Sailing Blog
UP NEXT: Shrimp ‘n Grits…Charleston Race Week »
April 13, 2011
The Audi Melges 20 fleet has moved from its winter home in Miami, and the circuit makes its way north for the summer with the first stop in Charleston Harbor. What was a small, regional event just 4-5 years ago, Charleston Race Week has now ballooned to over 240 entries racing in a dozen fleets, and when compared to the dwindling of almighty Key West Race Week, it only takes a partial observer to figure out why. Charleston has what racers are looking for with a laid back, yet competitive environment where weekend warriors can justify making the expense and taking vacation time, while “pro” sailors feel they must be in attendance as this is now the largest, premiere event in the country. Regatta HQs and all of the social activities are based out of the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina where the majority of competitors stay, and the biggest factor is that CRW manages to pull off a world class event in just 3 days. In my humble opinion, having a weeklong event is great for sponsors and rum suppliers, but for sailors with limited budgets and time, there is nothing to be accomplished in 5 days of racing that can’t be done in 3.
The interesting part about the popularity of Charleston Race Week is that while the organization and management is top notch, the racing conditions could be considered sketchy and unorthodox. Charleston Harbor is a huge tidal area with numerous shoals, reefs, shipping lanes, islands, fishing pots, and with the Ashley and Cooper rivers intersecting with tidal push and pull from the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the harbor, having local knowledge here is a huge premium. In past years it has not been uncommon to see boats on one side of the course in favorable current making huge gains while the other side feels like they are sailing on a treadmill going in the wrong direction. The breeze can also be different on the race course when the seabreeze kicks in from the SE and battles the westerly flow. Throw in the constant concern about running aground and racing in Charleston Harbor feels like NASCAR at night sans headlights on a changing race track filled with potholes. Despite all of this, people love coming to this event showing regatta organizers everywhere that you dont need the perfect venue to have a successful event…just a fun, laid back atmosphere, good race management, and some tasty shrimp ‘n grits.
Our challenge on M & M racing will be to keep our momentum rolling after our solid regatta at the Barcardi Cup. The only thing harder than winning, is winning again and we will have to hit the “reset button” and re-focus on the process of what it takes to do well at an event. One thing we talked about on our sail in after the final race in Miami was the amount of mental energy it takes to stay focused for every race, and we will have to dig deep and find the ability to regain our concentration. While regatta wins are great, the only thing they do at the next event is guarantee that you will get tacked on, have your hole taken on the starting line and it is basically sticking a bullseye on your sail. We will have our same team of Mary Anne and Peter Keck which is great fun both on and off the water, and I am very much looking forward to challenges of racing this weekend, but we have a lot of work to do.
Other than some exciting racing, we have some great dinners planned at the best food city in the country. While I am not a Shrimp ‘n Grits (to sound like a local, it is best to drop the “n” and just go with “shrimp grits”) expert, I have had my fair share, and I would challenge anyone to pick a better place than Hank’s Seafood for this Low-Country staple. Walking the Palmetto and gas lamp lined streets of Downtown Charleston with the smell of great Southern Cooking on every block is enough for anyone to revel in a great day of racing, or forget a bad one. Racing begins Friday and results results will be updated at here. Stay tuned.
BVI Spring Regatta Wrap-Up »
April 4, 2011
An interesting aspect of several of the Caribbean regattas is the healthy mix of both racing and cruising classes. After spending the middle part of the week cruising the BVI’s, being a cruiser may be the way to go in the future. Unfurl the main and jib, trim both sails to an average setting and make the driver sail to them, kick back with some reggae music, make sandwiches, snack on cheese and crackers and sip unlimited frosty beverages. On the “racing” course, we sweat it out for 1.5-2 hrs and then are rewarded with some warm waters and soggy turkey sandwiches, and if we are lucky, there might be some melted chocolate at the bottom of the food bag.
Don’t get me wrong, the cruisers still race, just at a much more refined, casual pace. Even Richard Branson himself entered his 104 ft Catamaran Necker Belle in the Spring Regatta and put his cruising skills to test against some very relaxed, rum-filled teams from the Netherlands fully decked out in eclectic, matching team gear. Miss a shift, get a bad start, sails are luffing…who cares, you’re cruising! Apparently the Necker Belle was allowed to turn its engines on when tacking to help get the giant cat through the wind. Why set down your beer when you can just turn on your engines to complete a tack?
