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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.

S1D Venue Insight: Sailing on the Charles @ MIT

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  1. Charles River – MIT/Harvard

Charles River, the Mecca of college sailing.  The River basin is shaped like a long rectangle with dimensions of less than one mile long by less than a half mile wide.  The orientation has the long axis running WSW to ENE.  North and northwest are always shifty, especially near the finish not far from the rotation dock.  East and west winds are the steadiest with the potential for small waves if the wind is high enough.  No wind direction is truly steady but winds that align with the long axis are less shifty than the winds blowing across.  If there is a geographical pattern, it is that the wind tends to blow perpendicular from a shoreline.  This would indicate sailing towards a shore but with a huge caution.  The wind gets lighter near shore so you never want to go too close.  For example, when the mark is in the NW corner, you want to stay away from the land as you approach the mark because any shift or puff from the land will only last a few seconds.  Better to approach on port tack with slightly more consistent wind from beyond the Mass Ave. Bridge.
In springtime the most common wind is east.  A true wind direction of 070 degrees is right from the center span of the Longfellow Bridge to the center of the Mass. Ave. Bridge.  In this direction you are looking for long shifts up the middle.  A NE wind has puffs and shifts off the left side but again, go too far left into the wall and any puffs will be short lived and surrounded by lulls.  The pure sea breeze direction is ESE which diagonals off the right hand shore.  There will be good puffs and shifts on the right but don’t bang right.  These shifts and puffs will come in steps and sailing too close to the Boston shore will put you in the blanket zone of the skyscrapers.
Heavy recreational traffic is part of the game on the Charles and this includes sailboats and rowing shells mostly.  While some racers are frustrated by rec sailors in their way, others take advantage.  Skip Whyte, former URI great and long-time coach used to “Manipulate the blockers.”  Of course if you try this you will want to avoid being obnoxious in the process.

  1. Fireflies at MIT

Fireflies are different but cool.  They are not particularly fast as they are only twelve feet long but when sailed well they all go about the same speed and they point high.  With similar speeds Fireflies are more tactical than 420s.  Of course you want to sail light but you do not have to as the hull is narrow unlike a 420.  As in FJs, big skippers do just fine in Fireflies.
Tuning: the jib halyard is adjustable whilst racing but it’s not that big a deal.  You do not need a tight rig to point; with inboard leads and a narrow bow, the boats points high already.  The MIT Fireflies have a fully battened main.  As such, be careful to not over trim the main which can stall.  FJs mains are trimmed harder than Firefly mains.
Boat Handling: the narrow rudder can stall easily in downspeed maneuvers.  Crews will need to bare off using their weight rather than skippers using all rudder.  That said, with gentle luffing, you can make a Firefly point well up on the starting line to prevent others from coming in to windward or to get clear of boats to leeward.  Be careful in breeze, Fireflies are tippy with their round bottom on a narrow waterline.  Death rolling to windward on the run is not uncommon but Fireflies can tip to leeward as well such as during a rushed penalty turn in a big puff.

  1. FJs on the Charles

The MIT FJs are lighter than most as they were made by Whitecap Composites in nearby Peabody, Massachusetts.  They will plane in 17 knots instead of 20 knots and they accelerate pretty well.
The Harvard and BU FJs are older style LP boats and are more like most of the other fleets.  Like all FJs, trim the main pretty hard even when you begin to get overpowered in 15 knots.  Play the jib first as the main sheet helps keep both main and jib flatter.  This technique compensates for a little heel to a point.  Flatter is of course better than heeling but, not quite as critical as in a 420.  On windy or just puffy days the main will need to play out with boom vang on.  This will prevent heeling too much.  The vang will keep the main flat but the jib will get fuller with mainsheet ease.
All FJs capsize easily.  The single best way to prevent capsizing is to keep boom vang on downwind.  Without it, the main twists at the top which directs the wind pressure force to windward instead of straight ahead.

  1. Mecca? Really?

The Charles River Basin is home to three big powerhouse college teams (MIT, Harvard, and BU) while many smaller teams also call the Charles home.  The biggest of those is Northeastern.  Dozens of small high school teams sail out of Community Boating on the Boston side but crew shells come from up river mostly and seem to use the entire river including the basin especially in spring.  Although Harvard, Yale and Princeton claim some of the earliest college racing, the busy everyday college dinghy racing began at MIT from the boathouse in 1935.  MIT is host to countless college regattas, a few high school regattas and boasts one of the biggest rec and phys. ed. programs among universities with some 1400 members and at least 100 small boats.  Yes, the wind is shifty but the urban scenery is as special as the history.

  1. Wind, weather, and climate

MIT sailing has an incredibly helpful weather page on their website via:
http://sailing.mit.edu/weather/  Click on pictures at the bottom for high res up-to-the-minute views of the dock, the river and the wind.  Click on history at the top for graphs of wind, temperature, and plenty of other fascinating data.

