By Martha Pitt

Last month, 120 teenage sailors from around the country made their way to Long Beach, California to compete in the 2012 US Sailing ISAF Youth World Qualifiers.  The regatta took place in 29er skiffs, International 420s, Laser Radials, and Techno 293s and spanned over three days of scheduled racing. Though the event had heavy competition in every fleet, the closest winning margin came in the 29er class as Quinn and Dane Wilson, brothers from Ojai, CA, became the 29er champions, and the Sail1Designers of the Month. The 29er class was the only class in the event to have no gender distinctions for skippers or crews in the regatta, with thirteen boats competing.

Quinn, who is just fourteen years old and probably one of the smallest competitors at the event at just eighty pounds, drives the 29er for his brother, Dane, who is sixteen.  The boys started sailing at a very young age on their father’s Cal 20, and as they grew up continued to sail at Lake Casitas, a lake near their home, before they moved onto the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. They began dinghy sailing in Sabots, then Optis, and have now settled on the 29er, though Dane does a little Laser sailing as well. Quinn only started sailing the 29er about six months ago, an impressive and swift transition from the Opti to his already successful 29er career. Dane had been sailing the boats for a little more time but not much, skippering for another sailor from Santa Barbara for a year before joining forces with his younger brother to crew.

As many sailors know, sailing dinghies with a sibling does not always turn out well and can even be disastrous! But for these two, sailing together has come naturally and they have clearly found a way to make it work.  When asked about the relationship, they responded, “It’s great because we think alike and can talk about it at home.” Sailing and racing together was a new experience for Dane and Quinn, having just teamed up last August. They practice as much as possible, and have been able to get out on the water two to three times a week for a few hours each session over the past few months. The two are very focused and acute in their training, a necessity since they rarely have a training partner and so cannot do much speed testing or tactics in practice. But each practice has a focus, a particular skill set on which to work with a series of drills to simulate and perfect that skill. They usually warm up with some straight line sailing for about thirty minutes, then jump into boat handling and starting drills. In preparation for the Qualifiers, the Wilson brothers sailed in a few local regattas, finishing third in two and winning one, happy with their performances and the practice in a range of conditions, and ready to take it to the next level.

After months of training, mid January came and brought with it the three day qualifying event in Long Beach, CA. With tensions and excitement no doubt high for all of the competitors as they hit the water on that first day of racing, frustration soon ensued as the wind failed to fill and settle all day, not allowing for any racing. Day two saw better winds, though still on the light side ranging from three to six knots all day, shifty and choppy. Luckily for Quinn and Dane, they only weigh in at 215 pounds, making them very fast in the light air. In addition, the shifty conditions were very similar to the lake sailing that they were used to, and so they were content with it.  Setting them back at the end of the day, however, was a disqualification from Race 4 for tacking inside another boat while in the zone, dropping them from the lead at the conclusion of the day. For many sailors both young and old, a DSQ can set the tone for the remainder of the event, but for the Wilson brothers, they moved on and “tried to put it out of our mind. We talked about it briefly afterwards and realized we made a mistake being in a risky position. Once we got clear about that, we were done thinking or talking about it. By the time we left the yacht club and headed to dinner we were over it.”  Though at an advantage with their weight in light air, both boys welcomed the heavier breeze that filled in on the last day of racing, admitting that they like windy conditions the best. Deciding to sail clean and not worry about points until the last race, the boys had a less consistent start to the last day, posting a few mid-fleet scores. But going into the ninth and final race, they knew that they had a little match racing to do, one point behind fleet leaders Christopher Williford and Kai Friesecke from Lauderdale YC in the overall scores. They knew that they had to beat the team, and their ambitions to make it to Worlds carried them to the finish line in first, while Williford and Friesecke came in third, and allowed them to edge out the Florida team by just one point to take the win and the qualifying spot!

When talking about their goals for the regatta, the boys were level-headed but ambitious; “We knew that we could finish in the top, and it was just about who could put it all together at the right time. But our goal was to win and go to Worlds.” On par with their training, they tried not to think about the other competitors too much and primarily focused on their own sailing and going fast. Coaches Willie McBride and Tyler McDonald helped keep the boys on track and with that same focus, to which both Quinn and Dane attribute much of their success: “Tyler really kept our spirits up and told us we just had to sail fast and we were going to end in the top, and Willie gave us more advice and helped us sail faster and figure out the racecourse. The combination was really great and I think a very big factor in why we won.”

Looking forward to the next few months, Quinn and Dane are going to continue to practice and race in as many regattas as possible, building on what they have learned over the past six months and hopefully spend more time training with other teams. They also know that the Worlds are a longer event and could potentially be windier and so will need to increase their physical strength; they plan on doing a fair amount of cross-training with mountain biking in preparation for the main event.

The Wilson brothers are clearly psyched that their path to ISAF Youth Worlds didn’t end in Long Beach. Not only have they secured themselves a trip to Ireland in July for the event, but as winners of their qualifier class, they have earned an invitation to join the US Sailing Development Team as future Olympic prospects. Though they have never been to Ireland, both have done extensive traveling sailing Optis, and Dane was in Europe sailing 29ers last summer. But most exciting for them is the chance to go to a new venue, meet new people, and compete in the Youth World Championship; “the trip should be really fun.” And of course, after some great training and coaching, and a tremendous amount of support by both their coaches and family, winning is surely their goal.  Best of luck to Quinn and Dane Wilson, and all of the other young US competitors at the ISAF Youth World Championship this summer!

