JibeTalk

Long Island Sound family and friends sailing in the Sydney Hobart Race

Hey, all you fans of junior big boat sailing in the USA, here is the yacht from Long Island Sound to follow in the Sydney to Hobart Race that starts December 26:
- Designed in 1969 by McCurdy & Rhodes for Richard Nye of Indian Harbor YC, Greenwich Conn.
- Won the 1970 and 1982 Newport Bermuda races.
- Won the St. David's Lighthouse division in the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race
- Took second in her division in the 2011 Transatlantic Race
- Won her division in the 2011 Fastnet Race
- Now sailing for the first time in the Sydney Hobart Race

The yacht is Carina, from Westbrook CT, owned by Rives Potts.

She is being campaigned in 2011 by an epic crew of Potts' family and friends. The crew includes Potts' son Walker and nephew Rives Sutherland, plus Rich duMoulin and his sons Ed and Mark duMoulin.

What's the connection with junior big boat sailing?

According to Potts, “When my boys got to 12 or 13 I wanted to sail with them, so I bought Carina.” He believes that sharing the offshore experience can add hugely to the bond between father and son. “Our normal scheme is to have several fathers crewing Carina with their sons,” he says. “Standing watch with your son at night, it brings you closer.” The Sydney Hobart Race has featured the Carina family spirit in this news article.

And Rich duMoulin commented that a main commandment aboard Carina has been, "You cannot talk back to your own father." duMoulin is well known to the 4,000 juniors and their sailing instructors who have attended the Storm Trysail Foundation's Junior Safety at Sea Seminars at Larchmont YC. During the past 15 years, he has coordinated the volunteers from the Storm Trysail Club who have been providing this important training. 

Follow the action in Australia beginning with the live 90 minute webcast of the Sydney Hobart race (starts on December 25 in the USA 6 PM PST/9 PM EST)  and at the official Sydney Hobart Race website.

Notes:
- Read a background story about Carina and Rives Potts in the The Australian.
- See details about the yacht.
- After the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race, Potts told a reporter from Soundings, "Carina is a good seakindly boat, she's not extreme one way or the other. She's very sturdy and is a heavy boat by today's standards. She's not as good around the buoys, she's not that quick and nimble. But she's very nice on the ocean going in a straight line, she likes a straight line. I kind of have a love affair with her."
- And Rich duMoulin wrote two reports for Larchmont Yacht Club and Storm Trysail Club about Carina's 2011 Transatlantic and Fastnet racing.

 

Teen sailors in Sydney to Hobart race

Eighty eight yachts are due to start in this year's race on December 26, and once again the super-maxi Wild Oats XI is likely to take line honors.

Wild Oats is sure to have a rival in the public interest stakes. Celebrated teenage sailor Jessica Watson, in her pink Sydney 38 Ella Bache (Another Challenge) will surely be shadowed by the media aircraft.

Watson will skipper the youngest crew to ever compete in the Sydney Hobart. After conquering some of the most treacherous oceans to become the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world, she will skipper a crew of 10, all of whom will be 21 or younger - making them the youngest crew ever to compete in the famous race, with an average age of just 19. Among the young crew is Mike Perham from the UK, another solo circumnavigator.

"The most surprising thing about meeting Watson is her size. She is extremely petite; not much over 150cm tall (5 ft) and about 50 kilograms (110 lbs) dripping wet."

An eight minute radio interview with Jessica Watson was recently broadcast on the BBC Outlook program. Jessica's item starts at 18:10 in this audio link.

The "Team Another Challenge" Facebook page has latest updates.

Sources:
- Live 90 minute webcast of the Sydney Hobart race starts on December 25 in the USA (6 PM PST/9 PM EST)
- Sail-World Australia
- The Australian
- Official Race site  with details about Watson's yacht  
- Photo by Mark Evans, The Daily Telegraph

 

Storm Trysail promotes Junior Safety at Sea

The Storm Trysail Foundation has posted a recap of their Junior Safety-At-Sea Seminars that were hosted during 2011 in Newport RI, Larchmont NY, Annapolis MD and Perth Amboy NJ.

Approximately 300 junior sailors – ranging between the ages of 12 and 20 – were taught the importance of safety when sailing on big boats through classroom sessions, dockside demonstrations and on-the-water experience.

Now Storm Trysail is looking to expand these programs across the country. It is working with US Sailing to create guidelines that will assist volunteers in other regions to host a Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar.

Rich du Moulin, who heads up the Junior Safety-at-Sea effort, said, “We want to make this program accessible and easy for people who have never done this before. If there is a strong interest in a given place, we can get some Storm Trysail Club members to help set up the lesson plan, work with them as mentors and possibly help with seed funding.” 

