JibeTalk

Long Island Sound area sailors qualify for 2012 Olympics

At the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Australia, all the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics sailors have qualified the USA for a country berth in their respective Olympic classes.

Those of us who sail on Long Island Sound and nearby waters are especially pleased to see some of our neighbors who were junior sailors from about ten years ago punch their tickets this weekend to the Olympic games in 2012.
 
Having a wildly successful final day was Rob Crane (Darien CT) with first and a second for 14th overall in the Laser fleet, a huge leap from 33rd at the start of the day. “It’s unbelievable,” said Crane. “I’m thrilled to have a day like that in arguably the hardest fleet in the world." Way back in 2000, Rob was the JSA of LIS Radial class champion and also the JSA season high-point champ. And earlier this past summer he came back to help some of the current juniors as a coach at the JSA Advanced Racing Clinic.   

Erik Storck (Huntington NY) with Trevor Moore ended up 9th overall in the 49er fleet after a frustrating gear failure in the medal race. As a junior, Erik skippered to win the US Junior Sailing Doublehanded Championship for the Bemis trophy in 2002 and the US Youth Sailing Championship in 2004. More recently he has helped coach the high school teams that sail out of The Waterfront Center in Oyster Bay NY.  

Other top scoring sailors from the Long Island Sound area included Amanda Clark (Shelter Island NY) and Sarah Lihan who were 12th in the Women’s 470, and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport NY) on Anna Tunnicliffe’s Team Maclaren, with Molly Vandemoer, who won gold in the Women’s Match Race.   

  
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Read the details about all the USA sailors on the USSTAG news feed , on the USSTAG blog and listen to audio interviews with the sailors.

And for overall coverage see the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships 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

 

Oyster Bay Youth Match Racing Clinegatta

With the ICSA now hosting a national match racing championship, and hopeful plans underway to have a national youth championship in 2012, match racing is here to stay for a new generation of sailors.  

The Oyster Bay Youth Match Racing Clinegatta was held several weeks ago from July 14-17. Oakcliff Sailing Center and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club played host to this six team-event sailed in Sonars. 

Sailors attended a clinic led by Dave Perry, coach for the US Sailing women's match race team, where they combined on-the-water practice with video and debrief sessions. At the same time, umpires at the clinic received training from Bruce Cook, chairman of the US Sailing Umpires Committee. 

The racing portion of the event saw close competition between the teams. In the final race of the event, the team led by skipper Clinton Hayes, a recent UVM graduate, pulled away from the British team skippered by James French to win the regatta.

JibeTalk was able to sit down for a few minutes with Tim Clark, Head Instructor at Noroton YC, and ask him a couple questions about his experience at the event. Tim, an active big boat racer, is a member of the Connecticut College sailing team. He competed at the regatta with several other Conn College teammates, including skipper Peter Miller. Their team finished third at the regatta. 

JibeTalk: How did you, and your team, get interested in match racing and this event in particular? 

Tim: Earlier this spring, Peter Miller (skipper), approached myself and some other members of the Conn Coll sailing team about doing some match racing regattas this summer. The original intent of our regatta schedule this summer was to practice with the hopes of ultimately being able to qualify for the college match racing nationals. We found out about the event through some adverts that Oakcliff had put out through JSA and some other publications. After participating in the Youth Clinegatta, we all became hooked on this part of the sport, and since then we've been doing as much match racing as possible. 

JibeTalk: How did the event go? What were some of the high and low points?

Tim: The event was amazing to say the least. All of us on the boat came out learning more about sailing from in the span of four days than we have in a few years. To be honest, I'm not sure we had any low points. The only time we were bummed out during the regatta was when we went to the wrong windward mark during a race, because nobody on the boat managed to remember which mark we were going to. The high point was on Day 2, at the end of the first day when our boathandling became smooth. There were three people on the boat, none of us had sailed together before, and after Day 1 we were all pretty nervous about how bad our boathandling was compared to other boats. 

JibeTalk: What has your team been focusing on as you head into the next event?

Tim: We just competed at our second match racing Clinegatta aboard Swedish Match 40's. We have a strong team, but with bigger boats we're trying to improve our communication within the boat, as well as what's going on around us. After the first regatta, we agreed that communication was our weak point. It definitely makes a difference, and that's our main focus as of now. With more efficient communication will come better information regarding tactics and course strategy. 

JibeTalk: How was the practice and competition at the regatta different from what you might normally encounter in college sailing?

Tim: The main difference between the Youth Clinegatta and college sailing is that everyone was there to get better, and we had a fantastic coach helping us accomplish our goals. College sailing can be cutthroat, it was nice to see all the teams working together to make the entire 6 boat group better as a whole. The days were long, some days we would spend 12 hours at the club doing debriefs with Dave over pizza, and at no point were any of us bored. 