By Judith Krimski

Photos by David Gordon courtesy of Courageous Sailing

It's a Wednesday night in the middle of January. After a mild beginning to winter, we've had our first bit of snow and the blustery temps—much to my chagrin—are finally settling in.  I'm sitting at a local dinner spot with a couple of girlfriends in the midst of the "weekend plans" conversation. Tina is selling her cactus look-a-like pots at an art fair. Amy's doing yoga and shopping online for post holiday bargains. They ask me, "What are you doing this weekend?" I pause, anticipating their confused reactions…"I'm going frostbiting." Incredulous looks cross their faces. "Frostbiting? What the hell is frostbiting?" I smile. It's sailboat racing on Boston Harbor.

I guess you could say I'm one of Boston’s version of "The 300". The Spartans of sailing. The warriors of winter. Plying the frigid inlets of Boston Harbor in Rhodes 19s, J24s, Inter-clubs and Lasers in winter. While our attire is nothing like the sparse six-pack baring accoutrements of the aforementioned Greeks, we count among our ranks the cream of the crop of New England sailors including; all-american college racers, coaches and former Olympic laser sailors. The talent is deep, especially in the Rhodes 19 fleet housed at Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, MA.

For the past 12 years Courageous has hosted its Saturday frostbiting and exceptional sailors just keep on coming. Great competition aside—what makes this well-worn fleet of 24 Rhodes 19s so attractive that diehard racers come year after year? I asked Matt Marston, fleet captain, now in his seventh season.  “Good competition, easy sailing, boats are all the same and on the dock. The fleet is getting better so if you don’t get better you’re effectively getting worse.” Another regular competitor quips, “The Rhodes are sort of like racing minivans, not the fastest and a little clunky. You just try to get them around the course.” Besides easy to rig boats that are fun to sail in all conditions, the recipe for great racing includes shifty winds and heavy current that challenge even the best sailors, short course racing in which teams have to work every second to win the day, and finally some of the best race management around.

For race committe veteran Rosemarie Lyons the unpredictable winter conditions, among other factors, play into whether it’s a good or tough day. “It’s really shifty, especially when it’s coming out of the NW.” declares Rosemarie. “You have a good fleet so you want to make sure you have a good course. It’s cold out so you need to keep racing going. With winds sometimes shifting dramatically it’s frustrating for RC and the sailors. But in general, we’ve gotten really good at picking the best spot and making sure everyone is happy.”

As the harbor empties out for the winter and the sightseeing boats and pleasure vessels go into hibernation, Courageous pulls all their Rhodes out of the water— not for winter storage—to gear them up for frostbiting. Bottoms are sanded and painted, lines are checked and rigs tuned. For Courageous, a non-profit community sailing center known for its summer youth sailing programs, winter sailing has become part of the life-blood of this thriving harborside fixture.  “Frostbiting is always an exciting time of year for Courageous,” says Executive Director, Dave Dilorenzo. “It’s a time to see faces we don’t see in the summer, many of the whom have been participating in frostbiting since we started the series.”

There’s no denying that winter sailing on the harbor can be a cold experience but that is overidden by the fun of sharing the day with comrades who are willing to weather the often harsh conditions. Many of the boats are filled by teams of sailors who alternate sailing each Saturday. Mark Lindsey, owner of MJM yachts and a mentor to many sailors in the fleet started just this way. “In the fall of 2006 I joined a group of sailors from my hometown of Gloucester who drove down to Courageous Sailing every Saturday to race in Rhodes 19's.  More than a decade before that I had rebuilt a number of Rhodes 19's into race winners with fast new rudders, keels, deck hardware and internal structure. Suddenly I was confronted with a boat that couldn't be altered in any way. The winning was purely up to sailing skill. We had eight people on our team so we rotated teams each week and skipper and crew positions each race.  Since most of my 505 experience was the crew in my own boat, I knew how to win races as a crew, and my first highly coveted race win at Courageous was doing sail trim and tactics for Eben Moulton. We were both thrilled!”

On a typical Saturday morning, dockside is all hustle and bustle as teams arrive, get geared up and head down to the dock to rig and perform a ritual bottom scrubbing, and just as likely—shoveling snow out of the boat’s cockpit using the perfect tool, a dustpan and hand broom for getting in those hard-to-reach corners. Ben Richardson, 2011 World Laser Master Champion sums it up, “Frostbiting is an interesting beast. On the coldest of days you try to spend as little time as possible being around prior to launching and racing, so it's really important to have consistent crew who know the entire drill.”

Leaving the cacophony of the pier to set sail, one immediately notices the peacefulness inherent in a winter harbor. A bright sun glints off the grey and silver winter sea while the city stands as a sparkling sentinel in the crisp cold air. The only sounds are sails luffing and water slipping along the hull of the boat. If you're lucky you might spy a local harbor seal frolicking nearby.  Besides the occasional tugboat or fuel tanker, Boston Harbor is pretty much the exclusive winter playground of the two frostbiting fleets; the Boston Sailing Center taking up the outer harbor and Courageous the inner harbor.

Rhodes racing starts promptly at 12:00 noon with 24 boats on the line. Courses are short windward/leeward legs. On good days races will last no more than 20 minutes. The key to being successful in this highly competitive fleet? Sail the boat like a dinghy and learn the conditions. Because of the juxtaposition of Boston’s skyline to harbor, wind bends at angles up to 45 degrees from its original direction. Fortunately you can read most of the puffs on the water so be sure to take along a crewmate who’s good at calling lifts and headers. Current is also a major factor. With both the Charles and the Mystic Rivers converging, current typically runs out of the harbor, even on a flood tide. Newbies to the fleet invariably end up stuck on the windward mark because they don’t judge the current properly. It’s a right of passage in this competitive fleet.

So if you’re sitting around the house come February. Football is over and the NBA just isn’t cutting it, think about taking a trip to Courageous Sailing Center. Ben Richardson puts the experience into perspective, “Quite often it is pretty nice out— and if you're dressed properly, 30 degrees and sunny can be pretty damn nice—so it’s really just a pleasure to be out there. There is no question there's a measure of comraderie that develops from knowing that you and fifty other sailors just spent the afternoon out there in the winter no matter what the conditions were.”