Meanwhile, in the sweatshop on the racing course, we set out for the final day with a comfortable lead on 2nd place. The starting order was reversed from the previous day, so the classes who were rated slower, started first, and the bigger, faster boats started last which made for a very interesting, obstacle filled first upwind leg from Road Town to Salt Island. Our goal was protect the right, and we had done a good job of this until it seemed like our lane was closed off 4-5 times by slow cruising boats crossing our course and slower racing boats in front of us. At one point, a non-racing 50 ft cruising boat fresh from their charter briefing at the Moorings base was headed across our bow on a slightly lower angle and camped on our breeze for a good 2-3 minutes. Our tactician Peter Holmberg, who is a native of the Caribbean and slightly resembles Captain Morgan himself, vehemently tried to get the cruising boats’ attention to get them out of the way. We could only imagine the reaction of the family aboard the cruising boat having just spotted what appeared to be Captain Morgan on their vacation and finding out that he is not very nice.
After getting bounced left repeatedly, our main competition on Jurakan was able to right of us as we approached Salt Island, and for the first time all weekend, we were well off the lead. Credit to our team though, we kept plugging away, and by the time we passed Salt Island and set our spinnaker, we were able to find some nice pressure and soaked low of Jurakan who like us on the previous upwind, had become tangled with a few tankers down wind and could not go where they wanted. Once we converged halfway down the 3 mile downwind, we were a few boatlengths behind and this is where it is nice to have an America’s Cup tactician/helmsman on your boat.
When Jurakan approached on port gybe, we sailed our normal VMG angle, forced them to gybe and when Jurakan started their manuvuer, we sailed hot above a slow Jurakan who was trying to fill their kite, and were able to eventually get in front of them. From here Jurakan did their best to soak low and prevent us from gybing, but once to the pin-end layline of the finish, we found a nice wave, pulled off a well executed “no-look” gybe and made our way to the finish. Jurakan gybed a few moments later and we crossed the line 1 second in front of them. Even though we had posted all bullets up to this point, this race was definitely the most satisfying for our team as we fought back from a huge deficit to nip them at the finish.
Now the next part is something I struggled to figure out at both the St. Thomas and BVI events. Under Caribbean Sailing Association rules, even though we had 2 identical boats with very similar sail shapes, Jurakan rated 1 thousandth higher than us, which meant over an hour long race, we would owe them .6 seconds. After two hours of racing and beating them boat for boat, we lost on corrected time since we only beat them by 1 second, not 1.2 seconds. It was still a hard fought moral victory for our team, but a bit of a head-scratcher.
Once back to the Nanny Cay Marina, we had a well earned team celebration and prepped for the awards at our owner’s home venue. We accepted our overall division award, and at the conclusion of the awards ceremony, Team INTAC was called back to the stage to take home the Best Overall Performance for the BVI Spring Regatta and we all got to shake the hand of the Premier of the Island of Tortola (Tortola’s Version of Obama). Hand shakes and hugs were given on our team, and once the celebration died down, myself, Athony and Thomas Barrows (2010 College Sailor of the Year and winner of the IC 24 class at both Rolex and BVI Spring Regatta) raised the main on our Melges 32, headed out under a pitch black sky void of any moon, set the spinnaker and delivered the 32 back to St. Thomas doing 12-13 kts with some cold rum and Tings.
The boat arrived on its mooring shortly after midnight, and it is now back to Minneapolis for some much needed family time after what seemed like an eternity away from home. Thanks to Mark Plaxton and the Team on INTAC for another awesome, hilarious, and victorious couple of weeks.
BVI Spring Regatta – Day 1 »
April 1, 2011
Similar to the Rolex Regatta in St. Thomas, the BVI Spring Regatta on Tortola has a huge carnival feel to it with the local population taking a big effort to put on a first class event and ensure a great time for sailors from all over the globe. The grounds of the Nanny Cay Marina have been transformed from a few buildings with a nice restaurant and a beach, to big-top tents, a large main stage for bands and awards, food vendor stations, and a very high ratio of Mount Gay Rum to people. When compared to some regattas in the states, the realization sets in these Caribbean events are huge for the local sailing scene and there is a large amount of pride to make this a memorable experience.