Advanced Team Racing Clinic at Harvard – Aug 22-24

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CRIMSON SAILING ACADEMY is running an Advanced Team Racing Clinic on August 22-24 (Tuesday-Thursday).
The ADVANCED TEAM RACING CLINIC will cover the fundamental attitude, the overall plan and the fine details of execution required to team race at the highest level. The clinic will include classroom, video, and on-the-water sessions. Sailing will take place in Harvard’s fleet of FJ dinghies. Come as a skipper, a boat or as a team of 3 boats.  A minimum of 6 boats is required for the clinic to proceed.
Last summer 30 sailors came and trained with us, which made for a very competitive practice.  We had Harvard and Tufts coaches running races and drills.
The clinic is a day clinic intended for high school, junior and college sailors who wish to learn collegiate sailing techniques and practice like one of the top college sailing teams in the country.
NO HOUSING IS PROVIDED.
LEAD INSTRUCTOR:  Bern Noack, Harvard University Assistant Sailing Coach
DATE:  August 22-24 (Tuesday – Thursday) – $280 per sailor if registered by July 23. $300 after July 22.
LOCATION:  Harvard Sailing Center, 45 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA
For more information:
Visit our website:  http://www.crimsonsailingacademy.com/teamracing.html
Email us: [email protected]
Call us at: 85 – SAILING – 1, (857) 245-4641

Sponsor News: Selden Signs on as Offical Spar of the 505 Worlds

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Seldén Mast Inc. was set up in 1998 in Charleston, South Carolina and produces rig systems for dinghies, keelboats and yachts and distributes the entire product range throughout North and South America. Seldén is a long-time manufacturer of 5O5 spars, having previously manufactured under the Proctor name. Seldén’s “Alto” aluminum section has become particularly popular among 5O5 sailors for its performance and production quality. Carbon 5O5 booms, spinnaker poles, and a full range of rigging services are also available through Seldén Mast Inc.
“Seldén Mast Inc. has been an incredible partner since the 2015 North American Championship and we are ecstatic that they are with us again for the SAP Worlds”, says regatta chairman Jesse Falsone. “They have provided on-site support during regattas and have delivered numerous fitted spars matching exacting owner requirements. Selden delivers an outstanding product and customer service.”
Tom Sharkey, Managing Director at Seldén Mast Inc., says “We are pleased to partner with the 2017 SAP 5O5 Worlds as official spar supplier. The 5O5 Class embodies the performance and longevity that are also hallmarks of the Seldén brand. We look forward to working with the organizers to run a spectacular event.”

ICSA News: Conference Championships!

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#1 Yale Wins New England Championship

