J-24 Fleet 50

Mookie of the Year

2009-08-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

My friend George doesn’t know a ton about sailing. But he wouldn’t have a hard time picking a team to root for in Fleet 50. Back when we were in college, during the dark ages of Red Sox Nation, he used to take every chance possible to remind us of the heart-wrenching collapse of the Red Sox in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. He did this by yelling at the top of his lungs—often in response to any sort of pro-Sox chant—“MOOKIE OF THE YEAR.” This was, of course, in tribute to Mets outfielder Mookie Wilson who played such a pivotal role in that game: According to Wikipedia.org, “Wilson avoided being hit by a wild pitch, allowing the tying run to score in the bottom of the 10th. His ground ball later in the same at bat went through the legs of Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, allowing the winning run to score.” At the time, the early 1990s, with the Patriots, Sox, Bruins, and Celtics all in the crapper, it was tough to think of a snappy comeback.

Why am I telling that story? Because this week I sent off some questions to Pete Levesque, who’s been driving the J/24 Mookie—which one could say is equally as famous as the eponymous baseball player in J/24 circles—in Fleet 50. Levesque and team finished second and then first last Thursday. Levesque, who works at Hall Spars, was an outstanding college sailor at Tufts. Since graduating he’s been part of the very successful Silver Panda team racing syndicate, which won the last two ISAF Team Racing World Championships. He also placed seventh at the 2009 J/24 Worlds in Annapolis, Md., in May.

1. Pete, you’re relatively new to the fleet. Last Thursday was another classic Newport situation, where local knowledge plays a big role in the tactics. How have you gone about gathering the necessary local knowledge, and how did you pick your tactical strategy for the races?
We have been sailing the Mookie with a pretty consistent group of Nate Frizzell, Caroline Levesque, Ryan Scott, Ted Chwalk and myself since the beginning of last season. Our goal was to put together a strong effort for the 2009 Worlds so we took Thursdays pretty seriously last summer. To learn the venue as quickly as possible, I photocopied a chart and took notes on the conditions (current and wind) from each night. This plus asking many questions of Charlie, Will, Chuck, Chuck and Anthony helped. This past week we had Matt Cohen directing us around the bay. He was very good and you could tell he’d been on this course a few times before. Our main goal was to get out of the current without overdoing it and sailing out of the pressure. Matt did a good job of this.

2. Getting a J/24 to point properly isn’t easy, especially in lighter air and flat water. Sail off the genoa telltales in conventional manner and you’re likely to be 5 to 10 degrees lower than much of the fleet. What sort of guides do you use in lighter to moderate breeze to keep the boat pointing?
I like to look at the boats around us quite a bit. We generally have somebody on the rail giving a constant stream of relative speed and height information. This past week we used a genoa that was different than what we normally use. We used the North technora genoa. It was very nice and seemed to perform well. There were a few odd things about the cut that took a little while for our eyes to get used to, but we felt good with it while racing. In terms of trim, we look at the distance off of the top spreader, depth of the foot, depth of scallops and shape of the leach. We also like to sail by other boats that we know are fast and check out their setup.

3. How did you approach the downwind legs? Upwind it’s fairly easy, get out of the current. Downwind, the current is helpful, but it reduces the apparent wind.
Generally downwind we like to gain lateral separation from boats that might affect our breeze. This also gives us tactical options. We’ve found that during the past few weeks, pressure has trumped current. So we think about finding clear lanes with good pressure before we get too worried about the current.

4. Finally, what about starting? As a former college All American, I’m assuming you’ve developed a pretty good handle on how to start in a crowded fleet in a dinghy. How have you adapted your technique and strategy for keelboats, for Fleet 50?
The lines are generally very crowded at the favored end with many fouls going un-reported. So we like to be safe and try to start away from the crowd. It’s tough to win races this way, but we avoid disasters with this approach. Sometimes there seems to be more emphasis on winning the night rather than the season so I think people take big risks on the starting line. I don’t want to risk getting a 1st one race and a 19th the next so we play the start as conservative as possible while still giving ourselves a chance to do well.

Knock, Knock

2009-08-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

“Who’s there?”

“Bad tactical call.”

“Bad tactical call who?”

“Bad tactical call made by you!”

Wow, Last night’s decision to try the Fort Adams shore for current relief ranks right up there with some of the worst tactical calls I've ever made. We weren’t two or three minutes into the race—but one or two minutes past the point of no return—when I realized things we’re not looking good for the home team. By the time we reached the cable crossing markers off the Fort I knew the race was all but over. There had to be a knot or more of foul current running past those buoys, which are a stone’s throw from the shore. So much for the current relief. Not even Rolaids could rescue this one. Ugh. It was all we could do to cross the finish line going downwind before the first boat took the gun.

I’m not sure whether this is just my impression, but the path to success this year, especially in southerly breezes, seems to always lie on the Jamestown shore. Current coming in, head right. Current going out, head right. Slack current…well you get the picture. [Now, hopefully, so do I].

The second race was better. We bailed out early and headed right. Spending most of the leg sailing in bad air was no fun, but there didn’t seem to be many options. Finding clear air meant bucking more current.

It’s been a strange summer series for the Crack of Noon team. We were fairly consistent in the spring and one would think that would bode well for the Summer Series. But we’ve been all over the map in July and August. First one race, second another, then third to last, second to last, etc. Whoops. Not much time left to right the ship, especially with the summer series ending before Labor Day this year. Which reminds me, Lee Buress is looking for suggestions for the fall series. September is a great month to sail in Newport, so let’s find a way to make the most of it. Email any ideas to lburess(at)criticalpathsolutions.net

Where's My Yellow Jersey?

2009-07-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

July is Tour de France month in my household. If I'm not watching it, I'm reading about it. And if I'm not doing either of those I'm out on my bike, grinding up Wapping Hill Road and pretending it's the harsh moonscape of Mont Ventoux. Some of the most powerful, and gut-wrenching, moments during three-week tour of France, and neighboring countries, involve the long breakaway that is caught just before the finish. For those of you who aren’t cycling fans, let me explain. In virtually every stage of the TdF, a rider or small group of riders will breakaway from the main pack, or peleton, early on. The lead can build to 15 minutes or more, but the vast majority of the time, the peleton will use its collective power to reel in the escapees before the finish. The peleton has a knack for doing this just before the finish, meaning the breakaway riders will suffer for 100 miles or more only to be passed just a mile or so from the finish. Much of the drama of any particular stage centers on whether the breakaway will be caught—everyone tries to be optimistic, but the answer is almost always yes—and when.

In the first race last night, on the Crack of Noon, we felt like one of those breakaway riders. A strong start coupled with a fortuitous left shift found us pointing directly at the windward mark, with the fleet splayed out behind us. Initially our advantage was quite generous, but by the windward mark, Salsa and Tim Healy were within a few boatlengths. To say the tension was running high on the old Crack O is a mild understatement. I know that, when in a strong position in the fleet in any particular race, you’re supposed to sail like you belong there. But that’s a lot easier said than done when you’re looking at two of the best boats in the world nipping at your transom. It didn’t help any that we’d seen the X-flag at the start, heard the race committee say "Individual Recall," but then heard no numbers. Fending off the thought that we might be sailing—winning, even—this race in vain was almost as difficult as keeping Salsa off our air.

The run was a fetch as well and at times the boys (and girl) on Salsa were overlapped with us and dangerously close to stealing our lunch. But we kept the wolves at bay to the leeward mark, got the kite down without any fuss and squeaked across the line in front of Salsa. Which brings me back to Le Tour. Watching a completely spent breakaway rider getting overtaken by the peleton after 5 hours of grueling work is heartbreaking. And it can make you wonder why they tried the breakaway in the first place. The answer is simple. Every now and again, just as we did last night, the breakaway can stay away. What a way to start the summer series, wearing the virtual Maillot Jaune.

Good luck to all the Fleet 50ers sailing in the Coastal Living Regatta this weekend. If you haven’t entered yet, don’t despair, there’s still time. And the weather looks great, for a change.

All Wet, But Far From Washed-Up: Salsa Rules The Day

2009-06-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

I’m sure, had we racked up a couple of double-digit scores, I’d feel differently about last night. But 24 hours later it still feels like one of the more satisfying nights of J/24 racing I’ve had. The rain held off, for the most part, the breeze stayed on, and the racing was super tight, with passing lanes galore. On the sail in, we all remarked that it felt like we’d done much worse than we did on the Crack of Noon (a 6 and an 8). I would have to take off my shoes to tally up all the mistakes we made. But we kept plugging away, got some timely—and possibly undeserved—breaks late in both races and came away with two keepers. The conditions, and the closeness of the fleet, forced you to be engaged in the race from start to finish. Fall asleep for a second and you were likely to pay with a spot or two in the pecking order.

In the first race, we picked off a handful on boats on the final beat, nipping three of them at the finish by half a boatlength. We ducked two boats with just 200 yards to go to the finish, but that enabled us to get to the right side and control the favored boat end of the finish line. Phew. There was barely enough time in between races to get my heart rate back below 100. In the second race, we just held off a group of three boats in the last quarter mile of the run. A half boatlength less and we'd have found ourselves on the outside of a large pinwheel and outside the top 10 at the finish.

You’d think that a race course like Y(p)S(p) wouldn’t have a ton of passing lanes, being as short as it is. But that was certainly the case last night. Upwind and downwind there were plenty of opportunities to make or lose boats. A few times I only thought one move ahead and paid for it with a crash tack, ill-timed duck, etc.

