42 Marine

Passing Grade »

December 2, 2011

With breeze hovering in the 15-21 kt range on day 1 of the 2011 Melges 32 Gold Cup, our team on Volpe did well enough to stay in the hunt for the regatta sitting in 2nd place, but the feeling onboard as we returned to safe harbor at Bahia Mar was that we got away with one, and that we’ll need to be much cleaner on Day 2 with a forecast that is just as fresh, if not more.

While every team had their own issues that were topics of post-race debriefs, the rust that gathered from our team not sailing together since July was shown most at leeward marks where we needed to pull off a stellar spinnaker takedown at a high rate of speed.  On the last take-down of the day, the call was made for a leeward drop as we smoked into the gates on starboard gybe.  With a miscommunication on what type of drop we were doing from the team on the front of the boat to the back resulted in the spin sheet, tack line, and halyard getting blown at the same time, and instead of the kite collapsing and getting pulled into the boat, it filled a good 30-40 ft away and a moment or two of silence fell over the boat as we all knew this was not a good look.  Soon after we were on our side with the kite falling into the water and turning into shrimp net Forrest Gump would have been proud of.  Amazingly, we were able to get the kite back into the boat with some quickness, swap it out for our smaller backup kite before the top mark, and salvage a 6th place.  We got away with one.

The good news is that our upwinds were solid with good speed and tactics.  Ed Baird did a good job hitting some nice shifts and keeping us in clean areas and letting our boat speed go to work.  Warpath was on fire today posting 3 bullets and our hope is that we step up our game while the leaders shown a sign or two of faltering.  It was a great day of Melges 32 racing with boats blasting around, surfing waves downwind, and if the forecast holds for tomorrow, it will be even more of a handful than today. Full results.  Some great photos capturing the speed of the day from Joy Dunigan, and John Payne.

 

 

Gold Rush »

November 30, 2011

Once again, the turkey, gravy, cheesy mashed potatoes and other Thanksgiving delights were limited to a single fist-sized helping at this years holiday, and as we departed the in-laws, saying “no” to the bounty of leftovers was not an easy task; like we actually wanted yogurt and granola instead of the above listed items for breakfast the next morning.   Just like previous T-days since 2007, a weigh-in has loomed for the Melges 32 Gold Cup, and while Melges 32 sailors watch their family members ravish stuffing and pumpkin pie like hungry Pilgrims, we are left to put our heads down and mutter the words, “no thanks, I’ll pass. I’ll try your home-made pie next year Grandma.”

Prior to gaining official ISAF status in 2008, the Melges 32 class began hosting the Gold Cup which often serves as an unofficial World Championship until a class can gain status by having a presence on 3 or more continents.  Despite having an official Worlds in 2009, the Gold Cup is still an annual event, has remained as a top draw and continues to attract the best Melges 32 teams from around the globe.  This event also serves as the kick-off to the 2012 racing season, with many teams pinning this as the start of their 2012 Worlds campaign coming to Newport, RI in September.  Its hard to imagine that another Worlds is just around the corner, and the full effort of practicing, sail selection, rig tuning and staying on top of the latest gear and hardware changes to the boats is about to begin anew.

I typically sound like a broken record when talking about the high level of talent that participates in these events, and this years Gold Cup is no different.  Each event it seems like more of the common names from the world of sailing trickle into the class and most are able to make the transition into smaller boat racing, succeed like they have in most classes and instantly make the fleet tougher.   With a crew list that does not have any signs of a weak team, winning this years Gold Cup will require sailing clean, taking care of all the basics, and having a bit of luck.

