2013 Plans

It's scheduling time. How do I balance MC-Scow regattas, E-Scow regattas, marching band shows, family vacations, and actually having time to mow the lawn?

MC-Scow regatta plans:
3/12-3/13 Zenda University, Eustis, FL
3/14-3/17 Midwinters, Eustis, FL
5/4-5/5 Cowtown Classic, Columbus, OH
6/1-6/2 Cage Match, Fenton, MI
6/22-6/23 Horse Race, Saratoga, NY
8/24-8/25 Nor'Easterns, Keuka, NY
9/7-9/8 Montreal, CA (possible conflict with marching band)
9/21-9/22 Blue Chip, Spring Lake, MI
9/28-9/29 Cowan Scowin, Cowan, OH

E-Scow schedule
7/27-7/28 NYS Championships, Keuka, NY
8/1-8-3 Easterns, Keuka, NY

Total right now looks like 8 days off from work to accomplish this.

Also in the plans (again) is a 20-pound weight loss and getting in shape.

I have spent this past week prepping the MC-Scow. I fixed a dozen or so gelcoat dings and scratches, built a mast cover and boom cover, and started the mental design for two potential changes to the rigging. Both will improve my heavy air sailing if I can figure them out.

This winter is warm. No snow. I'm fining my winter stir craziness is coming early. It's before Christmas and I'm looking at next year.

2012 Keuka MC Nor'Easterns

For the twelfth year running Keuka Yacht Club in the beautiful Finger Lakes of New York host the Nor’Easterns MC Regatta. 20 Boats competed in moderate, no strike that, let’s call it “interesting” winds.

Friday night rains prevented much of anything other than drinking and playing cards and such. Everyone found their hosts and was tucked into bed pretty early. Saturday morning sailors arrived at the club to see SSW winds at a nice 8-10. Race 1 was scheduled for 10:15. It didn’t quite make that time.

Race 1 – After a delay while the RC chased the clocking breeze to the west, The race got off with Scott Norris and Chris Hawk quickly jumping out to a good lead. The 5-12 mph winds were shifty with 30 degree shifts. It didn’t much matter what kind of boat you sailed as long as you picked the right shifts and sailed toward the next puff. Doing so would make you more gains than subtle boat speed differences. At mark 1, Norris and Hawk had a 15 length lead on the pack chasing them down. Both extended on the leeward making it a 2-boat race. On the windward leg large holes appeared and shift got even wilder. Norris broke cover on Hawk to go another 100 feet or so before tacking which let him extend dramatically and left Hawk in a hole. Stuart Strother  hit the right corner and closed the distance on Hawk eventually narrowly missing third lace at the finish. Norris however had checked out and won by a couple hundred yards. Will Hendershot from Montreal and Matt Newman from Hoovers rounded out the top 5.

Race 2 – The wind continued its clocking to the NW and North but picked up to a good moderate breeze. Race 2 started out eerily similar to race one with Norris and Hawk rounding the top mark in 1, 2. But the fleet was right their heels. On the second windward the wind did a Crazy Ivan splitting the fleet a bit. Norris and Hawk split with Norris right. The right came in and Norris, led the parade of Sean Treacy, Stuart Strother, Chris Craig, Devon Howe and other past all those on the left. Hawk rounded 14th. Norris went on to win again followed by Treacy, Strother, Andre Marcotte, and Hendershot.

But the real story of race 2 was the seamanship of Chris Craig, DNF for the race. We experimented a bit with the course this weekend doing a 2 lap center line course with the line set close to the leeward mark. This limited the need to move the RC boat and pull the 250 feet of anchor line. But this also allowed for almost two full windward legs and a windward finish. It worked out okay. Chris rounded the bottom mark in fifth place with a very very short windward leg to the finish. He had struggled with his borrowed boat getting it tuned right with the bent mast (not possible) and a 5th place would be very good. He trimmed in around the mark, heard a bang, and the boom hit the deck. The forestay shackle broke. But the mast was still standing! The heavily trimmed main forced the boom onto the deck holding up the mast! He was sailing still…sort of. He may still pull out a good finish. But he was below the layline. He lay in the bottom of the boat as much as he could and tried to tack. But the handling was so poor he couldn’t quite pull it. So with the mainsheet cleated he tried to find a replacement shackle and reattach the forestay while “sailing.” The effort was valiant but too late. While holding up the mast with one hand he lowered the sail, repaired the forestay, raised the sail and sailed in for lunch.

At lunch everyone had the same question. Who the heck in Scott “Chuck” Norris?

Race 3 – During the day the wind clocked 180 degrees to the right, then back 60 degrees, all the while oscillating 30 degrees left and right as it clocked. The poor RC continued to struggle. At the start pin end boats could lay the mark on port while boat end boats were 20 degrees lower than that. Norris, Wynkoop, and Bob Cole started at the pin end with Craig and Hawk at the unfavored boat end. Craig banged the right corner, Hawk played the middle and the pin boats layed the mark. Strother and Craig followed. At the top mark Norris rounded first followed by the gang of Hawk, Strother, Craig, Newman, in some unremembered order. These boats battled the whole race with Norris extending a bit, Hawk and Strother picking up on the long windward, and eventually catching Norris. Matt Newman also made large gains. Going into the last mark rounding Norris, Hawk, and Strother were nose to tail. Strother made a great move toward a skewed line to almost win the race but didn’t quite catch Norris. Hawk dropped to 3rd followed by Chris Craig and Matt Newman.

Race 4 – By 4:15 the RC had set and moved more marks than practically the whole season. The course had to yet again be completely moved. The race had a familiar feel. At the top mark Norris rounded first with Wynkoop, Cole and Hawk overlapped behind him.  Treacy, and Craig were close behind. Cole quickly jumped up to second and started chasing Norris. Two legs later he was able to roll over Norris and held on for the win closely followed by Hawk. Bob Wynkoop held off Sean Treacy to round out the top 5.

At the end of day 1 Norris had a seemingly insurmountable lead. The battle was for second with Strother 16 points, Hawk 17, and Treacy 20. Cole was 5th with 31.

Saturday night’s turkey dinner with all the trimmings was spectacular. Sunday with only 2 scheduled races the start was set at 10:00.

Race 5 - At 9:00 there was a beautiful 10-12 South wind. At 10:00 after one recall the entire course had to be moved yet again as the wind shifted. Race 5 was started after the RC decided close enough was fine. The pin end was favored to where boats could lay the mark on port. At the boat you had different wind headed perfectly down the course. The fleet and anyone with any sense started at the pin. Locals Cole, Penwarden, Hawk, and Jenkins among others started at the boat. Hawk took the most extreme angle nearly reaching away from the line of boats streaming off the pin. Local knowledge paid off a bit. The wind did another Crazy Ivan dying out and shifting way right. Cole led at the mark with Hawk, Penwarden, and Strother close behind.  The wind dropped to almost nothing and got weird, or technically weirder. Cole rode a puff and checked out. The fleet scattered all over the lake looking for zephyrs. Chris Craig went and got a miracle puff to pass a dozen or so boats, almost catch Cole and roll into second. Hawk, who rounded mark 1 in 2nd, rounded mark 2 in 16th. Leg 3 had the fleet reaching in East wind. Cole held off Craig to round mark 3 first followed by Strother, and I’m not sure who else because I (Hawk) was now 19th and quite a ways away. A following puff closed up a lot of the fleet into a giant jumble at mark. With 15 boats 4 and 5 wide beating to the short offset many rules were bent and words were had, all in slow motion.

Leg 4 had Cole and Craig battling for the lead. The tight reach had other boats strung out all looking for that puff or clean air. The advantage went to the boats in back who climbed high off the mark, found a building breeze and rolled over those below. The biggest recipient was a trio of Penwarden, Jenkins, and Hawk who went from 16, 17, and 19th place at mark 3 to 3rd, 4th, and 5th at mark 4. On the tiny final leg, Cole parked up at the line, and Craig creeped closer. The miracle trio closed the gap quickly with Hawk catching Jenkins and Penwarden just as Cole found a puff to win with Craig second.

Hawk went from 2nd, to 19th to 3rd to ensure a win over Cole. But the overall places were still up for grabs. Norris and Treacy were deep, drifting along in the pack. But Norris was able to pull out an 11th place to clinch the regatta with Hawk second, 4 points back. Treacy’s 13th put Cole in 4th place overall.