One team that didn’t set a foot wrong was Salsa, not that anyone is surprised. They were so far ahead by the second mark of the two-lap first race, that you could've assumed they were in a different race. We posed a few questions[in bold] to Jens Hookanson, who was back at the helm of USA 1964. His responses are below. Take it away Jens:

It was a beautiful night for racing this Thursday. Well, maybe not a beautiful night with regard to the weather, but it was a beautiful night with regard to the conditions. And I must say that the race committee did a great job setting up a proper starting line and a great course as well. My crew for the night was Jock Hayes, Will Donaldson, Ralph Kinder, and Mark Wiss. I decided to helm for the night so I could get a little practice before heading off to Block Island Race Week next week [where Jens will be driving Robert Armstrong’s J/100 Good Girl, with a posse from the U.S. Virgin Islands]. Some nights you find that you and your crew are “in the zone” and that’s how it felt for us last night.

Can you tell us a little bit about your genoa set up last night? We had flat water, especially for the wind strength. How did you set the halyard? How were you playing the jib cunningham. Everyone seemed able to point extremely high. How do you sail the telltales in those conditions?
Last nights conditions saw a steady easterly breeze in the 14- to 20-knot range with flat water. Typically the breeze dies as the evening progresses, but due to the nasty weather conditions we believed this was not likely to happen. Before leaving the dock, I set the rig tensions at 27 upper and 24 lower which I thought would be a good setting for the breeze. I also knew that my mast step was in a light air setting (fairly far aft) so after a brief upwind jaunt before the start, I went down below and moved the step about 3/8 of an inch forward for the breezier conditions and flat water. Now the boat felt set up properly for the conditions. With regard to settings on the boat, we were at max weight so we set the jib leads in at max power. The jib halyard was pulled on to about 90-percent of max (good to have a lot of jib halyard tension in breeze and flat water) and we never used the jib Cunningham at all. The breeze was not only strong, but quite puffy especially as you got closer to Goat Island. Therefore, it was critical for one person to call the puffs and lulls before they hit the boat (have them paint a picture of the anticipated breeze over the next 30 seconds or so), which allowed me to sail the boat steady and flat. In a breeze like this, I totally disregard the telltales and sail primarily by feel of the boat, keep a good lane and try not heel too much in the puffs. If the boat gets hit by a big puff and heels way over, you not only slow down but the keel stops working and the boat goes sideways. This is really slow!

In both races, I believe you favored the left side off the line. What was your game plan for the course?
We always have a game plan for starting and playing the first beat and this is generally discussed with the crew briefly prior to the start to get feedback from everyone. The tide was high at about 4:30 p.m., so we figured the tide would be ebbing during the entire evening. We did not see as much flow as we expected, but did see some. We also noticed that the flow was coming out of the harbor as we sailed out to the starting line, which meant we wanted to avoid going right immediately after the start. The starting line was positioned in the cone of Rose Island and we noticed a slight flow moving easterly between Rose and Goat Island. This would favor starting near the port end and going left initially, but not too far left. Lastly we noticed the puffs were mostly left-hand heading puffs as we sailed in toward Goat Island. This meant we would likely see nice port tack lifts along the Goat Island shore. Lastly, we thought that the starting line was slightly favored at the port end. All of these factors together made for a game plan of starting at the lower third of the line, continue on starboard until we got into max current and some heading shift and tack when we had a clear lane. On the first start, we were not challenged at the pin so we took that spot and carried out the leg according to plan, working even better than we expected. On the second start, we saw no reason to change the plan—what works once, should work again, right?—only we knew that we would likely see more boats this time going for the same plan. This was certainly the case, but rather than being pin end boat we were the second boat from the pin with Bob Kinsman at the pin (who finished second in the race). Bob was going really well, but I think we had more weight on the rail and inched him out at the windward mark.

In the first race especially, you were able to grab the early lead and then extend. What is the key for building upon an early advantage in those variable wind conditions? How much did you play the wind vs protecting against the fleet?
I think the key to keeping and extending on a lead is having the confidence to sail your boat as fast as possible while at the same time minimizing the risk of losing the closest boats behind you. Keeping a lead is one thing, and extending on that lead is another. To extend on the lead you need to keep pushing the boat and crew around the course and have the confidence to keep sailing your own race, rather than let the boat behind decide your tactics for you. Of course, it’s always smart to keep a loose cover, but you want to make sure that if you do split tacks with the boat behind you that you are going the right way. Since you have the lead you should be able to control this tactic and if you are correct in your choice, then you should be able to extend on the lead. If you are happy with just keeping your lead, then simply try to stay between the boat behind you and the windward mark with a loose cover. If you try and cover too tight this could lead to a tacking dual, possibly having the boat behind you get off to the favorable side of the course and losing your lead. I often think that the best strategy is sailing your boat to the best of your ability and taking advantage of any possible wind shifts and currents up the leg. Try not to let the competition get too far away while doing this and generally it will pay off in the long run.

Best Laid (Over) Plans, Plus Sail Thoughts from the World Champ

2009-05-27T17:24:00.001-07:00

It was a great idea. And by was I mean not that it was a good idea that came to fruition. But rather that it was a good idea that, when it came time to become reality, wasn’t such a good idea. In fact it was a horrible idea.

Allow me to explain. This year we decided to practice before the first race of the season. We decided to put the boat in a week ahead of time, then practice the Tuesday before. While putting the boat in, we tried to run a new topping lift. We couldn’t run it that night, and it was raining. So we saved that for the practice day, when it took another two hours of effort. By that time it was getting dark and so, we started the season without any practice.

But it did seem like we’d accomplished something. While talking about the racing we remembered how often a quick jibe is needed when rounding the special race mark up by Hammersmith Farm, and how this wasn’t something we did particularly well, often getting beat to the punch by the boats right behind us. So we decided that our practice sets this year would always involve a quick jibe, with the trimmer and skipper working together and the rest of us following their lead.

Fast forward to last Thursday. The wind is up, the sun is out, it’s a beautiful first night for Fleet 50. We’re off the dock early with plenty of time to shake off the rust. We beat out the harbor from the Newport YC and then pick a buoy to round. “Set, then jibe, real quick like,” is the call.
We round, and set. But the spinnaker sheet is under the jib sheet. Time out. Re-run the spin sheet. “OK, throw it up,” It goes up, and 5 seconds later we go down. And I mean down, mast tip in the water, keel in the air, beer tumbling through the cabin. Whoops! Dave Reed hops over the rail, stands on the keel and we slowly right ourselves. What a way to start the season.

After pulling one crewmember back on board—I guess this is why they require lifejackets when you fly the blade—we take stock. Everything and everyone is in one piece, well except the starboard cockpit stanchion, which is flat on the deck. That’s not going to work.

The skipper calls home, and we turn for the dock. He’s got a spare coming to meet us. A quick pit stop and we’re back on the course in time for the first start. Just like in Indy.

The racing. Well it went about as well as could be expected after such a star-crossed start. But we kept the boat right-side-up for the remainder of the evening. So that’s a plus.

I emailed Scott “Chuck” Norris for his thoughts on his first-third performance in USA 1450. But he hasn’t gotten back to me. So instead, I’ve got an interview with world champion Mauricio Santa Cruz I did a few weeks ago, talking about the new rule allowing aramid fibers in genoas. I’m off to Detroit for the NOOD, so if anyone would like to put in their two cents on night two, feel free. See you in a week.

Maurico Santa Cruz is an independent sailmaker from Brazil, he's also a J/24 whiz, having now won three world championships, putting him second to some guy named Read. To find out more about Mauricio's sailmaking business, click here and here. Thanks for your time Mauricio!

Before the worlds, there was a lot of disagreement on the value of the aramid fabrics over the traditional polyester and PEN. Why did you feel it was important to use the new fabric for the worlds?
I had good conversations with Moose [McClintock, at Dimension-Polyant] and other guys from Dimension while the rule was changing. I visited them to know more about the cloth and I really like it. Back to Brazil, I talked with my sail designers – Ricardo Lobato and Horacio Camargo – to develop a new genoa. When the first prototype arrived, we didn't have any doubts about it. The new sail was faster in every training day. So it wasn't a difficult decision. First, the sail was about 2kg lighter. Second, the new shape we developed proved to be more versatile. We have the right people here in Brazil, so we could trust in our work and be confident on our sails.

Because the aramid fabrics stretch less, people thought they wouldn’t be as good in light air. Did you agree with this before the worlds or not?
The general idea is that you may need a more flexible cloth like Technora in a light-wind venue like Annapolis [Mauricio's sail was made with Twaron using D-Ps D4 MP process]. After the Worlds, I am sure aramid is better. We were very fast when the crew was fully hiking and I think the aramid sail is very responsive in this condition because it stretches less. I agree that there is some room for improvement in light winds for us. Actually, I was feeling a little underpowered when the crew was starting to go to the rail, but I don't think another cloth would help much on that.

With so little time to test before the regatta, how confident were you in your sail selection for the worlds?
We have two equal boats in Brazil and we did a good sail test program. I had already sailed in Annapolis and we worked hard in light winds. As a result, we have a special sail and a new sailing style.

Generally, what were some of your keys to victory in the regatta?
The victory comes with hard work! I know that many teams have worked hard too. But my key to victory is my team. I have a huge structure with everybody thinking on the boat and we are getting better and better. My team really knows what to do. So, I did not feel washed-out during the event. Of course, I truly believe that the new sail design and the cloth contributed for this title. We were also very fast downwind with a new spinnaker cloth. But I have to credit the title to the people and I would like to thanks everybody who worked with me!

