North Americans Recap

Great Practice Event
The last day of NA's saw the Race Committee fit in 4 races (with only 3 counting because one was abandoned at the end because of a wind shift) before the 2pm deadline. The conditions were extremely difficult with the breeze ranging from 4-12knots and shifting all over the place (WNW to NNW). It was a great day of practice for us between the tedious light air boat handling/shifting gears for the pressure and the actual racing. With all the sailing we did yesterday, we had numerous firsts:

• first 360 for fouling the Japanese (we were stoked to be near them, they were 8th at 2008 Olympics)
• first gybe set(successful) into a nice righty, where we passed a few boats.
  
• first start where we were full speed at go and both trapping on the line(permitted us to hold our lane)
• first race day without capsizing!

These 'firsts' may seem modest, but in these boats, you take anything you can get and run to the bank!

In looking back on the races, we had some great moments, but inconsistency and some bad luck plagued our overall results. For example, after a mediocre start in the 1st race, we were able to fight back to mid fleet by the windward mark, and by the second windward we were in 7th. However, the second last downwind was our demise. First, our spinnaker touched the jib/forestay of the Japanese as we attempted to roll them during the hoist - Zander will try in the future to not put the kite up in competitors' faces! Slightly fazed, we contained the loss to only a couple boats, but were again bombarded with bad luck at the leeward mark as our spin halyard got tangled in the mainsheet preventing us from dousing the kite for a couple minutes (essentially ending our race). We will try in the future to ensure that everything is in order before drop the kite, but as always in this boat, easier said than done.

In the race that was abandoned, there was confusion among the fleet as to where the windward mark was because of the shifty breeze and R/C error (they put our inner loop winward mark to the left of the 470's outer loop winward mark!). We were one of the leading boats on the right (and in more pressure than the guys on the left) and were looking top 5, but soon realized we were screwed when we saw the guys from the left rounding the other mark that was out of position. We grounded back in the great sailing skiff breeze (8-12kts) and finished close to the middle of the pack, only to find that the race was all for naught. We didn't mind at all, it was great practice and proved every now and then we can defy the 49er "boat-time caste system" equilibrium (think the Matrix) and jump up for a gander of clear lanes and boats to our rear - only just enough to tease us and keep us working hard towards the top of the class, before we are unpleasantly reminded of our novice experience in the boat and slapped back in the fleet. But in all seriousness, the journey is a blast, the learning real, and the people fun and it makes eating all this humble pie pretty tasty!

Results can be found at: http://www.mycyouthsailing.org/calendar.php
look under:

01/15/10

The 470 North American and The 49er North American Championship Miami Yacht Club

North Americans Update

North Americans, Miami Florida
Racing went underway yesterday in a solid 15-18kts with gusts in the low 20s in the 2nd race. The Biscayne Bay chop was sharp and steep in the southeasterly breeze and made for very challenging 9er sailing. The tacks and gybes are way harder in the waves because it bounces as you run 'cross de boat from wing to wing. Overall we were pretty pumped with our performance. We managed to finish 2 of 3 races (numerous people went in early because the building breeze and breakdowns) and had moments with some of the seasoned guys. It was also a little comforting seeing the top guys having their fair share of trouble with the breeze/chop combo. I guess with these boats, no matter how much experience you have, it is always going to be tough and you need to stay on your toes! After day 1 we were in 10th place out of 22 boats.

We landed a few gybes in the big breeze and had some near pitch-poles with our feet in the straps. All and all it was an awesome day of practice and was tons of fun. Our freestyle move of the day was waiting between races, dodging 470's and board sailors, when Jesse started "Supermaning" 15ft out to winward from the wing. It all started because we heeled to windward broad reaching and Jesse got swept off the wing and started getting dragged with only his harness keeping him attached to the boat. It was kind of like trolling at high speed! When I realized what was happening I jumped to leeward and saved the death roll and then grabbed the tiller and headed the boat up. With the boat coming to windward, it leveled off and Jesse levitated back to the wing. Jesse stayed calm the whole time and knew as long as I saved the death roll, he would land back on the wing as soon as the boat returned to a more natural trim. It was an amazing sequence that would have been cool to see on video and my description does not do it justice.
-Zander

Day 2 at NA's
Today's racing brought a south-westerly of 8-14knots in some sizable chop. In the first race, with the Committee Boat favored, we managed to have a good start at the boat- though we still can improve on the final 5 secs to get the boat up to max speed. After some unfortunate luck (getting slammed by two boats and forced to tack an additional couple times), we ended up rounding the mark in 12, right behind the front pack. After rounding the leeward mark, I misjudged the trap and ended up breaking the tiller extension, forcing us to capsize.

