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Sailing with Grace: The CJ Buckley Youth Team Race

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Sail1Design is pleased to present our youth sailing perspective series “Sailing with Grace”. Grace Lucas, a Sail1Design intern, is a high school senior at Severn School just outside Annapolis, MD, and along with her busy academic schedule, is also a member of the nationally-ranked Severn School Sailing Team. Enjoy!

CJ Buckley Team Race Regatta

Going into the CJ Buckley Team Race Regatta, it was clear within our team that we had no expectations for results. We entered the regatta never before having sailed together as a team, we all simply thought that it would be a good learning experience, and that maybe we could win a couple of races and have fun with it. However, our all girls team from the Annapolis Yacht Club, otherwise known as the Powerpuff Girls, preformed much better than we had expected.

The first day of the regatta opened with a seating round, in which all of the 36 teams were placed in random groups of six where they all of the other teams in their group once, otherwise known as a round robin. Their score during this round carried over to the next round and determined their “seat.” After this, there were six brackets: gold, silver, bronze, red, blue, and white. After the seating round the Powerpuff girls were placed in Silver, as our record was 4-1, our only loss being to the AYC Boys (Team Lady Carolyn). For us, this round did not consist of much team racing. It was blowing about 10-12 knots and we were much lighter than the majority of the other teams, and we used that to our advantage. We fleet raced around the course, and although it did not create the most stable combinations, it did help us win races. However, the second round robin was a completely different story. In the silver bracket we were racing with teams who had a solid foundation of team racing, so fleet racing around the course no longer sufficed. This round robin we went 1-4, much to our dismay, and we were moved down to bronze fleet for the next round robin.

The next morning, the wind conditions were about the same as the day before; 8-12 knots. We were not in the lowest bracket on Race Course One (the umpired race course). In this fleet we did much better than the day before, going 4-1 once again. The race lost, was also lost at the start as one of our boats fouled on the line and had to perform a 360, and from that point it was a game of “catch-up.” Even though we were wining all of these races, our team racing was not where it should have been. We were not communicating well with our other teammates or looking around the racecourse to see what we could do to help each other. We moved back up to silver, which was a little daunting at first. We lost our first race against Team Florida. But after that something clicked within our team. We actually started to listen to Russ (who was our designated coach for the day), and we actually started to team race. We called out our combination for our teammates on the racecourse, we started completing pass backs and stabilizing our combinations, and we got back to winning races. We went 4-1, however we weren’t sure if we were going to move up to gold or stay in silver.

We got to the venue on Saturday and saw that we were placed first in the silver fleet, which we were a little bummed about, however excited because wee were confident in our skills within this group. We got out onto the water, which was completely flat and still. We went into postponement, waiting for even a little bit of wind so that we could start getting races off. During postponement our coaches came up to us and told us that we were moved up into Gold Fleet. Excited as we were, it was nerve wracking, especially as our first race was against the SSA team, who we knew to be good team racers. We ended up losing all of our last five races in the final round robin, and as upsetting as that was, we still got 6th overall in the regatta, which was much better than we expected.

After the final round robin, we tied up our boats to an anchored boat by the finish line, and jumped in the water, proudly cheering on other teams that we knew after they finished. We then took down our mains and hopped on the coach boat to watch the final four in action, especially since it was an amazing opportunity to hear what our coach had to think during the team racing instead of just after. We cheered on the AYC boys before and after the races (much to the dismay of the SSA boys who we also knew from home), and listened to our coach, Russ O’Reilly, as he commentated for us during the races. Watching the races with Russ was very helpful as we could see all the little mistakes that made their stable combinations a little bit less stable or we could see the larger mistakes that cost them a race and what they could’ve done to prevent it. However during the second race we realized that something was wrong with Harrison, and that he was not sailing up to his typical standard. After the race, which the boys lost to Cape Cod Academy, we found out that Harrison’s PS2000 tiller broke and that he was no longer able to steer effectively. Our original plan to fix this problem was to borrow one of the PS2000 tillers from one of the LISOT sailors, as the majority of them have PS2000s. However, this plan was foiled as the LISOT sailors headed in during the past race and were too far away to reach in a reasonable amount of time. Instead, Russ motored us up to our derigged boats, Lilli, Elena, and Emma hopped into our boat, Buttercup, to rig, I pulled up the main, and Stephanie and Julia held on as Russ motored us back down towards the starting boat. Harrison and Evan quickly switched boats with Emma and Elena and went straight into sequence. Emma and Elena (who are both skippers) sailed the boat back up to where we had previously tied up, and the boys went into their third race against Cape Cod Academy, which they won, putting them into the finals against the SSA team.

