42 Marine

Always Be Closing »

March 6, 2011

It is always amazing how bad a finish can feel when you move the wrong way in the standings, regardless of what the overall result was.  Although our 3rd place finish at the Melges 32 Miami Championship was not as far of a fall as we experienced at the Gold Cup late last year, we once again found ourselves feeling disappointed with a very well sailed regatta.  Unlike the Gold Cup where we struggled the entire last 3 races, we started off the final day in Miami reasonably with a 5th place, and we even managed to add more points between us and the team who was chasing our 2nd place on Argo.  In the final race however, Argo showed that if they could execute a clean start, they had the wheels and the boathandling to take a few bullets throughout the weekend which meant we would need our “A” game to maintain our position.

As forecasted, the breeze did drop off slightly (15-18 kts) from the previous two days, and it was more of a SE direction which left a very confused sea-state on the course from the previous five days of strong easterly winds.  On starboard tack, the main mission was to keep the boat rumbling through the waves without giving up too much height, and on port tack, we were able to trim a bit harder and sail the boat more in a flat water setting with the waves almost coming at the boat in a perpendicular direction.  The fleet was stacked as tight as it had been all weekend, and there was a premium at the top mark of setting, establishing yourself in the high lane and ripping downwind.

Heading into the 2nd race of the day, Samba had sealed the regatta win and we had a 7 pt lead on Argo, which meant if they won the race, we had to finish 7th or better.  We knew Argo could put up a bullet since they won the last two races of Day 2, but we felt confident if that happened, we could manage a 7th or better. Shortly after the gun, we flopped onto port near the boat end of the line with the majority of the fleet joining us.  We quickly established ourselves with the front group, including Argo who was punched in the middle of the course.  Once to the right corner, we got the heading we needed to tack onto starboard, and it was simply a matter of maintaining our position, regardless if Argo won.

Argo did round in first, and only a few boatlengths back we were hot on their tails in 5th place.  As we set and got smoking downwind, the team on Heartbreaker wiped out front of us, forcing us to take the low road below them to stay clear.  This was a good feeling at first as we quickly gained a boat closer to Argo, but once we cleared Heartbreaker and came back to our proper course, the train of boats who set behind us were able to maintain the high lane and carry massive speed on top of us.  It wasn’t long before the first boat rolled us, and for those who have gotten stuck under a train of Melges 32s on full plane, there is basically a vacuum of breeze and the only option is to gybe out which we promptly did once the fight for the high lane was over.  We carried nice speed to the bottom of the course, but once we gybed back to the gates, we had lost 3-4 boats who were able to extend to the corner and we were now in an uphill battle to hang onto our second place finish with Argo still leading the race.

Not much changed on the ensuing upwind and we did our best to stay close with the boats in front of us knowing we just had to pick off 1 or 2 of them.  Making sure not to lose the high lane around the 2nd top mark we delayed our set to ensure we could extend to the corner.  All was good as we ripped to the corner of the course and with a few of the boats in front of us wiping out, things were starting to look up.  After a clean gybe,  3 boats stacked up inside of us and it was a drag race to the finish.  We did our best to try and stay even, but with the pressure filling to the boats on top of us first, it was once again a losing battle to get in front.  We worked our tails off throughout the entire last race, crossed the finish in 9th place, 2 pts more than what we need to keep Argo in 3rd place.

There was plenty of good things to take away from a truly awesome weekend of Melges 32 racing.  Our team on the Volpe did not have a lot of big breeze experience, and we proved we can hang in the front of the fleet when conditions get a bit gnarly.  Our boathandling was very good all weekend, and we can feel confident about our speed in the upper range.  There is some room for improvement on our overall performance in traffic and when things get tight around marks and boat-on boat-battles. Once the dust settles and we start to forget about the details in a few months time, we can feel very good about our 3rd place in a tough fleet.  Or the other option would be that we could take the hard-nosed approach and heed the advice of Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights who said, “If your not first, your last,” which makes dropping a place just a touch more palatable knowing us, Argo and the rest of the 32 fleet were all behind a very well sailed Samba Team.

Thanks the the DeVos family for a great weekend in Miami, and to the team on Volpe for some great fun on and off the water.  Overall results.