Frostbiting anyone!

If we have a boat available (mind there is a long waiting list) join us for some frostbiting and if the racing doesn’t pull you in the beauty of the harbor will. “Over the years we've had a lot of adventures,” say Mark Lindsey, “from frozen icy sheets to a masthead in the water when the jib didn't come out of the cleat while tacking in a 25+ knot blast. I still love sailing in light air when the snowflakes show you the wind direction as they fall silently into the gray water.”

Despite predictions of global warming, frostbiting remains a cold proposition so dress warmly. Bring an extra pair of gloves and a wooly hat. We’ll provide the foot warmers. A weekend on the water in the winter is not only a rewarding and challenging activity it makes for great water cooler or Twitter material.

About the Author:

Judith Krimski is a graphic designer, freelance writer and blogger of all things sailboat racing. When she’s not plying the waters of Boston Harbor she enjoys racing her laser all over New England.  Judith currently holds the Head Coach position for the Milton Academy sailing team and is an instructor and sailing coach at Courageous Sailing. Judith is in her 7 year of frostbiting as crew for skipper Chris Palmieri from Marblehead, MA.

To read more about Rhodes 19 sailing on Boston Harbor go to http://centerofeffort01.blogspot.com/

PRESS RELEASE.  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.    December 22, 2011

The 2011 J/24 East Coast Championship is pleased to report that: 
Our  infrastructure will be leveraged to aid in Japanese Tsunami Relief
When Sumio Shimoyama and his team travelled from Japan to compete in the 2011 J24 East Coast Championship, few
of us knew what an impact he would make on our community during his visit.  The values of fair play, kinship and
compassion truly rubbed off on the fleet in a positive and endearing way.  When he told us about the devastation
wreaked upon Japan by the Tsunami this past March, we felt compelled to act.
As many of you know, on March 11, 2011, Japan's eastern seaboard was struck by a massive Earthquake and Tsunami,
which left destruction and hardship in its wake. All of the assets of the Kesennuma High School Sailing Club were lost.
As the region and its schools rebuild, priorities are set. While it is understandable that High School sailing might not
top the project list, youth sailing is an activity that is near and dear to our hearts. Without private funding, the
Kesennuma High School Sailing Club will no longer exist. Please donate what you can to keep the sailing dreams of our
Japanese brothers and sisters alive.

As part of this effort, discussions are underway to build exchange programs between Japanese and American youth
sailors to deepen the ties between our communities.
Please visit http://j24eastcoastchampionship.com/KesennumaHigh_Payment_Form.aspx today and do what you can
to help.

For more information contact:
Mark Hillman Tel: 240-744-4500   email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.j24eastcoastchampionship.com

Sail1Designer
of the Month – Toms River High School South Sailing Team, Toms River NJ;
winners of the 2011 National Great Oaks Championship

 

The Toms River team is a small but dedicated group of sailors, with just ten on the roster for this past fall season.  Led by senior captains Charlie Nunn and Taylor Genander, the team sails out of the Toms River Yacht Club, located only a few miles from the high school. They use Ocean County College’s fleet of 420s and occasionally nearby Kean College’s FJs.  Toms River is connected to the Barnegat Bay, which has a reputation for great sailing conditions of which the team can consistently take advantage. Matt Goetting, head coach of the Princeton University sailing team as well, splits his time between the two groups to coach the Toms River team along with Coach Randy Nunn. The team is also able to rely on some dedicated alumni to help them out whenever possible, including Olympic hopeful Clay Johnson, who helped to establish the team with his brother Reed back when they were in high school.

 

 

R. Whitlaw photo

 

 

Being in such a closely concentrated sailing area, the Toms River team shares water with a few other teams, and while they practice independently, they are often able to join up to do some team racing or larger fleet racing during practice.  In addition to practicing, the team competes weekly in Wednesday afternoon regattas held by the New Jersey League, alternating between fleet and team racing, and in both varsity and JV events on
the weekends.

 

Though excelling at the Great Oaks Championship, according to the sailors, the whole season was successful from start to finish. Toms River is part of the MidAtlantic Scholastic Sailing Association, or MASSA.  A-Division skipper Charlie Nunn was impressed with their success this season; “we had an excellent season; far better than I thought.  I was really nervous going in because we graduated two seniors who were really important to the team”.  But the remaining team seemed to have no problem filling picking up the slack, finishing 3^rd at the Larry White Regatta, another high school intersectional regatta hosted by the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, 4^th at the MASSA Fall District Championship, and 3^rd at the ISSA ACC Championship in Maryland.

 

And of course, at the Great Oaks Championship this fall, the Toms River High School South from Toms River, NJ came out on top, winning the event by just two points over Minnesota’s White Bear High School. The regatta’s format has varied as the event had grown, and this year was host to forty-two teams. On day one, the teams were split randomly into two fleets to race, and those scores determined the seeding for the second day of racing in either gold or silver fleet. Staying true to high school sailing as a team sport, all four sailors on the Toms River team were able to contribute to the victory! Nunn sailed with junior crews Shelby Jacobs and Jimmy Kennedy depending on the breeze, and Shelby’s sister Kiaya jumped in with her to skipper on the first day, winning the last two races to qualify them for the gold fleet.  The team found their groove, relied on boat speed, and minimized mistakes to aim for the top five in each race on the final day. As a whole, they were happy with their performance, and thrilled to take home the victory.  “We have had several regattas over the years where we just couldn’t break past a third or second place finish,” said Nunn, “so one of the best parts of Great Oaks was finally coming out on top.  It was pretty cool knowing there were forty-two schools there from all over the country.”  

