Hopefully most of you have been working out throughout the summer. Summer gets busy, but it’s essential to continue your workouts between sailing practice and regattas. For those of you that have been slacking a little bit this summer, this 30 day challenge should help get you right back into it!
The push up a basic fitness move, most of us have done a lot of these in our workouts. This is a great move that you can do anywhere with no equipment. It’s an exercise that engages your chest, shoulder, tricep, and core muscles. You need all these muscles to be strong in order to be successful out on the water, so the push up is a great move for sailing. There are also many push up variations to choose from to make it easier or more challenging depending on your fitness level. The key to any exercise is proper form so no injury occurs. Below are the proper steps to a push up and how to fix common mistakes made, then continue reading for the 30 day challenge.
Steps to the Proper Push Up:
1. Get into plank position. Place you hands under your shoulders or slightly wider. Your fingertips should be pointed straight forward. Your feet should be set in what is comfortable for you, they may be shoulder width or touching. The farther apart they are the more stable your push ups will be.
2. Lower your body, engage your core and butt. Keep your body in a straight line. Back should be flat and don’t let your butt stick out or dip. Keep your eyes looking forward with a neutral neck. Lower down till your chest just touches the floor.
3. Push yourself back up. Exhale as you push back to plank position. You did it!
Common Mistakes And How to Fix:
1. Your arms flare as you lower down. Fix: Keep your arms in and make sure your hands are in proper position.
2. Your butt rises when you lower down. Fix: Make sure you are engaging your glutes by squeezing your cheeks together.
3. You strain your neck. Fix: Keep your neck in neutral position, pick a point on the ground in front of you to look at while you lower down.
4. Your lower back is sagging or arching. Fix: Remember to stay in a straight line. Engage your glutes to help with arching and sagging.
5. You forget to breath. Fix: Inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up.
If you are struggling with the push up there are way to modify to make it easier. Four easy way to modify are putting your hands on a bench or box for incline push ups. Or using a wall to do wall push ups. However, two simpler ways with no equipment or wall required is shifting one leg to your knee, or for more of a modification putting both knees on the ground.
Now lets get working on those push ups! I have a 30 day challenge for you to complete. For 30 days you are going to be doing push ups with 3 rest day every nine days. You will be increasing the number everyday to get to a total of 45 push ups. By the end of the 30 day challenge you will see improvements in your strength which will help you out on the water!
Key things to remember:
1. Form is key, once your form starts to lose quality take a break or go to modified push ups.
2. If you need to break the push ups up throughout the day do so.
Check out the video below on the proper push up and modifications to the push up. After the 30 day challenge you will see great results and major improvements in your strength helping you with your sailing. Good luck and tell us how your doing with the challenge!
For more information on fitness for sailing contact [email protected]. Also check out Sailorcise on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily tips on fitness, nutrition, and sailing.
Blog
So Long Summer: Transitioning Back Into High School and College Sailing
By Airwaves Writer Rachel Bennung
Hard to believe it, but summer is long gone. Once Labor day is over it’s a true reality we are all getting back into school mode, and a set routine. However, that doesn’t mean the sailing is over just yet! Time to welcome the high school and college sailing season.
Everyone is sad to see summer leave, but it’s exciting for the new high school and college sailing season to start. However, transitioning back into these can be difficult after the summer. Some sailors don’t get to sail as much with work, and others are sailing different boats throughout the summer. Here are some tips to getting back into the fall season of high school and college sailing.
Tip #1 Get to Practice Early
Getting back into a routine after summer can be difficult for some of us. Start by making sure you are getting to practice early. This will help you transition back into your routine, and show your coach your commitment. Rig up and get out sailing if possible. The more time on the water the faster all your skills will come back, and improve. By getting to practice early you will step back into your routine more quickly, improve your skills faster, and show your coach your commitment for the season.