More Breeze on Day 2 of Miami Championship »

March 5, 2011

The forecast for slightly lighter breeze never really developed as the velocity was the same, if not stronger than on day 1.  The course had a little less right hand favor, and there was a bit more emphasis on playing the shifts, but as always, boatspeed was king, and there were a few boats who were able to separate themselves on Day 2.

The boats who did well upwind today were often the ones who could keep their mains full and not washing out in the big puffs.   Out main trimmer on Volpe, Scot Nixon did a great job of always keeping plenty of camber in both the main and the jib, and once the main started to luff, a slight burp on the jib was made, and the main would reset which was huge for speed.  Keeping a constant angle of heel both upwind and downwind was also key. Upwind, a lot of boats would tend to pinch and get flat going into waves which resulted in a much slower, chopping wood type of mode.  It was much more important to keep 3-5 degrees angle of heel, get the boat rumbling, and allow to power over the waves instead of slamming into them.

Downwind, the Melges 32 really likes to stay roped up on a plane, and with 6-8 ft seas, it was very easy to be tempted to try and surf every wave on the course.  Trying to surf every wave however often results getting stuck in too low of a mode, instead of just keeping the boat “hot” with 3-5 degrees angle of heel, forgetting about the waves and just keeping the boat moving fast.  Sure, if there was an obvious wave to take, it is fine, but trying to get on every single one did not pay off.

We did a good job on the Volpe of staying in a good mode both up and downwind, and with clean starts and solid tactics, we were able to settle with a nice score line of 2, 5, 4.  The boat of the day was Samba Pa Ti who put up a 1, 2, 2 to pretty much secure the regatta win with 2 races remaining.  We felt we were going pretty well today, but the Samba had some wheels that no one else could touch.

After two days of 18-25, the breeze is expected to finally back off and provide some relief to battered Melges 32 teams.  Stay tuned for the final report from the Melges 32 Miami Champs.

Results. Photos.

UP NEXT – Melges 32 Miami Championship »

March 2, 2011

When Premiere-Racing canned its version of Miami Race Week in late December of 2010, the Melges 32 class took matters into its own hands and formed its own Miami event strictly for the 32 class.  With over 20 boats signed up, this not only will be another hard fought event, but the 32 class continues to post impressive numbers following what most thought would be a dropoff after a successful worlds in September.  The Miami Championship will also serve as the final stop in the Melges 32 Winter Series, and with several boats close in the standings, the series title is still up for grabs.

The crew list once again boasts a line-up of some of the top Melges 32 teams, as well as premiere sailing talent.  Many of the class heavyweights like Ramrod,  Samba Pa Ti and Full Throttle will be in attendance and continuing their preparations for the 2011 Worlds in September, while the 2013 America’s Cup Challenger of Record, Mascalzone Latino will be revamping their Melges 32 program and using this as a training platform for their Cup campaign.  Of course, there are a handful of “snakes in the grass” that can steal a race, or regatta win at anytime.

Our team on Volpe returns from a 3 month hiatus after our 3rd place finish at the Gold Cup in hopes of closing the deal in Miami.  With most of the team intact, we will have to make the most of a short practice session and be ready to race come Friday morning.  We were able to weigh in on Weds which is always a nice thing to get out of the way, especially wining and dining in South Beach.  The forecast is for ripping breeze all weekend, and with the light air we have seen at the previous two winter events, I’m guessing there will be plenty of keel bulbs poking out of the water downwind.

Stay tuned to 42marine.com for reports from the Melges 32 race track in Miami.

Audi Melges 20 Winter Event #2 – Recap »

February 14, 2011

There were no daily reports from the latest Audi Melges 20 Winter Series event, but it wasn’t because of a lack of great racing on Biscayne Bay.  It mainly had to with…well, as I have been told, there is no difference between an excuse and a reason, so the bottom line is I just didn’t get them done, and I will have to be better about sticking to a routine when it comes to reporting from events.

Saturday arrived with a bottom edge of a cold front sweeping over South Florida, leaving rain showers, and temps in the 50s.  With solid breeze in the 12-16 range, the RC was planning on 4 races which would test the competitors as to who could remain mentally tough towards the end of a long, cold, wet day.  En route to the starting line from Coconut Grove Yacht Club, on M and M racing we talked about our plan for the day;  start conservatively and get off the line clean, find clear areas to let our speed do the work, minimize boathandling mistakes, and make sure to stay warm, hydrated and fed (my favorite part of the day) in between races. With a nice NW breeze, there would be plenty of shifts, lead changes, and tacticians wondering if sailing is still the sport of choice after being left clueless a few times.