JibeTalk: As a coach, how do you think can junior sailors get into match racing? What are tangible elements kids can take away (or that coaches can incorporate into lessons) from match racing to help them with the day-to-day dinghy racing that they focus on in their programs?

Tim: First off, if any junior sailor wants to get into match racing, they should do the Youth Clinegatta. They will be astounded at how much they learn over the course of four days. Second, I believe that JSA and US Sailing should shift Sears Cup away from a triplehanded fleet race event towards a match racing event. I'm looking forward to doing some fleet racing after this because some of the tactics I learned from match racing directly translate to fleet racing, and how to catch boats if you're behind, or defend your lead if you're ahead. 

Photo credit Oakcliff Sailing Center

Spring Laser Regatta and Youth Match Racing

Here are two events that have registrations due this week.

The first is for the Spring Laser Regatta at American YC, Rye NY, on this Saturday, June 18. This is an open event for any Laser Standard or Radial sailor, regardless of age. The NOR and entry form are available on the AYC website.

The second is the Oyster Bay Youth Match Racing Clinegatta (clinic and regatta) at Oakcliff Sailing Center on July 14-17. Entries are due this week (one month in advance) from sailors 16 – 22 years old. For details see the Oakcliff website.

 

Dennis Conner - Ed du Moulin Junior Match Racing Trophy

Attention junior match racers.

We just got word that the Manhasset Bay YC & the Knickerbocker Cup Foundation are going to run a match race clinic and regatta on May 21-22 for under-19-year-old sailors on Long Island Sound. 

In 1992, as part of the Knickerbocker Cup, Ed du Moulin, a founder of the Knickerbocker Cup, and Dennis Conner, the America’s Cup skipper of Stars and Stripes, thought it would be a good idea to set up a match race for the junior sailors on Manhasset Bay and offer a trophy to the winner. 

The purpose of the regatta for the Dennis Conner - Ed du Moulin Junior Match Racing Trophy is to promote match racing to young sailors and to identify skilled young people who may continue match racing as adults. The most recent year of this competition was 2007, when the trophy was won by Colin Kennedy and Ryan Schmitz from Port Washington YC. 

Historically, competition for the trophy has been limited to junior sailors from clubs on Manhasset Bay. Now, the Knickerbocker Cup Foundation is pleased to extend an invitation to all junior sailors on Long Island Sound to apply for acceptance in the regatta. 

Six teams will sail Ideal 18 keelboats that will be provided by the organizers. 

Awards will be presented during the 2011 Knickerbocker Cup Awards Ceremony on Sunday, August 28, so the winning juniors will get a chance to meet the world renowned match racers who compete for this year’s Knickerbocker Cup. 

To receive an invitation to this unique event, see the NOR.

Photo credit:
Fred Delmhorst from Ideal 18 North American champs

Can the iPhone make you the Ultimate Sailor?

 

With the accessibility and convenience of the Internet on phones, virtually any and all information is at one's fingertips. 

The revolution of the iPhone and its applications, or apps, has taken the technology world by storm and leaves no field of interest unexplored, including all elements of sailing. Apple & iTunes supplies an app for every need, concern, want, and interest for sailors. 

Whether you're learning the ropes or have had a lifetime of experience, 'there's an app for that' on the iPhone.  Listed below are a few of the top sailing applications for iPhones, check them out and see which ones best fit you!

For the Skipper-in-Training:
- SailX     
Simulating a full-featured sailing environment, learn the ins and outs of sailing and racing through this communally interactive app.  Through the SailX tactical trainer, get access to real-time regattas and communicate with other online sailors in addition to simulated sailing environments.  The app features three racing formats (fleet, team, match-race), five boat types (laser, catamaran, skiff, team, keelboat), and tons of simulations ranging from wind effects to sheet control.  SailX allows you to get access to live regattas while simulating real life scenarios, so you can be knowledgeably ready for anything.
- You-Tack Pro  
 For those who still need to brush up on their racing rules, You-Tack Pro is any captain's dream.  The app is a comprehensive way of learning and reviewing all the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing through illustrations, explanations, 3D animated quizzes, definitions, and description.  This easy to use app tests your sailing knowledge through simulations of real life scenarios; some of the quizzes include 'Sailing Upwind', 'Windward Mark', and 'Learning Signals'.  An added bonus: the quizzes are taken from the International Sailing Association Federation Case Book for 2009-2012.  Save your quiz results and specific rules in the favorites folder for a quick brush-up before any race.