 

When asked about what made the difference this season in leading the team to victory, the answer was unanimous: hard work, practice, and determination.  Every member of the team helped push each other all season to prepare them for the national event, and they are excited to carry that momentum into the spring season. But as so many athletes know, being on a team is so much more than just winning regattas. Being on a team is about the camaraderie that comes with spending so much time with a group of people, and working together for a common goal. Says Genander when asked what she likes most about the team, “our team has always been a close group of kids. The parents and my teammates are a like a second family and we connect really well with our coach too… Sailing with them is pretty rad.  Our team is serious, but we know how to kick it back and relax too.  It’s the perfect balance for the perfect team.”

Congratulations
to the 2011 Fall Toms River High School South Team:

Charlie
Nunn 2012, captain

Taylor Genander
2012, captain

Shelby
Jacobs 2013

Jimmy
Kennedy 2013

Kiaya
Jacobs 2013

Bernie O’
Brien 2014

Aurora
Fotussky 2014

Mitchell
Nunn 2014

Joe
Gonzalez 2014

Matt
Roleke 2015

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“What motivates me are Google hits and burgees,” says Harry Legum seated on a bench press bench, half joking half serious. Legum, a trainer for over twenty-five years, opened the Annapolis Sailing Fitness Center 6 years ago. Annapolis Sailing Fitness is the first sailing-sport-specific studio in the United States. Prior to opening ASF, Legum noticed that there was a need for and lack of sailing-specific training programs. The burgees that line the walls of Legum’s studio are symbols of the yacht clubs, teams and sailors he has been affiliated with during his seven years as a sailing fitness trainer. The burgees are from yacht clubs around the country, as are the sailors who flock to the Annapolis, MD studio or Legum’s online fitness program.

At the studio, Legum trains sailors of all ages from young Optimist sailors to yachtsmen in their 60s. At Annapolis Sailing Fitness, Legum tailors each workout session to the age of the sailor, the type of boat they sail and their position on the boats. For each group his training philosophy is very different, “When I’m training the Optimist sailors, I’m a camp counselor. My job is to keep things fun while bearing in mind the different focus of each age sets.” To keep things varied and fun Legum does short circuit style workouts while he names drops some of his famous clients like Anna Tunicliffe to keep the junior sailors motivated. “I’m planting seeds in their heads,” said Legum. Legum hopes that by planting these seeds, his young sailors make the connection that if Anna Tunicliffe is performing these exercises to improve her sailing, they should too, Legum mentions that he definitely sees some eyes widen when he mentions some of his more famous clients.

Unlike the Optimist sailor training sessions, which Legum likens to summer camp, he says the high school training practices are extremely different, “there’s a competitiveness in the air and the alpha males certainly appear.” Legum programs regiments for high school sailors from the Annapolis YC and Severn Sailing Association teams as well as specific Annapolis area teams. He is also the Strength and Development coach for the US Naval Academy Sailing Team.

One common issue Legum says he sees amongst high school and college aged sailors is something he likes to call “analysis to paralysis,” which is where the sailors pigeon hole themselves mentally by only concentrating on how one specific exercise will help them perform a specific maneuver better on a boat. “I must be tuned in. I try to elevate and transform my training to much much more than sailing fitness.” Along with improved physical fitness in a dinghy, Legum also hopes to have his sailors feel the benefits of his workout plan on land as well. These benefits include, better posture, improved sleeping patterns and an all around better sense of self, “the parents definitely see and realize the benefits of this training program.”

In addition to training dinghy sailors, Legum also trains “big boat sailors” and trains those sailors specific to their position on the boat. For example, he trains his bowman to be agile and fast. One pieces of equipment you will not see at Annapolis Sailing Fitness are any sorts of grinders, “I was considering adding them to my studio, but they I started training with some grinders and realized the last thing they want to do is train on a grinder,” he says.

While Legum has not sailed every type of boat or in every regatta he feels more than equip to train such a wide variety of sailors, “if I have not sailed that boat or race, I’ve trained and learned from someone that has.” Legum’s commitment to training sailors has not gone unnoticed. His business has continued to prosper and grown despite the economic situtation in the country. He was also on hand this weekend at the San Diego Yacht Club to host 3 work-out sessions and to celebrate the National Sailing Hall of Fame 2011 Inductees. Having never been to San Diego, Legum looked forward to earning his SDYC burgee for the studio wall.

Annapolis Sailing Fitness:  

http://www.annapolissailingfitness.com/

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The J22 East Coast Championship was canceled in the early part of September.  It had to be rescheduled for a later date due to a “lack of interest”.  Four years ago, the J22 class, at least in the Annapolis area, was one of the strongest fleets.  But just a few weeks ago, before a major event was to be held in Annapolis, only nine boats had registered, even with the deadline looming.  However, this dropping off in numbers at regattas has not only been seen in the J22 fleet, but in one-design fleets around the country.

I am sure at some point in everyone’s sailing career, you have sailed an event and were disappointed by the attendance.  Or you have participated in the phenomenon of: I’ll sail if everyone else does.  But everyone else is thinking the same thing, no one signs up, and then no one sails.  The more boats that sail a regatta the better the competition.  The more boats that sail, the more fun everyone will have.

So then why are fleets struggling to keep participation numbers up?  And how can that be fixed? What makes a strong one-design fleet strong?

The answer, like everything else to do with sailing is not black and white.  It will differ from fleet to fleet, location to location, and everyone has an opinion.  Before writing this article I spoke with Joel Labuzetta, Junior Program Director at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, Skip Yale, owner of Yale Cordage and active in the youth sailing program of Falmouth, Maine, and John Loe, an avid sailor.  Each had their own take on the matter at hand, but many of their thoughts were similar.