We got off cleanly at a crowded pin end at the start of race 1, and stepped into a few left shifts that helped us to round the top mark in 1st.  A challenge when racing boats with asym sails downwind is quickly identifying where the best pressure is headed, your current angle to the mark, and deciding to extend on starboard, or gybe onto port.  Shortly after we set and did a quick analysis, it appeared we were well lifted and with nice breeze filling behind us, the call was made to gybe.  This would turn out to be a theme throughout the weekend; following your checklist, and relying on several reliable factors is not always the best answer.

Things looked ok for us on the left side of the course going downwind as we were able to get across the boats in the middle, but a few boats who rounded 5th and 6th extended on starboard all the way to the corner of the course and made huge gains.  Once we got near the leeward gate,  we managed to just sneak ahead of the boats flying in from the right side to maintain a very slim lead.  One problem that often presents itself in sailing is when things get tight, is it better to push boathandling to the extreme to stay ahead of a boat, or do you take your foot off the gas, give up some distance to the boats around you in order to get around the mark cleanly?  In this instance, we decided to push it to the 3 boat length circle on full plane, call “no room” on a boat only a few feet behind us.  We tried to pull off a late whether spinnaker drop, ended up wiping out, had a less than stellar rounding, and with the kite looking like a total yard-sale on our rig, when it did finally get down, it got stuffed on the wrong side of the jib sheets, and as a result, every time we did a tack on the next upwind, the whether sheet would not ease which would take 10-15 seconds to clear.  We rounded the leeward mark in first, but lost 6 boats on the next upwind after having our heads in the boat and having poor tacks up the beat.  When serving as tactician, I need to be better about realizing the limits of our boathandling, and be more aware of putting our boat in tight spots…and putting the kite on the correct side of the jib sheets!  We won the battle of getting to the mark in first place, but lost sight of the big picture.

After a frustrating first race, we did our best to regroup but the cold wind and rain made it difficult to see the silver lining.  Getting a 7th was not a bad result to start the event, but it is always hard when you are winning, and end up 7th resulting from unforced errors. The rest of the day was filled with tight racing, and a few boats would establish themselves in the front of the fleet.  Our tuning partners on Paul Reilly’s Red Sky (Andy Burdick, Mike Kutschner) would steal the show with a 1, 2, 1, 2. Another boat that sailed impressively on the first day was Melges 32 owner Jason Carroll who chartered a 20 for his first event.  With Cameron Appleton and Anthony Kotoun, there was no shortage of sailing intelligence and it was amazing to see these guys turn their downwind legs into gold by extending to the right corner almost every time, and make huge gains.  It is hard to write about something you don’t understand, and I have a few theories as to why this worked…maybe I can get Jason, Anthony or Cameron to do a guest blog and explain their thinking.

2 races were scheduled for the final day and while the morning temps hovered in the 50s, the sun was shining which at least gave the impression of warmth.  The breeze was a little less than day 1, and our team on M and M did a good job of regrouping from a mediocre first 4 races to jump out of the gates and lead around the first mark in race 5.  Just like race 1, we gybed out early, looked good, then as we squinted across the course, a spinnaker with a horizontal grey stripe was seen making gains on the opposite side of the course…not again…here came Jason and his team…unreal. We managed to gybe just in front of them at the bottom mark, and after imploring them to reveal what was so special about their “honey-hole”, we rounded separate gates and made our way upwind.  The breeze had been slowly clocking right and it was a battle as to who could get to the right of each other.  As we swapped tacks with only boat lengths of separation, Mark Hollerbach and his team on FU (Mike Buckley, Nathan Hollerbach) joined the mix and we now had a 3 boat race for first.