Moose Droppings

2009-05-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

Moose McClintock has been trying to stop sailing J/24s for longer than many of us have been sailing them. He first tried when longtime skipper Ken Read (he of the six world titles) got out of the class in the mid-90s. But then he got sucked back in to sail with Vince Brun in 1997 (first) and 1998 (second to Terry Hutchinson). He was back again in 2002 (with Brad Read, first) and 2005 (with Max Skelley, 8th with two DNFs). And in 2009, he was back again, this time with Chris Larson. To no one’s surprise, they had a strong regatta, finishing second to Brazil’s Mauricio Santa Cruz. All told, according to Moose, that’s five wins and three seconds over 15 world championship regattas. So I asked Moose to offer up a few gems on sailing these beloved boats. I considered keeping this all to myself—there’s some good stuff here—but figured that wouldn’t be fair.

Of course, if you don’t know, Moose works for Dimension-Polyant Sailcloth. They produced the genoa used by Mauricio Santa Cruz (to Santa Cruz’s design) and the cloth used for the genoa that Larson sailed to second (a North design).

Find out more about D-P here,

Before I get into the interview, some kudos for the management team which correctly canceled racing last week. I was a little upset to see Day 1 get blown off so early, but the breeze only picked up after noon and by 6 p.m., it was perfectly miserable, and dangerous. So we all live to fight this week, which is looking quite sweet, as long as the fog holds off.

Tell us a little bit about your team, led by former world champ Chris Larson
The crew we had, nobody regularly sailed J/24s. One of the guys Steve Frazier, works up at North, he does some night racing. And Curtis Florence, the bow guy, does bow on Farr 40s, but he hasn’t done J/24 stuff. Dave Hughes who’s a super, super crew, he sailed with Mikee Anderson-Mitterling in the 470, he’s fantastic, but he’d sailed like one J/24 regatta.
What I did with each guy is I went over their area and how to do the mechanics of it and once we got the mechanics down, then it was fine.

So for the jib trimmer, for example, what sort of things did you review?
For [Dave] it was more the mechanics of how to physically do the tack. He said, “I’m not a big guy.” Size has nothing to do with it. It’s all technique and hand speed. So we did a bunch of tacks and I showed him the easiest way to do everything from zero to 20 [knots]. At one point he tried to do something different and totally screwed up. I said, “What happened there?” He said, “I tried to do it my own way and that’s not working.”
It never got real up range so it was easy for him to keep in control and get the mechanics down for when the breeze did come up. I flew the kite downwind so he didn’t have to worry about that.

The J/24 carries a small kite by today’s standards. So what’s the key, especially in light air?
Just like every sail on a J/24—the genoa has to go zero to 20, the kite has to go zero to 30—you don’t have specialized shapes. What we do, and if you look at pictures you’ll probably notice, we always have the pole much lower than anybody else. In light and wavy conditions, having the pole low gives you a little bit rounder front end and you don’t have to sheet quite as hard, so you make the sail a little bit more asymmetric. So when you’re doing VMG sailing you have a little bit rounder leading edge to be able to sail off of and you don’t have to sheet quite as hard. If the pole goes up, the top of the sail rotates around and you have to oversheet into the boat and it backwinds into the main.
So that was one thing, we always had the pole a little bit lower and we always had it a little bit further forward too. Having it further forward makes the sail a little bit rounder for the chop and gets it further away from the boat so you get a little bit less disturbed air going through it.

Did you have any tactical thoughts that are specific to the J/24 or even to the big fleet where lanes are at a premium?
The one thing I tell everybody, if you get a bad start it’s very easy to whip the boat around, but don't do it. It's like in an Etchells, if you get a bad start the big thing is not to tack right away. Because if you tack and start reaching behind people you go backwards in a hurry.
We had a couple of really bad starts and we were able to pop out. The big thing is don’t do many tacks. You have to put the bow down so far to get the boat moving again after you tack that you’re just sailing backwards.
Our goal, for the most part, was to come off the line and sail for as long as we could. When you tack, make sure you’re tacking and not having to do big dips. Wait until you’ve dropped back a little bit so you’re doing close dips behind people and you’re not giving up a lot of leeway.
If you have to bear off, the boat just rolls over on its side and you start skidding, you’re going to leeward like there’s no tomorrow. That’s where you start losing lanes. That’s one thing that’s kind of quirky about the J/24. You look at people sailing them upwind and in every kind of breeze the boat is sitting bolt upright. The keel's not real efficient, and to get it work you’ve got to get it sitting straight up and down, and just get the keel down in the water. The boat heels and the keel doesn’t do jack. Those were the biggest things, don’t tack much and just keep the boat as flat as possible.

Looking around at the fleet did you notice any consistent mistakes being made by other teams?
Everybody sails with big scallops in the luff of the headsail. People have to realize when you get these big scallops, you’re making the entry [of the jib] really fine. And they’d be sailing along and sticking it [up] and sticking it [up] and then they’d reach the point of stall and all of the sudden they’d just stop. And they wouldn’t put the bow back down. A round leading edge gives…an Etchells jib is perfect example of this, it’s very round forward and when you put the bow down you get attached flow going again very quickly. When you have these big scallops and a very fine front end [of the jib] you’ve really got to put the bow down and ease. I saw a lot of people that would get into this mode of sticking it up, sticking it up, sticking it up and all of the sudden they’d just stop.

You mean just feathering the boat up constantly?
You sail really pinchy, J/24s don’t go a lot faster if you put the bow down, so everybody sails really high and you go about the same speed. Which is fine until you stall. Once you stall you’ve got to put the bow down and get the thing going again. We probably sail with a tighter luff than anybody. Overall we were pointing a little bit lower, but we didn’t have the issues of hitting the brakes every now and then.

How much did you play the jib Cunningham.
When Curtis was on deck and there was good breeze, we played it a lot. As puffs would come through he’d crank on it pretty good. When the breeze comes up, you’ve got more waves, and the boat’s bouncing around and shaking and if you’ve got to put the bow down to get the boat going again after hitting a wave, you needed that round front edge. So we’d use it for that. Big puffs coming through, he’d wail on it and open up the mid-leech and that’s a big part too, when the breeze is on you’ve got to keep the mid-leech on the genoa open so you can drop the traveler down and keep the boat speed. The guys that go really slow are the guys that don’t keep the boat on its feet. The main starts flogging, so they keep it too centerline or something and they heel too much. That’s where the big problem is.

Any other last-minute secrets for Fleet 50?
One thing that was good about our guys is we generally had one guy who never came on deck half the regatta. And Dave would be down below a lot of times. In fact in the lighter stuff, I’d tack the genoa and just hand him the tail after the tack and he and Steve rolled from down below. Often we ended up with Curtis down below. We had three guys below and I’d just sit on the cockpit sole and stayed low and Chris would be the only one on deck. It’s really fast to do that because the boat’s so bouncy that the higher you get the weight up on deck, the worse it is. So we kept the weight really low. A lot of the best guys do that, you don’t see anyone on deck. You could see the guys that had people on deck [suffer], not so much in the flat stuff, but as soon as it got bouncy, it was huge.
Downwind, because there’s so much traffic in Annapolis, when you saw waves coming everybody got very low. If it was windy enough where I could see the kite, I’d just sit on the step and we’d have two guys down below and Curtis would just flatten himself up forward. We’d just lay there and we’d get through it. Once you start the bouncing, you get a little bit of a harmonic motion and the kite gets really unstable. We had an absolute minimum weight kite and we were able to get through that stuff pretty good. We were really fast downwind.

Sun's Up, Which Means The Countdown is On

2009-04-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Some signs of spring are universal; we all see and appreciate them. Others are more personal. For me the ultimate sign that we’ve finally turned the page on winter and can look forward to a summer of Thursday night J/24 sailing comes courtesy of my office window, but not in the way you might expect.

During the cold half of the year, at least when the sun is out, I have keep the blinds closed to keep the sun from boring a hole into my brain. But one day last week I came to work and realized that the sun’s arc through the sky was finally high enough that the golden orb remained tucked nicely above the ledge overhanging my window and I no longer needed the blinds drawn to see my computer and get some work done.

I love the view from my office window, especially in the spring before the leaves completely obscure First Beach. But I think what really excites me about not having to close the blinds on each sunny day is that it means another season of J/24 sailing is right around the corner. Yup, the calendar confirms it, just a month to go.

For more than a few members of Fleet 50, the 2009 season will get off to an early start with the 2009 J/24 Worlds in Annapolis, May 4 to 8. Among the local stars that will be battling the world on the Chesapeake are former class world champs Anthony Kotoun on Bomba Charger and Jens Hookanson on Salsa. Also sailing will be Peter Levesque on Mookie, John Mollicone on Evil Donut, Charlie Enright on Talking Heads, Tim Healy on Pop Rocks, Brian Smith on Cougar Treat, and Will Welles on Paraloc. And I'm sure there are a few other fleet members scattered throughout the fleet. Former fleet captain Bob Kinsman mentioned that he'd be crewing in the regatta. You can follow that results at http://www.j24worldchampionship2009.com

Hopefully after all the practice, the Annapolis YC Spring One-Design regatta this weekend, the de facto pre-worlds regatta during the 2009 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD, and the five days of racing during the worlds, they’ll be burned out and let the rest of us shake off the rust in a timely manner during May. Yeah, I agree, that’s not very likely. Looks like a little practice might be in order over the next month. See you on May 14th if not before. And don’t forget to sign up in advance, the fleet management is making a push to get everyone signed up before they sail their first race. You'll also want to pick your week for race committee. This year every boat will be required to contribute two people for one night of race committee.