Tip #2 Practice How You Race
Every practice you attend you want to treat it like a major regatta. Practicing how you race is one of the most important components of practicing. You will only get better results at regattas if you are putting 110% effort into every practice. If you foul or someone fouls you, make sure you are taking accountability and enforcing the rules. In a race you wouldn’t ignore it, so the same goes for practice. By giving every practice your all you will see improvements in your sailing, and step right back into the competitiveness of high school and college sailing.
Tip #3 Ask Questions
The first couple weeks of practice and regattas you may feel like you are still brushing off the cobwebs. So the key to success early on is to ask questions. Any troubles you seem to be having or issues on the water the best thing you can start with doing is asking your coach for help. You coach is there to guide you and help improve your skills. During a practice say your really having trouble working with your crew on your roll tacks, go over and ask your coach to watch a couple of your tacks. The best way to get back into the season is to ask the questions that will help improve your skills, and get you sailing faster.
Tip #4 Be A Team Player
Unlike the summer season of sailing now you have a lot more teammates. With all these teammates you are going to be sharing the sailing. If you are an alternate at a regatta make sure you are supporting your team. Pay attention to the racing and show your support by helping the boats during rotation. In high school and college sailing you have to learn to work with your
team, and even when your not sailing support them. This can be hard at times, but by showing your commitment to the team you will show your coach your dedication. Being on a team is a great experience, and you will make life long friends!
Seeing the summer months go is always a little hard for everyone. We all love that beautiful weather! However, getting back into high school and college sailing for most of us is what makes fall so fun. The transition isn’t always easy after the summer break, but by getting to practice early, practicing how you race, asking questions, and being a team player you can make it a smoother transition. Good luck to all the high school and college teams this fall season, and lets get sailing!
Club Profile: Sail Martha's Vineyard
News Flash: Sail MV is hiring a full-time Waterfront Director!
Since its inception in 1992, Sail Martha’s Vineyard has focused on connecting the Island’s school children and the community at large with the traditions and experiences of the Island’s maritime heritage. It offers a summer sailing program to over 400 young sailors. Projects within the community have included; wooden boat building in the schools, scholarship funds to pursue time on sail training vessels and educational programs. It also seeks to attract and welcome historic sailing vessels to the Island so the community can experience first hand the sailing ships of the past.
The Summer sailing program is offered to 8 to 18 year olds. Students, Islander and seasonal visitors alike, are taught basic rowing and seamanship in small Island built wooden skiffs, as well as in more contemporary designs. The program operates out of the Sailing Camp Park on the Lagoon in Oak Bluffs. The Lagoon offers an ideal location for sailing instruction with sheltered waters, sandy beach and minimal marine traffic.
In 2007, the Maritime Studies program was developed to offer a Vocational track class at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.This program, the first in the state of Massachusetts, provides students with the skills and practical experience in order to gain employment on and around the water. This year a more advanced level of the course is being offered as well.
The High School Sailing team, which is sponsored and funded by Sail MV, has developed as the graduates of the summer program have aged. This need for a next step was recognized and a sailing club was formed in 1996. Because of its popularity and success, in 1999 it gained varsity status and began to compete in regional regattas. A Junior High After-School Advanced Fall Program was instituted in 2000 to provide a bridge between the Summer program and the High School Team.
News Flash: Sail MV is hiring a full-time Waterfront Director!
Sail MV continues to expand its activities to include Captain’s Licensing courses, adult sailing instruction, rowing and continuing education courses.
Sail MV is largely supported by small local grants and individual donations. All of its introductory sailing programs for Island children provided at a modest $50 membership fee.
Sail Martha’s Vineyard is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and perpetuating our Island’s maritime heritage and culture. Toward that end, we:
- Encourage Island residents to be comfortable in and around the water through such programs as our free boat handling and sailing instruction for children, adult sailing instruction and support for the high school sailing club for competitive sailors;
- Support educational programs in our public schools that familiarize Island children with the maritime traditions of Martha’s Vineyard;
- Attract interesting and historic vessels to the Island and support such local vessels;
- Sponsor programs that in other ways explore the maritime heritage of the island; and
- Serve as a clearinghouse for other maritime-related organizations and initiatives on the Island.