It didn’t take long to figure out that we were sparring with 2 very qualified match racers in Cameron Appleton and Mike Buckley.  There is no bigger feeling of insecurity than when you have to defend against sailors with match race experience;  everything you do, you get the feeling they are setting you up for the kill.  “Why are they letting us go this way?”  “Are they leading us over here for a reason?”, “Did we just lose the race?”, “What is happening???!” Despite the sharks circling, we focused on playing the shifts, taking the smallest left shift to get back to the right side of the course, and sailing the boat fast. We stayed ahead of Jason and his team, but Hollerbach got around both of us and we all rounded the last weather mark, gybed over and made our way downwind.  With Mary Anne driving well, and her husband Bill staying on the trim of the kite, we found a nice vein of pressure and snuck back into the lead.  Once at the bottom half of the course, the action would start as both boats crossed behind us, 5-6 gybes ensued with us forcing one of the boats, and they in turn forcing the other one.  We seemed to be making small gains with a little more pressure on the left side, and with a few hundred yards left to the finish, we gybed onto starboard, crossed both boats, and headed to the committee boat layline.  As we continued on starboard, our pressure that got us into the lead began to drop, and on our final approach to the finish, both boats that had just crossed behind, gybed back across our bow and carried new pressure into the finish. This was one the of the hardest fought 3rd places I can remember, but we were left with the realization that if we had dug left one more time, we would have likely held them off.  Overall, this was one of the best races we have sailed as a team on M and M, and one of the most fun races I have been a part of.

The final race of the day was a tight battle with the entire fleet and whoever could work right would make gains as the breeze continued to clock all day, 50 degrees total.  The Red Sky team would shake off their 9th place in the first race of the day, and take another race win to seal the regatta.  Our other tuning partner, Kent Haeger (Jim Gluek, Mike Greeson) sailed their best regatta to date and took a hard fought 3rd place overall.  Our team on M and M took an 8th place, and were once again left with the feeling of sailing well, but needing to execute in all facets to reach our goal of getting into the top 3.  We know we can sail with the best, but we just need to be sharp and hungry to improve our consistency.

The Melges 20 fleet gets back together in just over a month for the Winter Series finale, and the 3 day Bacardi Cup.  With the overall series champ only separated by a few pts with several boats, the final event will be seriously fun to be a part of.

Full results here.

Earning Our Stripes on Day 3… »

January 19, 2011

It has been funny to read the race reports each morning from the previous days racing that have titles like, “Stunning Day of Racing in Key West!”, or “Picture Perfect Conditions for the Melges 32 Fleet!”  Don’t get me wrong, the crystal light blue waters of off KW are amazing, the warm temps beat being in Minnesota in January, and the racing has been tight and exciting.  But having downwinds where you barely touch 8kts of boatspeed, and upwinds where you have to battle 2-3 ft chop while avoiding massive weed patches and trying to make the most of a 10 kt puff, all makes for a much different impression of KW for the sailors, than for the media.

The forecast for Day 3 was looking like we would be spending the day taking the Conch Tour and learning about the vast history of KW, but when the 830 am update came, the RC was planning to start on time in a barely visible 4-5 mph SE breeze.  The good news was that the left over lump and waves had subsided for the most part, and the weed patches we no longer visible, making our new weedstick that Anthony designed obsolete.  The bad news was that our team on INTAC is learning the painful lesson that doing well in the 32 class is not just about sailing fast and smart, it is about earning your stripes and paying your dues.

On day 1 shortly after the first start, we introduced ourselves to the fleet by getting into a solid collision with a Japanese boat which resulted in damage and a few bruised egos. On Day 2, during one of our better races, we hooked one of the few lobster pots on the course, and if not for our stealthy bowman taking a leap to free us, we would have lost more than the 3 boats that got around us while we stood still.  In between races on day 2, we discovered one of our stanchions had broken off at its base and would require a jury rig to continue sailing.  And finally, on Day 3, we found ourselves over early with a 8 to 9 other boats, and then made the mistake of not clearing ourselves until we had sailed for a minute upwind, putting us well behind the fleet on a short race track and having to suffer with a 19th place in the only race of the day.  Sure, some of this is self induced, but we are certainly doing a good job of checking everything off the list of things that could have gone wrong.

On a positive note, when we start cleanly, we are very fast with the boats around us, and the team up front has done a great job of taking their jobs on with great energy and proving each leeward mark they are a force to be reckon with.  Having only 1 race today meant there would be plenty of thirsty sailors descending on KW, and Dougie Douglass and his Goombay Smash team hosted a great afternoon party on his motor yacht serving plenty of…Goombay Smashes.