Our fleet is the same as it was in St. Thomas and while we have to beat the other Melges 32 head on, we owe the Melges 24s 7 minutes an hour which certainly keeps our attention. Our day began with an hour long sail upwind to the starting line which was near Cooper and Salt Islands. The courses can be anything from windward leeward buoy races, to long races around islands and today we had a good mix of both. Race 1 was a standard W/L course, but races 2 and 3 were some of the most fun courses I have sailed with long upwinds around the outside of Cooper and Salt Islands, than a long downwind back to the starting area.
Once the outside of the islands and out of the Sir Francis Drake Channel, the seas got quite a bit rougher, and after sailing within a 100 yards from breaking waves and volcanic islands that claimed many a pirate ship back in the day, I could not help but get a bit distracted with our racing scenery. Throw in a nice 16-18 ESE trade wind, and today was a very memorable experience. At one stage, we were sailing upwind around the western tip of Salt Island and had to navigate our way through snorkelers and anchored cruising boats trying to enjoy their vacations. I can only imagine the amount of salt water they swallowed when they saw our keel bulb going by at a high rate of speed. Thankfully we were able to sail well, and take a bullet in all three races to grab a nice lead headed into Day 2.
I know our team is very tired as we have left the parties early the last two nights, and we are all very ready to finish on a good note, and get back to our families. Stay tuned. Photos. If you are bored at night, you can watch the live party cam as well.
Rolex Wrap-Up »
March 29, 2011
It has been a few days since the Rolex Regatta ended, and I will chalk this up to getting swept up in post regatta celebrations after Team INTAC took the win in our division, and just general poor internet while Anthony Kotoun and I have been cruising the BVI’s on our Mancation prior to the next event starting on Thursday.
The Rolex Regatta ended with 2 races on the final day, which was one more than our Caribbean-frames of mind could handle. I’m not quite sure what is was, but the races were exhausting, and whether it was due to the heat and humidity, funky courses of racing around islands and reefs, or off-water activities, but our team had the look of spent marathoners at the end of each race. The RC decided to not only add another race to the day, but also to give us courses that were over 2 hrs in length with long upwinds, a few reaches switching to an outboard jib sheet, and very lengthy downwinds, sometimes with dog-legs that required flogging the main and jib with the spinnaker up just to keep the boat upright.
The day started with a 2 point lead over a well sailed Melges 24 team on Budget Marine, and with another Melges 32 on Jurakan. The goal of the day was to keep things consistent and sail clean, and while a few of our starts were dodgy, we managed to win the last 2 races and seal the regatta victory, and a nice new Rolex watch for our owner Mark Plaxton who dedicated his performance to the Legion of WWII Canadian Military Veterans.
The Melges 32 was delivered back to Tortola, and Anthony and I have been cruising on Mark’s 55 ft Jeneau to kill time before the BVI Spring Regatta which starts on Friday. Our first night was spent on Norman Island after a memorable meal at the floating mecca known as Willy T, and we are now anchored at the Bitter End which I have never visited before. The anchorage here is an idyllic Caribbean setting, and other than looking at Anthony in his swimsuit and wishing I could swap him for Jenny, we are making the most of our down time. Tomorrow at 930 am, we will be setting off in a few of the Bitter End Hobie Wave’s for some match racing put on by the Bitter End. For most normal people, this would be a relaxing activity and a memorable moment on their vacation, but whoever loses between Anthony and I may have to tell the other one the friendship is over.
Stay tuned for reports from the BVI Spring Regatta.
St. Thomas Rolex – Day 2 »
March 26, 2011
When I poked my head out of the hatch on the 55ft cruising boat I am staying on in St Thomas Yacht Club harbor, Im not sure if I was expecting something different, but it is almost like the weather conditions are on cruise control. When we go to bed, it is blowing 15-18 from the ENE, and when we wake up, it is the same. For day 2 of the Rolex Regatta, we knew we had our work cut out for us as the first race of the day was a traditional W/L course, but the second race of the day was going to be a full Caribbean tour with sailing all the way into St. John, than circling back to St. Thomas.
In the first race, the other Melges 32 on the course Jurakan, got off the line cleanly and did a better job of getting a further into the islands to get the most of what appeared to be a land-effect shift. After 60 minutes of racing with less than 2 boat lengths between us the entire time, we took a hard fought 2nd place which was tough to swallow. The heat is also proving to be a tough opponent as there were plenty of spent, exhausted bodies on our boat. The good news was we only had 1 more race for the day, the bad news was it was going to be a 18 mile journey that would be painful if we didnt get a clean start and establish good position early.