For the savvy navigator & tactician:
- iNavX 
Looking for an easier way to keep your charts handy?  The iNavX app keeps all the official NOAA RNC US water marine charts in the palm of your hand.  iNavX covers all West Coast, Gulf Coast, East Coast, Great Lakes, Alaska, Hawaii, and US Virgin Islands charts in detail.  In addition, the app's built in GPS helps you plot your current position, map waypoints & routes, and track your progress.  Plot, zoom, scroll, and navigate with this 5 star rated app!

For the sailing history buff:
- History of Sailing  
Expand your horizon of sailing knowledge with this friendly, illustrative app.  The History of Sailing app covers the history of sailing through facts, illustrations, and engaging stories.  Browse through chapters of sailing physics, history, and points of sail to become a full-fledged sailing history expert.  One reviewer testified, "I had my friend who knew nothing about sailing give this a read for 30 minutes, he was able to carry on a conversation with me about sailing physics.  It’s a great guide to what sailing is all about."

For the 'can't-get-enough-sailing' enthusiast:
- Live Skipper 
One of the first multiplayer sailing games for the iPhone, Live Skipper is a virtual regatta simulator.  Create a boat, choose sails, watch the weather, and start competing in races around the world with real virtual opponents.  This app brags a 50,000+ player community, with the favorite feature being the real weather conditions simulated.  With a new race beginning every Friday, only one of the competing boats can come in first place.  Now you can get your sailing fix on or off the water.

- American Sailing Association 
Designed for new and experienced sailors, the ASA app is designed to fit and enhance the sailing lifestyle.  This app has everything for everyone: learn the art of typing knots, brush up on the identification of nautical flags and vessel lighting, find sailing schools in your area, and tons more.  Need to look up a quick term?  The app comes with a full sailing glossary for reference.  Want to check the forecast?  The app has direct access to the ASA Social Media Gateway, featuring national and satellite radars, tropical conditions for US cities, 5-day forecasts, wind data, and tide predictions.  Interested in to-the-minute sailing updates?  Use the app for direct connection to ASA's Facebook updates and Twitter feed.  ASA has always maintained a mission to "promote education and safety throughout the sailing community", and they continue to do so through their extensive app.

Download these apps and become the handiest sailor on or off the water.  Turns out, the ultimate sailor can fit right in your pocket.

And here are some other apps mentioned by our Facebook fans:
 - Ayetides
AyeTides displays tides and currents for nearly 10,000 location around the world. It is a stand-alone application and does not require internet access to function. 
 - MotionX GPS 
Designed and used by Philippe Kahn during his record setting Transpacific Run. The app has a virtual compass for navigation and a stopwatch to record time, distance, speed and average pace. MotionX-GPS is a great way to compare results from one race to the next and at the end of the day.
 - Animated Knots by Grog:
Are you all tied up in knots? Well, this app has been created by re-engineering the content of the very popular website, including all the knot tying animations and descriptions.
 - WindAlert
WindAlert is an app that draws from a database that includes over 40,000 weather stations across the globe. Features include favorite lists of weather stations separated into unique user-generated profiles and customizable wind alerts delivered through the iPhone when conditions reach thresholds set by the user.

Did we miss any iPhone apps that you find useful? Or do you prefer Android apps? Let us know by leaving a comment here.

This article was contributed by our guest author, Ali Tortorello, from Boston University, whose family sails out of Cedar Point YC in Westport CT.   

If you also have a story you'd like to share, please contact us and we'll get you published on JibeTalk!

 

Youth America's Cup: "These will be cool boats"

Anounced yesterday were two new boat classes for the America's Cup in 2013: the AC72 wingsail catamaran and its little sister, the AC45. The teams will start sailing the AC45 in 2011 and move to the AC72 in 2012. Then the AC45s will be turned over to a Youth America’s Cup circuit, offering young sailors a development route to the main competition.

"These will be cool boats. I think they'll be boats that young kids will look at and get excited about," Russell Coutts said during a conference call yesterday. "When you look at the state of the America's Cup before today, you really had quite a few sailors that were in their 40's and 50's. It really had the appearance of a senior tour than a pinnacle event. I think this will bring a lot more of the sailors that have been brought up sailing skiffs and high performance boats, people who like speed and also like to race."

Lots of stuff in many places about this news. Try Googling "Youth America's Cup" to get started. A video of the news conference is at Sailgroove.

Wing-sails had early development on Long Island Sound

If wing-sail technology didn’t have everyone’s attention after BMW Oracle Racing’s victorious 33rd America’s Cup, it definitely does now after the International C-Class Catamaran Championship won by Canadian defenders Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke, hosted at the New York Yacht Club in Newport RI August 22-28.

The high speeds and almost instant acceleration of the cambered airfoils had members of America’s Cup syndicates, top designers and  sailors in awe. Read more at the NYYC website and at the SailingWorld blog.