Now this was a particularly intense final round for us Annapolis girls as both teams consisted of friends and teammates. The next couple of races were very close, as both teams have a solid understanding of team racing and very good boat handling, however the AYC boys triumphed – with Buttercup’s help of course.

Throughout the entire summer, this was my favorite regatta. I can easily say that I learned the most about sailing here, and it was fun to be able to see our team improve such a great amount in such a short period of time – which I completely accredit to our coaches Nick and Russ. It was also a really proud moment for the Annapolis area as the top two teams were from the same small town in Maryland and all three teams that entered from the area ended in the gold fleet. Justin and Kyle Assad worked very hard putting this regatta together, as they have for many years in the past, and what went on this year definitely honored CJ and his love for team racing.

See final CJ Buckley results HERE

Archived Sailing with Grace articles: 

Sailin
g with Grace: The Brooke Gonzalez Clinic https://www.sail1design.com/airwaves-sailing-news/general-news/1130-swg1

 

Airwaves' Mike Ingham: More on Downwind Tactics

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05 August 2013                                                                            Volume 1, Issue 2

By Airwaves writer Mike Ingham

At 109 boats, the Thistle Nationals is about to begin with me sadly sitting it out with a shattered collar bone due to a mountain bike crash in Whistler -aaarg.  With such a big fleet, a few of us just got into a discussion on downwind tactics and how they differ from small fleets.  The leaders won’t have a lot of clear lanes and can get locked into the side of a run pretty easily, so careful planning and excecution is key.

We can simplify the downwind tactics by following some basic rules of thumb. In light air chase pressure, in meduim wind pay attention to shifts and pressure, and in heavy air take the long tack.  All while keeping your air clear.  I am pretty sure if all you did was these basic things, you will have successful runs 80% of the time.  The other 20% of the time, success will come from a heads up approach, great boathandling, good speed,  and a little luck.

Lets take a look at our common conditions and work through the priorities for each:

$11.     In heavy air, take the long gybe

$1a.     Because the angles are soo deep in heavy air, the long gybe is the gybe you will take for the majority(or all) of the run

$1b.     The windier it is the more important this is –even if the course is just a little skewed, it is quite possible you will lay the leeward mark on the long gybe

$1c.     There are a few cool ways to figure out what the long gybe is:

$1i.      On which tack did you spend the most time? The opposite gybe will the long gybe

$1ii.     Was there a shift near the top mark?  If one tack was lifted, the opposite gybe will be the long gybe and put you in phase

$1iii.    And once on the run, if you are headed above it, you are likely on the short gybe

$1ii.     In heavy air, if you are not on the long gybe you better have a great reason –if not, gybe!

$1i.      In light air, head towards pressure

$1i.      Most boats have wide angles downwind in light air, so you can get separation from your competitors and you can get to a side

$1ii.     Small differences in pressure lead to big differences in speed

$1ii.     For example, suppose it is blowing 4 kts and you get to a side with 6kts, well you will likely increase your speed from 2kts to 4kts -no amount of angle can make up for that!

$1iii.    In light air, if you are not headed for wind you better have a good reason -if you can’t come up with one, gybe!