Fortunately, we learned our lesson from the first race and got left of the other 32 off the starting line, and could only sail our race to protect against the Melges 24s in our fleet. Once off the starting line we headed around the mark off of Dog Rocks, tight reached over to St. John Island with a nice lead on the fleet and did our best to keep the boat moving as fast as possible knowing every second would count on corrected time. After a 2 mile upwind beat along the gorgeous shoreline of St. John, we left a windward mark to Starboard, reached back to Dog Rocks, set our spinnaker and ripped to the bottom of the course for a downwind finish.
We beat the other 32 by a nice margin, but it was anyone’s guess as to how we would do the other 24s, and all we could do was have a couple of rums at the yacht club and wait. Once the scores were posted, the 24 team on Budget Marine snuck in again for another race win, and we would have to settle for a 2nd only 25 seconds out of first. While this was again a tough result, we still managed to increase our overall lead from Day 1 which set a good tone for the afternoon.
1 marathon race is scheduled tomorrow, and as long as we don’t finish worse than second, we should be able to get a our crazy, Grizzly Bear owner Mark Plaxton a nice Rolex watch for his efforts. Stay tuned. Full results here.
Rolex Day 1 – Eat Some Pasta, Have Some Rasta, Sail a little Fasta…. »
March 25, 2011
I am writing this report post Day 1 from the St Thomas Rolex Regatta with my toes in the sand at the St Thomas Yacht Club which has more bars serving rum per square foot than I have witnessed before. I guess when it is 85 and sunny everyday, you get used to just relaxing and having a good time every minute of the day.
At our crew dinner last night, our fearless team owner Mark Plaxton gave the team a rousing pep talk at what normally would be a quiet, peaceful restaurant. If you spend more than 2 minutes with Mark, it is not hard hard to figure out that his native land is Canada, but it does take a little bit longer to fully realize that he embodies true Canadian spirit. Whilst giving his “fire-up” speech last night, he informed the team that he wanted us to channel the strength and might of the Canadian Military. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to laugh at this point, but I thought he was pulling all of our legs, and when he felt I was challenging the might of the Canadian Military, he decided to put me in my place. Disclaimer: Mark may or may not have been caught in a rum squall earlier in the day.
Mark (with a deep Canadian Accent): “Have you seen the Canadian Military? Do you know what they have done???”
Me: “No. I thought the extent of the Canadian Military was guys with top hats riding horses who can’t carry guns.”
Mark: “Well, let me just remind you of a little historic fact. Many think it was the Americans who rose to the occasion in WWII. What people dont know is the Canadians put down their hockey sticks, outflanked the Germans to the left, and took them all out.”
Me: “…………………………….” While still trying to figure out if he was serious or not, I took another look at him and realized that I could not test his passion at this point, and it was better to just stand down, and cheers the might of the Canadian Military. A rousing speech it was, and our goal for the first day of the Rolex Regatta was to fight like a military that we were not even sure existed.
The breeze was much lighter than expected, and as we thought, both us and the other Melges 32 in our division shot out to the front of the fleet in both races. The other boats we are racing against consist of a few Melges 24s and a Henderson 30 which kept things interesting all day as we had to not only try to keep the other 32 behind us, but sail well against the clock. Both races we did a good job in tight places of getting around Jurakan, but in the 2nd race we did not do a good enough job with the rest of the fleet and while we crossed the line first on corrected time, we lost out to a 24. We settled for a 1,2 on the day which is good enough for the lead, but with more tricky courses, and sailing in and out of islands that do crazy things to the breeze, we will have our work cut for us.
Full results here. Here is to hoping the Canadian Military can keep it strong throughout the weekend.
Somalis, Mini-Vans and Snow; UP NEXT: St.Thomas Rolex Regatta »
March 23, 2011
On Wednesday morning, an airport taxi picked me up outside the house at 5:45 a.m. for departure to St. Thomas amidst heavy snow that was falling on top of frozen rain and sleet. Now don’t get me wrong, the large number of Somali cab drivers we have in Minneapolis are very nice people and I have the utmost respect for anyone who is able to establish a new life after being forced from a war-torn country, but good drivers they are not. Throw in a front wheel drive mini-van and extremely poor driving conditions, and I had a feeling it was going to get interesting.