What many of our junior sailors may not know is that early versions of these wing-sails were developed right here on western Long Island Sound. Indeed if you have visited The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk CT you certainly have seen the C-Class cat Patient Lady V displayed with her 1982 vintage wing-sail in the entrance hall.   

How did Patient Lady V come to be on display in Norwalk? It seems that Tony DiMauro, who was commodore at Roton Point Sailing Association in the Rowayton section of Norwalk, had become one of the greats of the C-Class. He built a series of boats between the late 1960s and early 1980s named "Patient Lady" (I-VI), named it is said, after his ever waiting wife! 

The C-Class regatta originally was started in 1961 based on a similar format as the America's Cup, in which challengers competed against the defender in match-races for the championship trophy. The C-Class cats at 25 feet were quite a bit smaller than the AC yachts, so the event became known as "The Little America's Cup." 

DiMauro led four consecutive successful defenses of the Little America's Cup from 1977 to 1982 with his "Patient Lady" (III-V) cats. He first won in 1977 with Patient Lady III, which is still sailing today at Roton Point. Then his Patient Lady IV won in 1978.

Patient Lady V successfully defended twice against Italy in 1980 and 1982, so she certainly deserves her place of honor in The Maritime Aquarium.

Photo at NYYC Newport 2010 champs by Christophe Launay.
Judith Bacal, Exhibit Director at The Maritime Aquarium, provided the photos of Patient Lady V.

 

More Patient Lady V photos:

 

 

Bringing America's Cup Match Racing to LIS

The America’s Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy and the most well known sailing event in the world. Now, sailors on the Long Island Sound have a chance to experience the

America’s Cup first hand. The 12 meter Yacht Development Foundation’s goal is to promote appreciation of the rich maritime history behind the 12 meter class by providing the “hands-on” thrill of sailing actual 12 meter America’s Cup yachts. Their philosophy is to maintain these proud yachts as working boats in order to make them available for use to a wide variety of groups.

The 12mYDF has been reaching out to junior programs around Long Island Sound to get juniors involved in a series of sail camps and clinics that may be integrated into a club junior sailing program. Patrick Sikorski, executive director of the 12mYDF, believes his program can not only keep older kids interested in racing, but inspire them to love sailing outside of dinghies. When we visited him at his Greenwich CT yacht base, he said: When you put someone in one of these boats, it is eye opening. It is like playing with LeBron James. These boats can inspire kids to love sailing like nothing else. They never forget it.

One of the clubs working with the 12mYDF is the Norwalk Yacht Club junior program, which has tested the waters by incorporating a two-day event for advanced juniors this year and hopes to expand it in the future. Phillip Meese, co-chair of the of Norwalk program, said he hopes to see more clubs get involved and eventually have a true match racing program with weekly races. He is trying to develop interest in a one-day match racing event in August with clubs that may include Stamford, American, and Seawanhaka.

 To promote the 12m program among clubs, the 12mYDF offered a free match racing event for two yacht clubs as a prize at the All-Instructor Symposium in June. Centerport and Larchmont yacht clubs won the prize and we’ll certainly look forward to covering that event.

Outside of providing interest in match racing and big boat sailing, the 12mYDF is working to preserve the history of the America’s Cup. As the Cup has entered into a difficult period of its history - full of legal challenges and declining interest - many sailors now do not feel any real attachment to it or interest in it. Older sailors remember when the America’s Cup was the true golden standard of yacht racing, but juniors nowadays are more likely to seek inspiration in top-level dinghy sailing. Phillip Meese said: This program could be a great way to close the loop when it comes to junior sailing. A lot of these kids have no connection to this great history. By teaching kids about the great history of the Cup, the 12mYDF can help to preserve an important part of sailing history and culture.

See the notice about these junior programs and read more about the 12mYDF on its website.

Dave Perry is Big on Youth Match Racing

Dave Perry finished a 5-day youth match racing clinic and regatta in Sheboygan WI in late-June and seemed very pleased with the results. "In our first year, we had six sailors; this year we were up to 25. This is part of a national effort to grow youth match racing in the U.S. and help train our young sailors to become experienced match racers." Read the full details here.

Dave is three-time U.S. national champion and US Sailing Team Alphagraphics women's match race coach from Southport, CT.

He continued, "It fits well with the conversion intercollegiate sailing has made for this fall, switching their sloop racing championship to match racing. We plan to schedule similar youth match racing camps around the country in 2010 and into 2011, with the goal of making match racing more accessible to youth sailors and growing the sport."

So in the Sheboygan example we can see the path that Dave and Oakcliff Sailing Center, Oyster Bay NY, are following with their youth match racing clinics and regattas July 9-11 and July 23-25. See Oakcliff details here.