Perhaps the idea they agreed on the most was that in order to keep a fleet strong, young people have to continue to be introduced in to the boat.  Joel Labuzetta gave the example of the V-15 fleet in Annapolis.  It used to be a strong fleet, but then everyone that was sailing the boat had kids and got busy.  There were no new young people in the class to keep it going.  It has fallen off significantly.  Like most other things in life, there is a succession: the old phases out and the new phases in.  The problem lies in the breaking of that cycle.  But then how do you keep the wheel in motion?

Typically, when a parent signs their child up for a junior sailing program, they sign them up to sail a specific type of boat.  Be it optis, lasers, or 420s.  The kids then spend their summers learning a lot about one type of boat.  This is certainly not a bad thing.  But Skip Yale says that the Falmouth, Maine area junior sailing programs have found success in introducing their sailors to “unconventional” junior sailing boats.

As a part of the programs the kids are in a different type of boat each day.  They not only sail optis, lasers, and 420s but are also given the opportunity to sail boats like the J24.  Learning to sail other boats, junior sailors are no longer restricted to junior regattas.  The idea is to get the junior sailors psyched to sail night races and the bigger events held in the area.  Maybe in this way, when junior sailing and college sailing come to an end, it will be easier for the young generation of sailors to figure out what to sail next.

Skip Yale also also spoke of the J24 Down East Regatta that recently took place in Falmouth, Maine.  Participants ranged from the young high school sailors to the “Tony Parkers of the world”.  42 boats showed up for an event that last year had numbers only in the mid-twenties.  Yale attributed part of its success to the diversity the junior sailors experience in the junior programs.  Yale also said that there were a good number of families sailing the event.  Parents and their children sailing and having fun is a great way to set-up the next generation of sailors.

On the flip side of that, Joel Labuzetta brought up the conflict of competition and leisure within the sport of sailing.  Sailing is such a diverse sport.  It can be more of an individual sport, it can be a team sport, it can be extremely competitive, and it can also be quite leisurely.  But in order to keep a one-design fleet strong, does the fleet have to push for one or the other?  Labuzetta suggests that they do.

Boats that go out on a Tuesday night for competitive racing do not want to be the only boat that is being competitive.  On the other side of that, boats that just want to have fun often do not want to deal with the seriousness of the competitive boats.  If there are conflicting thoughts among the sailors of the class, it could deter boats from going out and sailing.

Another discouraging factor to the sport of sailing, as John Loe stressed, is the economy.  It is a factor that is difficult to deal with but one that definitely has a strong presence.  Most levels of sailing take some amount of money, obviously some more than others.  Money is an easy way to get back in to sailing, but money is not always on hand.  Rather than buying a boat, it is cheaper to crew for someone who already has one.  You join forces to split costs so that you can sail, but then you end up with less boats.

There is no real answer as to why some fleets have so much success while others fade.  There is no set formula to revive a dying class.  The simplest answer may just be to encourage as much sailing as possible.  The more sailing opportunities there are and the more excitement there is surrounding the sport, the more participation numbers will stay high.  As Joel Labuzetta said, and as repetitive as it may sound, “A strong fleet encourages the strength of the fleet”.

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LARCHMONT, N.Y. (October 7, 2011) – Local involvement proves an important component in the Storm Trysail Foundation’s (STF) popular one-day Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminars, and to that end the non-profit organization is looking to expand its impact nationally by implementing more seminars at key sailing venues across the country. The program, which was established 15 years ago, currently hosts seminars in Newport, R.I., Larchmont, N.Y., Annapolis, Md. and Perth Amboy, N.J., with approximately 300 junior sailors – ranging between the ages of 12 and 20 – attending each year. Throughout the day, participants are taught the importance of safety when sailing on big boats through classroom sessions, dockside demonstrations and on-the-water experience. The seminars are sponsored by the Jamie Boeckel Memorial Fund for Safety at Sea, which donates life jackets to the programs. (The fund was established in 2002 to preserve the memory of Jamie Boeckel, who died in an accident while performing bowman duties aboard Blue Yankee in the 2002 Block Island Race.)

“Local leadership is needed to stir the pot and recruit kids in any given area,” said Rich du Moulin, who heads up the STF’s Junior Safety-at-Sea effort and is also chair of the Larchmont seminar.  “Currently, we have about 15 people in different parts of the country with serious interest; if we can double from four events to eight, we’ll be very happy.”

The Storm Trysail Foundation is working closely with US SAILING to create guidelines that will assist volunteers looking to host a Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar. “We want to make this program accessible and easy for people who have never done this before,” said du Moulin. “If there is a strong interest in a given place, we can get some Storm Trysail Club members to help set up the lesson plan, work with them as mentors and possibly help with seed funding, if needed.”

2011 Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminars

The Larchmont Seminar (Larchmont, N.Y.) was hosted by Larchmont Yacht Club on Friday, July 22, and is a requirement for participation in the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound’s big boat events, including Stamford Yacht Club’s Dorade Series and Beach Point Yacht Club’s Junior Overnight Race.  “Throughout the fifteen years of running the seminar we have probably hosted about 4,000 kids including their junior sailing instructors,” said du Moulin, who added that this year’s seminar had 22 boats donated by locals for the 220 junior sailors that attended. “We’ve never had a problem getting people involved, because big boat sailing is a big deal on Long Island Sound.” This year, Storm Trysail Club members and volunteers added to the schedule a fire safety component; the local fire department came by and taught the students how to put out a boat fire using various types of extinguishers. “It’s all about teaching kids in a way they learn best --hands-on--and giving them the tools to help them sail safer,” said du Moulin.

