Team Coach for a six-year span. He also coached the Chesapeake Optimist Team and manned the Green Fleet at the St. Petersburg Sailing Center prior.
Reali has served in the U.S. Navy as an officer on the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego, Calif., and the USS Chung-Hoon in Honolulu, Hawai’i, specializing in nuclear propulsion.
In terms of competition, Reali was the winner of the 2000 Sears Trophy at the Junior Triple-Handed National Championships in 2000.
Did we mention that Eckerd is a great place to go to school too?

An oasis of learning in a vibrant city
Our waterfront campus is nestled on 188 acres along Boca Ciega Bay at the tip of St. Petersburg, a dynamic city of arts, culture and outdoor activities. Swimming, boating and sunbathing on our white-sand beach are all just steps away from your dorm room.
Native plants and wildlife cover the campus. Most of our faculty offices open directly outside or in common areas to encourage interaction with students. The bay and other natural areas are living laboratories for research — even for freshmen.
Study in a hammock or on a blanket on the beach or head to our modern library overlooking Fox Pond. Get a workout at the fitness center or at ouroutdoor pool.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON WINS LASERPERFORMANCE TEAM RACE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (May 28, 2017) – Racing was completed today in the LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship on the Cooper River hosted by the College of Charleston. This is the second of three-spring college sailing national championships. The regatta wrapped up a day early due to a bad forecast for Monday, which looks stormy with light winds. The race officials pushed to complete the regatta today. The top sixteen collegiate team racing teams in the nation competed for the national title and the Walter C. Wood Trophy and home team College of Charleston won the title.
The day began with completing the first round of 16 teams and due to good conditions, winds from the southwest around 7 knots and temperatures in the 80s; the remaining 18 races were accomplished this morning. Places 9-16 were determined and the top eight round robin began midday with all scores carrying over. The wind increased to about 8-10 knots in the next round.
Twenty-seven races were completed in that round, with tight competition continuing. Places 5-8 were determined and after a break racing continued with the final four around 5:30 p.m. in about 7 knots. A total of 154 races were completed in the event. Principal race officer, Ryan Davidson did an excellent job leading the officials on the water and powering through a lot of races efficiently.
Teams were trying to fight their way into the final four, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the U.S. Naval Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University sailed very well today and each of them took their shot at making it into the top round. In the end Boston College moved through.