The forecast for the remainder of the week does not look like we will get above 10 kts if we are lucky, so we are going to put on our hard hats and do our best to work hard, string 2 good days together and finish with a good result.  Big breeze requires a lot of strength and stamina in these boats, but light air is very mentally challenging and keeping your boat moving at top speed is a fragile thing.  Full results here.

More Weeds, Better Results on Day 2 of KWRW »

January 18, 2011

Quick post tonight…conditions were similar to day 1 of Melges 32 Key West Race Week, but with a little less wind and just the same amount of seaweed on the racecourse, teams were mentally exhausted at the end of the day from trying to keep their boats moving at full speed, and doing their best to get off the starting line which would prove to be a huge portion of the race.

On INTAC, we managed to get 2 clean starts and it is always amazing how the rich get richer in light to medium conditions.  Once you are able to set, get clear air, and extend at the top mark, you establish yourself in the front group, and it is pretty hard to mess it up.  We found this out first hand when we were duking it out for 4th place in race 3, when on at the top of the 2nd beat we snagged a lobster pot.  Luckily, we have young bowman from the St Thomas, William Bailey, who did not hesitate to jump over the bow, free the pot off the keel, catch the mainsheet off the back of the boat and get back on to keep us from losing more than 2 boats to take a 9th, keeping us well in front of the middle of the fleet.

The second race of the day, we again started clean at the boat, used great boatspeed and established ourselves in the front 3-4 boats.  Once clear and ahead, the gains come from having clear air 100% of the time and not having to deal with traffic around marks.  We duked it out with Warpath, Leenabarca and Yasha Samurai, and were able to settle for a 3rd place.  After a full day of racing in hot, light, lumpy and weedy conditions, we were more than happy to retire for the day with some mudslides and painkillers once we reached the dock.

The forecast for Day 3 is looking more like we will be doing some fishing instead of sailing as a high pressure system is moving over the region.  Stay tuned…results @ melges32.com.

Salad, Dressing on the Side Please…. »

January 17, 2011

With a strong front that moved through in the wee hours of the first day of racing in Key West, sailors on all 3 divisions were left to deal with left over swell and lump, and a SE Breeze in the 9-12 range that made for some very challenging conditions.  On top of the confused seas and light to medium wind, there was a massive amount of seaweed and seagrass on the racecourse, and once it latched onto your rudder or keel fin, you went from bow out and ahead to well behind in a flash.  At times there were patches 30 ft in diameter requiring a tack or gybe to avoid them.  Despite the less than ideal racing conditions, the veteran, experienced teams still prevailed on day 1 of Key West Race Week and proved that being mentally tough is a huge component to sailing fast.

As for our team on INTAC, we had moments of brilliance, and other times we learned some valuable lessons about what racing is like as a new team in the Melges 32 class.  One thing that always stands out is how you can go from fighting for position in the front, to being relegated to the back of the fleet with one bad leebow or mark rounding.  We were holding our own in both of the races today, but a costly mistake in each would send us from nipping at the heals of the leaders, to playing tiddly winks with the bottom group.

Day 2 is forecast to be much lighter, and hopefully the seagrass and seaweed will have cleared out by the morning to make for some easier racing. And hopefully we will have some better conditions to allow for more exciting posts from KW!  Standing by for day 2…

Over the Horizon? »

January 11, 2011

When I was just a young, Junior Bear Cub in my first week at Melges in January 2005, I had been assigned my first Tyvek suit and was preparing to crawl into the nose of an E Scow to install some hardware when I was given the news that instead of spending 2 weeks in the frozen tundra of Zenda, I would be joining Andy and Harry in Key West to support the large fleet of Melges 24s, and help debut the brand new Melges 32. The caveat of course was that I would be driving the Melges van from Zenda to KW, and for those who have not driven a stripped out sailing van full of tools and spare parts, it basically sounds the same as jumping in an empty drier with some wrenches, forks and spoons for 24 hrs…but what did I care…I was going to Key West to race a Melges 32 in the highest profile regatta in the US…I was as happy as…well…a bear cub with a jar full of honey.

At the time, Key West was the winter destination that was on every sailors’ dream list of regattas to attend, and while this post will not be able to capture the essence of this event, the feeling when arriving in KW made every sailor feel like they had reached the big leagues. What was not to love?  Racing on clear blue, Carribean-like waters in the middle of winter with boats and sailors that were regularly featured in sailing magazines, reliable breeze with big seas, warm temps, great onshore fun, and in the center of it all, the massive, fully packed, Premiere-Racing tent with an endless supply of Mount Gay Rum, and Top Gun music blasting as rewards were given out on a big stage for the top daily performers.  With over 300 different types of racing boats at the height of this longstanding event, Key West truly was where the best sailors in the world came to race, and the event that weekend warriors planned for at the end of their summer sailing.

