Sailing Blog
Day 1: Round the Island Race »
June 11, 2010
Day 1 of the NYYC Annual Regatta was a 19mile(ish) race around Jamestown Island which is just across the harbor from Newport. We left the dock with a crew of 20 at 11am for a noon start, which was to be postponed do to a lack of wind. During the postponement, we motored around the starting area, slaloming between the hundred or so smaller boats while sizing up our competition in the big boat class.
After 30-40 minutes of delay, a nice SE breeze filled and the RC took down the postponement flag. With the starting line set with a port favored bias, we decided the whether end would be good place to start since the big bubbas (Rambler, Titan XV, Puma VOR 70) would be at the pin and we would not have a match on speed and clean air would be a priority. Once the gun went, we did a great job of living on the hip of Rambler and Titan on Starboard tack to the end of the harbor. We got into a tough spot shortly before the turning mark when we tacked leeward and ahead of Rambler only to get rolled a few minutes later, and had to eat their gas for several minutes since we were already laying the mark…the bad air off the mast of a 90 footer lasted a bit longer than we expected!
We rounded the turning mark in 3rd, ahead of Puma which was great since they owed us time. The team up front did a great job of getting the kite up cleanly and as we made our way down the West side of Jamestown, we threw in 12-15 gybes which were executed very well. Rambler used their size downwind to extend nicely, and we were able to stay in the same area code as Titan and we put some nice lengths on Puma by the end of the downwind.
Once we turned the corner to make our way back to Newport, we had a nice 10-12 S breeze and I got to flex my muscles on the runners and bone them to a solid 10.4 tons. I managed only to make one rookie mistake (at least that I know about) when I went to ease the runner (the runner is a backstay that helps depower the rig) it did not have enough wraps on the winch and it slipped a good 6″, sent a nice pop up the mast which resulted in 20 sets of eyes looking back at me wondering what had just happened. I did my best to avoid eye contact and focused on grinding back in the tension I lost. As we got closer to the finish, we bore off towards Newport Harbor still in 3rd place, thinking we would be in 3rd on corrected time behind Rambler and Titan.
After a quick debrief and a wash of the boat with a few wash down beers, we found out we were able to edge Rambler, but could not get ahead of Titan on corrected time. 2nd overall for the Around the Island race. I thought this was the first “race” of the NYYC Regatta, but apparently the slate is cleaned for the buoy racing the next 2 days. We are going to have our hands full in our fleet with the boats we raced against today and we did not get a look at Ran as they decided to practice crew work instead of partaking in the action today.
Check out the NYYC site for results throughout the weekend. Time to hop in the shower for another crew dinner…
UP NEXT: NYYC Annual Regatta w/Bella Mente »
June 9, 2010
The Bella Mente squad has assembled again in Newport, RI to get ready for the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta. Apparently this is the oldest regatta in the US, so hopefully we can put our names on some quality silver by the end of the week. We will head out for one day of practice on Thursday, and racing begins on Friday with a short around-the-island race on Friday and buoy racing Saturday and Sunday.
Our division will be heavily competitive with several impressive boats like Ran, Titan, Rambler and several others looking to take honors. Most teams are looking to do well in this event, as well putting the final preparations together for the Newport/Bermuda race which begins next week.
Stay posted to 42marine.com for the inside scoop! Standing by in Newport…
Looking for a Shortcut? »
June 3, 2010
If you are looking for a shortcut to improve your sailing on a consistent basis, you will not find them in this blog. Sorry for the teaser title. The best way to improve your sailing is through good ol’ fashion, blue collar work and time in the boat, time in the boat, time in the boat. Having raced on the Melges 32s and 24s for the last 4-5 years, the familiarity with the boats is like a warm blanket when I step on board. After my ineptitude the first few days on the Bella Mente, it was like getting locked out of the warming house of my local hockey rink…cold, lonely and wondering where my mom was.