Going into the final four Charleston was still leading the regatta, but tied in number of wins and loses with Yale University. Georgetown University and Boston College were trailing closely behind. Once Charleston won their second race in the final round they clinched the regatta win. They did have to go back out and sail one more race against Yale in which they won.
Charleston upset Yale’s four-year winning streak and to win it at home was especially sweet.
“We are stocked and really excited,” says Ward Cromwell, head coach for Charleston. We had two losses that were right at the finish and we made some little mistakes and the other two were blow outs, so that was hard, but we won when it counted and we sailed the boats well.”
“We didn’t make many errors and did a good job staying out of trouble,” Cromwell says. “Today we stayed hydrated and each team member had his or her routine to stay fresh and focused. Winning this event is a great accomplishment and winning it twice in 12 years is good – and winning at home is even better.”
Sailing for Charleston was: Christophe Killian ’18, Jack Cusick ’17, Stefano Peschiera ’18, Elizabeth Pemberton ’18, Chloe Dapp ’17, Grace McCarthy ’18, Caroline Bracken ’19 and Annabel Carrington ’19.
Yale finished in second place having sailed a very good event, but it was still not enough to carry on their event-winning streak.
“The last race we had with Boston College stung,” Bill Healy, assistant coach for Yale, says of their loss. “And the race we had with Charleston in the final 8 round was also a tough one where we were winning with a 2,3,4, but had a call go against us. Everyone has races they look back on and wished they had done better.”
“Today we tried to stay fresh by keeping it light after each race and staying in the shade. We feel pretty good about how did, but Charleston looked fast and comfortable in every race. They were in the groove.”
Sailing for Yale was: Ian Barrows ’17, Nicholas Baird ’19, Malcolm Lamphere ’18, Joseph Kiss ’17, Clara Robertson ’17, Graceann Nicolosi ’20, Chandler Gregoire ’17 and Natalya Doris ’17.
Georgetown finished in third place one spot behind their second place finish in this regatta last year.
“The conditions were really nice today and we were in every race,” says Mike Callahan, head coach for Georgetown. “We made some simple mistakes, but we are a young team, so it is to be expected, but we would have loved to do better.”
“Our morale was good today, and it was a long day, but when we were mathematically locked out of winning the regatta, we may have lost a little energy,” says Callahan. “Charleston did a great job, sailed really well and their coaches did a good job taking their team to win nationals.”
Sailing for Georgetown was: Roger Dorr ’18, Campbell D’Eliscu ’19, Sean Segerblom ’20, William Logue ’20, Haley Shea ’19, Meaghan MacRae ’18, Rebecca Fung ’19 and Albert Kraus ’17.
Boston College finished in fourth place having sailed very well and only lost one race in the final four, but with their previous record they were not able to place on the podium.
Sailing for Boston College was: Harry Koeppel ’17, Erika Reineke ’17, Charles Sinks ’18, Hannah Lynn ’17, Lily McGrath ’18, Allison Ferraris ’17, Tara Ferraris ’19, Fiona Walsh ’17, Henry Dumke ’17 and Emma Perry ’19.
Tomorrow will be a lay day and racing will continue on Tuesday, May 30 at 10 a.m., in the Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship, hosted by the College of Charleston. The event will begin with two days of semifinals racing followed by two days of finals racing.
Final Results (wins and losses):
1. College of Charleston, 21-4
2. Yale University, 19-6
3. Georgetown University, 17-8*
4. Boston College, 17-8**
5. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 12-10 b
5. U.S. Naval Academy, 12-10 b
7. Stanford University, 11-11
8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 10-12
9. Eckerd College, 8-7*
9. Old Dominion University, 8-7**
9. Tufts University, 8-7 c
12. University of Hawaii, 5-10
13. Northwestern University, 2-13
14. University of Wisconsin, 2-13
15. Oregon State University, 1-14
16. Texas A&M University at Galveston, 1-14
*Number of races won when tied teams met (2)
**Number of races won when tied teams met (1)
b Tie stands
c Number of races won when tied teams met (0)
For more regatta information visit the event website: http://2017nationals.collegesailing.org/
Live coverage and commentary from Degan Media, powered by U.S. Sailing, will continue through out the national championships streaming from the event website (http://2017nationals.collegesailing.org/) and available on other social media outlets.
Contact: Jennifer Mitchell | Toile à Voile for ICSA | [email protected] | 970-216-7072 m.
Photo Contact: Michael Wiser Photography | [email protected] | 301-957-0443 m. | michaelwiserphotography.com
The ICSA sponsors and partners through the 2016-2017 season are: LaserPerformance (www.laserperformance.com), title sponsor of “LaserPerformance Men’s and Women’s Singlehanded National Championship”, title sponsor of “LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship” and Official Boat Supplier of the ICSA Spring National Championships. Sperry (www.sperry.com), title sponsor of the “Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship”. Gill North American (gillna.com), title sponsor of “The Gill College Sailing National Championship”. Quantum Sail Design Group (www.quantumsails.com), official sponsor of the “Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year”. Marlow Ropes (www.marlowropes.com), presenting sponsor of the “Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year Award” and “Official Rope of College Sailing”. US Sailing (www.ussailing.org), “The Robert H. Hobbs Sportsman of the Year Sponsored by US Sailing”.