After suffering a black flag in the final race of the 2010 edition of this event and taking third overall, our team on Volpe is looking to have a stronger finish.  There will be a bit of rust to shake off, and the well-seasoned teams who are fresh off this years Worlds in Palma will be ready to rock and roll.   The big plus of this event is that the regatta is hosted out of the Bahia Mar hotel and Marina, and while the hotel is used mainly by touristos departing on cruises the next day and the rooms could use a bit of updating, nothing beats being able to hop out of bed and basically have an elevator ride down to the boat.   The parking between the dock and the hotel is also a great aspect as a few teams get into full tail gate mode with BBQ’s and music while John Taylor and his Ninkasi team annually supply an endless amount of cold Heinekens to all of the competitors.  Stay tuned…racing begins Friday…up to date results can be found here.

 

Melges 20 Nationals – Days 1 + 2 »

November 12, 2011

With two days of the Melges 20 Nationals in the books, our team in M and M racing has had the satisfaction of piecing together what it takes to win a regatta…just not all at the same time. On day 1, we fought hard with decent boathandling and tactics, but with boatspeed that was slightly off the pace, we found ourselves just back of the front group.  On Day 2, we fixed our boatspeed problems, but struggled tactically and had more difficulty getting of the starting line.  The fleet is much tougher than last year, and if our goal is to get into the top 5 in future events, we need to put all of the pieces together all at once.

Michael Kiss’ team on Bacio has put on a clinic and clearly have wheels that no one else in the fleet does. This was best shown when they were over early in race 5, well back of the fleet and clawed back to 4th place…at the first top mark!  With the RC setting the windward the mark about 8:1 on port tack vs starboard, the majority of the racing thus far has been full drag racing conditions where if you can’t put the bow down and let er rumble, you often end up getting rolled and have to accept being relegated to the B fleet.

We have done a good job of fighting through some really hard spots on the race course and battling to the end of each race, and while we have been average upwind, our downwinds have generally been very good.  Our squad took a punch to the gut in what was the first race of day 2 when we had carved out a nice 2nd place behind the Bacio team after 1 lap, only to have the race abandoned at the bottom mark for what they deemed was too big of a shift. Mother F’er. It would have been nice to start the day with a nice finish and get off on the right foot.

Two more races are scheduled on the final day, and with a few boats in front of us within reach, we can still nab a top ten overall finish.  The racing has been some of the best we have had in the 20 thus far with the boats ripping downwind, an hopefully we get one more day of big breeze to cap off a fun weekend.

 

Back At It »

November 10, 2011

After a solid month at home and unsuccesfully attempting to potty train a 2 yr old while I was given solo parenting duty for 12 days, it is time to get back at it and prepare for a busy winter of sailing.  The Melges 20 winter circuit has started sooner than scheduled with the US Nationals that were previously cancelled by Hurricane Irene this past summer, now taking place this coming weekend with over 36 boats looking to grab the title.  This will be the largest fleet of Melges 20s to date, and there are at least a dozen new teams with proven sailors that have won National and World titles in other fleets.  Several Italian teams are in attendance to take part in the winter series as well as many familiar faces from the Melges 24 and 32 regattas.

Our squad on M and M Racing came down a few days early to shake the rust off and get into the groove with our speed and boathandling.  One factor that has helped us have decent results in previous events is a structured training schedule with the Red Sky team.  Sticking to a firm dock off time, having an organized objective for the day, and pushing each other as much as possible has helped get both of our teams to a place where we know our speed is going to at least be average, and allows us to tick off the variables heading into race day.  Come 11 am on Friday, the only question marks will be how we best want to get off the starting line and where the best breeze is….and whether to have eggs benedict or pancakes for breakfast.

Stay tuned from what looks to be a breezy day 1 at the Melges 20 Nationals.

Finish in Sight »

October 6, 2011

It has been a long, busy summer full of up and down results, and the final event for the unofficial end of the 2011 season has arrived and it would be great to end with a win.  The Chicago Match Race Center is hosting the 72nd Richardson Trophy which will anoint the winning team as the top match racing team in the great lakes region.  While all of the worlds top match racers are duking it out at the World Match Race Tour’s Bermuda Gold Cup, there will still be plenty of tough teams at this Grade 3 event and we are looking to give our best effort to keep the trophy on the CMRC houseboat for the next year.