Blame the economy, decisions by race organizers, decline for sailing in general, or the longstanding belief that a good thing cannot last forever, but whatever the reason, the 2011 version of Key West Race Week will be a fraction of its former self, and the talk amongst longstanding KW veterans is that it may be the last KWRW as we know it.  The tent is gone (cue the tumbleweed), entries are hovering around 135 boats, and with Premiere-Racing recently canning its other revenue generating event, Miami Race Week which was scheduled to take place in March, the writing seems to be on the wall; unless KWRW and Premiere-Racing get a few shocks to the chest in the ER, North America’s top drawing event is on track to become the latest “remember when” story.

But while some of the toppings on the Sundae may be missing, the guts of Key West are still in place; the wind and the waves don’t get weaker because KWRW is a much smaller event, and the racing itself is still run with a professional Race Committee.  Premiere-Racing has made a huge effort to reduce costs of attending, and with a few high profile Maxi and mini-Maxi teams racing, a strong Melges 24 fleet, and the addition of the RC 44s to the mix this year, there are plenty of top level teams coming to the southern most point in the U.S. to race. The Melges 32 fleet continues to carry momentum after its 30+ fleet at the Worlds and 21 Melges 32s will be competing, including 2010 KW Champs and Boat of the Week, John Kilory’s Samba Pa Ti who will be tough to beat with current World Champ trimmer Federico Michetti and 2009 World Champ Nathan Wilmot as tactician being added to the team. Warpath, Goombay Smash, Red, and Leenabarca will all be looking to start 2011 on the right note and add to their impressive track records.

As for myself, I will be joining a new team from the Caribbean, INTAC Racing, and while we have plenty of talent on board, there are always some initial challenges when getting started in the Melges 32 fleet…like gybing in 25 kts of breeze while doing 18kts of boatspeed.  But I am confident we’ll be able to accelerate our learning curve and with guys like Peter Holmberg, Anthony Kotoun and a boat full of talented amateurs, we should be able to get into the mix and throw some elbows around (I know I have used this link before, but it just gets better every time and is worth incorporating this type of mentality into your daily life).

Besides looking forward to de-thawing from what has been a harsh Minnesota winter, I will be taking in the full KW experience since this may be the last we get of this longstanding, very well run, Premiere-Racing event.  It is uncertain where we will go from 6-8pm every night which was normally occupied by going to the main tent, enjoying Mount Gay Rum and rehashing the day, but I am sure we will find a suitable establishment.  Stay tuned for daily reports from the Melges 32 course, and from the mean streets of KW.

Kiss ‘Em Goodbye »

December 12, 2010

The final day of the Audi Melges 20 Miami #1 started out rough for the M and M team.  While getting the boat prepped for the day, the keys were locked in our car with all our gear, water, gatorade and a few other essential items.  Thankfully, we did get our mainsail out before the snafu, otherwise Mary Anne’s 3 hr car ride home to Cocoa Beach would have been noisy with a busted out tailgate window in her SUV.   After grabbing some drinks from the Red Sky team, and being left with no bibs, spray tops or additional gear, we set out for the final day hoping the big breeze that was forecast wouldn’t have too much bite to it, and that we could build on our 2nd place position from Day 1.

The first race was got underway after 1 general recall, and just like locking our keys in the car, our first start made me think our time might be better spent suntanning with the Euros and MTV wannabees on South Beach, instead of being on the racecourse for what seemed to be a doomed day.  On the starting line, there is a very fine line between pulling the trigger at the right time, and being a second late and getting rolled. Being the first race of the day and surrounded by some fast teams, I was a too eager to have our team trim in the sails and go. We did a good job of getting going before the boats to windward and leeward, the only problem was we were early.  And as we tried to stay below the line, we fouled 2-3 boats to leeward, than we were called over early on top of it.  I felt like opening the front hatch, crawling below and getting into the fetal position.  After a few apologies to some angry competitors, we spun, re-rounded the committee boat and made our way upwind with the fleet well ahead.

