New Boat is launched!

Well after 7 long days of boat work and rigging we got on the St. Mary's River! Considering it was misting and chilly (ie. what you would expect in Maryland in late November), it wasn't the best of days, but perfect for breaking in the new boat.

It was a long week of slowly figuring out the boat, but we finally hashed it out and got out on the water. It is all part of the learning curve (to figure it out for ourselves - with the help from our 49er friends: Erik Storck, Trevor Moore and Zack Maxam), but at the time it was frustrating looking at our new machine and not being able to take her out for a 'burst'. Top two "fun" projects include spartiting the centerboard trunk/rudder head and figuring out how to rig the new rig; mixed in with fun trips to West Marine in Solomons and APS in Annapolis! Boat preparation is part of this whole program and we know ample time will always have to be set aside to get the boat ready wherever we sail. We still have numerous modifications to make on the boat before we take her to the Bahamas, but we are well on the way. After much dialogue, we have come upon Seamount Sled as the new boat's name. Not a cliche Bermuda name, but still rooted (literally) there and also an allusion to the exhilarating ride in the boat.

Seamount Sled with her Bermuda Blue kite.

WE NEED TO FIX THAT BRIDLE!

Let the Training begin!

After 11 days and 4500 miles of driving (from California to Grand Canyon to New Orleans to Miami to Charleston to Charlottesville) I got to St Mary's County with our new boat - fresh off the boat from New Zealand - to finally get down to some more training. The boat looks great and we can't wait to get it rigged and sailing ASAP. I got some good advice from buddies/US 49er sailors of mine in Florida; they know a ton about the boat and were real helpful. It kinda felt like that scene in Memphis Belle when the rookie pilots are picking the brains of the veteran crews to try and figure out how to survive flying B-17's over occupied Europe in WWII...ok maybe not the perfect analogy, but there are very specific techniques and rigging secrets that must be done to avoid unintended, expensive consequences.

We have an ambitious sailing schedule from now until February and we are excited to work hard and climb up the learning curve. Special thanks to our Dad for co-piloting the drive from New Orleans to Florida and for helping with the trailer box construction. I simply wouldn't have been able to pull it off without him.

-Zander
Stay tuned for training updates from SMC.

New Boat is on order!

Mackay Boats: Just Fast!

The new boat was ordered last week; many thanks to the recent flurry of generous donations (we have raised $38500 to date!), which made this possible. She will be delivered to Miami in October/November fresh from the factory in New Zealand and ready for our pre-worlds training in Miami in December. She is one of the New Mackay 49ers that was designed per the new rule changes earlier this year. She looks beautiful in the pictures and we can't wait to rig her and get her sailing. Dave Mackay was real helpful with the order and is excited to be building our boat.

Dog Days of August
We had to scrub our August training week in Coronado because Zander slipped a disk (C7/T1) in his neck - sustained by head trauma while doing a flip into the beach break at Warwick Long Bay and a compounded by a surfing wipeout in Newport Beach, CA. He is now focused on getting better and hopefully making it out East to train with Jesse at St. Mary's in the late fall. Zander is undergoing spinal decompression treatments three times a week at a local chiropractor and is slowly feeling progress from this serious injury. It was disappointing for the Brothers to not be able to practice, but they are doing their best to keep their eye on the big picture and ensure that Zander heals fully. They know they are racing against training hours before the World Championships in January, but they understand that he can't afford to re-injure this critical body part. Lets hope the disk gets sucked back into place and gives Zander full function and strength back.

Couple more pics from our first training week...fun times and a lot work!

Jesse's remarks after first clinic with Ramon:
It has been a great week of sailing! We could not have asked for better breeze as the first few days were in 5-12knots, while the final couple days it increased to 12-18knots. Having the guidance of Ramon with every facet of the boat, from technique to rigging definitely gives a sense of reassurance. The sailing has felt so much better since the first days over Christmas... I feel much more comfortable and in tune with the boat. However, having said that, there is still so much improvement to be had. Having a great center of balance is needed for steering whether it is tacking wing to wing, or going screaming fast downwind in waves. Over the last week, I have really noticed the composer and steadiness required by me while steering- any erratic movements on the helm can be an immediate catalyst to mistakes in the boat. But all in all, a great beginning to 49ering.