The race had a disappointing ending, but there were definitely some highlights for most of the first beat when we were battling with the top 6. To single out a specific instance, we had equal speed with the NZL team(finished 15th at Worlds and winning NA's) for a long port tack. At the conclusion of the race, some ominous clouds rolled into the Biscayne Bay forcing the 49er fleet to head back to shore for the day. Tomorrows forecast is for 8-12knots, and we are hoping to put together some good races to end the regatta.

-JESSE

links to results:
http://www.mycyouthsailing.org/calendar.php

Take on first event - Jesse

After the completion of the Worlds, there are several different areas within skiff sailing which we were exposed to.

Positives
-Our straight line speed was quite good, however, sailing at such a shifty event did not see this emphasized.
-Our starting has improved much from our first start. We are beginning to catch on to the proper technique and manuevers required on the starting line. That said, we still need to fine tune the final 15seconds prior to the start, but we are getting close!
-We continually improved our tacks and gybes throughout the event.

Observations/comments on the racing
-Judging/managing the fleet
• Determining who is beating who is much different in the 49er due to their extreme angles both up and downwind.
• Can be potentially radical speed differences across the course. Implication- can lose or gain 100 yards in minutes.
-Approaching the leeward gate is an incredibly critical time as there are usually many boats all converging on the two marks. There is a lot of potential of gaining boats at this stage of the race since there are such great speed variances, and developing the proper technique/plan can permit us to capitalize on this. For example, being on either the starboard(obviously more powerful) or port layline in the final 100 yards to the gates enables you to have power heading into the mess at the leeward mark. More specifically, it allows you to have your spinnaker up longer, and avoid being swallowed in the middle of the course.
-Since the speed of these boats is so great, it is pertinent to develop game plans far in advance of situations. Whether it be planning convergences with other boats or planning which side you want to hit on the downwind, thinking well ahead is not only recommended, but required as your doing 12-15knots.
- Developing/improving our intuitive sense of balance within the boat no matter the breeze. In other words, in response to breeze changes knowing precisely how much body weight is needed, and where to place it. This is incredibly important, but naturally will be improved with time in the boat.

Worlds Wrap Up

'Sled' at her first event!

Bahamas 2010 49er World Championships

Looks can be deceiving: Action off the beach in Freeport, Grand Bahamas

Infamous Front Page Photo: Paying Dues in the Bahamas at the 2010 World Championship.
Our buddies (in the background), were out of control and unable to give us room at the leeward mark in Race 6 and the top of their mast went through the Bermuda Flag on our main. Lesson learned: Save the boat and don't force a collision, even if you are right.

Our beautiful flag and sail up close after the collision.

We are back in the States regrouping after our immersion training in the Bahamas. What an experience it was for us; not only was the sailing time great with Zack's oversight, but we were able to watch up close all the top guys sailing the boat. This is great because we were able to see their little boat handling intricacies and general skiff sailing approach. The other benefit of having these guys in the boat yard, is to see how they set up their boat. We found ourselves daily improving the rigging (and we are not done yet!) as we looked and talked around the boat yard.

Challenging, Shifty Breeze
The breeze over the event was pretty tough for a first event because the course was tucked in under the shore line, inside the reef, which made for shifty, variable legs. This type of breeze puts an emphasis on quick boat handling and general comfort in the boat, allowing the crews to react to the wind changes to maximize boat speed. This said, it was great practice and should be nice to get to a venue with a steadier breeze. We made new friends with guys from Argentina, Mexico, the Czech Republic, the US, and England. We hope to work with these guys in the future to take all our levels higher.

Cruising off the wind in Freeport's puffy, flatwater

The results were as expected, very rough (2nd Last), we had more DNF's (did not finish) than actual scores (8 DNF's vs 6 finishes)! The learning and the moments of performance was what we were after. The majority of the DNF's were due to breakdowns from collisions with other boats (most of them were arguably not our fault), for only 2 of the DNF's were caused by us getting too far behind because of capsizing. These 6 breakdown DNF's taught us the importance of avoiding collisions at all costs and the need to have extra sails and parts ready to go when things break. These boats are lightly built and rigged and so tend to break easily when there are collisions or wipe outs.

Things we were happy about the event:

1) STARTING: Slowly working on the time/distance of the 49er in the pre-start and we were close to getting some really good starts. Jesse is quickly picking up the feel of maneuvering the boat on the line and we are working on our handwork with the mainsheet and jib sheet as we accelerate off the line.