The breeze was trying to fill, but was hovering in the 10-13 range.   Our boat was set up well, and by the second upwind, we got close to the middle of the fleet and into striking distance for the downwind.  Mary Anne and Coye Harrett, who was filling in for Mary Anne’s husband, did a great job of getting the boat moving downwind and we managed to hook into a few shifts and take a respectable 11th place after a horrifying start.  A good, hard fought comeback for the team.  We were also comforted that some of the top teams in the standings were over early or had bad races, so we were still looking ok for the regatta.

With a 15 minute break to grab lunch and get organized, the breeze was actively building and by the next start, we had 15-20 from the southwest and planing conditions.   Like a pendulum, we swung hard by being over early in the first race, and once the gun went on the 2nd start, we were late to round up with the boats around us and found ourselves barely hanging onto a thin lane on starboard.  With a few boats clearing out on our hip, we tacked to port, ducked 1-2 boats, than blasted off to the right side of the course in clear air. It wasn’t pretty, but we were off and moving.  Shortly after the tack, we must have done a good job of mixing in good rig and sail settings because USA 43 came to life and we were noticeably faster than the boats around us.  After legging it out to the right corner, playing a few shifts back to the mark, we rounded in first, hoisted our kite, and blasted off to the gates on full plane with the weight in the back of the bus.

Just on our tails was Michael Kiss and his team on Bacio.  They did a good job of sailing fast downwind and getting inside of us for the gybe, and eventually getting around us at the leeward mark.  The next upwind, we tried to position ourselves to lead the fleet back to the left side of the course, the only problem was the left did not come back like we had hoped and our 2nd place turned into a 3rd.  With another nice set, we pulled off a quick gybe and split from the 2 boats ahead of us. This would turn out to be a nice gain as we reclaimed 2nd place and some distance on the eventual race winners, Bacio.

The final race of the day saw the breeze increase further with puffs gusting into the low 20s, and with the top 7 boats seperated by a few pts, we were looking forward to some fun, tight racing, and knew if we could keep it together on the downwind legs, we would have a very good chance to finish in the top 6 or 7 in race, and have a good overall finish.  As the breeze picked up and clocked further left, the line was very port favored, and once again, we tacked shortly after the gun, took a few transoms and found a clean lane headed to the right side.  We struggled to find our speed like we had in the previous race, but we were still going well and established ourselves in the front group.   The team on Bacio got launched on the after the start and were gone, but from 2nd to 10th, it was very close and as we approached on port tack into the top mark, we were faced with dillema of ducking a train of boats on the starboard tack layline, or trying to stick a nice leebow without fouling or hitting the mark.

Im not sure at what point in my life I will realize that sometimes playing things safe is actually better, and more fun in the long run than going with the risky call and having it not work out…but it certainly was today.  Thinking we could stick a tight leebow and get a little help from current which was not moving as fast as we would discover, once we got on our close hauled angle, we were pointing at the mark and clearly did not have enough speed to try and shoot it.  We hit the mark, went to leeward of it, did our 360 and watched the boats that we were duking it out with for the regatta blast off downwind.

After a tough downwind and wiping out during a gybe, we still managed to hang tough and were pecking away at boats in the middle of the fleet.  The great thing about racing Melges 20s in big breeze is the race is never over.  Just like the previous race, we set on the final downwind, gybed immediately into nice pressure, and smoked away from the boats ahead of us.  As we got close to layline, we pushed just a bit farther to get into more pressure and once it hit, we wound up about 10 degrees and it was looking good for big gains on 8-10 boats to the right of us.  After a great gybe from Mary Anne, we hit our new angle and while it is always nice to gybe into a header, we were now aimed about 15-20 degrees below the committee boat in a huge shift and the gains we had just made might have been all for naught as we were well overstood.

We held the kite as long as possible living on a very slippery slope, and once we hit a good tight reaching angle, we did a nice whether douse on the right side of the boat, trimmed the sails, and jib reached to the finish.  6-8 other boats were blasting in with their spinnakers and just as we were about to get passed, we snuck around the pin end of the finish line for a very hard fought 11th place, and a 6th place overall with a scoreline of 2, 11, 2, 11.   On the sail in, we felt pretty good about our overall performance and we were encouraged that what kept us out of the top 3 overall was not a mystery;  we made some very blatant mistakes that cost us some big points. For myself, I need to be better about putting us into some safer spots and make the realization that while we have a chance to pick off 1-2 boats, we can also lose 5-6.  Risk v reward.  I was very happy with how hard we fought for every point when the chips were down, and we have made some huge improvements on several big items over the past few months.