Also taking a swipe at fire safety was the Raritan Seminar (Perth Amboy, N.J.) out of Raritan Yacht Club (RYC) on Friday, July 29. The seminar hosted 17 participants representing four New Jersey Yacht Clubs and the students were taught by local firefighters how to not only disable common boat fires but also put out a diesel fire themselves. The group also participated in dockside demonstrations where they learned how to use safety equipment such as jacklines, throw-ropes and how to deploy a Man Overboard Module.   “Most of the juniors attending this year’s program had little or no big boat experience,” said Kelly Robinson, who chaired the event with the help of Storm Trysail Club members Rich du Moulin and Bob Behringer. “By the end of the day, they were setting, dousing, gybing, and stopping the boat under spinnaker with proficiency.” Robinson added that nearly half of the participants had attended last year’s event, and the program plans to expand participation in future years by presenting trophies for junior participation in the RYC’s Fall Lighthouse Race (25 nautical miles) in October.

The Newport Seminar (Newport, R.I.), held Wednesday, August 17, hosted 28 participants, including a handful of junior sailors participating in the annual Ida Lewis Distance Race (ILDR), which hosts a Youth Challenge every year and started two days later.  “We have such a tight sailing community here and have never had a problem borrowing boats, getting donations and with the great pool of professional sailors in the Newport area, there are always volunteers to help out,” said Lat Spinney, who co-chaired the event with Dan Faria. “Most of the kids that attend our seminar sail alone on small boats, so the teamwork aspect of communicating and working together is important if they want to go forward with big boat sailing.”

The participants toured the 80-foot maxi Falcon 2000; took part in dockside demonstrations, including a life raft and flare demonstration by Life Raft and Survival Equipment of Tiverton, R.I.; had a visit from the U.S. Coast Guard Castle Hill Station; and listened to many experienced speakers talk about offshore sailing, including US SAILING’s President Jack Gearhart. By the afternoon, each student was out on the water sailing one of the six boats that had been donated for the day and practicing man overboard drills. “It is a local effort, and having all the volunteers involved keeps the event organized and fun,” said Spinney. “There isn’t a minute that the kids aren’t doing something, and it shows in their faces at the end of the day.”

The 28 junior sailors that attended the Annapolis Seminar (Annapolis, Md.) at Annapolis Yacht Club were provided with top coaching, and crew for each of the five boats borrowed for the day consisted of five to eight kids and two local Storm Trysail Club members. “Instruction on the boat was very up-close-and-personal,” said Event Chair Jeff Goldring. “The day went swimmingly. The weather was stellar and what gelled was when we got the kids out sailing.  With permission from the U.S. Coast Guard, I taught the kids how to shoot off a flare, and after they watched how it was done, I brought my expired handheld flares and let everyone shoot one off. It was one of those things that they would never have the opportunity to do in another situation.”  The afternoon concluded with a wrap-up pizza party where everyone got together to watch video from the day and ask any remaining questions. “The kids were abuzz and pumped and there was a good bit of positive feedback from parents.”

About the Storm Trysail Foundation

The Storm Trysail Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to supporting the education of young sailors, junior safety at sea, and intercollegiate big boat racing. The purpose of the Storm Trysail Foundation is to effect, promote and enhance the education of young sailors in safety at sea, safe boat handling in all conditions, and safe blue water racing and passage making, through the hosting of seminars, regattas, and other on-the-water training, and through the making of grants to other institutions to foster similar training.

For more information or to get involved with the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminars, contact the Storm Trysail Club, 914-834-8857, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.stormtrysailfoundation.org.

For more information on implementing a Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar locally, contact Rich du Moulin, 914-329-2542, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit http://offshore.ussailing.org/Junior_Safety-at-Sea.htm.

Opti Sailors Say the Darndest Things! By Margaret Boehm

We invite you, after reading this story, to share YOUR stories of Opti coaching. At the end of this article, there is a submission form to share your thoughts and stories of Opti coaching. Top story submission wins a prize. Enjoy!

 I started sailing at the age of 12 (fairly late for a junior sailor), which means that I began straight away on Lasers and 420s. My first experience with the Opti was when I was fifteen years old and began teaching sailing during the summers. All of my co-workers were college-aged boys whose size alone could sink the floating bathtub. That summer (and countless others), I was the instructor who had to fold herself into an Opti every morning. At first I resented having to squish myself into the tiny little boat daily, but as I got to know that boat and my young students I quickly fell in love with the Opti (and its sailors).

The Optimist fleet is considered to be the one of the largest and fastest growing fleets in the entire world according to the International Optimist Dinghy Association, boasting over 150,000 sailors worldwide. As an Optimist instructor, I relearned the basics of sailing through the eyes of an 8 year old junior sailor, and I quickly began to understand why so many Olympic Dinghy sailors credit their Opti experience for their most current successes.

“I think they are the best starter boats for the youth in sailing and I believe all the top sailors out there today would agree,” said Katelyn Kelly Cox, a Chicago-based sailor who raced Optis for five years before making the transition to 420 sailing. Bronwen McAuliffe coached Optimist sailors for 6 years at the Tiverton Yacht Club in Rhode Island. “I like that I had some of my students for 6 years and got to watch them grow up and develop as sailors.” McAuliffe believes that the easy maneuverability of the boat on and off the water makes the boat such a popular choice among youth sailing programs.

McAuliffe credits her experiences with young sailors as a factor in her decision to become an Elementary School teacher. “My students were usually rigged up, dressed and ready to sail before I even finished my morning coffee. There’s an innocence and enthusiasm that all Opti sailors have regardless of whether or not they are serious about racing.”

Richmond YC Opti Sailors

McAuliffe and I traded stories and anecdotes about our love for the “little guys” and realized that we both agreed on the same teaching philosophy with Optimist sailors. On the water communication is the key with young sailors. They learn the most when they are out on the water experiencing the idiosyncrasies of sailing. The concept of “irons” to young sailors is something that Johnny Depp mumbles about in his Pirate movies, and is not fully understood until they are out there on the water hollering to their coach because their boat has suddenly stopped moving and they are not going anywhere. “Being in the water, in an Optimist boat ages them about 10 years.  You can see their minds ticking,” said McAuliffe, “and then they get back onto the dock and return to being their goofy selves.”