$1iv.   In medium breeze, both pressue and angle need to be considered

$1i.      Sail the headed gybe.  If you come into the weather mark on a lift, then you will need to gybe, l but if you come in on a header you continue on starboard.  Then gybe when you getlifted so you get onto the new headed gybe

$1ii.     But also head toward pressure.  Staying in pressure will allow you to sail lower and faster, so they are important too

$1iii.    And keep track of the long gybe, if in doubt stay on the long gybe and that will help keep you in phase, and keep you from reaching an edge and running out of option

$1iv.              You may well ask which is more important, pressure or shift.  Unfortunately the answer is “it depends”.  If the shifts are big, then they trump, if the puffs are big they take priority.  The lighter it is, the bigger the speed difference and the more pressure matters, and the heavier, the more shifts matters because speed increases will only be incremental

In big fleets, the above is harder to execute because there is traffic and lots of boats behind (hopefully) giving you bad air.  So the keys to succes in big fleets is to decide what gybe you want to be before you get to the weather mark, then keep that in mind so you can set up so you can get on that gybe quickly (the subject of my last article).  The next key is traffic management.  In small fleets you can go where you want, but you need to not get hooked on the wrong side of boats when there are lots of them.  And finally, you have to constantly manage your wind so that you keep clear of dirty air (the subject of my next article).

One-Design Class Profile: Buccaneer 18

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A Pirate’s Boat For Me: The Endurance of the Buccaneer 18

by Airwaves writer Gretchen Croll

When looking for a great two-handed dinghy with a spinnaker, things can get a little hairy at times. That’s when you should think of the Buccaneer 18.  The Bucc’s, as they’re called, are great for beginning or experienced sailors, and is a wonderful and affordable way to stay in the game of sailboat racing.

The Buccaneer has a long and varied history as a one-design class.  First designed in 1966 by Rod Macalpine-Downie and Dick Gibbs, the boat has had many different builders over its 35 year history.  First introduced to the sailing world in 1967 at Yachting Magazine’s “One of a Kind” Regatta, the Buccaneer 18 made quite an impression and placed second behind a Thistle.  The sloop design with a hull of fiberglass reinforced plastic and spars of extruded aluminum has proven a consistent seller.  The boat was first produced by Chrysler Corporation who built the boats from 1968 to 1980 with just over 4000 boats produced.  Texas Marine Industries (TMI) took over the design in 1981, but only built the boats for a year, producing about 700 Bucc’s before another short-lived builder took over the building of the Buccaneer in 1982; Wellcraft Marine.  Wellcraft only built 250 boats from 1982-84 before Gloucester Yachts bought the mold in 1985.  Gloucester then renamed the boat the Gloucester 18, but only produced 60 vessels before it again sold the mold to Cardinal Yachts who built the boat from 1987 to 2000, still only producing about 30 boats in total.  In 2008, Nickels Boatworks bought the mold for the Buccaneer 18 and has been producing these great one-design boats ever since.

What makes the Buccaneer such a popular boat is its ease of use as both a daysailer as well as a competitive racing dinghy.  Seats in the cockpit allow for a smooth cruise and the sit-in aspect also makes the boat popular amongst dinghy racers who have graduated from racing 420’s and Vanguard 15’s, the sit-on dinghies.  One of the best aspects of the Buccaneer is its fast planing and symmetrically heeled design.  The boat, due to its relatively small waterline, planes in 8-10 knots of wind.  Due to its wide beam at the waterline, the boat, though a dinghy, eliminates the need for a trapeze.  This makes it an easier boat to sail and creates a bigger pool of capable sailors. In addition, the waterline is almost perfectly symmetrical which decreases a lot of the weather helm caused by the heel of the boat.  The high potential performance of the Buccaneer 18 allows for the skills of the helmsman and crew to be better rewarded than they would be in any other non-trapeze designed vessel.

The Buccaneer 18 is also one of the most popular boats in North America, with at least 17 active fleets around the continent.  This widespread notability allows for great racing all over the country and guarantees a great fleet at every North American Championship Regatta held, no matter the location.  In addition, the low Portsmouth yardstick numbers prove the boat to be a fast one and granting comparisons to boats like the Lightning and Finn.