For more information:
-See summary about the Safety-At-Sea Seminars on the Storm Trysail Foundation website.
-Also see the detailed training curriculum posted on the offshore section of the US Sailing website.

 

Getting Involved in Match Racing

Interested in match racing during the off-season? Here are two opportunities to get into it this week and extending into November.

This week, Manhasset Bay YC will play host to the Knickerbocker Cup. Twelve international match racing teams will compete at this event, which serves for a qualifier for the World Match Racing Tour. The public will have the opportunity to watch the action on spectator boats Saturday and Sunday, August 27-28, on a first come, first served basis: email boattours@knickerbockercup.org And for detailed information, see the MBYC web site.

Rueben Corbett, champion match racer from NZL, coached the teams at the junior match race in May

During the Knickerbocker awards ceremony on August 28, the Dennis Conner/Ed du Moulin Junior Match Race Trophy will be presented. This clinic and regatta was held in May to promote match racing to young sailors on Long Island Sound. Reuben Corbett (NZL) who won the 2009 Knickerbocker Cup and is back this year to try to win it again, stopped by the clinic and shared his match racing experiences with the group. At the end of the day, Jack Parkin and his team prevailed in the finals. Jack commented, "I wanted to see if the skills I had learned for team racing would work for match racing. The good news was that they did! I teamed up with my two friends Will Logue and Alex DelBello, who have done a lot of Optimist team racing with me, and we immediately got the hang of the pre-starts and the one-on-one concept. We had a great time and hope to do more and more match racing as we get older."

Oakcliff Sailing Center also provides a number of match racing opportunities in their Swedish Match 40s.  Older youth who meet JSA big boat requirements may be interested in the Oakcliff programming. The first thing to do is get on Oakcliff's e-mail newsletter mailing list to receive weekly updates. Then get a team of 5-6 sailors (including an adult) out to the Tuesday Night Match Race Drills during September and October and practice boathandling, starts, mark roundings, and tactics. That will prepare you for the Open Match Races held on various Saturdays in October and November. For more information, see the Oakcliff website and select Calendar at bottom of the page.

For our earlier article on some of happenings at Oakcliff, including the Youth Match Racing Clinic/Regatta in July, see here. 

Photo:  Reuben Corbett, Aon Racing, NZL, guest clinic teacher. Left to right:  Gregory Stebbins, JP Ohanessian, Meredith Krim, Coleen Stack, Anne Wachowitz, Diana Weston, Krissy Weston, Jack Parkin, Will Logue, and Alex DelBello.
Photo credit: Andrea Watson

 

Stepping Up The Competition at the Beach Point Overnight

The Beach Point Overnight took place this past Tuesday and into the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Fifteen teams, representing eleven clubs, competed in this year's race, which was sailed out of Mamaroneck Harbor towards the lighthouse at Stratford Shoals.  

Beach Point Yacht Club has played host to this classic end-of-season offshore race since 1957. In its 55 years of running, sailors have seen it all: squalls, lightning storms, light air, heavy air, and more. After heading out onto Long Island Sound on Tuesday afternoon, sailors were greeted with a strong 10-15 knot northeasterly that died down to very light wind over the course of the evening. 

"With a dying breeze, the fleet was forced to decide between going to Connecticut, Long Island, or playing the shifts in the middle," said Dave Grosso, who coached the Centerport YC team on board the Tartan 4100 Kyrie. 

Once breeze lightened up, playing the shifts was critical to keep boats moving. 

Marek Zaleski, who skippered the Tripp 41 High Noon for the Noroton YC team, said, "Even when the wind died to 1.5 knots and we were barely moving, I, along with the crew was trying hard to keep the boat moving forward and to connect the dots to the next puff."

Grosso added that the key was to execute "simple but effective tactics, staying on the lifted tack in the center of the sound."

 Staying in phase paid off for both teams: High Noon and Kyrie were the first to cross the finish line in their respective divisions. In PHRF division A, two Pequot J109s, Strategery and Loki placed second and third. In Division B, the two J105 teams from Larchmont placed second and third, sailing Conundrum and Morning Glory.

For the Noroton team, who had recently come off of a first place finish at the Dorade Trophy the day before, practice made perfect. Prior to the race, all teams went through on-water practice certification, reviewing boathandling, reefing, man-overboard drills, and safety procedures. 

 "Many intensive practices spent working on boat handling as well as distance technique (peels, sail changes, etc.) left us well prepared for the regatta," said Dylan Kavookijan, who was a trimmer on High Noon. 

"We spent two nights a week practicing in the Tuesday night breakwater series [at Noroton] or just going out five miles and then coming back. We knew the boat and its sails inside and out," added navigator Nick Connery. 

Kavookijan and Connery both agreed that the level of competition at this year's event made for better racing. 