Kirkland Brothers jousting at the pin

2) Overall rigging set up of the boat. The boat is running better than ever and making our lives easier after seeing how our competitor's run things.

3) Our straight line speed. When we are not distracted by boat handling issues and are able to concentrate on our speed, we have found that our speed is very solid. Upwind, Jesse does a good job focusing on boat speed, while I work on the mainsheet trim, doing my best to keep the boat balanced and at maximum speed.

4) Lots of boat handling practice. Most of our races were 4 laps, an extremely high number of spinnaker sets and douses, which translates to 12 sets and 9 douses over the course of a 3 race day. The shifty breeze also made sure were taking a bunch on the beats and by the end of the event, we were coming across the boat quicker. Also we are learning how to sail the boat downspeed during the pre-start in good breeze, which is a skill we just learned at the event (because we had never done a start before we got to the Bahamas!). This is important because it not only conserves our energy for the racing, but it allows us to set up properly for the start. It is a tricky art with those giant sails, dragging wings and the small rudder!

5) Zack's Coaching. Zack was great for our first event; he not only got our boat set up properly and made significant improvements to our boat handling, but he introduced us to class stalwarts and oriented us to the class. His knowledge of the boat and how to manage the championship was a huge resource.

6) Meeting New Friends in the class. We met some very experienced sailors in the class and other "49er Freshman", who like us have much work to do before entering the upper stratus of the class could be a reality. There is a certain amount of bonding you do with these fellow "freshman"; as you laugh/comiserate about your wipe outs and your position on the scoreboard! The synergy between us should power us through this tough stretch on the learning curve and take us all higher!

Just to show you how gear intensive these boats are...

Things we broke while in the Bahamas:

• tiller extension
• outhaul
• ripped upper main
• holed bottom panel of the main
• ripped foot of the spinnaker
• Jesse's trapeze wire (3 mins to go before start of racing on final day)
• spinnaker pole launcher

-Zander

We need a sailmaker!

After a few days of abnormally chilly weather, today was a return to normal Bahamas weather. We were treated to a beautiful day of racing with warm temperatures, sunny skies and a solid breeze of 8-12knots. The Race Committee made the decision to race two Silver races in the morning, followed by three Gold races, and ending with two more Silver races.

In the first race of the morning, we were able to recover from a mediocre start to get in the mix in the middle of the fleet. Unfortunately, at the final leeward mark we were fouled by a boat resulting in a tear in the bottom of our spinnaker. We were forced to retire from the race and unable to find a replacement in time for the second race of the morning.

After the disappointment of being unable to finish the first two races due to reasons beyond us, we were poised to have a good showing in the afternoon. In the first race, we had a decent start and headed out right with a good lane. A bit of misfortune struck us near the windward mark, as we were unable to stay in phase due to a couple of boats on our hip that were reluctant to tack and we lost big. Thankfully, we were able to pass a few boats on the final windward leg resulting in a decent finish.

In the final race of the afternoon, with the boat favored and the Black flag hoisted, we won the boat! It was of great relief that we finally had a good start. After several poor starts you forget how much easier it is to sail a beat when you actually have options! We rounded the top mark in the top 15, and on the downwind leg, near to the leeward mark, we had a race-ending incident with two other boats. Sailing on port gybe with another boat directly to leeward of us, we converged with a starboard boat, and not having enough room to gybe due to the leeward’s boat failure to provide ample room, we had a collision with the starboard gyber. The resulting damage was a tear in our main.

Today was probably the most tumultuous day of sailing the 49er yet. We had great moments between starting and straight-line speed, however, they were overshadowed by incidents forcing us not to finish races. One day down the road, today’s antics will provide comical relief, but for now, they are nothing short of sheer frustration. Tomorrows another day, and with forecasters predicting winds in the region of 20+ knots, we are ready to get in some good heavy air practice.

-Jesse

Ups and Downs of Sailing 49ers on the International Stage

Our first start! A little buried at the middle/pin, but we got a line soon after!

Watch this video to hear me talk about our goals for the event:
http://www.sailgroove.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236197-2010-49er-world-championship/248648-zander-kirkland-bermuda

Want the good news or the bad news first?
Lets start with the tough stuff:
Day 2, Breeze NW, 15-25+, powerful gusts
Well, right now it is in the low 50's in Freeport and everyone is all bundled up after a very cold (for Bahamas) and blustery day 2 of racing at the Worlds. It was at the top end of racing breeze for the class (with reported gusts to 27kts) and the day was shortened to only 2 tough races. We struggled even to get down to the starting line, as it was a broad reach from the beach, which made for a powerful 2-sail 'sled ride' down to the line. In both races, we were only able to make it up and down once before capsizing too many times to continue racing (not only does it tire you to the bone, but you get in the way of the top guys).