Unlike many other dinghies raced not on the junior circuit, the Buccaneer uses a spinnaker as well as a jib and mainsail.  This makes the boat a great way for experienced helmsmen to improve their boat handling skills and a chance for crew to work on their ability to trim both a jib and spinnaker.  This can greatly impact the experienced sailor’s skills on big boats, allowing for a greater participation of skilled athletes in the sport.

However, the Buccaneer 18 also appeals to the beginner sailor due to its simple rigging, well balanced design and easy handling.  The roller furling jib is a big draw for the new sailor, cutting down on another sail to worry about dumping in the water when rounding the windward mark and allows for an easy transition from chute to jib at the leeward mark.  The roller furling jib is also what helps to make the Buccaneer 18 a great cruising boat, cutting down on the number of sails which need to be rolled and packed away at the end of the day.  Another tempting aspect of the Bucc for the new sailor is the ease in which the boat can be launched and hauled out of the water.  The centerboard makes the boat easy to trailer and at a relatively slim 500 lbs., all that is needed is a winch in order to lift it into the water.

Overall, the Buccaneer 18 is a great boat for a new sailors, competitive racers and daily cruises with the family.  It’s well constructed sail plan and ease of design have allowed the class to thrive for over three decades and will continue to ensure its survival far into the future.

LOA: 18ft

LOW: 16ft 8in

Beam: 6ft

Draft (Board down): 3ft 10in

Sail Area (Main and Jib): 175 sq. ft.

Sail Area (Spinnaker): 178 sq. ft.

Weight: 500 lbs.

Crew: 1-6

# of Boats Built: 5000+

Active Fleets: MI, WI, CO, CA, NC, SC, AK, MD, IL, DC, AZ, VT, NY, AB, Canada

Portsmouth Yardstick- 87

Class Website: http://buccaneer18.org/

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buccaneer_(dinghy)

http://buccaneer18.org/

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3292

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=5557

2013 CJ Buckley Team Race Final Results

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 PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

East Greenwich, Rhode Island, July 31, 2013

Annapolis Team Racing Wins 2013 CJ Buckley Team Race and the Club 420 Association National Youth Team Race Championship 

http://www.cjbuckleyregatta.net/index.html

Under crystal blue skies on the shore of Narragansett Bay the parents of CJ Buckley today presented the National Youth Championship Team Racing trophy to Annapolis Team Racing from Annapolis, Maryland which proved to be the best of the 36 teams (216 competitors).

The event was run over three days of almost perfect sailing conditions off Goddard State Park in East Greenwich Rhode Island. Sailors from 26 states, the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong sailed in over 360 separate races on two courses, culminating in a six teams Gold Fleet round robin on Wednesday deciding the podium finishers: 1. Annapolis Team Racing (Evan Morgan- Captain, Charlie Lomax, Harrison Hawk, Kyle Comeford, AJ Libby and Amelia Hardy); 2. Team Annapolis (Nick Floyd –Captain, Zach Hill, Belle Strachan, Jessica Bennett, Gabriel Smith and Andrew Schoene) and 3. Wianno 2 (Chase Quinn – Captain, Carter Pemberton, Elizabeth Pemberton, John Cannistrano, Stephen Stickells, John Wetzel and Karina Edwards)

Background of the event – Tragically, CJ Buckley, a high school sailor, who loved to team race, passed away in December 2002 from brain cancer. To honor CJ, Justin and Kyle Assad, working with the East Greenwich Yacht Club and the Greenwich Bay Sailing Assn. established the CJ Buckley Regatta as a team race regatta in 2003. Wishing to support the mission of the CJ Buckley Regatta, the Club 420 Association approached the Regatta to see if it was interested in the Regatta serving as the Club 420 Association National Team Race Championship. The Regatta quickly said yes and in 2009, the event became the CJ Buckley Cub 420 Association National Championship with participation doubling from 12 teams to 24.