Party after Racing 8/14 sponsored by Hall Spars!

2008-08-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

Party after racing 8/14 sponsored by Hall Spars at Ida Lewis!

A Call to Keyboards (i.e. Volunteers Needed)

2008-08-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

If someone were to design a sailing hell, they could do a lot worse (and not in a good way) than simply recreating the conditions from last Thursday night: a mealy, dying southerly and a very strong flood tide running parallel to the breeze.

When we left the dock, we tried to get a gauge on the tide. It looked pretty close to high, so we were anticipating a slack tide or perhaps the start of the ebb, both of which would’ve been fine given the light southerly breeze. No such luck. The tide was smoking in for the entire evening. Even in the Rose Island Cone, where the relief is usually quite pronounced, there was a ton of flow. I’m half surprised Rose didn’t simply break free, bounce through the center span of the bridge, and wedge itself into the Hurricane Barrier in Providence. The incoming breeze and incoming tide meant that the 7-knot southerly was actually a 4- to 5-knot southerly, essentially drifting conditions.

We seemed to play the first portion of the race well, carving out a lane off the line that enabled us to hit the current relief by Goat Island without much trouble. But from there we went backwards. It was one of those nights—no matter what we did, we seemed to lose.

By the leeward mark, we were pretty desperate, so we split from the pack and headed toward Goat Island. We overstood by 20 boatlengths and came into the finish on a tight reach. It was hardly conventional sailing, but it netted us a respectable finish.

And so July came to a close with a resounding thud. Since the results from BargeGate haven’t been released, we currently have three official race results from the entire month. Wow. Who would’ve thunk it? Not to beat a dead horse, but taking the July 3rd off so great right now. Sail ‘em if you got ‘em, to paraphase Die Hard hero John McLain.

Another thing that ended on Thursday was my perfect attendance streak. I’m off to China on Wednesday to cover the Olympics. So, I’m hoping that in my absence a few of you faithful readers (Are there any? You never write?) will chip in with your stories from the wild and wooly world of Thursday night J/24 sailing. You can email me (stuart.streuli (at) sailingworld.com) or any of the fleet officers and we’ll get what you write up on the blog. It’s a lot easier than it looks, trust me. And I’ll need something to get me through 17 days behind the red curtain.

And when the results come out and I can figure out who came scorching out of the right corner on the first beat, I’ll try to get another Winner’s Words up on the site.

See you in September.

Party This Week After Racing! 7/31/08 Off Site!

2008-07-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hi All here are the directions for the party after racing Thurday.
Address: 629 Wolcott Ave, Middletown...
(between purgatory and tuckerman ave)
best directions are to turn right on tuckerman after first beach and left on Wolcott Ave...
we will also make up flyers to pass off the race committee boat...

Hold the Bus, I mean Barge

2008-07-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

Although the events of last Thursday night have luffed a few sails, I think we all need to go take a chill pill until things can be sorted out. After the Protest Hearing Monday night, we learned that the RC cannot DSQ anyone, much less the whole fleet, without filing their own protest.

So where does this leave us as appropriate scoring for last Thursday?.......undecided, I guess. So RC and Fleet 50 management will get together and come to a conclusion on this. Until then, there are no official results. They took a stand, and we should support them for this. We interferred with Commercial Traffic as the barge stopped to avoid what looked like to them was imminent danger. This is against Federal and Fleet 50 regulations. RC was doing what they thought was right.

Now we can all argue the pros/cons of what happened, but I want to think that we all can learn from this. Here are some things to ponder, and I would love to hear others thoughts on this, so please send me an email with your suggestions.

1. Are we capable of policing ourselves? Most of the fleet crossed in front of the Barge, either going to or from the Dumplings.
2. What do we need to put in our SI's to insure that this won't happen again? Or what penalty is warranted if it does? One suggestion is to adapt the Shields class wording.
3. Does RC need more input from the class? We are moving toward more assistance, but should we go further in terms on Race Day assistance. It has been voluntary so far, but maybe it needs to be mandatory.
4. What constitutes an official posting? Something on IDA's website, or does it need to be on Fleet 50's site as well?

There are many things to consider, in addition to how we should score the night. I would certainly like to see the same enthusiasm put into rewriting the SI's to close the gaps, or in helping to administer/assist with racing logistics on a given Thursday.

There are a few boats that did the "right" thing, and took huge detours. I commend them. I was one who did not, and was confused as the proper course to take. Bad Lee.

So send me your thoughts and lets make changes for the better.

Catch 22

2008-07-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

If you went to the Ida Lewis YC website looking for the results for July 17, you likely got quite a shock. In place of a series of finishes from two interesting races was the following statement from the race committee.

All boats receive DSQ for the evening due to violation of SIs and Coast Guard Event Permit – interfering with commercial traffic.

To borrow a phrase from a current KFC commercial, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Fleet 50 has had its run-ins with commercial traffic, though it’s been a while since we had a situation like last night, with a barge running through the middle of course. I wholeheartedly agree with Part 22 of the Sailing Instructions (below).

Competitors are reminded that Narragansett Bay is a Restricted Channel. Sailing Vessels do not have the right of way over a vessel under power, which is restricted in her ability to maneuver. Competitors found to have run afoul of commercial vessels before, while, or after racing may be subject to penalty which may include disqualification from that day’s completed races. We play where others work; please respect those who are working and do not impeded their progress in any way.

I also agree with disqualifying anyone who even comes close to interfering with commercial traffic. If you have a rule, it should be enforced. And this behavior could jeopardize Fleet 50’s ability to sail every Thursday night.

However, I don’t think a mass DSQ is the best way to curb this behavior.

Firstly, it’s unfair. We tacked to port not long after crossing the line and headed right. We saw the barge and while we did take one hitch down the bay in the Rose Island Cone, we crossed the channel well astern of the barge. Once we cleared its prop wash we tacked back. We never got within 200 feet of the barge and were never in a position to force it to alter course or slow down. Had the barge continued on its expected course we never would’ve come near it. And the same can be said for most, if not all, of the boats that played the right side of the course.

By the time we got to the windward mark the barge was parked, and had been for a few minutes. The course that took us furthest away from the barge—and yes, kept us going toward the mark—was across its bow on starboard. I guess we could’ve stopped and waited for the barge to resume its path. But that’s a little much. Who knew how long that was going to take. We were always well clear of the barge. However, if that’s still too close for comfort, then what about the 2 or 3 boats that jibed at or near the windward mark and sailed along the Jamestown side of the barge. These boats never crossed the bow of the barge upwind or downwind. How can anyone say they interfered with commercial traffic?

Secondly, what good does a mass disqualification do? A colleague at work pointed out that it gives the fleet a good sound bite for the Coast Guard. “We tossed everyone out.” I guess I can understand that. But it doesn’t teach anyone a lesson. And isn’t that the goal of a punishment, to ensure it doesn’t happen again. No one was really penalized because everyone was tossed.

If the fleet finds itself in the same situation again wouldn’t it be better for boats to think, “Geez, the last time this happened half the fleet was DSQ’d, and half of it wasn’t, so we’d better play it safe, even if it costs us a few boats.” Instead they’ll think there’s strength in numbers. They’ll think, “Get enough boats to cross the barge and then the RC will either throw everyone out or no one. Either way, the conservative route isn’t likely to pay.”

One of the things I understand least about sailing is the occasionally adversarial nature of the relationship between the race committee and the sailors. We’re all out there for the same purpose, to enjoy our time on the water. At times it will get tense, at times some or all of the fleet will need to have its collective hand slapped. But we need to work together as much as we can.

This decision merely serves to broaden the gulf between the sailors and the race committee and does little to ensure this sort of thing won’t happen again in the future.

Scott Free

2008-07-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, 27 boats? Too bad the breeze didn’t stick around for a little bit longer. But it was great to see such a large fleet, most of the Fleet 50 regulars as well as a few special guests in town for the Coastal Living Newport Regatta. Getting over 25 boats out for a Thursday night means you can be 12th and still consider yourself in the top half. And if you do better, man are there a lot of sails following you across the line.

We thought we had the first race nailed. We started near the pin and headed left, hoping that when we came back on port tack, the lift generated by the outgoing current in the channel would carry us into the lead. A few others had the same idea and we all ended up staring at a lot of transoms as we tried to get around the windward mark.

The second race seemed to go better. We followed Scott Milnes on the low road on the run and snuck into the top 10, but then heard the heart-breaking sound of silence as we crossed the finish line. No gun, we were OCS.

Ugh.

Scott Ferguson made a rare appearance in Fleet 50 and promptly blitzed the fleet in Race 1. If it makes you feel any better, he did about the same thing to the Laser fleet in the Sail Newport Regatta. Doesn’t help? Sorry, that’s all I can offer. Until Thursday that is.

A rather unusual wind condition for last Thursday night’s race. A dying westerly breeze and a strong outgoing tide. What were your initial thoughts on the wind/tide conditions and what did you anticipate might happen during the race? How did you go about setting up your boat for those conditions?

Very loose set-up, lowers were almost slack, headstay was off the Loos scale by over an inch. Initial thoughts were to stay away from the rip around the house on the rock ..... look for some relief from the Rose Island cone. Try not to run into anybody.