USA Lauderdale Opti Team Wins European Team Race Regatta

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Venezia, Italy (May 23, 2017) – After a short trip in the Adriatic Sea, the Marco Rizzotti Trophy returns to Florida. Lauderdale Yacht Club is the undefeated winner of this XXXI edition of the International Optimist team racing event organized by Diporto Velico Veneziano and Compagnia della Vela. Second place for Italian National team, defeated only by Lauderdale, and LISOT New York. Slovenia 1, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, NIC Catania, Monaco Yacht Club, St. Petersburg Yacht Club, Dutch National Optimist Team, Liguria, Yacht Club Santo Amaro, Slovenia 2, Weir Wood Sailing Club, Cercle de Voile Marseillan and the Serbian team Palilula / Gemax follow behind.
 “The XXXI edition was a success despite the adverse weather of Saturday. A big thank you to the umpires, the Race Committee and all the volunteers” commented General Manager Elio Camozzi, on his first experience in this role after receiving the witness from Corrado Scrascia who for years was the soul of this Trophy. Team Lauderdale is:
CALLAHAN MITCHELL U.S.A. 16908
CALLAHAN JUSTIN U.S.A. 16897
BOLAND CONNOR U.S.A. 22282
BAKER STEPHAN U.S.A. 20797
SCHUMAN SARA U.S.A. 21758
 After a first day of particularly intense races with 70 races in 7 and a half hours, Saturday the bad weather forced the 16 teams from 4 continents to stay onshore. In the afternoon, all the partecipants embarked on an Alilaguna boat who took them to St. Mark’s Square for a small welcome ceremony to which attended, on behalf of the Mayor, the President of the Municipal Council Ermelinda Damiano. The races ended on Sunday. Although there has been some initial slowdown due to continued shifting, the Race Committee, chaired by Dodi Villani, has managed to conclude all 120 scheduled races in time, ensuring the face-off of all teams.
 Three special awards this year. In addition to the two Panathlon Club Venice awards for both ground and sea behavior, respectively gone to Yacht Club Santo Amaro and St. Petersburg Yacht Club, a special award to the youngest sailor, Ognjen Kerekes from Serbia, was given in memory of Giorgio Lauro, an international judge disappeared 10 years ago who helped make this event world famous.

2017 ICSA Team Race Nationals Preview and Ranking Predictions

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We are just about set. On 27-29 May, the ICSA Team Race National Championship will be held in Charleston, SC. Sixteen teams will vie for college sailing’s most coveted prize, the Wood Trophy, at College of Charleston. Here are the final predictions and rankings from our esteemed coaches poll, and brought to you by Dynamic Dollies & Reliable Racing. Take our poll yourself, and let us know who YOU think will win the TR Nationals!


Club Profile: Willamette Sailing Club

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News Flash: WSC is Hiring a Full-time Head Coach!
Willamette Sailing Club is located on the banks of the Willamette River, approximately 5 minutes South of downtown Portland. It is the only small boat sailing club in Portland, and is dedicated to dinghy (non-keelboats under 20 feet) sailing and racing. Willamette Sailing Club has been the center for small boat sailing in Portland since 1961. Located 5 minutes South of downtown Portland on the banks of the Willamette River, the club hosts a busy year-round schedule of racing, cruising, and learn-to-sail programs, as well as a number of river-related social and educational events, all of which are open to the public.
The club has over 300 members, and hosts numerous activities throughout the year. The WSC membership is comprised of a wide range of sailing enthusiasts. We have many members who primarily are interested in racing (from US Olympic team members to their first year racing a sailboat), members that just want a place to keep and launch their boat for day sailing, and some who just want a place to store their boat and enjoy the social aspects of the club. Whatever your sailing interest, WSC is a great club. The club hosts weekly races from February to November, holds racing clinics, organizes social events, sponsors several regattas each year, and provides a great opportunity to keep a boat on the river to enjoy evening and weekend sailing. The family environment at WSC creates a great atmosphere for family fun! Click here to view photos from our past.
Each summer, more than 600 kids and adults learn sailing, water safety, and river adventuring skills from WSC’s staff of certified instructors. WSC also serves as headquarters for local youth, high school, and college sailing teams, providing the young sailors with boats, coaching, and a base on the river. These programs are currently putting 75 youths, representing more than 20 Portland-area schools and colleges, year-round, on the water three to five days a week. Weekend regattas, held several times throughout the school year, attract as many as 200 sailors from all over the northwest to the Willamette.