The Club 420 Association congratulates the winners and all sailors for their participation and for supporting this remarkable tribute to CJ Buckley.

About the Club 420 Association – The Club 420 Association was established in 1980 to promote, foster, encourage and sponsor one-design sailing for youth sailors. The Association annually sponsors a North American Championship, US and Canadian National Championships and a team racing Championship as well as regional championships across North America while promoting the class to all ability and experience levels of youth sailing.

 

For additional information please contact the C420 class at www.C420.org or John Vandemoer, Class Executive Director, jnvandemoer@gmail.com

V15 2013 National Championship Final Results

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part of the Marblehead 2013 NOOD:

Vanguard 15
    1. USA 1915 1915 Michael Zonnenberg 2 3 1 4 3 9 1 18 7 2   [18] 32.0
    2. USA 1587 – Clinton Hayes 7 12 2 1 5 2 4 5 3 7   [12] 36.0
    3. USA 1922 Pistol1 Ben Spiller 1 10 20/OCS 3 9 1 7 3 1 8   [20] 43.0
    4. USA 18 Wet Dream Lucas Adams 6 8 5 6 1 5 18 7 9 1   [18] 48.0
    5. USA 1927 Polar Express Mark Dinneen 14 1 11 2 2 4 10 20/OCS 4 3   [20] 51.0
    6. USA 192 192 Matt Allen 4 9 8 5 10 3 12 1 6 6   [12] 52.0
    7. USA 224 Dos Dos Quattro Ben Quatromoni 8 4 7 17 6 6 5 2 17 5   [17] 60.0
    8. USA 1484 1484 Caleb Armstrong 13 5 4 13 13 19 2 10 2 17   [19] 79.0
    9. USA 1534 None Ben Greenfield 11 2 3 12 12 13 9 6 20/OCS 12   [20] 80.0
    10. USA 1184 1184 Michael Booker 15 7 13 14 14 11 8 4 8 4   [15] 83.0
    11. USA 54 Fully Torqued Nicholas Johnstone 5 17 9 8 11 7 17 11 11 10   [17] 89.0
    12. USA 1902 The Death Star Austen Anderson 3 18 20/OCS 19 8 12 3 12 5 11   [20] 91.0
    13. 637 None Pete Edmunds 17 13 16 10 7 8 11 14 16 9   [17] 104.0
    14. USA 1150 1150 Matthew Coughlin 16 15 12 16 4 14 14 8 13 15   [16] 111.0
    15. USA 1839 The Swiffer Colin Santangelo 12 6 15 7 16 17 13 16 12 14   [17] 111.0
    16. USA 1844 1844 Sam Williams 9 11 6 11 17 15 20/OCS 9 15 18   [20] 111.0
    17. USA 1893 1893 Steven Pelissier 10 19 10 9 18 18 6 13 20/OCS 20/DNF   [20] 123.0
    18. USA 1846 1846 Ed Jude Glackin 20/DNS 14 14 15 15 10 16 17 10 13   [20] 124.0
    19. USA 672 672 Elizabeth Dubovik 18 16 20/DNF 18 19 16 15 15 14 16   [20] 147.0

Sailing Club Profile: Pleon Yacht Club

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By Airwaves writer Clinton Hayes

Mission and History

19 years old and Commodore of a large yacht club? At Pleon, that’s a reality and has been since it’s founding on June 29, 1887. Pleon can proudly claim the title of oldest junior yacht club in America. All members of the club are under 21 and amount close to 400. Pleon’s story is like many small clubs in America. A group of young men who wanted to race but were too poor to join the “big senior clubs” so they formed their own. Since then, Pleon sailors have been fixtures on the national sailing scene even dating back to 1921 when the Commodore at the time won the first ever Sears Cup, National Junior Sailing Championship, representing Pleon.

