Results not posted on the web just yet. But here are the results from the result board.
Optimist Overall (Out of 48)
Bryan - 24th
Josh - 39th
Optimist Blue Fleet
Bryan - 10th
Optimist Red Fleet
Josh - 16th
Laser Radial Overall (Out of 15)
Michael - 3rd
Andrew - 6th
Chris - 7th
Matt - 10th
William - 13th
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Miles River Yacht Club - Race Results
Results to be found at this website. They do not have a break down for red/blue/white fleet for the optimist thou. I have the results from Bryan and they are as below.
http://www.cbyra.org/redbook/Results%20Archive/2007%20Results/MRYCjr8-6-2007.htm
Optimist Overall (Out of 46)
Bryan - 30th
Josh - 34th
Optimist Blue Fleet
Bryan - 16th
Optimist Red Fleet
Josh - 15th
Laser Radial (Out of 13)
Michael - 1st
Andrew - 5th
Matt - 9th
Willaim - 12th
http://www.cbyra.org/redbook/Results%20Archive/2007%20Results/MRYCjr8-6-2007.htm
Optimist Overall (Out of 46)
Bryan - 30th
Josh - 34th
Optimist Blue Fleet
Bryan - 16th
Optimist Red Fleet
Josh - 15th
Laser Radial (Out of 13)
Michael - 1st
Andrew - 5th
Matt - 9th
Willaim - 12th
Friday, July 27, 2007
The reason why the blog was not updated.
I was reading some SERIOUS book... (s) ....Rumour has it that they have a spell to make our sailors sail better......
After days of searching.....
I found it!
It goes something like.....
"Hardavra Workculus"
After days of searching.....
I found it!
It goes something like.....
"Hardavra Workculus"
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Cambridge Yacht Club - Race Report & Results
Gusty conditions calls for Gutsy moves is the name of the game @ Cambridge yesterday.
Set in a corner of a picturesque historical town. This yacht club has quite some winds to offer. A steady 10-12 knots with gust up to 15 knots served up on a silver platter with a bunch of hungry sailors ready to have a go.
I can certainly understand the reason why this regatta do not count for high point. They have a weird starting sequence of 6 mins with funny flags. Scoring system where the first boat gets 0.75 points instead of the usual 1 point. They are not on the Java Score system to send results straight to CBYRA. Plus they set up a one tack course. I had to go tell them, and had to do the shifting for them.
But having said all that, I think all the parents thoroughly enjoyed the regatta as they get to watch and cheer from the docks as they were within viewing and cheering distance. Admist the crazy splashes of water from the choppy bay and howling wind, I can still hear the "ooooh, wooo. yayaaa!!!" as the sailors go about the leeward mark, capsizing, recovering from a near capsize or over take somebody or still in the lead going to the finish. It was quite a fun regatta overall.
Two of our Laser Radial sailors podium-ed. Michael in 2nd and Chris in 3rd. Bryan was having a fantastic day out until he lost his glasses to the bay, contributing to the already 100,587,290 and counting collection of glasses and sunnies that it already has. Jeffrey got top 5 placing in order to continue the season, I'll see how that works out.
It was a very tricky 5 races to sail, it is a decision thru out the entire 5 races whether to sail a shorter course or a faster course. Once again, it will ball down to who you want to cover. But you will still have to make a decision if he/ she did not choose the intended plan that you have, whether or not, should you cover, or sail your plan. Thou the race committee chose to set up in a sheltered cove, it was by no means an easy course to sail. Conditions was changing all the time. Gusts forming over the treeline, wind bending from around the corner of the cove. The lift that usually happen 20 meters away from the upwind mark. Whether to sail round the pin end, or boat end after rounding the windward mark or the leeward mark as the starting line is closed. Constantly batted by difficult choices, I say our sailors did generally well in forming their race plans as they go about the race.