2017 SPRING COLLEGE SAILING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SET TO BEGIN IN CHARLESTON

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (May 16, 2017) – The Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s (ICSA) three spring national championships, Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Semi-Final and Final Championship, LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship, and the Gill College Sailing National Semi-Final and Final Championship commence Tuesday, May 23. The Women’s event will last for four days immediately followed by the Team Race championship on May 27, lasting for three days and the Coed championship on May 30, lasting for four days.
The three events will be hosted by the College of Charleston at the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Center in Mount Pleasant, S.C. and the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association. These championships are the culmination of two seasons of intense competition and include the top schools from across the nation vying for the championship titles. At the end of racing for each of the regattas will be a trophy ceremony.
Book ending the championships are the ICSA Annual Meeting, held on Monday, May 22 at 11:30 a.m. where the ICSA Hall of Fame Honorees will be announced and the ICSA Afterguard Alumni Regatta on Saturday, June 3 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. out of the sailing center.
One change that is taking place for these championships is that in lieu of competitors meetings involving all of the sailors, coaches and/or team representatives are invited to pre-regatta briefings in the McAllister Hospitality Suite, on the 3rd floor of the TD Arena in downtown Charleston, before each event on May 22, May 26 and May 29, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Racing is scheduled to begin for the Sperry Women’s regatta on Tuesday, May 23 at 10 a.m. The sailors will sail Club Flying Juniors (CFJs) recently refurbished by LaserPerformance and Z420s, also refurbished by LaserPerformance, on Charleston Harbor and the Copper River. Spectator viewing will be available (for all of the events) on the U.S.S. Yorktown, a WWII aircraft carrier docked at the marina.
The first two days of racing will be the Semi-Finals, which is divided into two 18-team regattas. These teams have qualified from their conferences to compete in this portion of the championship. The top nine teams from each group will then advance to the Finals Round – an 18-boat regatta, which will take place on the last two days of the championship, May 25-26. This is the second time that the Women’s Semi-Final event will include 36 boats, in the past there have only been 28 competing in this portion of the Championship.
“We are really excited to host these events and to offer such great racing and spectator options,” says Greg Fisher, the director of sailing at College of Charleston. The last time that the College of Charleston hosted these events was in 2006.

“We are fortunate to have Ryan Davidson, former C of C Team Captain, PRO all three events,” says Fisher. “Ryan was PRO for the High School Mallory in 2016 and the 2015 ICSA Match Race Nationals. We also have Steve Wrigley, who has served both on and off the water as an International Judge, International Umpire, U.S. Sailing National Umpire and U.S. Sailing Senior Judge. Steve is assembling an equally impressive team to work with him. We are fortunate to have Steve as our Chief Umpire/Judge for all three events.”
Following the Sperry Women’s Nationals is the LaserPerformance Team Race Nationals beginning Saturday, May 27. The first warning scheduled for 10 a.m. Sixteen of the country’s best team race teams have qualified to compete in the event. Sailors will again be competing in FJs and Z420s on Charleston Harbor and the Copper River.
The first round of racing is a single round robin with all 16 teams of three boats competing against each other. The top eight from this round will advance to a single “championship” round robin followed by a “final four” round robin, both of which will only be sailed in Z420s. The top three teams and national champions will be determined from the final four.
The Gill Championship will begin after the LaserPerformance Team Race Championship on Tuesday, May 30 at 10 a.m. Sailors will again compete in FJs and Z420s on Charleston Harbor and the Copper River.

The first two days of racing will be a Semi-Final regatta, which will include 36 of the top teams in the country that qualified from their respective conferences to compete. This Semi-Final event is divided into two 18-team rounds.
The top nine teams in each Semi-Final round will advance to the Finals round, an 18-boat regatta on the last two days of the championship, June 1-2. This will determine the top three podium spots and name the national champion.
“The weather at this time in Charleston typically brings a steady sea breeze and warm temperatures as well as a good current, it will be excellent racing conditions,” explains Fisher.
To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: http://2017nationals.collegesailing.org/
Michael Wiser, michaelwiserphotography.com, will be providing photos for these events.
Dan Egan, of Degan Media, will provide some live coverage during the events sponsored by LaserPerformance, streaming from the event website (http://2017nationals.collegesailing.org/). Additional live coverage and social media updates will be available throughout the events on the regatta website.
Contact: Jennifer Mitchell |Toile à Voile for ICSA | [email protected] | 763-234-8286 m.
The ICSA sponsors and partners through the 2016-2017 season are: LaserPerformance (www.laserperformance.com), title sponsor of “LaserPerformance Men’s and Women’s Singlehanded National Championship”, title sponsor of “LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship” and Official Boat Supplier of the ICSA Spring National Championships. Sperry (www.sperry.com), title sponsor of the “Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship”. Gill North American (gillna.com), title sponsor of “The Gill College Sailing National Championship”. Quantum Sail Design Group (www.quantumsails.com), official sponsor of the “Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year”. Marlow Ropes (www.marlowropes.com), presenting sponsor of the “Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year Award” and “Official Rope of College Sailing”. US Sailing (www.ussailing.org), “The Robert H. Hobbs Sportsman of the Year Sponsored by US Sailing”.