At the awards ceremony I asked for a show of hands. Who was in 5th place or better at some point in race 5? 15 hands went up. Who was in the last 5 places at some point? 12 hands. Who was in BOTH top five and bottom five during the race? 8 Hands went up. As crazy as that is, it was exciting!

So who is Scott Norris? I asked him on the way in from the last race. He was in the area for personal reasons and thought it was time to try an MC-Scow. He borrowed boat 1856, had 4 hours sailing Friday and some phone advice as his preparations. He led every mark for 3 ¾ races and dominated the regatta. He said he has done some Melges 32 sailing, Melges 24, has a J24 and a Laser.

Well I googled Scott. “Some” Melges 32 sailing includes crewing with Harry to take the 2010 Worlds, and crewing for Jason Carroll in his 2012 Nationals win. He got 2nd in the 2008 Melges 24 regatta in Newport, and sailed the worlds in 2008 as crew. In the J24, he crewed to a worlds win in 2005 and is active today. There’s probably a whole lot more out there. These were just the first few hits on Google.  We had fun sailing against him and certainly hope to see him back here again.

Best Sailor

Last post I kinda implied that I was a better sailor than George Welch. Well I really doubt that now. I think I can take him in MC-Scows but he can spank me all over the lake in E-Scows, much more a "real" boat than MC-Scows.

George just finished 13th in the E-Scow nationals sailing KU-1 with Bryon Eichorn, Scott Leonard, and new rock star Steve Brown. They had quite the roller coaster of a regatta in 2nd place after 3 races then dropping a turd of a 4th race. They ended up right in the middle of the rock stars, just a couple points out of the top 10.

Congrats to George.

Results here: http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=4927&show_crew=1

2012 Season Finale

Labor Day weekend is the traditional end to the sailing season. This year the weather was not as cooperative as we hoped. We did get 3 E-Scow races in and 4 MC-Scow races in. The results were typical of the year. KU-1 won Sunday's only race and finished 1, 2 in Monday's racing. And I finished 1, 1, 2, 4 in Monday's only MC-Scow sailing of the weekend. but it was great getting 12 MC-Scows on the line.

Overall, George Welch won the season for E-Scows convincingly with 12 wins in 16 races (.750 winning percentage). I won the MC-Scows with 9 wins in 14 races (.643 winning percentage). So from that perspective he is a better sailor than I. However, if you look at the percentage of boats bested in each race, George beat 63 out of 84 or finished in the 25th percentile on average. But I beat 90 out of 111 to finish 19th percentile on average. (My job is to spin stats! There is always a way to look better.)

I also like to think some of his 12 wins this year were somewhat due in a small part to his crew, namely me.

Bob Cole finished second in E-Scows with 3 wins and lots of seconds. By far the most improved sailor at the club this year was Brent Penwarden who finished third in E-Scows and second in MC-Scows. The drama was for third overall in MC-Scows where Sean Treacy and Steve Bender were tied going into the last race of the day on Monday. Sean won the race and Steve was deep in the pack settling that score.

All that is left this year is the nor'Easterns regatta at Keuka. Then the boats get packed up and put to bed for many months. It seems a waste. The wind is good and the water temperature is still only 1 degree cooler than its peak. We should be able to get a few more weeks of sailing in with no problem. September series sailing has somehow fallen by the wayside.

Ugh

The E-Scows got in 2 races Sunday. But the MC-Scows were yet again thwarted by a lack of wind.

We started prepping KU-1 for the Nationals. Bryon Eichorn jumped on as a 4th person on the boat. Unfortunately there wasn't much wind for race 1 so practice was a bit stunted. But for race 2 he got a taste for some medium breeze. We won race 1 with little effort. But race 2 was a short 1-lap where we got passed on the downwind by Brent Penwarden and John Anderson (sailing Bob Cole's boat). We ended up third.

After we got to shore we watched the wind slowly drop to nothing during lunch. Then an hour after we cancelled afternoon racing the wind filled in again. Frustrating.

Now the long term forecast is for the residual hurricane remnants to arrive between Sunday and Monday potentially messing up our final weekend.

Ugh.

No People, No Power, No Wind

Two weeks ago we did not sail. For E-Scows in the morning there were too few boats because of regatta travel. For MC-Scows in the afternoon, we had 4 boats. But only 2 made it to the water before the power went out at the club. With no easy trailer hitch launch available, and squirrely wind, the two of us on shore decided to throw in the towel. I had to drive to Detroit that night anyway. I got an early start.

Last Sunday we started the day well...sort of. We had two races for E-Scows but they were a bit dodgy. Race 1 quickly became a low side light air adventure. We led at the top mark, lost the lead to Bob Cole and never regained it until 30 seconds before the finish when we got ahead just enough to cross him on port by a foot or so. A couple close tacks later we had the pin end of the line laid on port above and ahed of Bob. But he threw in a nifty attack flopping to Starboard short of the line. If we were a foot or two slower he would have had a starboard advantage and we would have been in trouble. But we crossed and won. Brent Penwarden was thrid about 10 minutes behind us, and 4th and 5th place were 10 minutes behind them.

Race 2 looked to be a drifter. We started in 3-5 which went to zero on the second lag. Brent Penwarden rounded first followed by Joe Meade and us. Brent erroneously gybed away not knowing the course was far more changed than he expected. When we sailed into the last of the air behind Joe Meade we did so with the jib down letting us pick up the new air just slightly quicker than Joe. We rolled him and never looked back finishing the 1-lap short course in about an hour.

The wind never did pick up for the afternoon. So we went another week without any racing for MC-Scows.

For those of you that missed the sailing link I posted a few weeks ago before it was taken down by VIMEO, here it is from another video hosting site. Enjoy!

Irish Sailing Commentary

Only five days of sailing left this year.

No Sailing

Sunday's foreast was for 20 with storms. The morning certainly had 20+ winds. But by MC-Scow sailing time the wind had settled to 15-20 and the forecasted storms went mostly around the lake. But we still didn't sail.

Enjoy this olympic race comentary instead.
https://vimeo.com/46824253

Pleasure Sailing

I had the pleasure to sail Tuesday with William Hudson to do some training, and then some pleasure sailing on his E-Scow with some of my family. It was blowing 10-15. It was the first E-Scow driving I had done in quite awhile. God how I love those boats. Of course William's is top of the line with everything in perfect working order.

Then Wednesday I sailed the MC-Scow with my daughter for about an hour or so. Emily drove for awhile. It was just as much fun as Tuesday but for other reasons. But an MC-Scow in 5 mph is certainly NOT and E-Scow in 15.

I've changed up my plans a bit purchasing a new boat lift for the MC-Scow. At some point it will be back at the cottage and not at the club. It will certainly help the damage control. The dock dings and boat banging has taken a few nibbles out of the boat. Plus I may do some more of this odd experience of pleasure sailing. We'll see.

Incredibly Close and Very Stressful

Last weekend was the Keuka end of the Home & Home regatta, aka NY State Championships, for E-Scows. Since this is an off year for my E-Scow sailing, this was probably the biggest event of the year for me in E's. The visiting boats gave us I think 13 on the starting line, a pretty good showing. Six races were planned for Saturday and Sunday. But on Saturday morning rain storms and poor wind forecast had most of us believing the whole weekend would be a bust.

But Mother Nature came through. About 1:00 Saturday an interesting little North wind filtered out of the Branchport branch of the lake. The RC drove up the branch a little and set us a nice short course to at least get us sailing. We spent the entire weekend in the branch sailing very similar courses. It was nice. The shores came into play.

By the start of the first race we were sitting high side, sometimes depowering the boat. These conditions are where we excel. George and I seem to have a pretty good feel for each other's sailing. I spent the day working the vang and traveller upwind letting him steer a better race. We outpointed and out raced almost everyone there.

In race 1 we dropped the kite onto the offset mark, picking it up with us. We had to bring it aboard to unwrap the sheet before we could even do our turn. That put us in a hole that took some work to get out of. We recovered to third right behind Rick Turner.

In race 2 we had a stellar start. But Rick had better downwind speed and took the race from us.

In race 3 we fought a close race to come back at the last mark to pass and win. Rick was third.

So we were tied with Rick after day 1 with Mark Turner 3 points behind us. It was setting up to be a 2-boat battle on day 2.

We awoke to little to no air, a good sign on a south thermal lake. The North was beating the south down. We had a scheduled 9:00 start. About 9:00 the wind came up and we started the race about 10:00 in similar conditions and course to Saturday.