Despite spending the large majority of my life in scows, and 4 years, 150 days/year racing collegiate 420s at Hobart and William Smith, I should have remembered that the biggest key to success is through spending time in the boat and getting to know what it takes to make it go fast around the track. Thinking that I would not be able to simply hop on the boat and be a contributing member of the team was a big mistake. That would be the hardest part of this experience…seeing the boys working hard up front, but not having the slightest clue of how to help…other than putting my head down and doing some grinding on occasion. The world of big boating is very different; instead of going to pull on the outhaul or vang, there are switches in and hydraulic hoses. Instead of pulling on the backstay and adjusting it 2-3 ft., there is now a 12″ diameter winch with a load sensor with the sweet spot being 10.4 tons. We don’t see this type of gear or loads on an E Scow.
I spent 3 practice days last week wondering if I could hack it in the big boat scene. Watching how talented the rest of the team was and how good they were at their respective positions, our time on the water was a bit daunting from my view in the back of the boat. However, once we found ourselves halfway through the Block Island Race, I began to come out of my shell like a toddler checking out a new babysitter. I paid closer attention to the what the trimmers were doing and it was not very different from what is done on the Melges 32…just more load. I watched adjustments being made to the sails and rig, and while they were indirect through the hydraulics, they were not all that complex. As I looked at the various areas of the boat, although there were different techniques to getting the job done, the universal principles were the same to that of a sportboat or scow.
The progression of me getting comfortable on the Bella Mente correlated to directly to the more time I spent on the boat. Instead of wondering if I could make the cut, I should have focused my energy on the process of learning this new discipline, recognizing early that this is the main reason for any success I have had in the past. I also see this a lot in the sailors I coach. We will spend a few hours doing boathandling and speed drills, and although we won’t directly talk about it, things like footwork, hand passes and body positioning become second nature, when a few weeks earlier, they may have been stumbling around the boat.
Getting out on the water and spending time on the boat with set of goals with or without a coach is the best way to improve your game. Even if you are not consciously learning, or having an “ah hah” moment, your brain and body are learning on how to better sail your boat.
Below is a good video shot by and starring Hobart/WmSmith Alums, Amory Ross and Andy Horton. Andy talks about his training routine for his ongoing Olympic Campaign in the Star Class. The video takes awhile to upload due to the HD, but it is definitely worth it…do a few push-ups/sit-ups while you wait.
Solid Win for Bella Mente! »
May 31, 2010
After 2 sleepless nights spent on the Bella Mente, an early flight back to Minneapolis on Sunday morning, a quick visit with the family and an E boat race on Minnetonka, things have settled down a bit to allow for a late report on the Block Island Race. My head and body are still recovering as my first distance race taught me that offshore sailing is tough…and this one was only 19 hours with champagne sailing conditions!
The 17 person Bella Mente team assembled at the Newport Shipyard for 3 days of training before the start of the Block Island Race. For me personally, the practice sessions would prove to be very valuable as I found out quickly that the world of big boat/offshore sailing is very different than that of the small, one design racing that I am used to. Just moving a sail requires a team of 4-5 people to get it on the boat and properly placed below. I was very impressed with the team on the Bella Mente as all of the guys were very willing to help get me up to speed and dialed in with the nuances of this 70 footer. My main area on the boat was to take care of the runners (backstays) which is a simple, straightforward job, but can cause the rig to fall down if you happen to ball it up. Tomac (Tom McLaughlin), did a great job of staying patient with me and showing me the responsibilities of making sure the mast stayed on the boat.
The Block Island Race is a 185 nautical mile sprint starting in Stamford, CT, leaving Block Island to Starboard and returning back to Stamford. Pretty straightforward on paper, but with ripping current and fickle Long Island Sound breeze, this simple race can get pretty tricky.
The delivery team departed Newport on Thursday evening with the goal of making the 14 hr trip safely and arriving with a little time to spare to get the delivery gear off the boat in time for the race. I was on the 3-5am watch with the boat Captain Pete Henderson and we could not have had much smoother conditions as there was not an ounce of breeze and the full moon made us almost wonder if we needed sunglasses and SPF…moon cream? As morning arrived, the glassed off conditions remained and the team aboard started to get a bit nervous as most of us were preparing to spend the Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day Weekend at home, and light air meant this race would be taking longer than normal.