Halfway into our ride, we were doing about 45 mph on interstate 494 (3 lane freeway) when the van got loose and we started veering left towards the median wall at a high rate of speed. “Oooohhhh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit…….” I exclaimed from the back seat while gripping the arm rests like a senior-citizen on a runaway Rascal. The driver turned the steering wheel hard to the right, and just before impact the wheels gripped, wall avoided. We veered hard right and started an elongated spin that placed us back in the middle of the freeway facing headlights that would find their brakes useless in those conditions; the wall a few moments earlier now looked like a couple of soft pillows compared to this predicament. With honking cars narrowly passing on both sides, our dance across 494 continued. I am not sure if I was screaming like a young child in a haunted house at this point or not, but once the van stopped, we stuck the landing on the right shoulder pointing the same direction as the traffic, unscathed. After a few deep breaths, the driver and I thanked our respective spiritual leaders, put the blinker on and merged back into traffic. No coffee needed today, thank you.
Now the problem is I am not sure how to classify this in the Karma department. Was it bad Karma that we were involved in such a harrowing experience in the first place, or was it good Karma that we were able to drive off without a scratch on us. I’m sure this will manifest itself over the next couple of days, but my hope is that I did not use up all of the good luck for the team on INTAC racing at the 2011 International Rolex Regatta in one trip to the airport.
The Rolex regatta takes place in the waters off of St. Thomas and we will be swapping windward marks and offsets for islands and reefs. With very few one-design boats in attendance, the racing is based off the CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association) Rating system, and from what I can tell, the rating system is just as unorthodox as the race courses. But just like racing One-Design, PHRF or IRC, you still need good speed, tactics and clean boathandling to have a good result.
Our team on INTAC will have one other Melges 32 to compete against with Dave West and his team on Jurakan in attendance. We will need to work on keeping our eyes on the big picture as it will be very easy to get into a match race type scenario with the other 32. The team on Jurakan is very familiar with the Caribbean type of racing, and knows how to maximize their 32 to the optimum rating. We will largely have the same team on INTAC that we did in Key West, sans Peter Homberg, but the very capable Anthony Kotoun will be serving as tactician to guide us around his home waters. We have a practice day scheduled on Thursday, and racing takes place on Friday throughout the weekend.
Stay tuned for action from the race course, and the reports on the many predicted Rum squalls that have a tendency to sweep across the region.
Long Time Coming… »
March 13, 2011
(Cue the harp and haze to resemble a flashback…)
My first experience sailing with Mary Anne took place in 2005 when I was a new employee at Melges and she was my first official “client” after purchasing a new Melges 17. With a brief introduction of “’Hi, I’m Mary Anne’…’Hi, I’m Sam’…’Let’s go sailing’” we embarked on our maiden voyage.
It was a sunny, spring day on Lake Geneva with a stiff Westerly breeze and temps in the low 70s, but the water still had a cold bite. We set off from LGYC, sailed upwind into Fontana, set our spinnaker and prepared for our first gybe. Mary Anne was steering well and as the spinnaker filled on the new side I was full of praise, except there was one problem…she was not on the boat to hear it. She had missed the hiking straps and fallen overboard.
Despite the cold water temps and an embarrassing blunder in front of a person she had just met, when I was able to retrieve Mary Anne, she was all smiles, and what I would come to learn is that regardless of finishing well or poorly, she was continually full of positive energy and relentless in her pursuit to get better. After our first meeting, I did not anticipate that our sailing relationship would last for many years and that we would have the opportunity to win a highly competitive Melges 20 regatta.
Fast forward to Day 3 of the Audi Melges 20 Bacardi Cup, March 20011. (Cue a more balding, slightly fatter Sam to represent present day.)
We sat in 2nd place 5 points behind Paul Reilly’s team on Red Sky after 4 races. In anticipation of 2 more races and the addition of a throw-out, there were too many permutations of who could win, and the only thing we could do was focus on sailing well and control what was in our realm. Our motto of the day was, “we have a lot of work to do.”
M and M Racing head upwind on the final day of the 2011 Bacardi Cup
The breeze had blown itself out from the previous day, and we were left with an 8-11 N breeze, which according to the forecasts was going to clock right. Our formula of starting clean wherever there was room had worked well up to this point, and with the boat-end available we were feeling good about executing our game plan of getting right. Near the top mark, the right didn’t come in as much as we had hoped, but it was enough to get us around in the top 3.