Michael Kiss and his team showed some serious dominance by winning all three races today and really smoking the fleet in the last race to take the first series title.  What a great first event to start off the series for the Melges 20 fleet.  Ripping breeze, it doesn’t get much better.  Photos can be found at melges.com as well as the Melges 20 Facebook page. Results here.

And for those who want proof of the theory that everything comes in cycles…our day started with locking our keys in the car, and it has ended with my flight back to Minny getting cancelled.  Having some great sailboat racing in the middle of the cycle certainly makes the downswings more tolerable. Thanks to Mary Anne and Bill Ward for another great weekend of racing, and some seriously fun and really good dinners.  Thanks to Coye Harrett for filling in at the last minute and being an excellent Junior Bear Cub…those are big shoes to fill!

The Calm before the…calm »

December 11, 2010

The Melges 20 fleet made way to the racecourse around 930 am on Saturday, a nice NW breeze at 9-12 kts was blowing on Biscayne Bay and it looked like it would be a perfect day for sailing with blue skies and sunshine.  As we got closer to the RC boat anchored 5-6 miles from shore, it was clear the breeze was not extending very far offshore, and what breeze was reamaing, was dissipating fast.   As the breeze hovered around 2-3 kts at 11am, PRO Bruce Gollison had no other choice than to put the Audi Melges 20 Fleet into postponement with the hopes of a Northerly, or Easterly Seabreeze filling.  Just as teams were starting to fully kick back in relax mode, the Northerly started to show and a starting line was set.

With the breeze hovering just above class minimums, the RC dropped the postponement flag and gave us a warning signal around noon.  As we lined up for the start, keeping speed on was critical since whatever breeze was on the racecourse was hard to come by, and being in a crowd on a start meant you needed to pull the trigger early to get up on the line and establish yourself on in the all important front row.  On the M and M, we set our selves up around 1min, and Mary Anne did a great job of getting the boat rolling at 30 seconds and hitting the line at full pace when the gun went.  Halfway up the beat, it was clear the breeze was not filling as we had hoped, but there was still enough to race and we worked hard to make the most of our solid start.

After losing our lane a few minutes after the start, we got bounced around in the middle of the course, than finally found ourselves with a clear lane headed to the left side.  While we were not sure if this was ideal, we at least had a clean lane and were able to keep up good boat speed.  As we slogged left, the breeze started to look a bit better and with the majority of the fleet on the right side of the course, we decided to roll the dice and really send it to the left side.  With only 1-2 other boats with us, we tacked onto port and had the nice view of watching the boats on the right trying to get back to the mark with very little pressure and a bad angle.  Thankfully we got around the mark with pressure in 3rd place and made our way downwind before our gamble turned to mush.

At the bottom gate, we made some nice gains on the leaders, split gates and we headed to the right side on the next upwind and hoped that the pressure we saw was not just an illusion. we continued on port tack until layline for the new whether mark approached and flopped on to starboard looking like we might have a shot at the lead.  As we approached the 1st and 2nd place boats, we had made some nice gains, but not enough to be clear ahead.  The 2nd place boat, Ryan DeVos with Morgan Reeser lee bowed us and managed to hang 1/2 boat length to leeward, until 1st place boat Scott Nixon and his skipper John Arendshorst leebowed them and would eventually saw them off.  Some seriously tight racing for 3.5 knots of wind! We managed to hang on Scott and John’s hip in 2nd place on a long starboard until the whether mark, and once around the mark, we all set, gybed immediatly and layed the finish line to end a very light air race. Our goal for the day was not to put up a big number, and we survived the only race on day 1 with nice 2nd place.

Regardless if the race was good or bad for a team, everyone stuck around for cold beers and grub at the Coconut Grove Yacht Club which has a very good understanding of what sailors want at the end of a hot, light-air day of sailing…beer and food.

The forecast tomorrow is for nice breeze in the 15-20 range and the goal of the RC is to get off 4 quality races.  Stay tuned to 42marine and melges20.com for up to the minute reports. Results here.