Race 1 and 2 we won. I'm fuzzy on the detail at this point. I know we nailed one start and blew another but won both races. Rick had a pair of seconds right behind us. In the first race of the day we were a couple feet beside Rick when his crew flipped out of the boat. He lost half the fleet but had an incredible first downwind to get back to third and beat Bob Cole on the last leg to get back to second.

So going into the last race we needed to be within 2 places of Rick. If he won we had to be third to win the regatta. It was actually a pretty good cushion. We started middle of the line with speed. It was a good start until 10 seconds later we heard our number called on the radio. We were over early. All the placing came into play for the rest of the race. Where was Rick? How many boats do we need to pick up?

Rick rounded the top mark second way behind Bob Cole but not too far in front of us. But we had traffic, and lost of it. We rounded 6th and were forced to gybe out early away from the puff. Rick extended on our pack. We got to 5th by the bottom mark. The gap to 4th was huge. We closed all of it by the top mark. Rick was still in 2nd way behind Bob and we passed to take 4th just after the top mark. It was looking good.

Rick blazed downwind in clean air cutting Bob's lead to nothing. We had to deal with traffic and bad air to fight to stay in 4th 1/3 of a leg behind the leaders. At the bottom mark we slipped to 5th behind Hudsons. We split tacks, worked extremely hard...at this point all of my 47 years of age were beating me into submission. I could not breathe, raise my arms, or think. My vision was closing in at one point. After a small respite I could hike, which I did.

Half way up the last leg we saw a very tight finish up ahead. No idea if Rick won. If he did all this fighting for 4th place was for naught. But we fought our way up and finished a clean 4th. As we crossed the line we asked the RC who won. Rick had won the race with a huge comeback. The disappointment was pretty heavy. We lost the regatta by a point.

But then the RC said we ended up with 8 points, which was confusing. Finishes of 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 4 gave us 12 points. Rick had 2, 1, 3, 2, 2, 1 for 11 points. About half way in to shore we figured out there must be a throwout race with 6 races. If so, we tie Rick and win the tiebreaker. This was in fact the case. We didn't need to sail the last race. We had the regatta won after 5. If we read the sailing instructions we would have known that.

So race 6 was the most intense in years. The pack boats made a huge difference in the outcome of our race. The amount of work to get 4th was more than any win. And it all didn't mean a thing.

Rick sailed a great regatta. But we did too. We made mistakes, he made mistakes, and in the end we barely prevailed.

It is now late Monday night (on vacation). My pain meds have worn off and I feel my back pain again. I have recovered enough to walk. I finally peed Sunday night about 11 for the first time since Sunday morning so I had rehydrated. My hands are still swollen. My wedding ring won't get even close to my knuckle. My sunburn is easing. I can almost straighten my arms again. I have regained some grip strength, enough to do normal things like squeeze toothpaste onto a brush.

Even in my exhausted condition, it was worth it. That was some of the best sailing we have done in awhile. It makes me want to sail E-Scows more. Or it at least keeps me competitively sailing E-Scows past my youth. I need to get in shape so these weekends don't kill me.

Three weeks until the next E-Scow sailing. MC-Scow sailing next weekend. I should be recovered by then.

A 6-Race Day

Sunday 7/23 we had a very pleasant south wind in the morning that was forecast to remain for the day with maybe a little SW at some point. Six E-Scows ventured out for the morning's race. We were conspicuously missing Bob Cole who was at the MC-Scow Masters Championships.

For fun we mounted the GoProc camera on the mast facing back. That was fine until the first douse ripped it off and took it into the boat with the sail. It is surprising we did not lose it on the next hoist.

Start 1 was good. George was down the line from the boat. Brent Penwarden won the boat. As soon as we had just enough clearance over Joe Meade we tacked to port. We ducked just behind Brent and headed right. I turned to George and said "That's the race." It was. Brent continued East into lighter breeze while we picked up a nice shift and pressure. We were first at the mark and extended.

Start 2 was similar. We lazily approached the line just below a boat and above and ahead of Hudsons. With seconds to go William luffed us up into the lee of the boat to windward. but we had enough forward momentum to go over William and lee bow the boat above us. We led the remainder of the race.

After lunch the wind had remained. We had 7 MC-Scows for the afternoon, a little light.

Race 1 (2 laps) I started down the line a ways. I was able to get out pretty quickly, get some good shifts and lead at the top mark by a few lengths over a charging pack of Steve Bender, Brent Penwarden, and Sean Treacy. I held on losing some of my lead but still rounding first. I extended on the long windward and held that to the end.

Race 2 (1 lap) the wind started to lighten up. The course was too long for a 2-lap so we shortened it to one. At the start I held back out to the right, timed a run and squeezed into a slot at the boat about 5 seconds late. I had full speed though and controlled the right. I picked some good shifts and ended up leading at the top by a couple lengths over Brent. I held that lead to the next mark by protecting the inside. I survived Brent's attempt to shoot up inside at the mark and covered to the end to win the race.

Race 3 (1 lap) showed some SE shifts early. I tried to port tack the fleet but was thwarted by Sean who I ducked. But I was able to cross everyone else, get right and lead at the top mark with Sean about 5 lengths behind me. I kept just West of him to protect the inside at the next mark. I rounded ahead but not by much, not enough to keep a tight cover. He tacked out from under me, picked the shifts right and was able to get clear of me. I tacked into a particularly nasty set of powerboat waves that certainly didn't help. It was a long drag race to the finish line where Sean beat me by about 1 second. It was a close fun race. It was also the first time since July 4, that I trailed in a race at any point.

Race 4 was more of the same. This time I successfully port tacked the fleet and headed out to the right, just like I had in three races prior. I decided to push it all the way to the corner because I was lazy, and saw something over there for pressure. Three boats went to the left corner, 2 up the middle, and the others were with me. The fleet was as spread out as possible when the next air came in, a 40 degree shift to the left. I was hung out to dry. The three boats to the left made huge gains. I was way behind in near last place. I held my port tack through the new wind waiting for the shift back. There was some oscillation but not nearly enough. I came back to the fleet and held a header to cross them and get left on what was left of the leg. I picked up a couple boats and some distance by coming into the top mark from the left. but I rounded fifth, about 2 minutes after the leaders.

The leaders held onto that SE wind and rode it to the east side of the course on the downwind. I split from them seeing something new coming up the lake. Spencer Jenkins who rounded in 6th right behind me also went west but much much farther than me. He was first into the new breeze, I was second, and Sean Treacy who had come back from the east pack picked up the lead. At the bottom mark I rounded third behind Sean and Spencer. Sean had a problem with his board and rounded slowly. Spencer had no place to go but inside and unfortunately hit Sean. I was trying to round on Spencer's transom and ended up also in trouble as Spencer slowed. I had no place to go but between the two. Fortunately there was room. But now I was trapped. I tried to talk Spencer into his penalty turn but he wasn't very quick on it. So I slowed and ducked behind him to get left. Sean covered. And that is the way we finished. I was happy as a clam to recover to a second place though.

All in all, four firsts and two seconds for the day. A good day of sailing. Getting off the water at 4:30 and home by 5:00 was quite late though. I'm quite tired today.

Next week is a regatta weekend, the second half of the NYS Champonships for E-Scows at Keuka.

America's Cup Update

There was no racing yesterday so I thought I'd take a bit of time to explain what is happening in the AC world.


The AC office is moving to San Francisco a week from today. The next AC World Series event is in SF August 21-26. This will start the 2012-2013 season.


This is the beginning of overlapping time frames for many teams. The AC45 boats are the World Series boats. The AC 70 boats (twice the size, twice the speed) also start their testing for many teams. So don't get confused.




TEAMS


Who are the teams competing for the cup? There are officially 8 teams. Of those, 7 exist, 5 have real programs, and 4 have confirmed funding through the cup.




ARTEMIS RACING


Country: Sweden
Sponsor: apparently none? 


Principal: Torbjorn Tornqvist 
CEO: Paul Cayard
Helmsman: Terry Hutchinson
Employees: about 55


This team is the only one to come from the world of multihull racing at its heart. Artemis was the first to sail wing foil sails in the C Class Catamaran series. They have had a lot of success. They are fully staffed with about 60 people. They have a 1-boat program for the AC45 and have competed in all 6 events to date. They have not won an fleet racing event yet but got second in the first event. but more importantly, they won the overall match racing title for the season. The cup will be a match racing event. Expect these guys to be favorites.