2017 Optimist Team Trials Results & Report

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The 2017 KO Sailing USODA Optimist Team Trials were held this past weekend at the Brant Beach Sailing Foundation and Yacht Club in Brant Beach, New Jersey. 223 sailors competed in the event which ran from May 11-14th. The regatta had winds between 10-15 knots and temperatures in the 50s for most of the days of racing. 75 sailors made up the Gold Division along with 148 in the Silver A and Silver B Divisions. South Florida sailors came in at the top of the fleet with the Lauderdale Yacht Clubs Stephan Baker in 1st, Justin Callahan in 2nd and Mitchell Callahan in 5th. Coral Reef Yacht Club Sailors Liam O’Keefe and top female sailor Charlie Leigh finished 3rd and 4th respectively.
To take a look at the Gold Fleet results click here- https://sail1design.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/race_1-12_gold_fleet.pdf
For the Silver A & B Fleet results click here- https://sail1design.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/race_1-11_silvera___silver_b__1_.pdf
Congratulations to all the competitors and best of luck moving forward with the upcoming international events.

Club Profile: Kittery Point Yacht Club

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News Flash: KPYC is Hiring a Sailing Instructor!
The Kittery Point Yacht Club is located in New Castle NH, on the southern shore of the Piscataqua River. Its clubhouse stands opposite Seavey Island, home of the historic Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Ships from all over the world pass before it, vying with local lobster and fishing boats during the week and hundreds of pleasure boats on holidays and weekends.
A member of the US Sailing association, KPYC is well represented in local, regional and occasionally national events, with members racing and cruising a variety of boats. The KPYC sponsors the KPYC Sailing School, the Seacoast’s only public sailing school and youth racing program.
kpyc2
Our members are drawn primarily from surrounding states of New Hampshire and Maine, with some living farther away during the winters. Most enjoy common interests in boating and organized social activities during the main season from May to October. Pot luck dinners and casual gatherings are often found throughout the year.
Learn more about the KPYC’s summer sailing program!

Breaking Boatbuilding Molds: Zim Sailing

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By Airwaves Writer Taylor Penwell
Zim Sailing, a sponsor and team member with Sail1Design, is a sail boat manufacturer that is breaking the molds compared to other sailing manufacturers in the dinghy industry. Based out of Warren, Rhode Island, Zim Sailing was founded by former Vanguard employee Steve Perry after Vanguard was bought out by Laser Performance. Steve Perry saw an opportunity to start a new small boat manufacturing company that would differentiate itself from other competitors.
After leaving Vanguard, Steve called on many of his long time industry partners and relationships to help him get the company started. Where in the world did “ZIM” come from? The name Zim Sailing is an acronym based on the name of the company’s sister factory in China: Zou Inter Marine. In 2009 Steve purchased molds from C420 and CFJ classes and began testing and building his own brand of boats. After he was granted approval from the classes, Steve started delivering the Zim Sailing C420s with his personal car and in the same year moved his office from his kitchen table at home into a small 1600 sq. ft. contractor space. Steve has been working to bring more and more of the company’s production capacity to the United States each year.
Since 2009 Zim Sailing’s reach has grown tremendously but still has only thirteen employees total in the United States, including the 4 USA based boat builders. Zim Sailing prides itself on these thirteen employees’ abilities as top experts in their respective fields to have the knowledge and personal experience to deliver the best products and services in the industry to the customer. The company has been constantly expanding and moving into new sailing markets. Zim Sailing carries boats for all levels of sailing, from the grassroots level, recreational sailing, green fleet optimists, all the way up to collegiate sailing. Zim Sailing is sure to keep all these markets in mind with every move they make as a business.
Zim Sailing now carries 14 brands of sailboats, 9 of which they build:
Zim 15 *                                   420E                            Megabyte *                              Hartley Boats
C420 *                                     Collegiate 420 *           29er                                         Bic SUPs
CFJ *                                       Collegiate FJ *            World Wide Sailor Pram
Opti                                         Byte *                          RS Sailing Boats
*made in the USA