"This was my second Beach Point Overnight and in my mind the skill level aboard other boats was much higher than in years past. It was a lot harder racing this year than last because we knew the competition and we knew we couldn't slack off one bit," said Connery. 

For many teams, the skills developed while training for and competing at the Beach Point Overnight allow sailors to continue develop strong foundations in big boat safety, maintenance, and sailing. To their many practice sails, they added participation at the Storm Trysail Foundation Safety at Sea seminar and study for the Navigation and Seamanship tests that proved their ability to pilot along the coast without aid of GPS systems.

"In the end, the CYC team learned a lot about strapping in and sleeping on the rail, big boat provision management, and how to please an owner by performing well. That is witholding how much they learned about cleaning the boat and scrubbing down a filthy head after a long time offshore!" said Grosso. 

"After having sailed in the JSA Big Boat program for the past five years, what comes to mind is how far the program as a whole has come. What may have started out oas a lighthearted, fun, supplementary sailing program has turned into a gateway to the lifetime world of sailing," added Kavookijan. 

For full results, see JSA Regattas page. For photos, see Picasa gallery.

Photos courtesy of Davis Gaynes, Beach Point YC

 

44th Annual Dorade Trophy Held at Stamford YC

 
The 44th Dorade Trophy took place this past Monday off the waters of Stamford Yacht Club. This annual PHRF regatta presented the chance for junior sailors to put their big boat skills and practice to the test. The event also kicked of a week of big boat sailing for the JSA, as many sailors went straight from the Dorade to the Beach Point Overnight race the next day.

Sailors competed in challenging conditions, fighting strong current, very shifty breezes, and choppy water. Regatta Chairperson and PRO Ray Redniss was impressed with what he saw on the water, noting, "I thought the boat handling was quite good, and everyone seemed to conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner."

The top finishers are as follows:

PHRF Division 1:

1. Noroton YC - High Noon (Tripp 41)

2. Pequot YC - Loki (J109)

3. Pequot YC - Strategery (J109)

PHRF Division 2:

1. Larchmont YC - Conundrum (J105)

2. Indian Harbor YC - Adrenaline (Soverel 33)

3. American YC - Warhorse (J105)

 

Full results can be found at the JSA Regattas page. More photos are in the Picasa gallery.

Pictures courtesy of Scott Connery.

NY, CT Area Sailors Compete for Sears, Bemis, and Smythe Trophies

Sailors from New York and Connecticut cleaned up the competition at the Chubb U.S. Junior Championships for the Sears, Bemis and Smythe Trophies last week in Toms River, New Jersey. The regatta, hosted by Toms River Yacht Club, welcomed 93 of the nation's top sailors for three days of racing over August 9-12.  

Nick Valente (Oakdale, NY), of Wet Pants Sailing Association based out of Sayville, NY, won the singlehanded championship (Smythe Trophy). Gary Prieto (Southhold, NY), of Old Cove YC, placed third. 

In the C420 class, Pearson Potts (Newport, RI) and Tristian Sess (Center Moriches, NY), representing Sail Newport, finished first out of 20 boats to win the Bemis Trophy. Potts has been a frequent competitor at Larchmont Junior Race Week in the past few years, winning the 420 class in 2009 and 2010. Additionally, two teams from Pequot Yacht Club (Southport, CT) - Jack Cusick/Henry Dumke and Bryce Kopp/Charlotte Saxe - finished sixth and eighth in the C420 fleet.  

Our neighbors from the ECSA's Mystic River Mudhead Sailing Association (pictured above) won the triplehanded Sears Cup. Competing in Flying Scots, O.J. O'Connell (Niantic, Conn.), Ben Wilkinson (Noank, Conn.) and Kyle Seniff (Glastonbury, Conn.) showed remarkable consistency with eight finishes in the top three.  

For more details, including full results, photos, and press releases, see the US Sailing website.

Photo credit Justin Chando

 

Port Washington YC Hosts Twilight Regatta

Port Washington Yacht Club held its annual Twilight Keelboat Regatta last Friday, August 12. The 7.7 mile race commenced in the early evening with 4 boats and 34 junior sailors between the ages of 14 to 17 competing in the sixth annual version of the event. The Twilight Regatta serves as a tune-up race for Beach Point Yacht Club's overnight race, which kicks off tomorrow. 

Conditions were a 3 to 6 knot dying northwesterly breeze, calm seas and visibility approximately 25 miles. As the red amber hues appeared for the sun set, the almost full moon rose in the southern sky and lit up western Long Island Sound.  The night was magic - some of the participants saw a pod of bottle nose dolphins just before the start.  The first windward leg was to the red flashing buoy just south of Hens and Chickens, the second leg was a tight reach to the green gong off of the east side of Hart Island. The downwind leg was from Hart Is. to the green gong off of Prospect Point. During the final upwind leg, the wind became very light and the racers crawled across the finish line at Can 1, Execution Rocks.