The Bella Mente draws 17 ft and the harbor at Stamford is very shallow which meant we would have to circle the area for a few hours while we waited for the remainder of the team to be delivered via tender. Once they arrived, delivery gear was offloaded, we began the wait for breeze as the race committee smartly postponed the start of the race. As we circled…I began to feel a bit of a grumbling in my stomach and tried to recall the lesson that Pete had given me about using the head down below. The only thing I could really recall was the story that preceded the instructions he gave me about a guy on the team last year that plugged the head during the race. Not only could the team not use it, but there was a large overflow, and a messy cleanup. Being the new guy, there is no way I was going to even risk the chance of causing the head to malfunction…after all, this was a quick race…I could make it back in time.
Around 4pm, a light SW breeze started to fill and the first few fleets got underway. As we got into our sequence, we loaded up our new code zero in preparation for a tight reach off the start and began jockeying with the other 50, 60 and 90 footers in our fleet. Hap did a great job of positioning us for the start and we were bow out and sails pulling when the gun went.
It did not take long for the big boats to blast through the smaller fleets that started ahead of us, and the boys on Bella Mente were working hard to keep pace with the larger, canted keel, water ballasted 90 footer, Rambler. One thing I enjoyed about being with this new team is there is a total lack of ego, and all of these guys are very, very talented sailors and skilled at what they do. As the race progressed, I had a good view from the back of the boat watching these guys do sail changes and make sure the boat was going as fast as possible with ease. This was also a challenge for me as all I could do was simply watch, and jump on the handles every now and then, but for the most part I felt a bit helpless since the boat getting used to the big gear was a bit foreign to me.
After 4-5 hrs of sailing the boat hard, we managed to stay close to Rambler and get through the “Gut“, which is a small passage between Plum Island and the tip of Long Island. This would prove to be the trickiest part of the race as there was a lot of water moving through a very small area causing 4-5 kts of adverse current. Once we squeezed through with a few sail changes, we settled into our watch system, and enjoyed nice “Champagne Sailing” conditions of sw breeze at 12-15 kts for another few hours. We got around the Island with only one close call with a marker buoy and began our 8hr trek back to the finish hoping the breeze would hang on. My watch headed below around 2 am for an attempt at rest, while bodies from the other watch began to file on deck for their 4 hr shift.
As I laid on a stack of wet sails down below, trying to sleep, but being awoken by moving winches and a groaning hull going through the water, I could hear a big of commotion up on deck as the boat was approaching its second pass through the “gut”. This time we would be going upwind, and since the tide had changed, we would again go against a 4-5 kt current. From what I was told when I got back on deck, the breeze completely shut off and we were fortunate to hold our position as the threat of going backwards, and even getting pushed back into shore were very real. After about 45 mins of moving back and forth like a salmon in a stream through this narrow passage, the boys up on deck did a great job of finding a small amount of pressure and getting us on our way. Once through the gut, we still had to deal with 2-3 kts of adverse current and our Navigator, Dirk Johnson and helmsman/tactician Eric Doyle did a great job of keeping us out of the tide by short tacking up the Long Island Shore. Once our watch came back on deck however, it was assumed that Rambler was long gone over the horizon as our time spent getting through the Gut was long.
With a full moon setting, the sun began to peek up which was a relief. As we made our way upwind, one of the guys noticed a large silhouette on the Connecticut shoreline…could that be Rambler? With the chance of beating our larger rivals boat for boat, our team perked up and had some renewed energy. A pot of coffee brewed below and we stayed focused to push the boat hard. Robert Hopkins, our other Navigator, worked very well on our watch to keeping us out of max current and into favorable conditions. I decided to take a coffee, not only to perk up, but to keep warm for the remainder of the race which worked well for my spirits, but not very well for my digestive track. One by one, the group on our watch began to file down below to make use of the head. The fear of clogging was still very present for me I decided to ignore the mounting pressure in my lower stomach and that I could manage for the last 4-5 hrs we had remaining.