Photo by Ken Legler
April 30, 2017– Sunday morning at the Savin Hill Yacht Club showed an early, stiff seabreeze. “Brisk,” said PRO Alden Reid. As predicted, the breeze, building throughout the day, coupled with the temperature created a championship atmosphere fitting only for the New England Coed Championship/ US Coast Guard Alumni Bowl.
The #1 Yale Bulldogs entered the boatyard 4 points behind Saturday’s leaders, the #15 Roger Williams Hawks and defending New England Champions. Throughout the day on Sunday the Bulldogs outmatched the opposition, finishing the regatta 1st overall with 201 total points, 17 point ahead of Roger Williams.
NEISA Sailor of the Year, Ian Barrows with Babineau trophy winner, NEISA Crew of the Year, Clara Robertson won A-Division narrowly over University of Rhode Island’s Rachel Bryer (‘17), Hannah Scanlon (‘18) and Ellis Havelock (‘18). Throughout the season, Mr. Barros and Ms. Robertson have proven to be the fastest boat in the nation. The pair caught fire in the middle of the day Saturday and sailed extremely impressively in the breeze.
Roger William’s second place finish was led by an transcendent B-Division win by Junior, Mackenzie Bryan, Jennifer Angell (‘19) and Michael McBrien (‘18).
The home team, #3 Boston College finished 3rd overall with 226 points.
#1 Yale, #15 Roger Williams, #3 Boston College, #11 Boston University, #12 Coast Guard, #7 Dartmouth, #18 Brown, Rhode Island and #12 Tufts composed the top 9 respectively and are the teams that will represent NEISA at the ICSA Semi-Final, May 30-31 in Charleston, SC.
Notably, #20 Harvard, #4 MIT, #14 Bowdoin and #17 Connecticut College failed to qualify for the Coed Semi-final regatta. This year’s NEISA Coed Championship was one of the deepest regattas of the year.
#9 Hobart and William Smith Colleges Dominate MAISA Championship
In one of the most impressive showing this season, Hobart and William Smith Colleges dominated Sunday to win the America Trophy/ MAISA Conference Championship, hosted at Cornell University.
Cayuga Lake presented a home-like advantage for the neighboring HWS sailors. With no races outside the top-3 on Sunday, Freshman Hector Guzman with Maya Weber (‘20) and Adam Schafer (‘17), won B-Division by a whopping 22 points after 15 races. The standout performance from the B-Division team in conjunction with a well sailed regatta from Greiner Hobbs (‘18) and Anna Flaherty (‘20)  sealed the deal for MAISA’s newest champion. If Guzman and company can replicate that effort in Charleston, the HWS team is a legitimate contender to take down the perennial favorite, Yale.
“It has been a while since our last America Trophy win,” said HWS Head Coach, Scott Iklé  “It reminds us how special and important these events are to the athletes.  These championships are hard to win.  A championship title is a confirmation of hard work, commitment and dedication by a team.  There are a lot of great teams in MAISA with rich histories, so to once again be included on the winner’s list of the America Trophy is a sense of accomplishment for all the past, present and future HWS sailors.  It was a special weekend.”
“Sailing at Cornell is like sailing at home,” continued Iklé. “There is a strong tie between the teams and the programs have worked together to grow with each other’s help.  This friendship extends back to the late 1990’s, so it was great to see the two teams working together to pull off the event.  It was great to have almost the entire HWS team there at some time during the weekend cheering on their teammates, but more importantly working with their friends at Cornell to showcase college sailing in the Finger Lakes.  Both teams took pride in running this regatta for their MAISA friends.
Senior, Patrick Snow won A-Division with Mary Morocco (‘19) and Brittany Slook (‘20) for the Naval Academy Midshipmen. #5 Navy finished second overall at the regatta, with 158 points.
Fordham finished 3rd with 196 points.
#9 Hobart and William Smith, #5 Navy, Fordham, #2 Georgetown, #10 George Washington, #16 St. Mary’s, Hampton, #19 ODU and Kings Point were the qualifying teams from MAISA and rounded up the top 9 accordingly.
#7 Stanford Wins the Pacific Coast and Santa Barbara City College goes to first National Championship
The #7 Stanford Cardinal won the PCCSC Championship decisively with 66 total points. A committee won A-Division for Stanford with Will La Dow (‘18), Reinier Eenkema Van Dijk (‘17) and William Marshall (‘19) all taking turns on the tiller with John Cannistraro (‘17) and Cassie Obel (‘19) in the front of the boat.
Jacob Resenberg (‘20) of Stanford with Sarah Placek (‘18), Haley Fox (‘18) and Elena Vandenberg (‘18) narrowly, finsihing with 38 points, 1 point fewer than Hawaii’s Chuck Eaton (‘17) with Cuylar Zimmerman (‘19) and Annika Garrett (‘19).
UC Santa Barbara finsihed second with 81 points, Hawaii finsihed 3rd with 91 points and for the first time in school history, Santa Barbara City qualified for the Semi-Finals, finishing 4th overall.
University of Washington wins NWICSA Coed Championship
Behind an impressive scoreline, the Washington Huskies won the NWICSA Coed Championship with 20 total points after 12 races. The effort undoubtedly resulted in a win in both A and B division.
Connor Hughes (‘19) and Audrey Jacobs (‘18) won A-Division with 9 points, including 3 first place finishes. Nathaniel Gordon (‘20) and Cassidy Lynch (‘17) won B-Division with 11 points and 3 bullets of their own.
The UBC Thunderbirds of British Columbia narrowly edged Oregon State and Western Washington to finish second overall with 35 points, securing the final berth to Nationals.
Northwestern and Stanford win and are headed to Team Race Nationals
The Northwestern University Wildcats cap an impressive season with a MCSA Team Race Championship win.  Their 16-2 record was enough to edge University of Wisconsin (13-5), who took second and the last spot MCSA offers to Team Race Nationals.
Jacob Bruce (‘16), Michael Pauleen (‘18), Ryder Easterlin (‘20), Susan Riley (‘17), Noah Rosenthal (‘18), Audrey DeBruine (‘19), Mark Davies (‘20) and Zachary Herron (‘18) led the effort for the Wildcats and look towards Charleston to continue their team race season.
The #7 Stanford Cardinal won the Carter Ford Trophy/ PCCSC Team Race Championship with a 7-1 overall record. The performance by Reiner Eenkema Van Dijk (‘17), Taylor Kirkpatrick (‘20), Will La Dow (‘18), Kathryn Booker (‘19), Jacob Rosenberg (‘20) and Sarah Placek (‘18) was enough to send the Cardinal to Team Race National once again.
Finishing second and claiming the final berth the PCCSC offers was the University of Hawaii Rainbows, with a 6-2 overall record. The Rainbows opened the regatta with an undefeated first round, handing Stanford their only loss of the regatta. This pivotal race was what made the difference over rival, UC Santa Barbara.
Written by Chris Klevan, Photos by Ken Legler
 
 
 
 

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