Ramon Olideen, our Argentine 49er coach was everything we could hoped for and more in our first 6 day training camp in Bermuda from June 7-12.  He was very knowledgeable, calm, tough, yet fun at the right time and he knew when to call it a day when we were too exhausted to sail any more.  He helped us with all the facets of the boat and sailing it, from the complex rigging and boat work associated with the boat, to showing us the 'go-fast' boat handling techniques (which his Spanish 49er team used to get a Bronze Medal in China and a Gold Medal in Athens) which maximise speed and efficiency.  We are still in the infant stages of our 49er sailing endeavour (7 days logged) and will need countless hours to practice, practice, practice, but we have made the all important start and inertia no longer weighs us down!

Nice Press Coverage: 

http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=70&articleId=7d965b33003000c

Zander's view on the boat after 2 days of 12-18kts:

My arms are beat after dealing with the big kite (same size as Etchells kite) and I am going to work on my fitness and strength for the next clinic in August.  Right now going downwind in breeze feels like a constant arm wrestle with someone much bigger than me and I am always just on the verge of losing the battle.  Upwind, the big struggle is keeping the main trimmed perfectly/boat flat and working on the wire to wire tacks, but we are we were getting better at them towards the end of our last session (great way to end the week!).

A few of the lessons learned after sailing these boats in breeze:

-Not possible to take a break on the boat, the boat is too inherently unstable to let your guard down.  Take rests standing up and holding on.  

-Don't try and get air on charter fishing boat's wake, you will either break your boat or make an ass of yourself or both!  (We stomped the landing on Playmate's winward wake, but couldn't pull the bow out of the leeward wake).  Sometimes in these boats you have to learn the hard way.  But next time we will bear away/depower and luff the kite!

-Constanly replace your spectra, it all gets so loaded up, it needs to be perfect all the time.  We broke the jib sheet and vang in 2 days.

-Trust Jesse!  So much mutual trust out there (I have the kite and he is driving, both equally powerful forces on the boat) and thats the only way it will work.

All for now,

Zander

Next Training Week is planned for late August in California.  This summer Jesse will be doing the BUSA tour representing ICSA and Zander will be running the Jr. Sailing program at NHYC.

Great Spring for the Kirkland Brothers!

We have raised $22,000 in the past month and are in the process of restructuring our fundraising strategy, so hopefully more will be on the way. For now, we have enough to start!

Jesse just won the ICSA College Dinghy Championships with St. Mary's. He was 2nd in a highly competitive A Division and was very fast upwind in the breezy conditions of San Francisco Bay; a testament to Jesse being among the elite of American sailors in his peer group. He attributes his success to good starts and lane management off the line. Congrats to the Seahawks for winning their third College Dinghy Title in team history. The St. Mary's team was second in the Team Race National Championship, making them the most successful team through both National Championships. Jesse was also named an ICSA All-American skipper for the third time in three years. Jesse's racing at such a high level in college will be a tremendous resource for the Kirkland Brothers Team as they sail in the competitive 49er events around the world.

Zander just finished up his 2 year coaching gig at Newport Harbor High School, where he lead the team to three National Titles: 2008 Cressy (Singlehanded Champs), 2009 Mallory (Doublehanded Fleet Racing Champs) and 2009 Baker (Team Racing Champs). This spring was a very special one for him and his team, where they swept both the Mallory and Baker Trophies. The "Spring Sweep" has only been done seven times in the history and only once before by the Newport Harbor Team. Zander attributes the team's success to raw talent, hard work ethic in practice and the hunger to WIN. He managed very competitive practices, where everyone pushed each other to new heights and he even jumped in the CFJ from time to time to act as "Team Racing Fodder" to push his "A" team. All the sailboat racing Zander has watched over the past two years has matured his game and will undoubtedly help the Kirkland Brothers team improve as he brings his analytical coaching philosophy to the Brothers' sailing.

First Clinic with Ramon Olideen - June 7th -12th - Bermuda
We will be updating our movement on the learning curve as we sail with a World Class Coach for five days. Looking forward to some beautiful sailing in Bermuda and learning a lot!