I believe that to be an Optimist coach, you must have a certain attitude that is both patient and understanding, but never too authoritative. This is something that McAuliffe has noticed in her years as a coach, “420 coaches are always very stern and all business. Opti coaches need to have a different type of energy. The stern way does not work with 8 year olds.”

Something that I believe most sailing coaches can agree upon is that our students can be pretty funny and let’s face it-Opti sailors say the darndest things!  McAuliffe remembers a time when a young girl sailor was circling her Opti around a house boat in the harbor. After making a few delicate circles around the home, the student politely asked its owner if he was a hobo. “I had a hard time keeping it together as I explained to her that she shouldn’t be asking people in the harbor if they are hobos.”  My favorite Opti sailor moment was when I was motoring around the race course with a fellow instructor and a little Opti sailor with a very serious expression on her face luffed up and asked us to motor over. We braced ourselves figuring it would be something along the lines of why the sprit pole is not called the spit pole because that’s just funnier; or if she could capsize before we sail into the dock. Instead the young sailor looked at the two of us and politely asked, “Are you two married?” I could barely contain my laughter. I was fifteen years old and already being married off to my co-instructor, who spent his afternoons that summer half coaching, half mocking me from a motorboat with a megaphone as I skippered a 420.  Looking back years later, the question does not really seem too ridiculous to me if I think like an 8 year old Opti sailor. If you sail straight into the wind or directly towards an upwind mark—you will not go anywhere. If a male and female instructor are sitting on a motorboat together instructing-they’re married.

It is the simplicity of the sport that Opti sailors grasp that makes them a sheer delight for me to coach. Moments like these always pop into my mind when considering my post-graduate plans and “the real world.” I’m definitely not quite sure if I’m ready to give up my summers with the Opti kids just yet…

Margaret Boehm is a senior Catholic University student. She has sailed and coached in the Chicago area and raced 420s at the national level as a member of Columbia Yacht Club's racing team. As a student journalist/editor for her University's newspaper, she assisted with stories that were eventually picked up by CNN and the Drudge Report. She also conducted interview with high profile Washingtonians Barbara Slavin of the Washington Times and Paul Begala of CNN. She has volunteered as an assistant high school sailing coach with DC Sail and sails V-15s out of Annapolis.

By Elizabeth Dudley, Airwaves Writer

Sail1Design is excited to introduce our newest team member, Elizabeth Dudley. Elizabeth grew up sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. She went to The Gunston School where she sailed and was captain of the Varsity Sailing Team. Elizabeth also attended and graduated from Boston College in May 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She sailed for the Boston College Varsity Sailing Team all four years on the women's circuit as a crew and was twice named to the NEISA First Crew Team. Elizabeth is now living and working in the Maryland/DC area, and joins the Airwaves team as a writer and reporter. Enjoy her first piece below.

You have been a dinghy sailor all of your life, but as you get older, and especially after college, there are fewer occasions to sail dinghies.  So do you continue to search for dinghy sailing opportunities?  Maybe look to enter a different one design class?  Or, do you look towards something bigger?

As a recent college graduate, I have been asking myself that question quite a lot this summer.  How can I keep myself sailing?  I no longer have mandatory practices four days a week and college regattas on weekends.  So when the opportunity to sail a “big boat”, a SR 33 in the A2 class during Annapolis Race Week, presented itself I was on board.  It would be my first “big boat” experience.  I was not sure what to expect.

I asked the owner of the boat what my job would be and he told me “you will probably just be an extra set of hands until you work yourself into a more permanent position”.  An extra set of hands?  How much could there possibly be to do?  Apparently enough to warrant having ten people on board.  And since when did I have to earn a job on a boat? So long to my college sailing days where the skipper drove and played the main while the crew did everything else.  Turns out, a “big boat” is comparable to an organism.  Everyone has his or her specific job that must be performed in a specific order.  If jobs are not executed in the proper sequence problems arise all too quickly.

So I arrived at the dock Saturday morning feeling nervous and apprehensive, assuming my day would consist of staying out of the way and being rail-meat.  I feel confident in saying that I can hold my own on a sailboat, but I have spent my entire sailing career on boats under fifteen feet.  I was about to sail a boat twice that size and with eight more people than I was comfortable with.  I was not even sure what to do to help rig.  For the first time in a long time, I felt out of my element around a boat.  When I asked what I could do to help, I was handed a grocery bag full of meat and bread and was sent to make sandwiches.  I was clearly the low man on the totem pole.  I had become the new guy in my own sport.  Great.

After a long motor out to the race course it was time to raise the main.  To me, it was a massive 374 foot main which took several people to hoist.  It was no longer the one person job I was accustomed to and my goal was to continue to stay out from under foot.  But then the racing started; the same racing I have been participating in since I was eight.  I immediately started to feel more comfortable, at least after the start.  I am not sure I have ever been in a scarier boat-on-boat situation.  There were a lot of big boats in a small space.  In an attempt to calm the chaos around me I made myself official time keeper. I yelled louder than I ever have on any boat and apparently even that was not always loud enough.  However, I had created my first job and my second was soon to follow.  I was asked, as a dinghy sailor, to call puffs.  A simple enough task but crucial for the main trimmer who can not necessarily see them coming.  It was also good to keep the rest of the crew in the loop.  Calling puffs was something I was very familiar with but I was worried that they way I had always done it was wrong for “big boats”.   Turns out, consistency is all that really matters.

As sailing goes, there are a lot of different ways to do just about everything on a boat.  Just because you do something differently than someone else does not mean that either of you are wrong.  You have to figure out what works for you and your boat.  This goes for all aspects of sailing, including planning out a route across the boat during tacks and gybes.  There is a lot going on and a lot of hardware/people to step on/fall over.  It may also be prudent to take a look at the rail and attempt not to be the person that gets stuck sitting on the twing block for the majority of the upwinds.  I was not so lucky and the back of my legs still hate me.