There was a strong difference of opinion on how to handle the first beat of the first race. A number of boats went hard left, hoping to come back on port tack in max current. Others, like yourself, played the right side. The right side was the big winner. Can you explain a little bit how you came to this decision and also what you feel was the difference in that first beat.

The initial thoughts of heading for the cone of Rose Island were reinforced by visual appearance of more pressure to the right .... so this strong feeling lead to a good boat start. We sailed for a short time on starboard before tacking. Very tempting to keep going left, but the team (Jessie Fielding, Lyle Fielding, Ben Quatromoni, and Willem Van Waay) decided to stick with the plan. We went almost to layline .... rest was history.

Light air, current, never a lot of fun for a J/24 downwind. What do you think were the keys to that run?

Had to get onto port right away as the current was sweeping left to right .... then we just watched the mark against the land and actually had to sail a little hotter than vmg the whole way across.

Will Welles' Wondrous Words of Wisdom (Say That 5 Times Fast!)

2008-07-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

So someone remind me why we aren't sailing tonight? It's a beautiful evening with a fresh southerly blowing. And there's no work tomorrow. Well I guess I've beat this one to death. Don't forget to sign up for the Coastal Living Newport Regatta next weekend. (If you're competing that is) Here's a few pearls of wisdom from fleet co-captain Will Welles, who had a first and a fourth to close out the spring series.

This past Thursday night was probably the lightest of the season, with a light southerly that died through the night. How did you set your boat up for the evening and what sort of general changes do you make in how you sail the boat in very light conditions?

Well I usually stick pretty close to the North sails tuning guide numbers! I then go upwind for a bit to see how the boat feels and the sails look. I may go a touch tighter or looser from there depending on what I see and how the boat feels. If I think it's going to die I make sure I am on the lighter end of things instead of the tighter end.

The key moment in the first race came a third of the way down the first run. You jibed back in to the Fort Adams shore while the other three lead boats headed into the middle. It paid off as you were able to vault into the lead by the leeward mark. What did you see along the shore and why did this move work out so well?

The breeze certainly shut off at this point. We rounded about four boat lengths ahead of the Pipe Dream boys and they carried a small puff down with them which made them overlapped to leeward with us. We never really had the puff so that we could drive off....it was a tough situation. We felt lucky to get sprung off to the shore by ourselves. There were three boats that continued towards Rowe's Island and it seemed like they were going slow together and then sailed completely out of the breeze. We were able to work the boat up and down with better breeze and it paid at the end.

Starting a J/24 in light air, in a larger fleet, can be challenging. Do you change your starting tactics as the wind drops into the single digits? If so, how?

Yes, I try and maneuver very little and keep the speed on.

The run of the second race was a real drifter. What’s the key to making the most of those conditions in the J/24, both in terms of boatspeed and tactically.

The spinnaker trimmer and I work really hard to keep the speed on all the time...up in the lulls and down in the puffs. The communication between the trimmer and the helmsman is key here.

I Would Say I've Been Missing it, Bob

2008-06-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

So, I’ve been slacking off a bit on the blog entries. I sort of knew this would happen. Even I get tired of hearing myself speak (type?) and so I can’t imagine what it’s like for everyone else.

Also, my first daughter came on June 18, three weeks early, so it’s been hard enough to remind myself to shave and shower on a regular basis, let alone contribute some pithy reports on Thursday night sailing. But I did sail, my wife giving me a much appreciated hall pass 36 hours after giving birth.

The bottom line, however, may be that there just wasn’t a lot to write about. In the last three weeks the Crack of Noon team has turned in a mixed bag of performances. A few good results, some average ones, and some poor ones. We haven’t been able to string together two good finishes. We’ve left more than a few points on the table, but we’ve also had our share of good fortune.

Last week could be a microcosm for the Spring Series from our perspective. In the first race, it was apparent with 15 seconds to go to the start that we would be lucky to find ourselves in the second row once the gun went off.

If there was a bright spot to this really disappointing realization—aside from the fact that the cooler was full of beer—it was that we came to it quickly. We tacked to port before the gun and started making tracks for the right side. Because we tacked so early, we were able to get through the traffic without anyone camping on our lane.

The current on the right side proved to be the deciding factor and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves in a four-boat group lead group. From there we played the percentages and took in a satisfying fourth, enjoying a front-row seat to a nice North v. Quantum sailmaker battle among the top 3 boats along the way.

Our second start was better, at first blush, but since we’d already burned our Get Out of Jail Free card, we found ourselves fighting through bad air for much of the first half of the beat.
We pushed hard into the left corner on the run and spent a lot of time trying to prop up our morale with statements like: “I think it feels like we might have more pressure on this side. Yes. I really think that.”

Two or more of the following words in any sentence assessing relative wind strength—like, feels, possibly, maybe, should, think—and you know you’re in trouble.

And that ended the Spring Series. Personally, I think that nothing would be better than sailing on July 3rd, watching a few fireworks on the way in and relishing in the fact that the following day was a holiday. Maybe we can revisit that decision next year. Summer’s too short anyway, no sense taking a night off.

But nothing we can do now. So enjoy the holiday weekend. We hope to have some Winner's Wisdom from Will Welles. And then on July 10th, we’re right back into it. We’ll see you all out there.

1st Party of the Season this Thursday

2008-06-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

This Thursday 6/19 is the first party of the year at Ida Lewis YC after racing. The party is hosted by: Talking Heads, Smokin' and Obstreperous. In addition there will be video of the nights racing courtesy of J/Boats!

Higgins, I'm taking the Ferrari

2008-06-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

Thomas Magnum, P.I., drove a red Ferrari. Charlie Enright drives a red J/24. Magnum solved mysteries on Hawaii. Enright solves the beats and runs off Newport on Thursday nights. And they both have stylish facial hair. Coincidence? I think not. Here's this week's widsom from Charlie Enright of Rooster (USA 4274).

J/24 Blog: You just wrapped up a very successful collegiate career at Brown University. Which of the many skills or lessons you learned in college sailing have proven particularly useful in sailing the J/24s in Fleet 50?

Charlie Enright: College sailing and Fleet 50 sailing are very similar. Both put a premium on starting and positioning. The average college fleet race is about 18 to 22 minutes long, this does not leave a lot of time for grinding back. In practice, especially at Brown, we did a lot of practice starts. The average college sailor does more starts in college than they will in the rest of their sailing careers. (Not science, but it must be true.) Once off the line, the positioning of our boat relative to other boats becomes our main focus. Perhaps one side of the course is heavily favored, a characteristic we see in Fleet 50 all the time, maybe we decide we want to go left, and as a rule, we decide to let all port tackers cross and lead all starboard tackers back left. Why would we spend time on port tack early in a beat if we want to go left? To check in with the fleet. That is how you play the percentages. Look for weather bows to come down (i.e. boats on your hip point more toward you) and always consolidate when you can. There are anomalies on one-sided racetracks and you always have to position your boat for the what ifs.

Like in college sailing, starting is vital in the short races on Thursday nights. Last Thursday was no exception. How did you approach the two starts? Also can you explain a bit how the flow of information works on your boat during the start? Feedback from the bowman, jib trimmer, and tactician can be very useful during the pre-start, but too many people talking at once can also negate any benefit in a hurry.

CE: Last Thursday's line was pretty square. We started at the pin in both races because we wanted to take advantage of the fair tide and, what we thought, was better pressure on the left. I also just really like starting at the pin. Before every start, we as a boat, come up with a game plan. We take into consideration a lot of things: where we want to go on the beat, how square is the line, where we think all the other boats will be and how to avoid them, what position on the line will allow us to play the first beat the way we want to play it, whether we need to get onto port tack right away, are we going to be on starboard all the way to the fort, anything we can think of. The key to starting is getting one that can help you execute your game plan. The best way to end up where you want to be on the line is to back it all up a couple of steps. If you know you want to be at the middle of the line at go, you know you want to be on your final approach to starboard of the boat at a 1:30, and if you know that you also know that you want to be on port in the middle of the line at 2:30. I like to tell my crew how many maneuvers we have left as it becomes apparent. We have a bow guy calling lengths to the line. We have the trimmer listening to the helmsman who only says, trim, slow, or racing...we have one person dedicated to the time and another looking back for scoopers. Our time guy is our radio guy after the start. As the helmsman, I am constantly thinking about three different spatial scenarios. The distance between our bow and the line, whether we are bow out or bow behind relative to immediate neighbors, as well as our lateral distance to windward and leeward. The first two are pretty self-explanatory, the third is a bit more tricky and in my opinion a bit more important.

As with any northerly breeze, the wind last night was shifty and puffy. I noticed that upwind you don't even hold on to the mainsheet most of the time. Explain how you switch gears on your boat, how you depower when a puffs hits?

CE: The genoa drives the J 24. The puffs last Thursday night were not knock-down puffs. Mike, our genoa trimmer, dealt with most of them. In those conditions I keep one hand on the tiller and the other works the jib winch handle and the backstay. We are very active with our genoa. I only play the main when it gets really windy or really wavy. Flat water allows us to keep the leech profile of the main the same. Easing the genoa helps flatten the boat and allows it to climb to weather, unlike easing the main. The only time I ease and trim the main in conditions like last Thursday night is through tacks. As the puff comes the genoa goes out, the backstay comes on, the genoa comes back in and the backstay comes off.

Samson had his hair. And we all know what happened when he cut that. Is there any truth to the rumor that you're afraid that shaving off that Magnum P.I. moustache will compromise your sailing skills?