BAR


Country: England
Sponsor: none
Principal: Ben Ainslie
CEO: Ben Ainslie
Helmsman: Ben Ainslie
Employees: 4


The team does not exist. There is no AC45, no AC70, no staff, and no program. Why they are listed as an official team is beyond me. I fully expect Ben will join up with another team after the Olympics. but even so, he is a small boat sailor with no multihull or wing experience. Good luck.


CHINA


Country: China
Sponsor: none
Principal: Wang Chaoyong
CEO: Thierry Barot
Helmsman: Phil Robertson (who?)
Employees: about 20 and hiring


This team is an extension of the state sponsored sailing program in China. The team members are for the most part part of the Chinese national sailing program. They built their AC45 in China. They picked up Phil Robertson, who is a keel boat match racing circuit star, for one event in Venice where he finished 4th in race 5, and pretty much last the rest of the week. Nobody knows if they have an AC70 in the works. I doubt it. Don't expect much from this team.


EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND


Country: New Zealand
Sponsor: Fly Emirates
Principal: Grant Dalton
CEO: Dean Barker
Helmsman: Dean Barker
Employees: about 45


This is the same team that has persisted for years to compete for the cup. They shifted from monohulls to catamarans and wings. Their learning curve is progressing well. They have a 1-boat AC45 campaign finishing 2nd overall in the 6 event 2011-2012 series and always finishing in the top three. Their AC70 launches in a week. They are moderately financed as a single boat campaign, but skilled enough to win it. I expect them to end up third though.


ENERGY


Country: France
Sponsor: Corum (possibly ended)
Principal/CEO: Bruno Peyron
Helmsman: Loick Peyron / Yann Guichard
Employees: about 15


France's best monohull sailor teamed with France's best multihull sailor (Loick/Yann). On a shoestring budget this team put together an AC45 boat, finished 4th overall and won the Venice regatta. This is France's best opportunity to win the cup ever. Unfortunately their funding may be drying up. They have until August 1 to come up with funds. If they cannot, they are done.


LUNA ROSSA CHALLENGE 2013


Country: Italy
Sponsor: Prada
Principal/CEO: Patrizzio Bertelli
Helmsman: Massimiliano Sirena, Paul Campbell-James, Chris Draper
Employees: 60+


This team arrived late to the party. Bertelli was a spectator at the second event. He was impressed, and explored the possibility. Sponsors liked it and by the 4th event there were TWO AC45 Prada boats competing. They then proceeded to win 2 of the 3 regattas they competed in. In some sort of under the table weird agreement, Prada and New Zealand are sharing technologies, gear, or whatever. They both will be sailing in New Zealand out of the same base in their AC72s. Prada is building their hulls in Italy to conform to the rules, then assembling the boat with all other components built in New Zealand. Hmmm. They are REALLY well funded and should be right there with New Zealand fighting to win the cup.


ORACLE RACING


Country: USA
Sponsor: Oracle
Principal: Larry Ellison
CEO: Russell Couts
Helmsman: James Spithill, Russell Couts
Employees: about 60


Defenders of the cup, Larry Ellison put together an all-star team. With a well finance 2-boat AC45 program, Jimmy Spithill won the fleet racing and was second overall in the match racing. Worrisome is that Spithill is 2 for 6 in match race titles, and Couts is 1 for 6. They may be fast in fleet racing but they need to win the cup in match racing. The AC70 boat is well under way and is expected to be on the water soon. They will be one of the serious contenders.


TEAM KOREA


Country: Korea
Sponsor: none
Principal/CEO: Kim Dong-Young
Helmsman: Nathan Outteridge
Emplyess: about 15


This team is brand new to the sport and has made it clear this is a learning experience with further future involvement expected. They have a 1-boat AC45 campaign. Nathan is a Moth / 49er sailor with little multihull experience. The team made a big splash by getting 2nd in the first match race event, and 4th in the last fleet race event. But in general they are mid-pack at best. There is no word on their AC70 development. If they build a boat and make it to the final four it will be a massive upset.






Overall AC Status?


The event has been scaled WAY back from the Formula One wanna-be plans they had. NBC is still covering the racing live in August and in 2013 for the cup. Newport live coverage ratings were good. But the city of San Francisco and various lawsuits and crap may curb the event even further. It is an uphill battle to build a sailing venue on the city owned piers. We'll see a number of AC45 events around the world over the next 6-9 months too.


I predict we see 4 or 5 AC70 boats built, and only 4 make it to the cup event with funding intact (Italy, New Zealand, Sweden and USA). But those 4 will be damn impressive to watch. We're talking about 11-person 70-foot boats with 130-foot wing sails travelling at speeds in excess of 40 knots. Chase and camera powerboats are being specially built to travel fast enough.


Between now and January 1, any AC70 launched is limited to 30 days of on-the-water trials. This is an attempt to limit expense and level the playing field, similar to the "no testing" rules in F1. I'm looking forward to the first video of a 70-foot boat stuffing the bow and tossing 11 people through the wing. Helmets and life jackets for everyone.

Another Exhausting Day

E-Scows: 1 race, 1st place
MC-Scows: 3 races, finishes of 1, 1, 1

Sunday was the third race day in 8, and all were exhausting. When I awoke Sunday morning about 8:30 there was no wind. In fact while I was awake from 1:30 - 3:30 watching and listening to the flotilla party off our shore there was also no wind. When I awoke on the deck at 5:30 there was no wind. So I was in no mood to sail a drifter. In fact I was lazy getting to the club. but on the way over the North wind started to show up, but not very strong.

We launched and headed for the starting line. The RC successfully placed the line in the exact spot on the lake where there was no wind, the confluence of the two branches. The too-short line had North wind at the pin, and NNE at the boat. But in reality there was little to no wind. So the RC postponed. For about 1/2 an hour we waited, then opted to try anyway.

Race 1: The start was unusual with a right shift, line square to the mark, and air down the left side of the course. Anywhere on the line was probably fine but getting left sooner was the key. but with the right shift 4 of the 6 boats ended up over early. We even were early missing the pin and having to circle around. But the general recall saved us. On start 2, we were pushed over early and had to bail out over the top of Cole to dip start. I think we made it down to dip cleanly but we were again recalled. That is 2 recalls in one day, actually 2 recalls in probably 10 years.

By start 3 the wind had picked up. We held back but still were very very close to the line. In fact after the race I found out at the gun half the starting pin was hidden by our bow making us exactly on the line. We went left, lost a little time on boat speed, and barely held on to be 3rd at the top mark behind William Hudson and Bob Cole. On the run Hudson and Cole ahead of us played a bit with each other letting us close the gap. We rounded second nose to tail between Hudson and Cole. Upwind every inch counted. We seemed to hold our own against Hudson and picked up some distance on Cole. At the long layline from the left corner Hudson overstood. But he was able to reach down and blanket us, as we also did to Cole. We rounded 5 lengths behind Hudson and 8 ahead of Cole. We quickly closed the gap to Hudson as they had some boat handling issues. But we were unable to clear below them so we did a quick double gybe to clear. We didn't lose that much but it wasn't the move to let us pass. At the bottom mark we were all about the same still, maybe closer.

The final beat would decide the race. Off the bottom mark Hudson led out on port. We followed for 10 seconds or so then tacked first. Hudson tacked right away to cover. We got headed as we wet left and also climbed high putting Hudson in our dirty air. He tacked right and we went left. That split put Hudson on top of Cole out to the right and us alone left. We got the better wind and won the race by 10 seconds or so.

MC-SCOWS

In the afternoon the wind held 8-12 with occasional short shots to maybe 14. It was a nice wind with smaller passing lanes, very competitive. A couple E-Scow skippers were missing including bob Cole and William Hudson as they continued to pack up their E-Scows for next weekend's regatta.

Race 1 (2 long laps) I won the pin and went left. But the 5 other boats were right on my hip locking me out left. I struggled to get enough speed to be able to tack and cross. A little past the layline I went for it barely clearing. I tracked down and sped into the mark getting there 1 length ahead of Brent Penwarden. I rounded hard and protected the inside at the next mark from the moment I rounded the top mark. Brent nearly passed me a number of times but I would then drift behind him and blanket him reclaiming the inside. We rounded nose to tail at the bottom mark and spent most of the next leg side by side. On the last tack to the mark I was able to just cover a bit and walk away to a 6-8 length lead at the mark. I held on to that to the finish. It took until the mid point of the run before I was comfortable. Brent is getting faster by the day.