We made our way westward through LIS chugging along at 12-13kts of boatspeed with 13-14 kts of wind, all the while keeping tabs and on Rambler down to leeward who would certainly be forced to tack soon or else would find themselves on the front lawn of a Connecticut resident. They did eventually tack and it was clear that not only would we cross, but we would have a nice lead. It was assumed that the Rambler decided to not go through the “Gut”, maybe out of fear of the strong adverse current, but chose to go through a more northerly passage back into Long Island Sound called, The Race. As it turns out, they must have had a much more difficult time that we did getting back through as we erased a fair amount of distance from their lead, and amassed a nice cushion for ourselves.
The team on deck did a great job of keeping us in the best pressure and out of the glassed off conditions which were frequent near the shorline. As we got closer to Stamford, the breeze began to freshen and began to shift from being favorable for us, and to the heavier, larger boat on our tail. With smooth driving by a few of the guys on our watch, and eventually Hap, we were able to take the final leg into Stamford Harbor with a finish time of 19 hrs, Rambler still in our review mirror finishing 5 mins behind. A quick round of handshakes and our tender came to scoop the team members who would be departing for their respective homes to shore. The race for me however was still going…
Once upon shore, we were treated to a few cold ones and got acclimated to life back on land. I held off on the beers and did sort of a waddle/run/jog to the nearest restroom. For the upcoming 3-4 day race from Newport to Bermuda, I will need to get over my fear as this was the only downside in my first offshore experience.
Up next for the Bella Mente is the New York Yacht Club annual regatta which will draw some of the best big boat teams in the world like Ran, Beau Geste, Rambler, Puma VOR70, Titan and a few others. I am looking forward to using my experience this past week to continue to get more comfortable on the boat and work to be a contributing member of the team.
Stay tuned to 42marine.com for updates from this awesome racing program as the season progresses.
UP NEXT…Bella Mente in Newport »
May 24, 2010
Up Next – This week, 42 Marine departs to Newport, RI to do some training and racing on Hap Fauth’s 69ft Bella Mente in preparation for the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, and the Newport/Bermuda Race. Bella Mente is coming off a win in Key West earlier this year and has done well in its past few events so expectations will be high for good performances in a few weeks.
Training will involve three days of sail and rig checks along with going through all of the crew maneuvers. If there are reasonable conditions forecast for the weekend, the boat will be delivered to Stamford, CT and we will partake in the Block Island Race. Hopefully by the end of the week we will have accomplished our training goals and will be ready for the NYYC Annual and the Newport/Bermuda Race.
I am looking forward to the challenges of working with in a big boat team and getting to know the ins and outs of a high profile program like Bella Mente. Boat call is at 9:30 am….time for bed…Standing by in Newport…
32 Europeans Wrap Up »
A valuable lesson learned en route back to Minneapolis is that it is always good to be surrounded by hard working people. With more airline cancellations and delays due to the ash cloud over northern Europe, the Samba team travel agent, Nina Dendrinos did an unbelievable job of getting everyone home on time instead of being stranded at airports. We all spend enough time away from our families just sailing, let alone dealing with travel delays, and it was a great relief to be re-routed and home on time.
Overall, we left feeling good about the 32 Europeans…good, not great. While our goal was to finish with top honors, we were happy with our 4th place finish, knowing that when the breeze was steady and fresh, we had great boatspeed, boathandling and could hang in the front of the fleet. Looking back on the results, coming slow out of the gates on the first day is what really hurt us taking home finishes of 9, 8, 4. Even though our finishes were not great the first day, we still were able to keep our heads high since we displayed good speed, but found ourselves on the wrong side of a few unfortunate shifts.
What left us feeling ok about our performance is we finished the event with a 1, 5, 1, including the last race in nuclear Mistral conditions which is what Samba enjoys the most. One thing that became very clear in our breezy races is that John can drive the boat very well and relishes those type of conditions. The team up on the front of the boat also did a great job of making sure we stayed clean and did not get into any trouble. A large part of success in the Melges 32 class comes from sailing fast and clean and when the breeze was on, we did a great job on both of these key items.