Our team with Don Wilson will be looking to keep momentum after our decent showing at the Grade 1 just last weekend when were shown the door by the top ranked French team in the quarter-finals.  One thing I have learned about match racing is that it takes an immense amount of concentration to stay focused for every race.  With 10 races taking place in a day in some events, it is very easy to miss a flag indicating which windward mark to round, or have a lapse on how to execute winning a pin favored start and the teams that can wipe the slate clean after every race and start fresh are the ones who advance.  With several regattas under our belt as a team, our goal is to take care of business on our end and if someone out-sails us, there is not much we can do, but losing a race on an unforced error or stupid penalty will not cut it this weekend.

Win or lose, At the vary least we will get to watch the participants in the Chicago Marathon run by and take comfort knowing we are riding on a sailboat, and not running more miles than what my Chappy can do on a gallon of gas.

Racing begins on Friday morning and live results can be found here.

Friends and Enemies »

September 30, 2011

Entering day 2 of the Chicago Cup we needed to win out our final 3 races of the round robin to have a chance at moving onto the elimination round. After losing the first race of the day to Bill Hardesty and his team, we were a bit dark but did a good job of regrouping and fighting hard to grab wins from a red hot Taylor Canfield, and rules guru and US Womens Match Racing Coach Dave Perry.  After the round robin, the top 6 teams were given the afternoon off, and the bottom 6 were sent back onto the water to battle it out for the two final spots in the quarters, and standing at 5-6 our hopes were still very alive to move onto the next round.

Hardesty led the bottom 6 with a record of 6-5, and us and the Italians were tied at 5-6 and it was assumed that two of the three would move on.  We won our first race against the Italians, but after dropping the next race to Sally Barkow, we were now watching the other teams and rooting for them to beat either Hardesty or the Italians, and then having to turn around and race those same teams and do our best to beat them.  Wins against Hardesty, the Italians and Tulloch gave us a record of 3-2 in the bottom 6 and 8-8 total pushing us through to the quarters along with Hardesty.

The elimination round begins on Friday with big breeze forecast and we are feeling good about our chances to pull some upsets as our team has experience sailing these Tom 28 in breeze.   At the VIP party in the Navy Pier ballroom, the selection process where the top ranked team picks their opponents for the quarters took place and when the #1 seeded French team lead by world ranked #5 Pierre-Antoine Morvan selected our team without any hesitation, some oohs and ahhs fell over the crowd as the motivation to beat someone who thinks you are the easiest team to beat is not hard to find.  We will have to be on our game to advance in the best of 5 series, but if we sail well there is no reason why we can’t defeat Pierre-Antoine and send his team poodle shopping in Chicago.

Another cool video recap of day 2 from the CMRC media team.  Assuming the breeze isn’t blowing too hard, the quarter-finals should begin around 10am and the live feed will be up and running.

Give Me a 6er »

September 29, 2011

Fall ushered its way into the Midwest as the first day of the Grade 1 Chicago Cup took place under cool, cloudy skies, rain squalls and 7-13 kts of wind.  The bleachers set up off the end of Navy Pier were empty most of the day as the cold weather even kept the touristos away, but that was no indication of the racing as there were several close matches that were decided on a photo finish.

During the morning session, the left 1/3 of the race course was actually on the pavement of Navy Pier,  and getting off the starboard end of the line and being able to lay the end of the pier was the gameplan.  This was great for spectating as several of the boats came within feet of the seawall, but it was a challenge for the competitors to not get trapped to leeward and be forced to tack in a vaccuum of breeze underneath the pier.  With color commentary booming over the ap system and airwaves provided by Jordie Shaeffer, Dobbs Davis, Nathan Hollerbach and Scott Dixon, the set up here in Chicago is teed up for prime time.