CE: Here is the story with the mustache. It started as a bet, gained some serious volume, now I can’t get rid of it.

One Ahead, One Behind

2008-06-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

If you like symmetry, then there was a certain poetic beauty to the Crack Of Noon’s scoreline last night. In the first race, we were beaten by just one boat. In the second, we beat just one boat.

And in both races, the most important moment was the start. In the first race, we had a beautiful start a third of the way down from the boat. After four weeks of struggling off the line, and usually having to tack away or live in a marginal lane, it was amazing to have the freedom to sail the boat as we wanted. Clear air can make you feel like a superstar. (Once again, thanks to www.SailFlow.com for the wind readings from Rose Island. Check out their site for forecasts and up-to-the-minute wind readings. Well worth the subscription. My sense is the reading is a little low from the north, but I could be wrong.)

We played the middle left side of the course, trying to stay in the puffs and the most advantageous current. Halfway up the beat it looked like we were going to have a dogfight getting through all the boats to our right—a wide-open track and flat water means everyone goes the same speed.

But we exercised some patience, staying to the left and biding out time, and got a very fortunate left shift on our final port tack and rounded third. On the run we had just enough separation to avoid the chaos right behind us, though there were plenty of tense moments. On the second beat we picked up one boat by staying to the left and in more pressure and current. Downwind we held off the wolves and followed only Salsa across the finish line.

The second race, we had an equally beautiful start. Or at least we thought we did until 30 seconds after the gun when we heard our number over the radio. By the time we rounded the boat and started back upwind the fleet was a quarter mile ahead of us. So we rolled the dice and, not surprisingly, they came up snake eyes. We caught one boat down the run.

So, an up-and-down performance that averaged out right smack in the middle of the fleet. But after four weeks of middling results, it felt a heck of a lot better than a pair of 10s. It was nice to have one race where we put it all together, where we got to line up with some of the top guys in the fleet and discover that we weren’t far off the pace, if at all.

It was also great to see the fleet break 20 boats for the first time this summer. That’s the sort of sailing that makes Fleet 50 so great, two-dozen boats, in close quarters. A few choice words here or there. No position is safe until you cross the line.

Salsa blitzed the fleet, winning both races. I think they might’ve finished the second race before we rounded the leeward mark. But since we heard from them last week, and we’re sure to have other opportunities to get their thoughts, we sent off a few questions to Charlie Enright, who drove Rooster to a pair of thirds last night.

Salsa, Al Fresco

2008-06-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Good things come to those that wait, or so my parents used to tell me when I was younger. But in this case, they were right. Monday morning we received some excellent wisdom from one of the best J/24 teams in the world (they won the 2004 World Championship after all), Team Salsa, led by Jens Hookanson and PJ Schaffer. Oh, they also tend to do fairly well on Thursday nights. Salsa crushed the fleet in Race 1, flying the big genoa. We had to know how they did it. Thanks PJ and Jens.

Last night was one of the windiest Thursday nights we’ve had in while. Many teams chose the blade jib for the first race, you guys went with the genoa. How did you come to that decision?

Jens Hookanson: We decided to go out without a headsail hooked up so we could make the call when we got out on the course based on the conditions. I knew if we went out with one of the sails already hooked up this might influence our decision. I prefer not to pay any attention to what other boats are doing and just make the decision based on our own situation. There were a few things to consider last night that went into our decision making process.

We did not have either Jock Hayes or Larry Colantuano (our normal cockpit guys) to pull the genoa. I steered and PJ decided to do the cockpit. The fact that we did not have our normal guys to pull the genoa was in the back of my mind, but I knew PJ could still do a good job at it and we had almost max weight on board and very competent crew.

It was indeed windy, but PJ brought up a good point that normally the breeze lightens as the evening progresses, and in fact it did just that.

We hate to change jibs between races on a Thursday night. I had a feeling that if we started with a blade then race 2 would likely require a change, and we wanted to avoid that scenario like the plague.

Since the tide was ebbing, this opened up the full race course tactically, meaning we could choose to minimize our number of tacks. No short tacking up Fort Adams required.

One thing about the J24 is that you can de power the boat quite easily. We tightened the shrouds to accommodate the windier conditions (about 29/29 on the Loos guage) and we moved the genoa lead back about 6” from our normal powered up setting. Once we decided to go with the genoa, we went upwind for a bit and I felt we were fine with the boat a bit de powered.

The genoa allows you to point much higher than with the blade and one of the things that I hate is not being able to hold a lane. Holding your lane often enables you to sail the race you want to sail rather than have your tactics decided for you by another boat.

How did you keep the boat on its feet with the genoa? Could you tell us a little bit about how you depowered the boat when a puff hit?

JH: One thing that really helps is having your crew call the puffs and lulls. This enables you to power up or depower as necessary. Last night was a critical night for this as it was windy and there were a lot of puffs. I find it really important to sail the J/24 as flat as possible and sometimes this requires pointing higher than normal to keep the boat on its feet. If the boat heels too much, the keel does not work and the boat slips sideways and that’s very slow. It’s the typical saying on a J24 that when it feels like you’re going slow and the boat feels like crap; you’re really going quite well. Sometimes I have a good bit of the genoa backing in the puffs, but this is actually fine and often quite fast at the upper end of the genoa. When sailing in the upper range of the genoa, one thing that we often do is ease the genoa 4-6” in the big puffs. This becomes necessary especially if the main begins to luff and the boat heels too much. I generally pull the mainsheet on quite hard and use the traveler and backstay to de power in the puffs and when the puff subsides, power back up so you don’t lose your pointing ability. Move the jib leads between tacks if you think the wind is trending up or down.

A big concern in heavy air with the genoa is tacking. What are the keys to a good tack in these situations?

PJ Schaffer: The biggest thing to remember is that “tacking” is a team sport. There is a common misconception that you have to be a big/strong person to tack the genoa in heavy air but the keys really are timing and coordination. The most important part of the tack is making sure the helmsman does not overturn the boat. The goal is to keep the boat moving through the tack while allowing the genoa to cross sides and lie within the opposite side lifelines. The cockpit trimmer must release just after the tack has started (slight backwind) so the sail “pops” thru the foretraingle. At this point the helmsman must slow the turn enough to allow the tailing of the sheet to catch up with the clew now on the new leeward side between the shrouds and lifelines. If the sail is heavily loaded on the new tack there is a good possibility the boat was turned too much thru the wind.

To help the trimming, the #3 (middle) must overhaul the released sheet to make sure it doesn’t wrap around the winch or snag any obstructions. Once the sail is trimmed as much as you can pull in, it’s three (for heavy air, two for medium/light) quick wraps around the winch and get out and hike. The helmsman will remove the weather side winch handle from the holster and wind the sheet in to desired trim. The bow man may need to skirt the jib but should wait until the cockpit trimmer is hiking and the helmsman calls for the skirt. Other keys are picking a good spot to tack (flat water, no puffs, etc.) and making sure the genoa sheets are as short as possible.

Singing the Genoa Blues, and Wisdom from Rob Lambert (USA 3360)

2008-05-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

A number of years ago, I offered to trim jib for a J/24 at the San Francisco NOOD Regatta. That experience, which featured three days of short tacking the shore to avoid the strong flood tide, gave me two things: 1. A deep appreciation for the intricacies of trimming the genoa on this one-design. 2. A severe case of tendonitis in my left elbow.

The years since have erased the pain in my elbow and any sense of how hard it is to really tack the genoa on a J/24, especially in any kind of breeze. I can look back from my spot on the twings (now there's a challenge) and tell our genoa trimmer, with a straight face, how much it would really help us if he could get it inside the lifelines on the next tack.

Or at least I could do that. Last night, after three light-air Thursday nights, we got a load of breeze on the one night that none of the top three trimmers on our crew depth chart could make it and I was forced to fill in.

If there is one benefit to being the jib trimmer, it’s that you can swear with impunity. I did plenty of that, especially on the final tack of the night when I thought I’d finally gotten my technique down pat and the jib sheet somehow got caught around the latch on the companionway slider. How did that happen? I’m still mystified.

Tacking the genoa on a J/24 might be among the toughest headsail handling jobs in the sport. Think about it: modern boats like a Melges 24 have only a 100-percent jib. That couldn't be easier. If the boat is any bigger, and has a genoa, you usually will have help in the maneuver, and you’re not likely to cross sheet. Nope in the J/24 the jib trimmer is all alone, just you, two winches, 20 feet of squirming sheet, and four sets of eyes watching you knowing they could do it better.

But aside from my struggles with the jib sheets, what a fabulous night of sailing. The choice between the blade and the genoa was quite interesting and if anything I came away with the sense that the windspeed range where either sail is pretty effective might be larger than many of us had thought. After all, the first race, which was the windier of the two, was won by Salsa (USA 1964) carrying a genoa. The second race, when the windspeed dropped a bit into the mid-teens, was taken by Barfly (USA 3360) with a blade. (Quick note: Don't forget that sailing with the blade means EVERYONE on the crew MUST WEAR LIFEJACKETS! The RC will DSQ you if you don't follow this part of the SIs. More than a few boats learned this the hard way last night.)

Rob Lambert, from Barfly, was quick to get back to me with his thoughts on the evening. Those are below. Hopefully someone from the Salsa Syndicate will do the same today or over the weekend.

How many days until next Thursday? Oh yeah, same as on every Friday, six!