Lastly, we also did a good job of working on items that we felt needed attention from our disappointing finish in Miami. One of the main bullet points was our starting routine, as we often found ourselves in a tough spot when we needed to pull the trigger. For the event in Cagliari, we simplified our communication in the back of the boat, and focused on starting in an area that would let our speed do the work once the gun went. We found ourselves in the front row, bow out with speed of every start this past event…a huge improvement from our previous outing.
Again, our finish at the Europeans was not as we had hoped, but in the overall scheme in preparing for the Worlds in September, this regatta was a success. A huge thanks to Catherine and John Kilroy for making the trip possible and to the Samba team for being great on and off the water.
Up Next in the 32 is Audi Series Event #4 in Lake Garda, Italy, than back to the states to make the final run for the worlds.
Video of M32 ITA-667 in Mistral »
May 19, 2010
Great video of the Brontolo team cruising downwind on the final day of the Europeans in 35 kts of wind. It is a bit dry until the 5 min mark, and gets good around 7:30.
More Photos of Final Day of Europeans »
May 17, 2010
More photos of the breezy final day of the Melges 32 Europeans can be found here. Stay tuned for a final wrap up from Cagliari. Doing my best to escape the havoc that is being caused by the Ash Cloud moving over Europe.
Send It… »
May 16, 2010
The Mistral continued to pump into Cagliari and with the hopes of getting a start in a down swing of the breeze, the Race Committee set an early 9am warning for the 6th race. Our team pushed off the dock at 745 with the breeze already fresh in the 25 kt range, and we couldn’t help but feeling we had a distinct advantage as the Italians did not have all morning to get hopped up on espresso and capuccino. The feeling on the boat was we were simply going out for a formality, but when we got to the starting area, it was clear the RC was set on getting off a race today.
After a clean start with most of the fleet well off the line, we found ourselves leading the fleet on the left side of the course, battling more waves and seas than the right side which was closer to land. Despite the 25-30 kt breeze and building, there were still plenty of gains to be made playing the shifts and we were able to work a decent lead for ourselves at the first mark. We had a small discussion between ourselves at the offset, and it was decided we would go ahead and set regardless of what our competition was doing.
Once the kite reached the top of the mast, we plowed through a few waves, and had to get ready to gybe with the Fantasticaa team on our tails. After a clean gybe, the kite popped and Stu did a great job of calling a good layline which set us up for a windward drop around the left leeward gate. The goal up the last upwind was to sail clean, tack as little as possible, and make sure our gear made it to the end of the race. As we approached the 2nd top mark, we discovered the course was shortened and we would be finishing at the offset. We were able to hang on for the bullet with Fantasticaa and B-Lin close behind.
The fleet headed back to the dock, assuming the regatta was over, however, the RC decided they would keep us a few more hours with the hopes the Mistral would pass. As expected, it only grew in strength and GBR-500 was able to hang on for the first annual Europeans title, and the Samba team took a respectable 4th.
Overall a good event…stay posted for a full wrap up. Above is a pic of the B lin sailing team having a good ride on the final day.
Mistral Arrives… »
May 15, 2010
With an 11 am scheduled start, it did not take long to figure out that the breeze was building all morning and that our biggest challenge for the day would be staving off boredom. In the rare chance that the breeze would let up from the 30+kts, the Race Commitee scheduled a warning signal for 3pm allowed the sailors to relax at their respective hotels for a few hours. When teams began to gather at their boats around 1pm, the breeze has freshened and the RC decided to abandon racing for the day go for an early, 9am warning signal on Sunday. The Mistral is forecast to grow in strength tomorrow, so if any racing is completed, it will have to be completed in a very small window.
Not only does racing look bleak, but the Ash Cloud forecast from Iceland is looking to close down airports in the UK and Europe which would strand several Samba Team members. Between the postponements yesterday, and the cancellation today, we have seen all we can see in Cagliari and are anxious to get home.
One more round of Gelato tonight, than early to bed for what could be a very windy and wet morning. Crossing our fingers for less breeze and Ash Cloud dispersal.