We did a good job of picking off 2 boats on the next lap, and with about a ¼ of the downwind to go until the finish, one of the more bizarre experiences I have had sailboat racing took place. There were essentially 3 boats dueling for the lead, we were positioned in the middle of the two and still leading, but it was going to be tight. We could hear the noise of a helicopter and a short time later, it appeared 30 yards in front of us, only hovering 100 ft or so above the water. The photographers quickly snapped photos and then peeled off the course, leaving behind a swirling torrent of breeze that we could not avoid. Our sails luffed violently and it took a good 10-15 seconds for normalcy to prevail. The boats around us remained unaffected and picked up some valuable distance, but we managed to keep our slim lead and took a hard fought, bizarre race win to get closer to the overall lead.
Red Sky took an 8th place which was thrown out for a 4th, and Michael Kiss’ team on Baccio retired from the race when they were holed shortly after the start on a port/starboard which was likely to be grounds for redress. We tabulated the results, and again came to the conclusion that with three boats in contention, all we could do was focus on sailing our boat well. We still had a lot of work to do.
The final race got underway after 3 general recalls and a black flag start with extremely shifty and unstable conditions. It seemed like the right was trying to fill, but huge lefties would descend on the course, and there was one point up the first beat when boats on the right and left sides of the course had matching angles on opposite tacks. Throw in a bunch of Miami Vice motor-boats going half throttle, Star boats sailing across our course after completing their 93-boat regatta and getting mixed in with the Melges 24s who were now going upwind with us at the same time…it was like a Packer fan in a Brat shop…madness.
Michael Kiss did a nice job of getting right at the top, and we fought from the left side to round in 3rd just ahead of the 4th place boat. The top group would remain intact the next lap around, and as the breeze became more unstable we were in a battle as the boat behind us did a better job of staying in the pressure downwind. When we crossed from opposites sides near the finish, we slipped to 4th and would have to wonder if that was enough to take the regatta win.
The Melges 20 fleet blasts off the line on Day 2 in big breeze...
Overall we finished 1 pt. ahead of Red Sky, but with redress pending for Baccio, any feelings of excitement were muted as our fate was now in the hands of the judges. An agonizing hour passed, Peter and I said our good-byes to Mary Anne and Bill knowing that regardless of how we finished, we sailed very well. Peter and I stood on the corner of CGYC waiting for a cab to the airport when Michael Kiss and his tactician Chris Rast approached fresh from their meeting with the judges. Knowing we were anxious to hear what happened, Chris informed us they were given average points for the entire series and we had won the event by .6 points.
I immediately called Mary Anne and I am still not certain who is happier; Mary Anne for finally achieving a regatta win, or me for seeing a person who is the epitome of what it means to be good for the sport of sailing be rewarded after so many years of hard work. Mary Anne is now the only woman helmsperson to ever have won a premiere open championship in any of the Melges sportboat classes, and I am proud to say I was a part of it. Thanks to Peter Keck for being an awesome team member, and to Mary Anne and Bill for having me on the M an M team since 2005.
Full results. Photos and press release.
W.W.C.S.D – Day 2 of Bacardi Cup »
March 11, 2011
After the storms passed on day 1, cooler temps and a stiff westerly breeze were left in its wake and for the 26 Audi Melges 20s headed out to the racecourse it was a nice ride down to the starting area in puffs gusting into the low twenties. With 4 races planned, we did our best to keep each other pumped up knowing it would be a long day, and we also channeled some inspiration from a person who in recent weeks has proved he can stare down any opponent or challenge and make it crumble. What would Charlie Sheen do with 4 races in 20-25 kts?
“The only thing I’m addicted to is winning. Alcoholics anonymous success rate is 5%, my success rate is 100%.”
“I’m an F18. I am battle-tested bayonets, bro.”
“The Nike slogan doesn’t say, ‘Just Try It.’ Oh, ok, ‘Just Try It.’ No, ‘Just Do It,’ man.”
Ok…While we were not exactly sure what some of these quotes mean and we would not trade places with Charlie Sheen for any amount of money, we could not argue that over the past few weeks he has really “sent it” hard, and we would need to do the same to have a successful day 2.
It wasn’t long before PRO Bruce Gollison’s goal of having 4 races quickly vanished as the Melges24 fleet starting in front of us had 4 general recalls and finally got off after an hour of time wasted. Not only was there a lot of breeze, but the wind was shifting between 20-30 degrees which made it very important to get in phase immediately after the start. Up to this point we had been very inconsistent in our sailing in the previous 2 regattas, and there seemed to be a good vibe on our boat that we were going to really be hungry to execute a complete day…Charlie Sheen style.