Race 2 (1 shorter lap) started in much lighter air but quickly built back up. I was 1 up from the pin and was slow. At the layline I had to tack and hard duck Steve Bender. Brent Penwarden tried to tack below me but I was already bow down and simply went over him when I came up. I ground out a lead at the top mark and held on to win.

Race 3 (1 shorter lap) I tried to stay boat end but got caught up in traffic. So I reached hard and got to the pin to win it. The it was pretty much the same. I had to get the 2 boat lengths on Brent and Steve to get the lead by the top mark which I held onto for the win.

So for the first time in quite awhile I had an undefeated day. For the season now I have five wins and a second. It feels good. but my body certainly is rebelling. It could have been worse with 2 E-Scow races and 4 MC races.

Next week is light with no E-Scows and a light MC fleet. But I think I will try to get some good exercise between now and then, maybe keeping up with what little arm strength building I have done in the past week.

July 4, 2012

Winds SW 5-10. Forecast 10-20 SW. GoPro camera onboard for E-Scows.


George started mid line aiming to go left. Bob Cole started toward the boat. William Hudson toward the pin. Others sailed but were not a factor in either race. Bob out to the right got a little better wind. On the first cross he was ahead. On the second cross we picked him up. Coming back to the layline bob tacked short of us and accelerated better to lead at the top mark followed by us then William.


Our set was less than stellar. We lost distance on Bob. On the rest of the leg we struggled for speed while Bob sailed lower and faster. The rest of the race stayed like that with us making some gains then losing more. In the end we lost by about 30 seconds.


Race 2 was more of the same. But this time we led at the top mark and extended. At the bottom mark the wind went crazy Ivan. We escaped with only a small lead. Half way upwind Crazy Ivan reappeared and Bob  scooted through and below us. But the silliness continued. We were 8-10 boat lengths to the West and behind. And just like that we got a shot, rode over the top of Bob and the race was over. The wind clocked right for awhile. We led the next two marks and held on through the some more crazy stuff to win.


After just 2 days of sailing Steve Brown is showing real promise. We are talking details with him rather than big things. The boat is moving well enough for the old boat that it is.


MC-Scow sailing was more of the same but a little more West. 11 boats including John Anderson's first time out.


Start 1 was a quick 1-lap short course. I wanted mid line on starboard, which I timed well, I think. I suspect I was over the line and the RC was very lenient. But my number was never called and I was scored a finish. I rounded the top mark just a length or two in front of William Hudson. He proceeded to spank my butt all the way down to the leeward mark. Lucky for me he missed the board drop, rounded wide and slow and I was actually able to pass outside and go on to win.


Race 2 (2 laps) I was more conservative but still on the line. I was sort of holding the fleet on starboard. I was somehow just able to flop to port first and scoot ahead of the fleet and round in the lead. Brent rounded just behind me, I think. Tough to remember. I held the lead to the bottom mark. On the windward leg I was the first to tack on the header splitting a bit. From there I stayed exactly in phase on every tack and watched the fleet tack on lifts and drive wrong ways all the way up. I rounded minutes ahead of second. From there I coasted to a long lead win.


Race 3 was another 2 lap. The line was port favored. So I started on Starboard mid line. I was bow out and going well but held out left much farther than I wanted to go. Brent went way right and led at the top mark with me second. He held that to the bottom mark. On the long windward I worked out to the right of him crossing ahead with only 1/4 of the leg remaining. I rounded 3-4 lengths in front of him. I promptly lost that distance on the run and we rounded close at the bottom. I was ahead and on top of him when I got a nice big header. I was expecting it and tacked for the finish line. Brent did not. I quickly got headed. We split to opposite sides. I expected my SW shift and Brent expected his NW. He got his wish and reached into the finish 5 lengths clear ahead of me.


So on the day it was 2, 1, 1, 1, 2 for finishes. Very nice. Very tiring. Time for a double rum and some fireworks.

Keuka in July

Sunday's racing had a few pretty good rides, including one afternoon downwind blast in the MC-Scow that rivaled any speed the E-Scow attained that morning.


We had to wait for the South morning thermal to get replaced by the West prevailing wind. So the E-Scow racing started closer to 11 than 10. Steve Brown joined the boat as the new jib man.


At the start the last remaining South was battling the building NW wind right at the starting line. Mid line had no wind, boat end had NW at 5, and pin end had SW at 5-8. So everyone won the start regardless of their position.


But even the blind birds could see the wind on each side of the course. The skill was deciding which side to go for. George opted left. After a dozen tacks and twice as many wind puffs and shifts, we rounded second sandwiched between Bob Cole and Brent Penwarden. We quickly gybed and cleared our air and got a puff the others didn't to extend to a 10 length lead.


We gybed back to consolidate just to find we took ourselves out of the streak. Coming back on port we threaded the itsy bitsy teeny tiny space between the two other boats on starboard. It was just enough clearance to let us get to the left and inside Bob. At the mark we had a good lead which we promptly disposed of by dumping the sea anchor overboard. It took all Steve had to get the spinnaker up out of the lake. We dropped to third.


George did a nice job that leg in a building breeze to pass Brent and close back up the distance with Bob. We rounded close enough to mess with Bob's wind. A few lead changes later Bob made what we thought was an unforced error gybing for the mark too soon. We got inside him, successfully doused the sea anchor without getting it wet, and sailed the last leg a couple lengths in front of Bob to take the win.


The West wind had piped up to about 12-18 with real gut punching shots. Noon had arrived so E-Scow sailing was officially over. (Coincidentally the bar opens at Noon.)


The afternoon was set aside for the first annual Solstice Regatta, originally conceived by Brent Gillette who passed away before seeing it happen. We cancelled MC-Scow sailing in lieu of a single lap of the triangular course set up for this Portsmouth Handicap race. The course was about 6 or 7 miles long.


We launched boats and had the start right off the club main dock, tucked up nicely in the lee of the West hills in the West wind. Needless to say it was a little hairy. I had a great start alone about 2/3 the way out in the lake along the line. I promptly capsized.


Upside down is slow. On your side is a little faster but still not competetive. So I quickly rectified the situation, gathered up my floating debris field, drained my boots, and set off again.


Leg 1 was 1.5 miles from the club to a mark along the bluff about 1/4 mile up the West branch. It was anywhere from a broad reach to a tight beat depending on the shot you were in. I had a fleet of lead-bottom boats ahead of me to plow through. I decided on the next shot I'd simply run deep and go way low of the fleet. What a shot it was. I ended up the third MC, fourth boat at the first mark.


At the mark the wind lulled to 12-15 just in time to let me gybe without having to "chicken gybe." After the rounding I climbed up on Steve bender just ahead of me. When the next shot came I dove low and flew over top of him.


Now "flew" is the right term. This shot was all of 22 mph, probably 25. I was sitting as far back as I could right next to the tiller with only one foot under the strap because the other could not reach. The main was way out sideways. The vang was on about half what I normally would. The bow wave spray was as far back as the middle of the board. I was going way faster than the MC is designed for. But I was gaining like mad on Brent to.


At this point I hear a noise that isn't right. I was probably dropping off a wave. But I look at the rig. The boom is driving the mast sideways something fierce. The mast side bend is unnatural. The tip of the mast is bent so far forward I have mainsail wrinkles going up and away from the spreader. The bend in the tiller from the helm was about 1/2 an inch. The tiller extension (which I should have replaced or repaired weeks ago) is 1/4 from the tiller and coming off. The forces on the side stays were intense.


As we round the end of the bluff and head East to mark 2, the waves and wind build. The tops of the white caps were blowing off. All I needed to do was stuff the bow into a wave and I would be swimming...again. And the forces if that happened could be more than the mast or rig could handle. I don't have insurance nor the funds to deal with any replacements. At this point I was in pure survival mode protecting the boat. I decide the race isn't worth it. If I bail out now I can still make it upwind to the club without tacking.


So I quit.


Now getting from a blasting dead downwind plane to upwind was the next challenge. First I worked my way forward to reach the vang and popped that off. Then I went really deep down wind and kicked the board release. The board worked its way down about 3/4 of the way while I struggled keep upright. I started my slow turn upwind and the boom hit the water. I immediately aborted, tried again at a full hike and was able to round up enough to start trimming in.