Zim Sailing keeps a large inventory of all the parts needed for the boats they provide. Having this large inventory in-house allows them to have this large array of products, in contrast to some other market problems at the moment. “We build centerboards, daggerboards, rudders here so there is not shortage or wait when an order comes in for parts. If an order is called in they have the ability to ship it out in the same day and get it to the customer in the same week.” Having this large supply of stock, Zim Sailing can get parts to you pretty immediately which is not something the market is used to because the industry standard takes much longer to process and ship the same types of orders. “This is one of the main ways we set ourselves apart from other companies. “
Reasons for going with Zim Sailing:

  • Quality products
  • Product line/offering
  • Parts and gear availability
  • Customer service

When asked what Zim Sailing prides itself on the company Marketing Executive Laura Beigel said, “Our product offering is one and our parts inventory is another. The range of boats that we carry are multifunctional which gives the customer more bang for their buck. For example, we work with sailing programs all over the country who are seeking boats that can be used in classes with sailing students of all different skill levels, from learn to sail for kids and adults to adventure classes or racing classes. This is one way were are able to offer such affordable options to our customers all the time. We try to give them something that is versatile. The other thing we distinguish ourselves on is the quality of our boats. They are crafted by hand and quality control checked after every stage of production, then QC checked a few more times during the finishing stages before they leave the warehouse. Every detail matters to us. ”
Only 3 warranty claims have ever been made on Zim Sailing boats since the founding of the company. A truly amazing accomplishment.
If you go to a Club 420 or Optimist regatta in the states there is a high chance you will see a Zim Sailing charter boat trailer there. Zim Sailing is a national sponsor for US Sailing and the USODA, along with the Junior Sailing Olympic Festivals. Chartering boats at these high level events has helped market the Zim Sailing brand of boats.
In the years to come the sky’s the limit for Zim Sailing. One of their short term goals is to is to get a lot better at what we are already doing. “To improve upon what we have got as far as the service in concerned, we are constantly evaluating the products to ensure we are offering exactly what people want and what people need,” says Beigel. Another is to make sure Zim Sailing has everything in stock people need and continually work to project things customers might want or need in the future. Another goal is to manage the growth and to manage it well to continue to deliver the best products and service to the customer as they expand their business.
Zim Sailing sees itself as an up and coming company in a market that is lacking a bit in many places and is changing the game as they say, and that is something they want to continue to work on moving forward is to break all those stereotypes about untimely processing of orders and lack of inventory. “We seek to be the ‘go to’ resource for everyone for anything in the sailing industry and to be counted on for making it possible to get everyone on the water sailing.”
To learn more about Zim Sailing and what they can do for you go to their website at,
http://www.zimsailing.com/