On this boat, my upwinds became much more focused on the one task of calling puffs.  That alone was my responsibility.  It almost felt more stressful than sailing a dinghy where the crew has a few more tasks on their list.  But I was involved and that felt great.  When we turned downwind, we needed someone to fly the pole, so I volunteered.  Although I did make sure to announce that, like everything else on this boat, I had never done it before.  But I had in fact done it before.  It is the exact same concept as flying a spinnaker on a 420, just on a larger scale and with a winch.  It took a little bit more coordination than I was accustomed to but again, it was not completely foreign.  I was contributing and it felt good.

I was the new guy on a boat filled with people who had known each other and had been sailing together for at least a season.  It was intimidating.  But I tried to be involved as much as possible, without over stepping my “new guy” status.  Sailing with ten people has a completely different feel than sailing with just two.  There are so many moving pieces and everyone has to work together to make the boat move forward.  It is really cool to be a part of that.

It is impossible to know everything that there is to know about sailing.  But almost everything carries over from one aspect of the sport to another.  If you know how to sail one boat, odds are you can figure out another with time.  Just because you are a dinghy sailor and have never stepped foot on a boat over 15 feet, does not mean you have to limit yourself to small boats.  The sailing world is a small world, we all know that.  But it is often times bigger than you think and there are plenty of opportunities.  So take a chance and expand your horizons.

You can reach Elizabeth at : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

PDRacer upcoming World Championpship Race

The Puddle Duck Racer is a fast growing sailboat club where members build their own boat and then compete with them in fun and goofy ways, and sometimes in very serious conventional buoy racing. The Puddle Duck Racer is the easiest boat in the world to build. All the hulls are alike, but the rest of the details of sail rig and underwater fins are up to the builder creating a unique hybrid between one design and open development type racing. Free plans, free club, everything you want to know about the duck is at:

Our Class Website: http://www.PDRacer.com

The annual PDRacer World Championship race is right around the corner, this year it is being hosted at Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma, USA on October 8, 2011. Many puddle duckers have already signed up for the race with over 40 hulls scheduled to compete in the main race. There will also be other sailboat games and fun activities during the 3 day event. For more information about how to participate, see the info page at PDRacer.com:
http://www.pdracer.com/world-championship-race/

The class also has a monthly newsletter featuring the latest articles & links that feature Puddle Duck Racers. The latest newsletter is available here: http://www.pdracer.com/news/news03/

The PDRacer is so easy to build, if you work hard for 2 weekends, you can go sailing on the third. So if you are interested in participating in this year’s main event, there is still time to build your duck and get involved !! Entry to the main race is free to anyone with a registered puddle duck, and registration is free.

Hope to see you on the water !!

Sail1Design is excited to announce our newest sponsor, Sail Pro Cameras. For coaches, and sailors who want to get better on their own, this camera provides incredible "on-board" footage. As a former coach, I am very impressed with this system, and feel it is an essential training tool for elite sailors, beginners, and everyone in between. Check out this demo video of the cameras, used on a foiling Moth!

Sail Pro Cameras is proud to introduce a new High-Definition portable camcorder for action-seeking athletes and outdoor fans.

The history behind this onboard camera started at the Laser Training Center in Cabarete, where head coach Rulo Borojovich has been using onboard cameras the past seven years. The information head coach Rulo gets from analyzing these video clips with the sailors is what gives them later the extra edge when handling their boat on the start line, timing their body movements to waves upwind, rounding a mark in a crowd, surfing down a wave downwind, and all those little things a that add up to be the big difference on the race course. “There are body movements and in-boat habits that cannot be detected from a video camera on the coach boat” says Coach Rulo Borojovich.

For good coaching and sailors improvement, the coach needs eyes in the boat. But having an onboard camera is not as easy as it seems. Over the years he tried 20 different cameras before frustration motivated Rulo to develop himself an onboard camera. Some cameras were too heavy, others fogged, in others the battery life was too short, some just stopped filming in the middle of a very important training session. Rulo found solutions for all these issues, and now Sail Pro makes the onboard camera package he designed.

With a burly, waterproof aluminum body the camera has a double seal to keep the lens fog free and condensation free. Even in the most humid conditions it still takes crystal clear HD video. The camera auto saves and edits the files every 5 minutes. This allows users to easily access the segment of the video of their interest without having to watch the entire video. Files are both Pc and Mac compatible through a USB. The battery lasts over 2 hours. The camera super light weight at 88 grams (3.1 oz), which allows the sailor to sail naturally, as the boat handles just as it would without the camera.

What makes Sail Pro camera package so unique, is the custom made carbon rod that attaches easily to the stern of the Laser hull, while other mounts are designed for the Optimist, Finn, 420 and 470 and Keel boats. This carbon stern mount and the impressive super wide-angle lens produce a unique “coaches view” video.

Although the Camera is branded as Sail Pro, it can be used as video camera in other sports or events, when a small out of the way high quality HD camera is needed. Bikers and kiters love it on their helmets, handlebar, it fits easily on ski goggles and almost anywhere else.

Features:

o HD 1280 x 720 crystal clear video.

o Carbon fiberglass stern mounting devices for the Laser® and Optimist, 420, 470 , Megabyte, Finn.

o Ultra light aluminum body (only 3.5 oz).

o 170° Wide-angle lens.

o “Auto Snap Shot” 12 megapixel photo function every 3 seconds.

o Fog free system.

o Waterproof up to 10 meters.

o One single button for easy operation, just click and record!

o 32 GB Micro SD card supported.

For more info visit www.sailprocameras.com  or contact us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it