In each race today, we managed to start clean and punch into the front group playing the middle of the course which was key to staying in phase and managing risk with the rest of the fleet to either side of us. It was not uncommon to see boats on both sides of the course on huge angles and it was very easy to get lost in what was happening around us and not paying attention to our own breeze. It was difficult to stay on the lifted tack, but whenever our compass numbers started to dip into an unfavorable number, we were very quick to tack and stay with the shift. Setting at the mark and getting up on a plane quickly was again at a premium, and getting around the bottom mark without ending up your side was also key to doing well. At days end, we managed a 5, 3, 4 and while this wasnt enough to win the day, it was enough to get us into 2nd overall and was probably the most consistent day we have had to date on the M and M. We can feel good about our effort today, but with two races remaining there is still a lot of work to do and we will need to be at our best on Day 3 to maintain our position or have any shot at taking the 3rd Winter Series title. Overall, a very fun day of Melges 20 racing with lots of position changes and great rides downwind.
Storms Roll on Day 1 of Bacardi Cup »
March 10, 2011
Prior to leaving the dock Melges 20 sailors were glued to their smartphones looking at the weather radar which showed a massive line of severe weather making its way towards Miami. PRO Bruce Gollison made the bold call to send the fleet out for at least 1 race before the storms arrived, and it turned out to be a good move…just barely.
As we got into sequence, the discussion on our boat was about how right skewed the upwind mark was, and how port favored the starting line was. It was pretty clear that port tack was the long tack, and that we would be spending about 75% of the time headed in that direction. Knowing that the pin end was favored and that it would be a popular place, we decided to go more conservative and start in the middle of the line with the #1 goal of having the ability to tack immediately. Once the gun went, there was a big mess at the pin end with only 2-3 boats getting off on time, and we found ourselves tacking with speed from the middle of the line and quickly establishing ourselves in the front group.
There was a 10 boat drag race to the top of the course on port tack and Mary Anne did a great job of driving to allow us to get space off the boats to leeward, and force a few of the boats to windward of us to tack. Once to the starboard layline, we tacked over and got around the top mark in 3rd, just ahead of a big pack of boats storming in from the port layline.
One area of huge importance is having the ability to set quickly at the top mark and extend away from the crowd. We did a good job of setting cleanly, but had a hard time of finding a good mode the first few hundred yards from the mark, and ended up getting rolled by our tuning partners on Red Sky. It is always painful to get rolled, but when your friends do it to you, it really takes a special effort to stay calm. The good news was there was a gap between Red Sky and the next boat so we could get ourselves to the high lane, but with our inability to find a good mode, a few boats were able to soak low and keep us pinned to the right corner…not a very good sequence for the M and Ms.
Once free to gybe, we continued on for a few more lengths, and were greeted with new pressure and a nice 10 degree header that we rode out for another minute or two. We were firmly on our own in the right corner and once to the layline, we stayed hooked up in the new pressure and had a nice angle to the mark. What started off as a very ugly run, had turned into a second place rounding at the bottom gate…deep breaths, everything is ok.
The next lap around, the black storm clouds crept a bit closer and the big lefties that paid off the first upwind, gave way to a little more right pressure and rewarded the team on Red Sky who rounded the left gate facing downwind and sent it to the right corner. The move paid off as they rounded in first, and we followed in a close 4th place. On the last downwind the storm clouds were the place to be, and we did job of gybing out early and made some nice gains to cross the line in 3rd by a hair with an Italian team sneaking into 2nd after rounding 5th at the top mark.
On the sail in, it was game on as once we got into the harbor, the storm was in full effect and we did our best to dodge the big cruising sailboats in the mooring field with big shots of wind and sheets of rain. As we approached the dock, we tried to slow the boat down, but a big wind shift took us from being head to wind, to tight reaching and with the option of either putting it up on shore, or hitting the dock, we decided to brace for impact and pile into the bumpers on the dock. Our new all-star bow man, Peter Keck did a good job of softening the blow, but fell off during the action. No damage to the boat. Sails down. Back to the hotel to get dried out for day 2.
4 races are schedules for racing on Friday, and the forecast is for 12-20 which should provide for some solid racing. Stay tuned, results.