Coaching Drills

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Article Written by Dave Elsmo, Head coach of the Wisconsin Sailing Team
As with our first installment we will be continuing to overview the most effective drills for team growth. We will continue with coach-led drills as the third part perspective can be invaluable in whittling away the bigger corrections so sailors can concentrate on their in-boat communication and physicality.
Rolling Starts:
Any team looking to climb in the results needs to put a priority on getting off the line with speed and options. Too often, I see sailors going through the motions of getting off the line with little or no consideration of pre-start homework or line geometry. Teammates tend to get comfortable knowing who they can out boat-handle and often go for the easy start. This brings the competitiveness of the team down and reinforces a lowest hanging fruit mentality that won’t work at higher level events. I feel that if you spend any more than 45 seconds luffing during the pre-start you are doing it wrong.  Sailors need to get into the mindset that each start must to be taken as if it is a make or break it first leg and act accordingly.  Boats in the second row or the poachers waiting outside the boat-end of the line must be coached back into the fray. After the start sailors should sail without tacking for at most 45 seconds to give them a fair perspective of their placement.
We modify our rolling starts based on problems that arise during events or to model a venue we know has distinct attributes. Here are a few modifications I recommend
Problem 1: Sailors at an event find themselves getting their hole to leeward poached causing a delayed acceleration and a second row start:
Modificaton 1: I will incorporate two extra marks into the starting area to make a box two boatlengths wide. Sailors must be within the box during the entirety of the last minute of each sequence. If they need to bail out they must do so under an I-flag restriction and round the ends before re-entering. Under this modification sailors have to fight harder for their hole and it disincentivizes getting to the line late.
Problem 2: The team will be visiting a very shift venue for their upcoming event.
Modification 2: We will either set our starts up closer to shore to introduce the same shifty attributes or, if that isn’t possible, will incorporate a second and third mark to the pin end of the line. Sailors are expected to do their regular pre-start homework but for the first two minute of the sequence they will not know which pin the RC will be using. At the 1 minute horn the RC boat hails which pin is the correct end of the line and sailors must adjust accordingly.  This tends to put the focus on a starting plan with options and quick thinking with regards to last minute changes.
Problem 3: The team will be visiting a current-heavy venue but sails on inland waters.
Modification 3: Adjusting for current can be difficult in inland waters,  but is still do-able. Best practices for these starts is to use two coach boats that can drive slow to windward or leeward to mimic moving water. If that is not possible put your pin-end mark in the water without enough anchor rode to touch bottom. The RC boat can then drift together with the mark to simulate current.
Problem 4: Sailors are setting up way too late to get a start that resembles regatta-like conditions.
Modification 4: We will remove all the sound notifications within the last minute of the sequence and add two marks to the pin-end. The RC can start the race any time within the last minute of the sequence with one long sound. I find it only takes one or two early starts to get people to the line.
Problem 5: Sailors aren’t fighting for the favored side of the line.
Modification 5: Make one side of the line distinctly favored and incentivize the start by racing the first leg of a course.
It is my opinion that running 30 minutes of rolling starts can be highly effective if all sailors are engaging in the spirit of the drill. If people get lazy or disinterested re-engage them individually, challenge them to start in a different area of the line or have them on-on-one another member of the team. This will keep people thinking and engaged through out all the whistling.
Last Two Legs:
Often in less developed conferences, teams comprise sailors with a wide-range of skill. Getting your practices to contain regatta-quality conditions can be difficult if not impossible with smaller teams. In an effort to create congested scenarios it helps to slice courses into chunks to give less experienced sailors opportunities they may not encounter in a given race. Most practice races space out after the first mark and the rich tend to get richer. The Last Two Legs drill emphasizes a hyper congested downwind and a premium on positioning at the leeward mark. Secondarily it gives everybody the same chance at a good rounding.
To set up the drill set a starting-line to windward of a leeward gate with a downwind leg about half the length of your standard race. Sailors are to stay to windward of the starting line until the sequence is over. We tend to run a two minute sequence for this drill as the object isn’t to get a good start, it’s to get people sailing downwind on the same ladder-rung. After the ‘start’ sailors are to race downwind to the leeward mark round and finish to windward.  Since the legs are so short, the boats in the middle of the fleet will need to fight for positioning and the boats on the edges will need to be wary of how much distance they travel to get to the marks.
Cone Drill:
This continuously running drill helps emphasize the importance of ducking a starboard boat to gain leverage and climb the ladder. The drill itself is normally started with a rabbit drill. The coach boat then runs to windward of the fleet and whistles the drill on. Boats that make it to the laylines of the coach boat are to tack in. Different iterations of this drill can help for different mindsets.

  1. If you put the Port-Tack MUST duck restriction on the drill it helps teach a proper duck therefore reinforcing the need to get leverage to the right.
  2. If you remove the restriction it allows sailors to experience a busy windward mark layline when coming from the left side of the course. Should they feel they can gain to windward, boats have the option to leebow and stay on their ladder rung or duck to get leverage.

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