The ride back to the club was intense. Of the 23 boats that started, 15 finished including 5 of the 10 MC-Scows. the wind never did really calm down for another 2 hours. According to the nearest WUNDERGROUND.COM weather station, the average gust speed between 2 and 3 PM was 26. That means gusts over and under that. Hmmm.


I don't need to do that again.


I have to keep perspective. The Volvo Open 70's racing through the North Atlantic spent 2 days never going slower than 20 knots. I never was going faster than 15 knotts or so. Those guys have balls.

June Club Sailing

Two weekends ago I sailed a couple E-Scow races in heavy air, then one of the two MC races in heavy air. All three finishes were firsts. But all three were tough on my body. It is painfully obvious I am not in shape to sail middle man on an E in a blow. In the MC race I came from 4th at the last mark to win the race with 4 boats finishing within 10 seconds. But my arms gave out. The wind was still peaking over 20 so I dropped out of the second race.

Yesterday the Lightnings were finishing up their regatta in the morning. We sailed MCs in the afternoon but I'm not sure they were official races. Regardless we had three good 2-lap races with lots of passing and real challenging wind shifts. For example we rounded the top mark of a race with 4 boats overlapped. Downwind Bob Cole and I stayed on starbaord and headed toward the east side of the course chasing strong wind on the water. Three other boats went west into flatter water. They picked up a huge west shift and inverted the racing order completely. Then upwind the way to go was real East. Very strange.

I had finishes yesterday of 3, 2, 1 which if they count I think puts me back in the lead for the pre-season standings. Sean Tracey had a great day with two easy wins and a come from behind to almost beat me in the last race. It was a fun sailing day.

We may have also convinced a local sailor to buy Brent Gilette's MC-Scow keeping it in the fleet. That would be good.

Next week I think starts the season. But with July 4 on a Wednesday, I'm not sure. It may be the week after. So far we have had a pretty good sailing season. Let's hope it continues.

Struggling to Have Fun

We won both E-scow races, and I won the first MC-Scow race and didn't sail the second. And I'm struggling to find the enjoyment. But then again sitting on shore was worse. What's going on?

Friday I turned 48. I'm feeling quite old. I have aches and pains I never used to.

Sunday morning (Father's Day) I awoke alone in the cottage to a forecast of 10-20 South, building to 30 as the day progresses. Today would be the first day sailing the new spinnaker setup with a retrieval line. We were a bit late to the start still setting up the E-Scow from winter storage and retrofit. We had enough time to set the asym once to check it. but we didn't know what "correct" looked like. It turned out later we found it was wrong.

The wind was 15-18 South. We already had one E-Scow capsized and in need of rescue. By the time the day was over two others would have capsized at least once, and one would break a rudder. It was blowing.

We picked up a fourth person and had about 850 pounds on board. We were HEAVY which made the upwinds quite tolerable. We rounded the top mark in the lead and popped the chute, not really a simple task. It was twisted badly with the retrieval line affecting it. We gybed to clear. It did, and it filled in a pop. We took off like a shot, quite fun. but then came the immediate arm and shoulder pain. It was clear from the start I could not sail this the same way. After racing we decided the incorrect setup may have a lot to do with my perceived lack of strength. In reality it may be that it is difficult for anyone with the mess we had. Regardless, I was spent by the bottom mark.

We led the rest of the day, all marks. But we struggled with every maneuver. By lunch I was ready to go home and sleep for a couple hours.

Instead we went out sailing MC-Scows in the afternoon, still blowing 10-20.

Race 1 I had an okay start. I tried to just lock in fully depowered and cleat the main. The puffs, shifts, and traffic had other plans for me. By the top mark I was third behind Brent and Steve who were sailing fast. Downwind I stuffed the bow a couple times and lost Bob Cole. On the long upwind I was covered hard by Brent ending up going the wrong way to clear my air. I picked up Cole but lost Sean Tracey.

On the last run we got a building shot behind us that compressed the top 5 to be almost nose to tail at the mark. Bob Cole capsized behind me so it was a 4-boat race. I had a clean tight rounding and was able to get on the inside hip of Brent. Steve and Sean were lower and faster ahead. I continued to stay high and work to a line above Brent eventually clearing my air. I may be able to lay the boat without tacking.

I made enough progress that all three ahead of me were going to be a problem when they came back across. They forced the issue. I had to tack below Brent as I could not duck in the heavy blow. I stayed on starboard for 20 seconds max, tacked back to duck Brent as he tacked, ducked both other boats and used the speed and clear air to gain the 1 boat length on all three boats and won by that much.

The entire leg was in 15-18 with shots in the 20's. My arms cramped up long before the finish. The wind was still up and not looking like it would ease. I simply wasn't having fun. So I packed it in.

In race 2, Bob Meyer with crew just smoked everyone for a horizon job win.

I went home to sit in a hammock. Today I can't raise my left arm above shoulder height and my right is incredibly sore. I'm old and out of shape which is detracting from my fun. Time to get in shape.

Club Sailing - I Didn't Win

Sunday was the first club sailing of the year. Memorial Day weekend there was no wind. Last weekend we were away.

The forecast was for diddly squat, something like WNW at 5. Anytime there is a W in the direction at Keuka, drop 5 from the forecast.

The morning South held until Noon when the squat filled in from the WNS. One to 11 knott winds punctuated by 40-70 degree shifts. Somehow 8 boats decided to show up to sail at 2:00. I was sailing my oldest POS sail.

The short one-lap laser-sized course was going to benefit those with good starts and first legs. I nailed the first start in a crowded boat end extending 2-3 lengths right away. The next two 40-degree shifts meant everyone was laying the mark at some point. Being in the right place was critical. I picked them poorly and dropped Bob Cole. We had a cushion on the fleet and played against each other the remainder of the race. On the last leg I dragged him off the wrong way to see if I could escape from below. This let Spencer jenkins in for a well-deserved second place between Cole and me.

With 2 minutes to go in race 2 I was near the boat unable to lay the pin on starboard. I started racing at that point trying to get to the pin. I succeeded in getting almost there, flopped to port with 10 seconds to go and looked to be in great shape. Then the 40-degree shift 10 seconds later knocked me all the way back to reality. I still picked a few shifts cirrectly and approached the top mark ahead. But William Hudson was coming on from the right. I knew I could clear him, right up until another shift and I knew I couldn't clear him. I hate that. I tried to lee bow him but he had tried to duck me. He ran up my transom. I did circles putting me last. I recovered to fourth. William won the race with Cole second.

In race 3 I nailed a boat start, extended, and rounded with a nice lead. The wind went away and the next line of wind brought the fleet down on me. I struggled to stay ahead of the pack winning by only a couple lengths over Bob Cole who recovered from 5th at the last mark.

Finishes of 3, 4, 1 put me a few points behind Cole for the day. I did enjoy the competition. Maybe I sail with this sail all year to be sure to make it interesting!

Uncleat the Main Traveller - Really?

Over the past couple years I have been asked a number of times about my heavy air sailing technique in the MC-Scow. To say the least it is unconventional. This blog entry and the associated video show how I do it.

Let's start with a little background.

I'm lazy. I'm very, very lazy.

I grew up on E-Scows, on KU-3. When I skippered from about 1980 through 2000ish, I was just as lazy then. In a blow I really hated to uncleat the mainsheet. It was so hard to bring it back in again. So I would have the third position person run the cars up and down all the time spilling the main and recovering. On one boat I even had the rear traveller controls run back to me too. That person also did vang in kind of a two arm motion: drop car leaning in, grab vang and hike and trim. This completely depowered the E-Scow main in about 2 seconds.

Today I still sail E-Scows as crew on KU-1. I am the one that works the traveller and vang now. So when I picked up the MC-Scow in 2010, I sailed it like an E-Scow. The first time it blew I tried to be the middle man working the vang and traveller. Well the first issue I had was that I nearly broke the mast and boom trimming the vang like an E-Scow vang. Small boat, small motions. Got it.

When I worked the vang the mast bent dramatically. I was not used to this. And the sail started doing some weird things when I trimmed hard. I had nobody to really test against and I hadn't bothered reading any instructions. So I decided to try something different since I didn't know any better. I cranked the mainsheet block to block. This still bent the boom and reshaped the sail, but it didn't bend the the mast as much. I liked the shape a bit better.