Winner's Wisdom from Rob Lambert of Barfly

Many of the teams that sailed with the blade in the first race switched over to the genoa for Race 2. You didn’t and, despite a slight drop in windspeed, won the race. What was your thinking in staying with the small jib?

Rob Lambert: Though we did not have a great race on the first one, we thought that we had plenty of power with the blade and our speed and height, when we were in clean air, was good. For me personally I have learned the hard way that I have trouble going as fast as the some of the pro boats like Salsa at the top end of the No. 1. We have had better performance with the blade in 14 knots then the genoa. This is somewhat against the norm, but it is extremely hard, for me, to drive the 24 with the genoa in 15 knots. We noticed the drop in wind speed between races and seriously considered changing up. The deciding factors were that we were confident in our speed with the blade from the first race, thought the wind might come back up, and the water was relatively flat so we thought we did not need the power in the genoa. I think we also got a little lucky because it seemed to get a little more breezy right around the start of the second race.

Did you change the set up of the boat at all between the races to accommodate for slightly less breeze?

RL: No change in the rig, we had it set for the North Sails 14 to 17 wind range. No change in the car position for the jib. The major difference was the backstay, max on the first race, about half way on for the second race.

Can you give us a quick rundown of your strategy for the first beat. Most teams worked the right side of the course, presumably for better current and maybe an evening right-hand shift. You played the left side.

RL: Our fundamental idea was to ride the current as much as possible. We wanted to stay away from the south side of Rose Island where we thought there would be less favorable current. Holding starboard tack off the line, staying in the current, was key. This took us between the two large anchored yachts where we got some more favorable tide push from the water dumping out of Newport harbor. The port tack put us from there in the middle of the bay where we anticipated the most current.

What about on the run? What was your thinking there?

RL: Get out of the tide, get inside position. Coming into the windward mark we decided that we wanted to stay close to the Fort Adams shore to get out of the current. We were able to stay there for a while, but a couple boats from behind began to gain as they were covering us. As it seemed they might get inside position on us we jibed out to maintain inside position and tried to keep as close to the shore as the other boats would allow. In the end it turned out that we were neck and neck with On the Beach for about half the run, but the inside position established in the beginning of the run paid off as we were able round inside at the leeward mark.

What I Meant To Do Was...

2008-05-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

One of the stories I’ve been editing for the July/August issue of Sailing World is Part II of a series on sailing downwind in light air by America’s Cup veteran Tony Rey (warning: small plug coming—the first part is in our June issue, which should be on newstands soon). I’ve read the story four or five times and spent countless hours dissecting Tony’s advice and trying to make it as clear as possible. I can recite the key points from memory.

Of course, when put into a position to use this information, I totally screwed up.

The first race was a disaster. We got squeezed out at the boat end, and then managed to screw up virtually every key decision the rest of the way. The second race didn’t start much better as, when the starting gun fired, we were two boatlengths off the line and going slow. But then the night started to turn for us, we took a conservative path up the beat, playing the shifts, and crawled back into the race. Learning from our mistake in the first race, we played the Newport side of the run and jumped into the top half and the other side ran out of wind. We would finish ninth, dead in the middle of the 17-boat fleet, but we had a chance to finish as high as seventh. I woke up this morning thinking about those two places.

One of Tony’s tenets for a light air run is to be wary of coming into the mark on layline as it makes it very easy for other boats to jibe on to your air. It’s best to jibe a little shy of the layline and give yourself some flexibility toward the end of the run.

My first mistake was ignoring this advice and hitting the port-tack layline for the leeward mark two-thirds of the way down the run. This wasn’t an easy call. USA 3360 banged the corner on that run and went from behind us at the windward mark to sixth at the finish. But my decision to hit the layline would hurt us.

As we converged on the mark, it became clear that we were going to be very close with My Heine.

My initial thought was to sail low—we were coming in on a hotter angle and had better speed—and try to get to the mark first. This was my second mistake. In those conditions, sailing through a windshadow is all but impossible. Another of Tony’s key bits of advice for light air is about always keeping your air clear.

Realizing this wasn’t going to happen, we then made the decision to fight for the overlap. We won the battle, getting the inside overlap, but lost the war. We rounded slow and with My Heine planted on our leebow. We had to tack away and eventually lost one more boat at the finish. Ugh.

A third nugget of advice that Tony offered in his story is the singular importance of a clean rounding, with speed, even if it means going to the unfavored side of the gate. We had neither. I often chide myself for not being aggressive enough when approaching leeward marks—especially single marks as opposed to gates. But this time, once we realized we would not get through My Heine’s windshadow, we should have focused on a clean rounding, with speed, right on their transom. This might have enabled us to live on their windward hip. There was so little port tack in the final beat that we didn’t need to stay there long to ensure we could beat them to the tack and have a chance to beat them across the line.

It seems so easy in hindsight.

It was great to see 18 boats out last night. Let’s hope for some breeze next week. We are definitely due. Enjoy the long weekend.

Last night's results can be found on the Ida Lewis webpage.

Winner's Wisdom from Jeff Johnstone and John Mollicone

2008-05-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

A two-fer of good advice today, first from Jeff Johnstone who took Race 1 in dramatic fashion. Second we have some nuggets from John Mollicone, who had a more conventional (start first and extend) win in Race 2. Thanks to both of them. Also, if you have any additional questions or comments, drop them in the comments section, all you need is a gmail account, which is free.

Jeff Johnstone (USA 5356)

We all know tide is a huge factor in Thursday night racing. Last night’s first race was especially tough as the tide was switching as we started, so it seemed hard to get a read. You had a good beat, but the winning move appeared to come halfway down the beat. With the top half of the fleet virtually even, you jibe to port, took a number of transoms and headed to the right side (looking upwind) of the course and won the race. Can you tell us what you were looking for?

The decision to jibe out and take all those transoms to get west downwind was due to a mistake we made on the beat. We started at the pin with plan to go left, because pre-start we noticed old flood current in the middle of the course while the new ebb was working its way across from the left. We got the pin and extended nicely, then tacked to port to stay with the fleet, which had mostly headed right. As boats crossed the current line we saw them lighten and drop to leeward. We were licking our chops. Then we made the error of crossing the line before tacking back left. When we tacked 30 seconds later we were fighting a line of flood current, and by the time we got back into the ebb, Crack of Noon, who we had earlier crossed by many lengths, had us by several. On the run, we figured that that same patch of old flood (or at least neutral current) was still along the same line (only further west). As the breeze lightened near the fort, and with Crack of Noon and Smokin’ to our right, we jibed and ducked Tasmanian Devil and two other transoms, then saw the current line and decided to do a hard duck on another 4 boats in order to cross the line. About 30 seconds after we crossed the current line we made an immediate huge gain. Pipe Dream saw this and was next to jibe out. We then picked a spot later to jibe back to consolidate and were able to cross the big pack. All I can say is it was good there weren’t 25 boats out there.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen you outfox the fleet. What is key to getting the best of the tide? Experience is important, but what other keys can you use to take advantage of a variable tide situation like we had last night?

I think we used all our luck and brain cells in the first race, because we neglected to keep track of the current lines pre-start into the second race and overlooked that the full ebb had worked its way across the bay. Races during the mid-tide cycle (2-4 hours after high or low tide) are pretty straight-forward and most of the fleet is dialed into where the best and worst current is. However, when you are within 1- 1.5 hours of a tide change plan on having to more carefully sail across the course pre-start and pay particular attention to any lines and the current on either side. It’s just a habit with us that if we see a current line near the starting line, we’ll sail across it constantly to reaffirm whether its favorable or not, and then set up our starting strategy accordingly (either to get into favorable quicker or to avoid the foul). Also don’t assume that because high tide is 5:30 p.m. that the whole bay is ebbing at 6 p.m. Last night at 6:25, there was still flood current in the middle of the channel.

We won a race last year in just the opposite sequence of tide. It was low tide at 5:45, lightly flooding at the start at 6:15, and so most of the fleet hit the Fort Adams coastline. We headed out towards bell 13 and picked up a narrow river of ebb current and managed to close reach into mark #4 in true Sugar Plum fashion. We had seen both Pete and Scott win this same kind of race over the years, but never had the guts to try it!

John Mollicone (USA 5256)

You had a great comeback in that first race, finishing second. Tell a little about your plan for that race and how you got back in the lead group?

Our gameplan was to stay on starboard off the line and head towards the Newport shore. We thought there was more breeze on the left and we also thought the current was fully ebbing on the shore, but not so sure about the right. We had a bad start, but we were still able to get left and at least round the weather not too far behind the leaders. There was a nice left shift on the beat, and, it seemed, more pressure. I think the current started to change in the channel (deeper water) during this race, and was ebbing hard towards the Newport shore.

The second race started in a bit of a shifty breeze. Tell us a little how you approached the start and was your plan was for the first part of the beat?

The starting was a bit skewed and a little difficult to cross on starboard tack. Port tack was the long tack by far, and with the current ebbing hard, our gameplan was to tack onto port right away near the boat end. Being towards the boat, we thought we would get to the shipping channel right away towards Jamestown and in the strongest ebb. The best pressure also seemed to be middle right as well, and port was so lifted.

Very light air, flat water. What's the best way to set up the J/24 for those conditions? And how do you trim to it upwind?

Since it was so light, we went a half turn off both the uppers and lowers from our base setting, which is 20/15. We usually do this in under 5 knots, when we have a body or two down below. We call this our "super setting."

Downwind was very tough in the second race as the wind was very up and down, occasionally going really light. How aggressively were you changing your course to keep the spinnaker drawing? Tell us a little about the dialogue that goes on between the spinnaker trimmer and the driver?