One trademark of a match race event is extremely long days.  We were up at 645am to be on time for a 730 skippers meeting, and 9 am first start.  With a few short breaks scattered through the day, the boats are finally packed up at 530 and back to the hotel around 8.   On team Don Wilson, we started off the morning well going 3-2 and our two losses were by inches against two very good teams.  The afternoon was not as kind to us as the breeze clocked left and the pin end was very favored which requires much more exactitude when it comes to time and distance to the line.  Leading back to early and you are over early, pushing back too late and you are already behind in a weak position. We have three races reaming in the round robin and will need to win all three to have a shot at qualifying for the top 6 when the round robin concludes early this afternoon.

CMRC has set up a quality live feed, and if you are tired of surfing the internet at work, tune in and take a look, the racing is great and the commentary is very entertaining. Racing begins at 9 am…Live feed here.  Day 1 video recap.

One for the Rest of Us »

September 28, 2011

The winner of the Melges 32 Worlds must have deceased youth sailing coaches turning over in their graves.  Top level physical fitness, sailing in top of the line sailing gear, getting plenty rest and having a healthy diet are the staples to winning any major event like a World Championship.  Dougie Douglass proved last week that sticking to your routine, whatever it is, is the best recipe for success, even if it means sailing in the Spanish version of a moo-moo and woven sun-hat with a 12 inch wide brim and hosting nightly regatta parties with a live DJ and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. (Picture of Dougie and his outfit at the bottom right corner here)

Dougie and his team on Goombay Smash are no group of slouches with multiple World Champ Chris Larson on tactics, Andy Escourt trimming, Marco Constant on the main along with a talented group up front, and they are never missed on the race course with their vibrant team gear, or off the water when a cleaned out bin full of Goombay Smash is often the après sailing drink of choice at team headquarters.  Each morning during the postponement, Dougie would march around the premises of the Real Club Nautico Palma beating a huge bongo drum, adorned in his Spanish moo-moo, sunhat and hippie beads.  It turns out his stroll would be more of warning to the leaders of the regatta that he was getting primed for a comeback, and the beats of his drum were like footsteps approaching from behind.  This was all in good fun at the time, but it turned out to be a real mental game for some of the other boats near him in the standings.

The conditions at the worlds were some of the craziest I have witnessed in terms of consistency of the breeze, and it was a comforting feeling for any sailor who has struggled tactically to watch the worlds best tacticians find themselves in the back of the pack at times and scratching their heads.  Goombay started the event off with a 28^th place and after using their throwout in the first race of a 10 race series, it looked like they could be crossed of the list of potential champs.  After readjusting their game plan, getting of the starting line clean and getting to the sides of the course as opposed to the middle, Goombay was able to find themselves within striking distance with four races reaming.  With the exception of Samba who held the lead for the first three days, the leader board looked like a chart of the stock market over the past month with most teams compiling a single digit finishes together with some in the high 20s.

Day 4 would prove tough for the group on Samba that had looked unbeatable up to this point.  Goombay would continue their charge, and at the end of the day, with only two races reamaining, Goombay grabbed a one point lead after Samba posted a 28, 10.   As the teams out of the running began to plan their evenings in Palma, we were all a bit surprised to find that the Goombay house would be hosting yet another party.  Wouldn’t they want to get some rest?  Shouldn’t they be lights out at 10pm?  Not Goombay.  When a few of us left the party that evening around midnight, the last vision was of Dougie busting a move with no inclination of getting to bed any time soon.

The final day of racing broke the mold of 80 degrees, sunny and a slow filling sea breeze that we had seen the previous 5 days as we awoke to rain, and calm winds off the waters of Palma.   After a 4-5 hour delay and with the 330pm deadline to get the final race started looming, the RC decided to send the fleet out in a rapidly shifting, slight N breeze.  A starting line was set and it looked like at least one race would take place, than shortly before the cut off time, the PRO came over the radio and announced there would be no more racing.  The cheers could be heard from the team on Goombay as the rest of us applauded and watched the celebration with a bit of envy.  I can only imagine the celebrations that took place later that evening.