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- Winter Dinner/Lecture Series
- USCG approved 100 Gross Ton captain’s course
- Certified USCG Testing Center
- Advisory services to Islanders renewing or applying for USCG masters or OUPV licenses
- Coastal Navigation course
- Coxswain training course
- Cornish Pilot Gig Rowing Club
- Varsity and Junior Varsity MVRHS Sailing Teams
- Children’s summer Learn-to-Sail program
- Adult summer Learn-to-Sail program
- Boat building, maintaining, repairing apprenticeships
- Administer one of the largest PHRF fleets in New England
- Maritime Studies academic courses at MVRHS
- Fall racing clinics
- Big boat programs on board our 41′ Concordia yawl
2016 Etchells World Championship Results & Report
Etchells Worlds Championship
Royal London Yacht Club
Cowes, United Kingdom
August 31-September 10th
The International Etchells Class concluded its 2016 World Championship held in Cowes, United Kingdom at the Royal London Yacht Club. The fleet was comprised of 58 Etchells vying for the title of World Champion. The field consisting of 58 boats included 16 Corinthian teams. Nine races were scored over the events six days of racing.
The 2016 World’s Champion is John Bertrand (AUS) representing the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, with a crew of Paul Blowers (GBR) and Ben Lamb (AUS),.
Second place overall for a second year in a row went to Steve Benjamin (USA) representing the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, with crew members Michael Menninger, Ian Liberty and George Peet, all of the USA.
Third place was Noel Drennan (AUS), representing the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, with crew members Brian Hammersley and Andrew Mills from GBR.
The wet conditions also included a considerable amount of chop with wind speeds averaging 15-20 knots throughout the regatta and 25 knots with gusts of 30 knots on the windiest day.
The large fleet was full of well experienced Etchells veterans and breaking into the top 10 proved challenging. St. Mary’s College of Maryland sailing team alumnus Ian Liberty crewing on the 2nd place finisher and top USA boat, Stephen Benjamin’s Scrimtar and had this to say about the regatta,
Q: What is it like racing in Cowes?
“Cowes is one of those big current venues. There is almost no time between tide changes so you have to stay on top of it and know where it is going to switch first. There a few major underwater features such as banks, shoals and channels on our race course which play a big role in the racing but as always, pressure is the priority and at the end of the day you just have to go with what you can see.”
Q: What things are top boats doing in this regatta in your opinion?
“Start clean, know the current, and be able to sail fast through a wide range of modes. Lanes can be tough to come by so you have to be able to get creative to stick to your plan. With the current being such a big factor, sometimes you have no choice but to live in a bad lane so you just have to find a mode to make it work for a little while. There are also huge opportunities for gains in the high traffic areas so always having a good exit out of the crowded mark roundings is key. We have it easy with Benj because he is such an experienced driver and has great natural instincts on the helm but it is crucial to be able to see the situation developing and talk about the exit strategy well in advance. We also make sure that we are working harder than anyone else before and in between races to gather information and make sure our boat setup is perfect for the conditions.”
Congratulations to John Bertrand and his team on winning the 2016 Etchells Worlds!
Profiles in Pro Sailing: Max Kurland
By Taylor Penwell
Max Kurland is in his second season as the head coach of Washington College’s sailing team after four years of being assistant coach. During his time as an assistant coach, the team competed in both the fall and spring MAISA Co-Ed Dinghy Championships each season, qualified for the 2012 Atlantic Coast Championships, and reached the 2012 and 2014 ICSA Co-Ed Dinghy Semifinals and the 2012 ICSA Woman’s Dinghy National Championship Semifinal. Kurland sailed for the College of Charleston before transferring to Washington College for his junior and senior years. During his time on Washington Colleges sailing team he competed in the 2010 and 2011 ICSA Co-Ed Dinghy National Semifinals, helped WAC win the Team Race Challenge and finish first in A Division at the Kings Point Dinghy Open, and placed second in A Division at the 2010 Atlantic Coast Tournament.
-Where are you from Max?