Luckily, we had a decent lead at the weather mark (in the second race). It went real light on the run, with the current starting to go out real hard and against us. Staying aggressively towards the Newport shore but not too close was key. There was a current line that you needed to clearly stay inside of, but if you hugged the shore too close it would get real light. Our trimmer, Peter Henderson, was very vocal about pressure on the sheets and I would always respond slowly with some tiller and with our crew weight in or outboard. Being so light it was important to have very gentle tiller movements, if any, to head up or down. Our tactician, Rob MacMillan, would also be vocal about lane management and if there was pressure coming.

Welcome to Newport

2008-05-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

We had a new member aboard Crack of Noon last night. Derby Anderson isn’t just new to the boat, she’s also new to town, having moved here just a few weeks ago from Annapolis. However, she’s apparently done her research. As we were tuning up for the race, she said: “So I hear it’s all about the tide in this fleet?”

She picked a heck of a night to say that.

Last night was quite an interesting race. The tide turned at 5:38 p.m. in Newport, which means that by the time we started racing it was just beginning to ebb. Most of the fleet went right, toward the deeper water to the west of Rose Island. Our plan from the outset was to go left as I felt that was a quicker route to the tide. A poor start put us in a hole and we were a quarter of the way through a tack when I decided to stick to my guns and asked Ian to go straight. (Thanks again to www.iWindsurf.com for the wind readings from Rose Island)

As it turned out, the best thing that happened to us on that leg was a windshift to the left and some better pressure on the left side and we rounded the windward mark in second. But that was the beginning of the end. A third of the way down the run I looked to leeward and saw half of the 13-boat fleet lined up, bow to bow. It was a classic restart and we were on the wrong side of it this time. Jeff Johnstone made a radical move toward the cone of current relief south of Rose Island, taking a number of transoms to get there, and won the race. We ended up 11th. Ugh!

By the time we got the second race underway, the tide was beginning to really move, and it seemed to create all sorts of weird eddies up the course. We tried to be patient, and sailed the long tack—port tack—as long as we could. At one point we were looking quite strong, but fell out of phase at the top of the leg and rounded midfleet, which is where we finished. Better, but still plenty of room for improvement. John Mollicone and Rob MacMillan led wire to wire for the win.

Nice work by the race committee getting as much out of the breeze as possible. It died completely before we reached the dock at Newport YC.

Results for 5/15: 1. USA 5256 (2, 1) 2. USA 355 (5, 2) 3. USA 3969 (3, 5) 4. USA 5356 (1, 8) 5. USA 5291 (8, 3) 6. USA 4453 (6, 6) 7. USA 3360 (10,4) 8. USA 3328 (4, 11) 9. USA 3688 (11, 7) 10. USA 1600 (7, 12) 11. USA 4687 (9, 10) 12. USA 3148 (13, 9) 13. USA 3294 (12, 13)

Winner's Wisdom from Anthony Kotoun (USA 2934)

2008-05-09T13:17:00.001-07:00

One of the best traditions of Newport's Laser frostbite fleet is the weekly words of wisdom, where the winner from the previous week shares a few tips on what was working for him. Hopefully we'll be able to do a similar thing with the J/24 fleet. Technically Anthony Kotoun didn't win the first night of sailing, losing on a tiebreaker to Charlie Enright's Rooster. But I didn't have the results at the time I sent the questions out and as a former world champion in the class, Kotoun is definitely no slouch. So I sent him three questions. Here are his repies.

Stuart Streuli: With a strong incoming tide and a moderate southerly, last night featured some very flat water on the bay. How do you adjust the set up of your boat for conditions where the water is flatter than expected for the wind speed?

Anthony Kotoun: We were at 24-21 but were overpowered and had 100-percent back stay on. Kind of got caught when the breeze increased there the last few minutes and should have tightened the back stay adjusters. As for flat water, we all know the answer: pinch! You have to use the mantra of, “If it feels like crap, you are going well.” Every once in a while the crew should have to pull up their feet to keep then out of the water. Mainsheet was really, really tight. Biggest thing for me though is someone good calling puffs. When the puff hits, in a perfect world the boat should never feel it because you have pulled on the backstay, and pinched a bit and the genoa guy has eased 7 inches.

SS: We don’t often start in the cone of tide relief south of Rose Island. Conventional wisdom said you needed to get right to get out of the tide as fast as possible, but in the second race you were not among the first group to head right, and instead chose to come in from the middle/left side two-thirds of the way up the beat. What was your thinking there?

AK: I could see that the boat was going to be very crowed with about 1 minute to go so I chose the avoid and safe route. I was confident in our speed and wanted to be patient. Most importantly though, it wasn't my boat and I wanted to avoid a potential crash. As we saw, a big collision is no way to start of the season!

Current-wise though, the western channel is deeper and I thought it might be stronger over there. I think the left would have worked but the breeze went 7 to 10 degrees right up that beat. When we tacked onto port two-thirds of the way up we were looking good but it faded and we had to put a really weak leebow on Will Welles, who eventually rolled us at the mark.

SS: Downwind was a fetch, but just barely. What did you feel was the key to having a successful run?

AK: I hate fetches. They are so boring. We worked hard on our lane last night and it was semi helpful. More important though is to know ahead of the rounding if it is going to be a fetch or jibe set and be ready to set up your lane appropriately.

First Night Done Right, Sort Of

2008-05-09T07:28:00.001-07:00

The forecast called for the breeze to fade and go right. From the time we got to the boat around 4 p.m. until we left the dock at 5:15, the breeze dropped steadily, just as the forecast predicted. It seemed to level off around 10 to 12 knots as we sailed out to the course, checked our numbers, and did a few spinnaker sets. So we backed off the rig a bit, down to what is our traditional Thursday-night setting. Then, of course, the breeze kicked up for the first race. Feeling like we were slightly overpowered at times on the first beat, we went back up on rig for the second race and, well, the breeze faded again. (The image is a section of last night’s wind readings from the Rose Island sensor, courtesy of www.iWindsurf.com/www.SailFlow.com)

While it would’ve been nice to be in better sync with the breeze, the real key to last night seemed to be getting off the line. With a strong flood tide, the beat was relatively one-sided and the run was basically a fetch. With each course being upwind, finish downwind, there were few passing lanes.

The Crack of Noon team struggled in both starts and that put us in catch-up mode for the rest of the race. We made up a few boats in both races by tacking shy of the starboard layline and avoiding the parade. This always makes for a slightly hairy final approach to the windward mark—tack, find a hole, tack, pinch to make the mark—but it worked for us in both cases.

Personally, the best move I made all night was throwing a vest into my backpack before I left the house. I was fine without it for the racing, but sucking down the suds afterward was another story. Early May in Newport is always a little chilly once the sun goes down.

It was great to see 13 boats out for the first night. Unfortunately two of them retired after a thunderous windward mark collision in the first race. A fine how-do-you-do to start the season. Hopefully it won't keep either of them off the water for too long. As for those of you who weren’t there, where were you? I’ve always maintained that the key to a Newport summer is ramping up all the summer activities in May. Otherwise you spend June and July trying to find your rhythm and August wondering where the summer went. See you next week.

Preliminary Results for May 8: 1. USA 4274 (1, 3) 2. USA 2934 (2, 2) 3. USA 4116 (4,1) 4. USA 4453 (5,6) 5. USA 4446 (3, 9) 6. USA 2991 (7, 5) 7. USA 3688 (6, 7) 8. USA 3360 (11, 4) 9. USA 355 (10,8) 10. USA 4687 (8,11) 11. USA 3969 (9,10).

Lovely Night for a Launching

2008-05-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to think of a better night for launching a boat than last night, especially in Newport in May. Just three of us made quick work of getting Crack of Noon in the water (that's Dave Reed on the right delivering the boat to its slip at Newport YC). By 8 p.m. we were comfortably seated at the Mudville Pub toasting the impending start of the another season of J/24 sailing. Psyched would be an extreme understatement.

It’s strange that the more sailing I do and the more traveling I do, the more I look forward to Thursday nights in Newport. Though I always seem to remember the water being closer to 70 than 50.

Last fall at the annual awards banquet, I spoke with the incoming fleet captains, Will Welles and Brian Smith, about improving the intra-fleet communications. We thought a weekly blog would be great. So in this space each Friday morning, I’ll be sharing a little recap of the previous night. We hope to have the results up as well, and we’ll also do some impromptu interviews with a strong performer from each week to help share a bit of the collective knowledge of the fleet.

Anyone with a gmail.com account will be able to add comments (the account is free and easy to sign up for, and so far, no junk mail!) and if you get sick of hearing about the travails and triumphs of the Crack of Noon crew, feel free to volunteer to sit in for a week and tell everyone how it went down on your boat. You can reach me at stuart (dot) streuli (at) sailingworld (dot) com. Or just email any of the fleet officers, they can also post stories to the blog.

As nice as the weather was last night, it’s still May, and it looks like we’re in for something a little more typical for tomorrow night’s opening race. The forecast from iWindsurf.com says we can expect strong SW breezes during the day with a possible fade into the evening. Showers are possible as a front moves through.

Registrations Due NOW

2008-04-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

Please send your Fleet 50 registration in today. Racing starts in less than 10 days. No registration means no scoring. If I don't have your check and form by Tuesday May 6th, then you won't get scored. I need to send in a list to ILYC on Wednesday, May 7th.

Signed,

Your Fleet Treasurer.