Along comes Rob Seidelman for the local Keuka regatta in 2010. In race 1 it blew. Rob vang/sheeted and I worked the traveller, vang off, mainsheet over trimmed. Speeds were comparable. Rob and I extended on the fleet that race. I loved it. In fact it has the added benefit of letting the boom rise during the tack so my fat butt can get under it.

Because my habits are E-Scow based, I continued to over trim the main and run the traveller whenever I get over powered. Over the past two years I have had good success with this technique. In fact I am convinced it is faster, if not much faster than vang sheeting. I even believe I can out point anyone vang/sheeting.

Q: So how does this work?

Mast Bend

Vanging hard bends the boom, tensions the leech and bends the tip of the mast aft and a bit to leeward. It flattens the sail. The vang also pushes the boom hard into the mast thrusting the lower section forward and increasing the depth of the curve of the mast taking draft out of the sail.

Over trimming the main accomplishes much the same except less vang removes that boom thrust into the mast and produces a straighter mast which increases the draft of the sail while maintaining the leech tension and mast tip bend. The smoother mast bend reduces the "speed wrinkles" as laser sailors refer to them.

So just from a speed setup I think hard vang is slower than less vang, to the point where I often use no vang at all in a blow. In a steady blow where speed setup is primary, I go block to block on the main, traveller off (it stays up from the end of the track by itself by a couple inches), vang off, outhaul to the black, and just snug the downhaul.

What about the in-between point, the transition from full power to depowered?

Vang/sheeting starts with the vang. From full power, the first adjustment to depower is to vang on (speed adjustments, not saving your butt from capsizing). As vang is applied the sail shape flattens and the leech tension increases. When vang is on, then you shift to the mainsheet and start easing. It has to be in this order because if you spill the mainsheet before vang is on the top twists off and you have put on the brakes.

Using the traveller mainsheet technique I use traveller first before over trimming. Just BEFORE a puff hits I will drop the track. The boat flattens a bit and the puff hits. The sail is still fully powered but eased. The capsizing pressures are lessened and the boat stays flatter. The acceleration is instant when the puff hits. This is the point where this technique really shines. If you vang before a puff, the sail is not fully powered, and the main being trimmed means it contains just as much capsizing pressure as with no vang.

In both techniques, there is a middle ground. You don't over vang completely before easing the sheet. You also don't completely drop the traveller before cranking on the main. The feel of when to transition from the two methods is something that you acquire with practice.

Handling

Q: In a blow nothing is stable. How does this work when it is in constant motion?

When vanged hard, easing the mainsheet in a blow allows the main to ease without spilling the tip of the sail. Leech pressure is maintained. Using traveller the same thing happens. The difference is in the speed of movement using a 2:1 traveller to ease versus a 4:1 mainsheet. If you have the arm strength, the traveller can provide you very rapid reaction times. The faster you ease, the less you heal up, and the faster you will utilize the puff and accelerate.

When the end of the traveller is reached, or with vang sheeting as the boom nears the water, and you are still out of control there is a final spill that happens. With vang sheeting, it requires that you cleat the main (or let it drag in the water) and reach for the vang to release it and spill the tip of the sail, then return to get the mainsheet. You have either flogged the main if you released it, or if you cleated it you are now fully powered up and have to depower again.

With the traveller technique the final spill requires that you let go of the uncleated traveller, grab and uncleat the mainsheet and ease to spill off the tip of the sail. You maintain control of the mainsheet while twisting off the tip of the sail. Which of these maneuvers is faster, safer, or easier? For me it is a no brainer. How many times have people capsized with the main cleated while reaching for the vang? Think about it.

Finally there is an iceboat effect here too. Iceboats accelerate out of a puff by flexing the mast laterally quite radically and redirecting that force back into the boat rather than into a capsizing moment. In punching puffs like Fenton last weekend, I saw the lower section of my mast flexing like a DN mast. I do not believe this happens as much when the boom is driving the mast forward hard. It's probably subtle but the effect is there.

Pointing

Q: Don't you lose pointing ability when you drop the traveller?

In light air, yes, you would have to bear off when you drop the traveller. But in a puff you do not change course. In fact I am convinced I can outpoint anyone using vang sheeting above 15.

Think of it this way. Imagine the air is perfect blowing 12. You sail along hard on the wind and turn 15 degrees upwind. You will develop a luff in the sail and slow. Now rather than turn upwind, ease your sail 15 degrees. The luff will not develop as much, and even if it does, the sail is out a bit creating a drag vector not as much in line with your course. The more your sail is out when luffing the less it slows you down. A sail 90 degrees sideways and flopping like a flag produces forward motion in a sailboat. Pointing head to win and flapping like a flag produces backward motion. That small luff in the sail during the puff is bleeding off energy without bleeding off speed. Taking the next step and over trimming puts the energy back into the boat. It's probably a bad explanation but it works. Really.

Also this technique addresses your foils in the water, an often underestimated priority. Done right, this method keeps your boat more upright, and does not require dramatic steering. The board foil provides better lift and the rudder turned less doesn't act as much of a brake. Keeping these foils working for you rather than against you is very important.

In reality what I see is that as I drop my traveller, I either point the same or better than boats above and below me. I out accelerate them in puffs, and recover faster after the puff. And most importantly I don't have to work as hard. Remember I'm lazy.

Video


Onboard video last weekend really drove this analysis home. Track down off the bottom mark I repeatedly out pointed and passed boats ahead of me on the same tack. A person on the RC boat was adamant that I was significantly outpointing every other boat on the lake.

Here are two cases where I came off the bottom mark at least 4 boat lengths behind in a blow and closed the distance or passed simply on point and speed. I believe it is the technique difference that closed that gap, not different air. You be the judge. In the first case I was working the track, in the second I was already full track down and spilling.





Try It!

Obviously the sail you use and the comfort level you have with different techniques will have some influence on what you do here. I use a Z-Max. This seems to work well with it. Others with Shure or Moorehouse sails have said it doesn't do as well. I think it has to do with the foot shape more than anything else. The Z-Max shelf may make the difference.

I can describe this all day, but until you go out and sail this way, you won't really get it. Try it. You may like it. And just ignore the fact it contradicts the Melges/North tuning guide. That's the fun part. Feel free to comment here or send me questions. Have fun and sail fast!

GoPro footage from Fenton

Race 3 edit:

Fenton Follies

Two regattas within driving distance this weekend made it a tough decision on what to do. Early this week I looked at the weather forecasts, my wallet, and my to-do list and decided it didn't make sense to go to any regatta this weekend. That lasted about 4 hours. Choosing to do chores versus sail was just plain silly. So I went to get the boat one weeknight and then off to Lake Fenton, Michigan, just south of Flint. I was making good on a promise I made to Chris Craig 2 years ago that I would come.

I drove 7+ hours through driving wind and rain. The furious forecast for the weekend was for LOTS of wind and not much sun or heat. Most forecasts had the wind over 15 and into the 20's at times during the weekend. I packed heavy. I took everything I owned except shorts.

Friday night I arrived about 10:15. I was met by Chris Craig and Richard Blake who immediately put a drink in my hand and kept me up late. The wind howled all night.

Saturday we awoke to 10-18 West. Five skippers didn't show. Let's just say Cam McNeil and Ted Keller tied for 18th place. Boats were rigged and nerves were checked. The skippers meeting was dominated with a giant chalk board showing the Fenton "figure eight" race course. After a few explanations I think I understood it. Yes it is a total of three windward legs and two reaches. I raised my hand and asked how to reach. Welcome to Fenton. Chris offered to lead the way if I liked.

So let me describe this lake. It is short course racing on a lake that has some sticky outy bits that get in the way of the race course. So there may be a leg where there is land between the mark you are going from and the mark you are going to. And there is no downwind. Local knowledge pays big.

I premedicated knowing pain killers were going to be the old man "vitamin" for the weekend. We launched boats and set off to the first race, my first race with any wind this year.

Race 1 - course 14521 (Ovid, NY zip code)

The RC measured a puff of 25 before the start. But it settled down and we sailed. The line was a bit pin favored but the lake was mostly right side favored. With 20 seconds to go I still hadn't decided where to start. The pin was blocked. I screamed across on port below people, found a hole, tacked with like 5 seconds to go and started about 5 boats up from the pin, second row but with clear air. Company around me included the people I wanted to keep an eye on. I dropped the traveller and settled in for a heavy air race. That lasted a minute or so, which I later found was one of the longer puffs.