I grew up ski racing in Woodstock, Vermont with my sister and two brothers. When I was 14, we moved to Sharon, CT. Now I live with my elderly grandfather in Chestertown, MD.
– How did you get into sailing? How old were you?
When I was 8 years old my family began spending summers in Weekapaug, Rhode Island. My parents signed me up for Beginning Sailing. We started out the first few classes with 5-6 kids in a Beetle Cat with the instructor letting us take turns driving. From there, I began racing Optimists before aging out at 15. I raced for the Hotchkiss Sailing Team in 420s until moving on to the College of Charleston followed by a transfer to Washington College, where I spent nearly every weekend for the next two and a half years racing for the Washington College Sailing Team.
– Why did you choose Washington College?
I really began college sailing at the College of Charleston, but I felt I was not seeing enough time on the water, so I left the team and focused on my education. After a few years, I felt like something was really missing. I decided I needed to refocus, so I moved in with my grandparents in Chestertown, MD and transferred to Washington College. The college had a nationally competitive but very small sailing team where I knew I would see time on the water against the best colleges in the nation.
-What was your experience in college sailing?
I can’t say enough about my experience sailing for Washington College. I joined a team of 7 student athletes coached by Josh Putnam. I was immediately tapped as the heavy for the team, which is interesting considering I was only 155 pounds at the time. During my year at Washington College I went to 22 regattas and sailed in barely half of them due to consistently light winds. But I grew to love the traveling and, when the wind did kick up, I had an absolute blast. The year culminated in sailing for an All-American Honorable Mention Skipper at Charleston in the College Sailing National Semifinals. Over the next year and a half as a crew I sailed as far north as Bowdoin in Maine all the way down to Eckerd in Tampa. My final regatta was another College Semi Finals, this time in Long Beach, CA.
– How did you get involved in coaching for the WAC sailing program?
It was the summer after graduation. I was still living in Chestertown, MD when I got invited to have drinks by the head coach at the time, Josh Putnam. He had a part-time assistant coach who was not able to much traveling, so he asked me to join up as an assistant coach and split time between helping out in practice and taking spare sailors to intermediate level regattas. Over the years, I took on more and more in the office and on the water. When Josh 
moved on, my old skipper Conner Blouin came on as head coach for two years and really kick started the program and reinvigorated the team with a new culture of sailing. After coaching for two years, he got an offer from Saint Mary’s College of Maryland, so I applied to be head coach and got it!
– What were some of your takeaways after your first year as a head coach?
The biggest takeaway is just how much work goes on behind the scenes to make college sailing happen on the both the local college level, as well as all the work done by the ICSA to coordinate regattas all over the country. As assistant coach I spent maybe 30 hours a week in the job, as head coach, that number more than doubled.
– In your mind, what are the most important things a good head sailing coach should possess?
A head coach in sailing really needs endurance. The school year is long, and if you don’t have an assistant coach (as was my case during my first year) you are going to be spending 12-15 hours on the water per week, as well as driving 8-15 hours to a regatta and coaching all day Saturday and Sunday. But you aren’t in it alone, you have a team of sailors with every step of the way. It is a very rewarding experience.
– What do you look for in a college sailor?
I look for a student who understands the sheer time commitment required by the nature of college sailing and has the drive to succeed sailing against the best schools in the country. The student should be level headed but a fierce competitor. Sailing experience is secondary for crews, we have taken walk-ons that have never stepped in a boat and turned them into all-American level crews within a few years.
– Tell me what the highlight of the past few years have been since you’ve become head coach?
Traveling with a group of young sailors and seeing them grow both as sailors and young men and women. The students aren’t just sailors. As coach, I spend nearly every waking hour every weekend interacting with the students.
– Where do you see WAC’s sailing program in the coming years?
With the recent increase in frequency of coach turnover, I seek to bring stability to the growing sailing culture at Washington College. We are one of the smallest teams in the country, but not for long. By the end of my time at Washington College, I aim to see a ranked team of 20-30 competing on the national stage.
– When you are not coaching college sailors, what are some activities you like to do?