We were happy that we went out and pushed our comfort zone, but at the same time frustrated we couldn't hang in the races. If only DNFs could be scored better than DNCs! Regardless we need much more time (and work our way up to this amount of breeze in a much more linear approach) in the boat before we can contemplate legitimately racing in this amount of breeze. We were watching top Americans and other seasoned 9er sailors flip over in the powerful blasts of air that would charge through every 5-10 mins or so. The thing we singled out as our weakest link was our spinnaker douse (when we take it down); it seemed every time we were getting the kite down, the boat would load up because of the dramatic lose in speed and then get unstable and flip. We talked with Zack about it and he recommends Jesse not to bear away so much (to save the boat speed and keep the apparent wind lower) and focus on keeping the boat on a plane, all the while I have to be quicker at getting the kite down and then getting back onto the wire as we head up....ahhh. sounds way easier said than done!

Now onto the Good News from Yesterday!
Day 1 Report, Breeze NW 8-15, puffy and offshore
We started off the first race of our lives together in the 49er with some flair in a stacked fleet, when we rounded the 1st weather mark in 10th and then gained on the run to round the 2nd weather mark in 8th! We ran into trouble in our second downwind and lost some boats, but after 8 legs still managed to hold onto a very respectable 17th place. Jesse showed great driving ability and windshift management and I was hanging in on most of the important crew work to get us around in good shape. The thing I really like about Jesse's style is that he is not intimidated by anyone out there, sure he has plenty of respect for the guys that have paid their dues and at the top, but he is not afraid of mixing it up with them when he can. I think this will bode well for us in the future as our boathandling comes together.

Our two other races were tougher because of poor starting (really hard to maneuver these things downspeed and to know when to accelerate), poor spinnaker work, tiring muscles and our rig was too tight for the dying breeze. But regardless, it was an amazing practice day as we rounded 12 winward marks and did 12 spinnaker douses. The other thing we were pleased about for both days was working on our downspeed boathandling (you have to keep on your toes during the pre-start and between races). No rest for the weary in these boats!

Below are some pictures of our 1st Race and us up with people we probably shouldn't be near!

That's us (red kite in the foreground), right after our first spinnaker set in the Top 10 at the World Championship in our first race!

Action at the 1st leeward mark

The rich get richer...Kirkland Brother's launched in the top 10 on our 2nd run

All for now,
Zander

Hopefully the breeze and temperature will moderate tomorrow!
Thanks to coach Zack for his cool pics of our memorable race.

Worlds Eve

Sorry we have neglected the blog of late, the internet down here in the Bahamas has been spotty and we have been focusing the bulk of our time and energies getting cranked up for our first event in the boat. It is quite a venue down here in Freeport on Grand Bahamas Island, like Somerset Long Bay meets Shelly Bay, with all the racing inside the reef line which barely reaches out 3/4 of a mile. The shoreline and breakers run East/West, so the forecasted Northerlies (the same Arctic Blast that has Miami in the 40's) for the entire week should bring us gusty, offshore conditions that are going to make the racing very variable and "collegesque" in terms shifts and tight racing.

The beats are probably going to be about 6-8 mins long, making the final shift and the approach to the mark critical. Starts will also be huge, as we battle it out for a lane to the first shift. We are both looking forward to starting the event and to see how we many manage the fleet and our boat! Zack Maxam, our coach has been instrumental in getting us up to speed in terms of rigging and has given us great advice for getting around in the boat. We are stoked to have Zack and look forward to working with him in the future as well.

-Zander


Getting as much time in the boat has been our number one priority. Unfortunately, we were unable to practice more than two days at home for the 10 days before Christmas due to high winds in the region of 35-65 knots! After spending the first day rigging, we were able to get out on the water and get some much needed practice. Over the course of our 5 days of practice here in Freeport, we have seen shifty Northerlies, steady Easterlies and Westerlies with winds between 5-18knots.

The focus in the majority of our sailing has been gaining confidence and experience in the required maneuvers of tacking, gybing and bearing away. The practicing here has also led to many firsts for us whether it be speed testing, starting or weaving through the fleet both upwind and downwind.

As we head into the Worlds, we are unsure of how we will measure up to the fleet, but have the firm mentality of gaining as much as we can from the top boats. For me, I will try and understand slight differences in the tactics involved with the 49er. I will also have to adjust my perception of crosses and fleet judging as the angles in these boats is significantly different to any previous boats I have sailed.

Jesse