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2019 ICSA Pre-Season Team Race Rankings Are Here!!

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Sailing action is around the corner!!
Sail1Design is pleased to present our all-new 2019 ICSA Team Race Rankings, complete with coach-panel comments and analysis. Click no the team’s ranking to see analysis/comments, and the rankings are an average of all of the coaches picks.
We hope you enjoy the new, interactive format, and as the season progresses you’ll also be able to enjoy our graph showing how the teams rise and fall in the rankings over the course of the season.
We are ready for some team racing! Enjoy the Pre-Season ranks and please send us feedback!

Coach Panel:  Clinton Hayes, Ken Legler, Cori Radtke, Johnny Norfleet, and coordinator Dillon Paiva.

Click HERE to see them!

Orange Coast College is Hiring, full-time!

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Orange Coast College’s 164-acre campus is located in Costa Mesa just minutes from Southern California’s beautiful beaches. Founded in 1947, with classes beginning in 1948, OCC has grown into one of the nation’s largest — and finest — community colleges, enrolling more than 25,000 students each semester.

 Students walking in front of the Lewis Center

OCC features exceptional facilities and the latest in technology and offers more than 135 academic and career programs, including one of the nation’s largest and most acclaimed public nautical programs. Nearly half the students on campus are enrolled in one of OCC’s Career and Technical Education programs.
OCC seeks to hire a Manager, Community Boating Programs. This position organizes and manages day-to-day operations of the Sailing Center and the Community Boating Program. Prepares and implements approved action plans for delivery of the program’s services and activities. Supervises and participates with staff engaged in course development and delivery of instruction, marketing and promoting services of the Center, fleet, apparatus, and facility maintenance, registration, retail store, and general customer service. To learn more and to apply for this full-time position, please see our job ad HERE.

OCC ranks first out of Orange County’s community colleges in the number of students it transfers to the University of California and California State University systems. Over the past decade, thousands of OCC students have transferred to UC and CSU campuses. Additionally, many Orange Coast students go on to transfer to private colleges and universities within California and across the nation.

A member of the Coast Community College District, OCC offers fall, winter, spring, and summer classes and is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

2018 S1D/McLaughlin Optimist Sailor of the Year Announced!

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Sail1Design, in cooperation with McLaughlin, is pleased to announce the winner of the 2018 Optimist Sailor of the Year: Tommy Sitzmann. This year we had some excellent nominations, making it a challenge to determine a clear winner. Remember we only choose from nominated sailors! That said, S1D/McLaughlin would like to note publicly that Cort Snyder was our very honorable mention runner-up. Cort had a simply outstanding, consistent year in the Optimist, both here in the USA, and in international competition. Whats more, we learned from his nomination letter that he spent 80 hours this year helping other kids learn how to sail. Congratulations, Cort! We also had a great “Green Fleet” nomination for Brayden Zawyer. Keep that name in mind…. I am sure we’ll be hearing more from this talented young guy!
As for Tommy, 2018 will be a memorable one for him, as he surprised many with a top-5 finish at the Team Trials, earning him a spot on the World Team. From there, Tommy started posting great regatta finishes in difficult events, including major European events, with 2 major USODA regatta wins:

  • 3rd Overall, International Optimist Regatta, St. Thomas

    Coach Pilo Rocha & Tommy in Cyprus
  • 7th, US National Championship, Pensacola, FL
  • 1st, USODA Atlantic Coast Championship, NJ
  • 1st, USODA Midwinter Championship, New Orleans, LA
  • 2nd, Trofeo Palma de Mallorca, Spain
  • 2nd, Mediterranean Championship, Cyprus

The highlight, however, likely was a 5th place finish overall in the 2018 Optimist World Championship in Limassol, Cyprus. It’s hard enough just to make it to the worlds, and only 5 US sailors earn the right by competing in the grueling Team Trials, so it’s all the more impressive that among the worlds best Optimist sailors, Tommy seemed to shine even more.

WHAT TOMMY WINS
Thanks to McLaughlin, Tommy will get 3 great awards in addition to the honor of winning:
1. A beautiful, framed & engraved painting to keep forever.
2. What’s more, and in keeping with the philosophy of both Sail1Design & McLaughlin, Tommy will have the opportunity to give “the gift of giving”, or give back to sailing, and choose, on his own, an “up-and-coming” Optimist sailor to receive a FREE charter of a McLaughlin Optimist at a major US Optimist event on McLaughlin’s schedule! Sail1Design will help work out details of when and where this great gift is made.
3. Finally, Tommy will ALSO receive his own free charter at a major event as well!

Congratulations Tommy!!