Their Clubhouse, located on leased property from Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA was originally built in 1950. Shortly after, Pleon added a Race Committee boat and its own docks, becoming a truly independent club no longer relying on infrastructure of others. In 2008, Pleon rebuilt to a more modern facility complete with workroom and elevator for handicap access. Although for alumni, who treasured the quirkiness of the old building, it was sad to see a piece of history torn down, the new building has cemented Pleon’s place in Marblehead. The new facility has allowed them to more fully fulfill their mission statement “to involve as many young people as possible in the sport of sailing.”

 

Pleon Clubhouse

 

Sailing Opportunities/Club Life

Pleon is a real JUNIOR SAILING club in every sense of the words. They even go so far as to not allow parents on club property, an unheard of policy by today’s standards. A typical day at Pleon starts with a “Commodores choice” song of the day and some dancing. He/she better choose well since the kids are the ones who elected them. Throughout the day, kids who were elected by their peers the summer before, have responsibilities to the club. These range from Flag duty at sunrise and sunset, garbage and cleaning, movie nights and entertainment, and race committee duties. Junior Instructors also organize and run “free sail” most Sundays where any Pleon member can go sailing. The Commodore’s job is full time in the summer working hand in hand with the program director to solve problems and keep Pleon running smoothly. 

Pleon’s core is the summer program serving roughly 250 kids a year. Classes range from intro to Pleon for 7-8 year olds to travel race teams for lasers, Optis and 420s. Coaches are sourced from all over the country and even the world (recently many New Zealanders), all getting housing with local families. With over 50% (over 80% this summer) of instructors from out of town, lesson plans and drills are kept fresh and unique. Not to mention its fun for the instructors who always bond into a close-knit group as most are away from family and friends back home.

Pleon boasts a pretty standard fleet for a junior program; Optis, lasers, and 420s, mostly club owned, but kids at the highest levels generally end up in a private boat. New this year is an expanded keel boat program with 3 Sonars added to the fleet. This will open many opportunities, most notably getting Pleon sailors racing with and against adults. The Sonar is popular in Marblehead especially for team racing. Pleon has added a team to this summers Thursday night Sonar team race series bringing it to 4 teams total (the others being Boston, Corinthian, Eastern). They also have the option of racing in Saturday fleet races and Marblehead NOODS.

Sailing Programs often struggle to keep non-racers engaged and having fun with sailing. As you might imagine Pleon has found great success with their adventure program (now called keelboat). This program encourages learning sailing fundamentals in a non-racing atmosphere. The program has been so popular that they created an intro version for younger sailors and have had to turn kids away to other classes. Many kids have even found a love for sailing in this class and moved on to racing classes after a summer or two in adventure. The Sonars have added a new element and will allow more use of spinnakers in a more social environment.    

   

Annual Mud Wrestling- A normal Yacht Club activity?

Future

This year was a first for Pleon, moving from summer only to year-round sailing opportunities. Pleon offered after school sailing two days a week and racing clinics on the weekends from September-November and March-June with hired coaches. Pleon also expanded the use of the facility to two other high schools besides the Marblehead High School team who have been sailing out of Pleon/Boston YC for the past 20+ years. “Pleon has an amazing facility,” says Pleon’s long time program director, Erin Pierce, “it is a shame that it has only been used for 8 weeks during the summer, when sailing in Marblehead is at it’s best in the offseason.  It was great to get kids out on the water this past fall and spring, we look forward to expanding more in the future.”

 

Spring Sailing at Pleon

Pleon looks to become more and more “full time” with a year-round program director and fall and spring programs for all ages. They also hope to become a regional center for high school sailing making practice more accessible for schools on Boston’s North Shore. Marblehead is actually a great place to sail in the offseason. Cold weather aside, all moored boats are pulled out which means sailing can be right next to the dock. There are many challenges along the way but a dedicated board of directors comprised of alumni and parents help smooth the path.

For more information about Pleon visit the website www.pleon.org or check them out on Facebook!

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