I keep a pretty active life. During the winter I spend most of my time hunting waterfowl on the Chesapeake. There are few better places to do it in the world. When I find my self in the right place, I spend as much time on the slopes skiing as possible. In the summer, I coach the junior sailing racing team at Rock Hall Yacht Club when I’m not racing myself.
– What kind of sailing do you do mostly now?
Most of my personal sailing time is devoted to the family log canoe, the Silver Heel. For the last ten or so years, I have moved up from main trimmer, to boardman and jib trimmer, and finally to skipper. She carries a crew of 12-15 and we race all over the eastern shore. When I’m not sailing on the Heel, I’m either working on her at home or towing her up and down the shore.
– What draws you to Log Canoe sailing and what sets it apart from other sailing?
The big thing with log canoeing is the comaraderie and sheer adventure of it all. It is just you and 12 others, most of whom have zero real sailing experience sailing up and down trying to keep some of the least balanced boats in the world upright. The Silver Heel has masts upwards of 50 feet tall, but the boat itself is only 7 feet wide! You can imagine how even the slightest screw up can lead to major issues.
– Which do you prefer, pancakes or waffles?
That’s easy. Waffles. Only idiots choose pancakes.
New Boom Option Approved For Club 420
North Kingston, R.I. For Immediate Release August 19, 2016
The Club 420 Class Association is pleased to announce a new boom built by Selden Mast Inc. has been approved by the Board of Directors for use in Class sailing. This new boom is available through all Class Builders and is an option for all sailors.
It is known as the “Olympus” section and has been used with great success from youth programs at the High School and Collegiate levels. It provides similar properties in strength and behavior to the current Club 420 boom. It is compatible with all existing Club 420 mast and gooseneck arrangements without modification. Once installed for the first time, the boom can be rigged and removed without use of tools, or removal of pins and rings. This will make it quicker than ever to rig and de-rig the boat for travel. The outhaul arrangement is external and rigged in the same way that Club 420 sailors are used to.
Due to construction methods, the boom eliminates salt water corrosion and electrolysis where dissimilar metals meet. Parts are insulated from one another and designed for longevity in the harshest environments. The boom uses a track system for mainsheet and boom vang positions which eliminates external protrusions. The sail can be fed in the track from both the front and the rear of the boom. Additionally it features a rubber material and super strength adhesive to prevent damage to the boom from interaction with the side stays.
For more information contact a Class Approved Builder:
Laser Performance Sturgis Boat Works Zim Sailing
About The Club 420 Class Association
The Club 420 Association was established in 1980 to promote, foster, encourage and sponsor one-design sailing. The Association sponsors a class North American Championship, US and Canadian National Championships as well as regional championships for the class across North America while promoting the class to all ability and experience levels of youth sailing. Since 2006, the class membership has more than doubled from 300 to its current 715 members. The class offers many regional, national and North American championships in both fleet and team racing formats as well as clinics across North America. Our Nationals / North Americans have had 175 boats attend, with all levels of sailors competing in some of the finest and socially fun regattas you will attend. About The Club 420 The Club 420 is a two person dingy which forms the base of many local, high school and collegiate programs in North America. Simple for beginning sailors and yet challenging enough for collegiate champions. The Club 420 offers more learning opportunities than any other double-handed boat you can find. Over 5,000 Club 420s are sailed in youth, high school and collegiate programs all over the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
For more information please visit our website at www.club420.org or visit us on Facebook
Contact: John Vandemoer Executive Director, Club 420 Class Email – [email protected]
About Selden Mast Inc. Seldén was founded in 1960 when Per Seldén first built an aluminum dinghy mast to replace his wooden one. Today Seldén now leads the way in producing top quality aluminum and carbon fiber rigs around the world for boats ranging in size and performance from the Optimist to large luxury yachts. Seldén also has a complete range of deck hardware which makes them the only single company able to outfit an entire boat from the deck-up. Selden Mast Inc. is headquartered in Charleston, SC. Contact: Tim Fitzgerald Dinghy & Aftermarket Sales Email — [email protected] Selden Mast Inc.