Winners
2018 – Tommy Sitzmann
2017 – Stephan Baker
2016 – Justin Callahan
2015 – Luke Arnone

A few notes from Tommy’s nomination  letter:
At the USODA Team Trials Tommy placed 5th in the 74 boat gold fleet, thus placing him on the USODA World Team. And then, off to USVI to place 3rd of 80 boats at the St. Thomas International Optimist Regatta in June.
In July, Tommy placed 7th of 240 boats at the US National Fleet Racing Championship in Pensacola, FL. He followed that with a 3rd in the Mediterranean Championship of 124 boats and a 5th of 258 at International Optimist Dingy Association Worlds in Cyprus during August/September.
At the Atlantic Coast Championship in New Jersey, Tommy was 1st of 149 boats. In October, he was 6th of 208 Optis at the New England Championship.
In New Orleans, Tommy placed 1st of 234 at the Midwinter Championship. This gives him the privilege of representing USA at the IODA South American Championship in Chili next spring.
Tommy also traveled to Palma, Spain in December placing 2nd of 276 optimists. This regatta provided a range of conditions from flat calm to 18-22 knot winds.
Tommy still enjoys sailing in the Chesapeake Bay regattas where he is growing up. On the Bay, Tommy placed 1st of 40 at the Fishing Bay Junior Regatta, 1st of 35 at Tred Avon Junior Regatta, 1st of 39 at the West River Junior Regatta, and 1st of 62 in the Oxford Regatta.
Tommy is dedicated to the sport of sailing, seamanship, learning the racing rules and abiding by them, and becoming a team leader while listening to his coach.

Here’s a blast from the past, before Tommy was famous, revealing the superstitious secret to his success:

Airwaves Professional Career Center Spotlight: Port Annapolis is Hiring!

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Conveniently located on quiet Back Creek, just off the Severn River, this full service marina is every bit a yachting resort. Pleasure boaters and lifelong yachtsmen find it all here, from the luxurious, crystal-clear swimming pool, the famous poolside cafe, and the beautiful 16-acres of park-like grounds to the fully-stocked Ship’s Store and the most

Port Annapolis Marina in Annapolis MD

experienced marine craftsmen and sophisticated equipment to be found anywhere.

Port Annapolis is hiring:

Black Rock Sailing School is Hiring!

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Black Rock Sailing School is hiring Sailing School Support Staff and a Sailing Club Manager!

Our Motto:   Don’t just learn how to sail… Become a sailor! To learn more about our job openings please see the ad HERE

Learning how to sail is fun and rewarding, but the ultimate reward comes from the freedom, relaxation, and memories of spending time out on the water – whether it is a day sail, a week vacation, or years aboard a boat of your own. At Black Rock, we can teach you how to sail; but our goal is to make you a sailor. We teach you the skills you need to enjoy sailing, to safely explore new destinations, and to create memories with family and friends. Through our ASA certifications, seasonal sailing club, and charter trips, you will gain the confidence to truly enjoy what sailing offers.

Our Commitment:

It is a simple fact: “Not all sailing schools are created equal.” It takes years of full-time sailing and teaching to acquire the knowledge base, skills, and techniques needed to be a true professional.  The best racers or distance cruisers are not necessarily the best instructors. Being a successful sailing instructor requires both strong sailing skills AND incredible teaching skills.

At Black Rock Sailing School, you will notice a difference. Our instructors are not only experienced professionals, they also care about your goals and progress. We teach a few students at a time on some excellent training boats, offering an extremely high level of instruction. This commitment to excellence has already been recognized by the American Sailing Association as Outstanding School 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, & 2012 as well as Outstanding Instructor 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, & 2014 (x2 staff).

Guest Commentary: Has One-Design Sailing Out-priced Itself?

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Why Those Little Old Boats Matter

I recently watched some friends and acquaintances  prepare for the J/70 Worlds held in Marblehead last September.  I watched as they bought and prepared their boats and was amazed to find that many  campaigns had a $1MM plus budgets. The racing was spectacular to watch, but the impact of the knowing the numbers soured the beauty as I thought about all of the less fortunate sailors who simply could not afford to be out there.  The J/70 Class is not alone in seeing skyrocketing costs.

I felt better as I remembered all of the cheap old boats I had bought, fixed and raced. I was heartened to find that there are still classes of boats are there that are somewhat stable  in design and evolution, and that I can afford to buy and campaign.

I am not a Luddite. I applaud the forward progress in sailing that has come with foiling and how this is impacting the sport on every level, but I am concerned about the impact that this has on a decreasing population of people getting into the sport.

Some of my other friends build and sell small boats. I love parts of what they do, but they seem to have built a business model around non-ownership of boats. This has further isolated the sailor from the boat. This trend in club owned or chartered boats will likely cause further erosion in participation ultimately. We need to simplify. The boats need to be cheaper, more durable and easier to own.  We need to encourage an individual ownership model by making the cost of acquiring and campaigning boats cheaper.

Photo from the Grub Tub Worlds, Maine

I think that professionals and vendors in the sailing industry need to work with the classes of “Cheap old boats” to determine how to keep people coming into these classes. I am not so naive to think that every boat class will survive, but only by supporting these classes can we provide a destination for 420 kids and college sailors. The latest new designs will always be too expensive.  The good old boats that have stood the test of time deserve continued support as we go forward.

Millennials have lots of choices; lets try to guide them towards sustainable choices by supporting those good old boats and making them cool again.

By Shan McAdoo

We invite your comments, see below!

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