For our team, we finished pretty much dead middle of the pack.  After starting out the event well, we struggled the final few days.  We certainly could have done some things better, but the take-way from this event was the Melges 32 fleet was very deep and there were no slouches whether you were fighting for first or 20^th.   Thanks to Geoff Perini for a great time off the water.

Up next is the Grade 1 Chicago Match Cup off of Navy Pier in Chicago which begins on Wednesday.   I will be sailing with a new team on Don Wilson’s boat with experienced Match Racers, Laurie Jury and Mal Parker.  With 12 of the top match racing teams in the world in attendance, we will have our handsful trying to qualify for the top 6 and the overall purse of $65,000.  Check out live racing and some very entertaining commentary at www.chicagomatchrace.com

Free Fallin’ »

September 24, 2011

Three boats are separated by just one point for the world title, and it is safe to say that we are not one of those boats.  In the trickiest, most shifty conditions we have seen yet, we again struggled to get off the starting line and found ourselves just the slightest step behind trying to play shifts in a very tough fleet.  It has been hard to be staring at the majority of the fleet in front of us both upwind and down, but we are always encouraged by the fact that if we can sail clean, we have as good a shot as anyone to have a good race. There are 2 remaining, and our best hope is that we can stop our free fall in the standings and put together a decent day.

Day 4 was a huge shake up in the overall standings with Samba having a tough day and Goombay Smash making a huge charge and taking the lead by 1 pt.  A few other teams are slightly in reach, but it will be a grudge match on the water for the title.  At least if we don’t have a good race going, we can watch some teams duke it out.  The owner of Goombay, Dougie Douglass is one of the more interesting characters in the fleet and has been sailing in various outfits throughout the week, and hosting parties on several nights with a full DJ at his sprawling crew house.  It will be interesting to see which outfit he wears on the racecourse today, and if he can hold a slim lead on Samba and Fantastica.

Day 4 highlights.

Nowhere to Hide »

September 23, 2011

Besides needing to have meticulous boat preparation, fresh sails with current designs and a hungry, physical team, the main challenge at a World Championship is trying to execute the proper game plan and get off the favored end of the starting line when every other team is thinking the same thing.  Everyone knows what the right thing to do is, and the tough part is being the part of the small percent that can execute it.  On day 3, we continued our unimpressive trend of having a keeper first race, then following it up with a starting error in the 2nd and having to watch the race unfold from the back instead of being part of it.

Our problem in the 2nd race was that our luck of not being OCS with the boats around us had run out.  In a few of the races so far, we have managed to be just bow back while the boats around us were hailed over early, but in the afternoon race we were late to our approach at the boat end, were exposed early when we tacked onto our final approach and did our best to stay hidden, but had our bow numbers called after what looked like an awesome start.  The boat again fell quiet as we headed back to the line as we knew we were in for a long one.

The first lap is usually pretty uneventful as we do our best to dig back, but as the fleet compresses at the bottom mark the next upwind offers some hope as we get back into the mix and try to pick off some boats. We did a nice job of catching up to the back third of the fleet and having a shot at the top 15, but missed out on one last shift at the bottom end of the course and watched as a few of the boats we caught passed us back.  The good news is even when we are deep, the team continues to work hard and fight for every point.  We have mixed feelings of knowing we are sailing well enough to be in the top 5, but have had 2 unforced errors that have cost us a lot of points.

Every team has struggled at some point and with a decent, single digit finish still attainable, we really need to get mean and execute on the starting line for two solid races today.   The conditions are pretty much on repeat with a delay in the morning lasting until about 12pm and a light seabreeze filling around 1pm.  Some good on-board highlights from a few of the teams on day 3 showing how taxing the racing can be on the tacticians. Results.