The first place boat Zuma, a J109 (scratch boat), got the gun with an elapsed time of 1 hour 51 minutes and 52 seconds.  Zuma was skipped by Lizzy Michler from Riverside YC.  The second place finish was another J109, Three Cheers skippered by Dylan Kavookjian from Noroton YC, with an elapsed time of 1 hour 54 minutes and 47 seconds.  Adrenaline, a Soverel 33 skippered by Ethan Stark of Indian Harbor YC, was third, with a corrected time of 1 hour, 58 minutes and 4 seconds .

The Twilight Regatta allows junior crews to get a taste of nighttime conditions before the Beach Point Overnight.  Twilight trophies are awarded at the Beach Point luncheon before the Overnight Race.  

For full results, see the JSA Regattas page. Special thanks go to Catherine and Mark Einhaus who helped with the race committee

-Report written by Chuck McCarthy, PWYC

Sailors Compete in YRA of LIS Sears Cup Regatta

33 junior sailors traded in dinghies for Ideal 18 keelboats last Thursday at the YRA of LIS Sears Cup Regatta at American Yacht Club in Rye NY. This annual regatta selects the sponsored representatives for the US Saililing Area "B" semifinals, which will be held this week in Southampton.

The event enjoyed a strong turnout, with ten clubs and eleven teams competing. 

"Not only does this event get all the local clubs out, but it's a nice transition from dinghy sailing to keelboat sailing," said AYC Principal Race Officer Barry Gold. 

Breeze started out at 10-12 knots from the north, and died down to 5-6 knots, shifting towards the east as the day went on. Seven races were sailed on a windward-leeward course, allowing for one drop per team.

"The breeze was pretty steady throughout the day. It picked up in the morning and died around lunchtime, but we were able to get enough races in," said Lizzy Michler, who crewed on the boat from Riverside Yacht Club.

The team from Riverside secured a commanding lead early on by winning the first five races. Teams from Pequot YC and Cedar Point YC put up a strong showing to finish in second and third, respectively. 

"The conditions and the course were pretty fair, so racing wasn't too tough," said Billy Baxter, who skippered the Riverside boat. "It was a good event."

"Now we're on our way to practice for the next event for the Sears Cup in Southampton, and are happy to represent the JSA in the next round," said Michler.

Full results can be found at the JSA Regattas page, and race-by-race coverage is available on the JSA Twitter.

At Pequot Junior Yacht Club, Keeping the Tradition Alive

To kick off the summer season, many clubs take a leaf out of history’s book for their annual commissioning ceremonies.

Ship commissioning dates back to the ancient world, when dignitaries in ancient Greece would wear olive wreaths, drink wine in honor of the gods, and pour water on new vessels as symbols of blessing.

In more modern times, naval fleets assembled for ceremonies where officers read commissioning directives and raised pennants for new commands. In recent years, naval commissionings remain formal ceremonies, with addresses and guests gathering to celebrate new officers.

There were no olive wreaths at Pequot Junior Yacht Club’s commissioning ceremony, but there was plenty of pomp and circumstance to go around as members met in late June to mark the official opening of the summer season.

The junior flag officers are elected by their peers at the final awards night in the prior summer. They then assume leadership roles in the junior program for the following year. The PJYC officers officiate the commissioning ceremony, attended by sailors, club members, and senior flag officers.

Bridget Clarke, this year’s Junior Fleet Captain, commented on the ceremony.

“I felt privileged to wish luck to all the sailors in the audience. Now I realize that the commissioning is not only the chance to reunite with past summer friends, but also the chance to be positive for the upcoming season. Beginning the sailing program with a content attitude will only benefit our time as junior sailors,” said Clarke. 

For Clarke, and many others at Pequot, club traditions such as these play an important role in having memorable and successful summer seasons. 

“In every Pequot commissioning, we will remember our past summer memories and focus on creating new ones," she said.

Pequot's junior sailing program chair, Tim Clarke, said the commissioning ceremony "allowed us to point out some of the awards that Pequot sailors had won over the winter or past years. This included the Everett Morris, the Clinton Bell, and the Thomas Fowler. So it was a nice way to showcase the JSA of LIS tradition in the context of the Pequot tradition."

Images: Top - PYC sailors and families, Bottom - Junior Flag Officers at PJYC, L-R: Nathan Arndt, Vice Commodore; Bridget Clarke, Fleet Captain; Karl Forst, Mentor Leader; David Watkins, Commodore. Photographs courtesy of Tim Clarke.