People started tacking off the the right. I had no clear lane that way so I stayed left. Lucky me got a great left shift and led at the top mark by 30 seconds or so. Where do I go now? How do I reach? I know the basics but how much vang, where should the boards be, boat balance, rudder handling, and pretty much every setting on the boat was all a learning experience.

I wasted most of the lead on leg 2 trying to figure out how to sail. Leg 2 included my first eye opening blasting reach planed off pretty good for 10 seconds or so. Sail number 2524 started passing people and gaining on me. Leg 3 upwind put us up along and under an island and the windward shore. Puffs appear 10 seconds before they hit you. I had no idea what I was doing still, so I followed from in front and somehow held on. Then at mark #5 I had to again figure out how to sail. The leg starts with a deep dive low in a puff, out away from the high trees, then up high through the tree lull, down low again, then hot sailing across the face of the clubhouse point, then down low again to the mark that you can't see until you pass the club. Mysterious 2524 dude had cleared the fleet and was gaining again. He sails like Ted Keller.

At the last mark I rounded and pulled the windward board to see the outer cover of the board release line had broken. It was now only hanging on the inner core, and only part of that. I picked enough shifts right on the last leg to hold on for a win. Really? First? Nowhere to go but down from there. Stuart Strother finished third and Madman Mike Keenan fourth.

I was not the fastest boat. 2524 was (Who IS that man?).

Race 2 - Ovid course again but twice around

I nailed a pin start, caught some good shifts and led at mark 1. I carried that for 3 legs and let Clark slip inside me at the bottom mark at the end of leg 4. Upwind I had to clear my wind left and took it too far. I lost Chris and Pete on that leg to round fourth. Then I lost another on leg 6. I rounded the island mark with Clark and Richard.

I messed with Clark and Richard that leg eventually getting by Clark. I closed some of the distance to Richard just to see him sail this mysterious secret local knowledge path past some tree at the club and scoot below and through me. I was 4 lengths behind him at the last mark. Upwind I split with him and stayed split. At our first cross I ducked, then crossing 2 he ducked, then I ducked. Very close sailing. Then I got out to the right of him and a nice right shift came from nowhere. I ended up fifth. Pete Comfort on 2524 won the race followed closely by Chris Craig, Clark Wade, and Stuart Strother.

The wind had started building again. At lunch I met Pete Comfort (2524), we laughed at Chris with his head bump and watched some real big puffs roll through. After the RC started to leave the dock and had second thoughts we were under postponement. Then a nice rain cell formed north of the lake. I along with others pulled our boats out of the lake just to protect them. I was 10 minutes from sailing if need be. At this point I turned on the weather radio to hear the forecast of 20-30 with gusts to 40.

After the rain cell passed the wind settled down. We scrutinized weather forecasts and models and hatched various plans. One quickly dismissed called for 5:00 dinner with a 7:00 start that night. We came to our senses and the decision was made about 3:00 to cancel for the day. The next start was 9:00 Sunday.

So at the end of day 1, Pete Comfort led with 3 points, I was second with 6, and Chris Craig and Stuart Strother tied with 7.

That afternoon we measured lulls in the 17-18 range with consistent 22-23 wind. During a great steak dinner put on by the Fenton folks, a particularly impressive line of wind came through. It blew over a boat on a lift. It blew over my 1/2 full rum and coke. The RC measured 35 on the upper deck of the clubhouse protected by trees.  It was windy.

Day 2

The early night led to an early morning. I showed up at the club just after 7 to find Chris Craig and Richard Blake already ready to launch. Motivations were high. I didn't have any line to repair my board release. So I prayed and sailed with it.

The wind blew all night. We woke up to 15-17 still from the West. The forecasts were for another building wind day.

Race 3 - Ovid course again, once around

Most of us put on good sails. Right on time we started race 3. The pin end was wide open so I took it. Unfortunately the left did not pay. I was fifth at the top mark. I started my recovery at that point. With just a one-lap race it had to be quick. I was thinking if I could just pick up one or two boats I'm still in this regatta. I was fourth at the next two marks.

I rounded the last mark third but in touch with Pete and Chris. I nailed two tacks and got to the right of the leaders. I picked up a right shift and held it all the way up the lake slipping into the lead. Chris Craig ducked below me and went farther right. It was a very close top three but split with Pete following me on my hip out to the left of the line and Chris to the right. It came down to the last puff and its direction to determine if it was going to be me or Chris winning the race. I got my header and tacked to the line. Chris looked like he had me. Then he lost his mainsheet. I won. Chris crossed just behind me on Starboard to pick off Pete for second. And Pete dropped into third. Richard Blake made it back to fourth after a bad start, and Stuart Strother was fifth.

So now I'm one behind Pete overall, and two ahead of Chris. With two races to go it is anyone's game. The board release is holding, mostly because I'm releasing the board from below deck whenever I can.

Race 4 - Same course

In the prestart I kept tight tabs on Pete and Chris. I ended up lee bowing Chris at the start mid line. He local knowledged it and immediately tacked to go way right. I couldn't follow due to traffic. When I could, it took me awhile to get right. Chris was well ahead of me. I stayed right of the lead pack and slowly picked up distance. At the mark I had to short tack it but ended up still able to just round in the lead. I extended a bit on the next leg as the guys behind jostled a bit.

Then came the island leg. I swore nobody was going to get to my left. And they didn't. Four boats passed me on the right. I dropped one more to sit in sixth for a crossing or two. I picked up two before the mark and ended up rounding with Richard battling for fourth. He won that battle and sailed away taking Clark Wade with him. now I'm in fifth. It takes me most of the leg but I catch Clark. After that there was no getting around Richard. He sat on me until the finish.

Stuart wins the race, Pete second, Richard Blake third, then me, then Clark Wade.

Now with one race to go Pete has a 3 point lead. I also have a 2 point buffer on Stuart who is suddenly a threat, and Chris actually dropped to fourth behind Stuart.

Race 5 - TWICE around Ovid course.

At the start I plow down the starting pin. Richard Blake is also over and follows me around the pin - last place or close to it. We duck 8-10 boats with him still on my tail. I find a tiny gap and shoot through the middle of the line crossing a handful of boats. Richard doesn't make it and has to tack in traffic. I'm all a mess from the fire drill. By the time I'm cleaned up I'm on the right shore. I tack, get lifted, and lay the mark. I round first just ahead of Chris Craig, who tells me he also had to restart! We have a good laugh and we drag race leg 2. I hold him off to round first. On leg 3 I dust off Chris but Clark catches up to me. We round together. I catch a shot that somehow misses him and off I go. I put quite some distance on the pack right behind me. I hold them off for what seems like forever. On leg 8 of 9, I cramp up - no arms left. Constant sheeting has taken its toll. I have 30 seconds or so over Pete in second place. That goes away pretty fast after the last mark as I struggle to trim in the freshening 15-20. I manage to hold him off and win by a very small margin.

I won 3 of 5 races, but lost on points. Pete sailed consistently. Chris dropped to fourth letting Stuart in for third overall.

 1st Pete Comfort     2  1  3  2  2 10.0

 2nd Chris Hawk       1  5  1  4  1 12.0

 3rd Stuart Strother  3  4  5  1  4 17.0

 4th Chris Craig      5  2  2  6  6 21.0

 5th Clark Wade       6  3  6  5  3 23.0

 6th Richard Blake    7  6  4  3  5 25.0

 7th Mike Keenan      4  8  8  7  7 34.0

 8th James Bingham    8  7  7 13  9 44.0

 9th Urs Geiger      11  9  9  8  8 45.0

10th Rick Cyrul      10 11 11  9 11 52.0

11th Doug Wyrwicki    9 13 10 10 12 56.0

12th Mike Casler     13 12 12 11 10 58.0

13th Jack Coleman    15 14 14 10 13 66.0

14th Mike Farney     14 15 13 14dns 74.0

15th Julie Craig     12 10dnsdnsdns 76.0

16th Bill McInnes   D nsDNS 15 15DNF84.0

17th Gerry Fischer  DNSDNS 16 16DNS 86.0

As we are packing up, the wind pipes up even more. Timing was great.

Fenton sailing in a West wind is a mess. There is no rest, no way to catch a breather, no way to take off a sweat shirt. My neck is sore from constantly looking at the sail, the wind, the other boats, back to the wind, the sail, etc. Constant trimming and easing ate up my biceps. For a bunch of old men it was a tough 5 races.

I can check off another place I have seen. The club is great, the people wonderful, and the event should improve with time. I'll be back.