Race 1 - A one tack race from Pin. The lifter 2/3 the way up made it even sweeter. There was a gust forming on the left side of the course and Michael rode it all the way down overtaking about 4 boats in the process. Chris eventually pipped him to the finish line by a hair on the upwind leg.
Race 2 - The mark was shifted to make it a somewhat more even course, but due to how and where the race committee was set up, I could only move it so far. The left side was still the shorter course to sail, but a gust was forming in the middle of the course and was coming from the right handside of the course to the middle about 20 seconds before the start. One boat caught it, and was miles ahead of anybody at the windward mark. He also went round the committee boat end going downwind where everybody went to round the pin end which was the longer route. The first boat capsized at the upwind mark and Chris was there to take the lead, with Willaim following closely in 4th. However William lost his nerve and capsize downwind as well. Chris on the other hand, sailed well downwind, only to have a silly idea to round the pin end coming upwind which was a VERY VERY LONG COURSE, the gust had all moved to the right by the time he reached the pin end and he was caught out with no wind. It was a lesson he will not forget.
Race 3 - A close fight for the 1st place. Some boats tried to go around the committee boat end coming down wind, but the gust did not happen and was actually slower than those who went on the inside where a gust took them faster around a longer course. (Also because an optimist dragged the pin end mark which made it shorter for them).
Lunch - Matt was having a bad day and I took the opportunity to correct some of his mistakes. like putting the leg closer to the stern over the hiking strap just before he tack so that he have something to hook onto immediately and may hike out faster and keep the boat flat, which was pretty much the reason why he kept capsizing, because he did not hike out fast enough. Tightened his hiking strap for the downwind leg so that he have something to grip onto and his sitting position.
Walking up the ramp, I saw the chance to teach the sailors something. Laid out infront of the boardwalk was the race course, and the perfect spot to view the race course, see the pattern of gust forming and how they move down the race course. I got them all to bring their lunch to the boardwalk and see it. They were suppose to play a mental game of virtual skipper and decide how they will plan the race according to where and how the gusts are forming and moving. Getting them to close their eyes, tilting their head a little backwards pointing their chins into the wind and turning it in accordance to the wind shifts allow them to appreciate and feel the wind on a more personal basis. Feeling how it feels against their cheeks will help them "feel" if something is weird and trigger their senses to check if they are in a header or lifter and ultimately sail a better race.
Race 4 - Michael immediately sailed a perfect race catching all the gusts and came in 1st. He almost beat the Laser Standard if not for a lousy final tack on the last up wind leg. I would have sailed up higher to lay the committee boat end and not tack so soon as he did. What it will do is, it'll frustrate the Laser, and he may tack to duck underneath me, and when he do that, all I have to do is tack on top of him, and he will be covered. Or, when I lay the line, and then tack, he would have sailed a longer course. Either way, the position where the Laser was, was there for the taking. Michael didn't mind that he lost out to a faster boat from a different class. But I would have found it sweeter to win a race and beat the faster boats. That's what I mean by the sailors not being hungry enough.
Race 5 - It was Chris's turn to come in first. Michael was 10 seconds late to the starting line and allowed the guy that he was suppose to cover to get away. He also hit the upwind mark and when he rounded the leeward mark in 2nd position, he had to do a 360 before he crosses the finish mark. He made a mistake of not continuing to sail his boat fast, I'll put it down to inexperience. One thing to remember, when you have to do a penalty, on a beat, start with a gybe. and u will not have to duck anybody. When you are on a run or reach, start with a tack.
Final Results - Laser Radial
Michael - 2nd
Chris - 3rd
Jeff - 5th
William - 8th
Matthew - 10th
Final Results - Optimist
Bryan - 15th - Best race - 5th. (Bryan did not sail the last two race) But he was doing really well until that happened.
Josh - 8th - Best race - 8th
Story of the regatta:
William protested the Race Committee on the grounds that they did not order the green fleeters to clear the starting area and they messed up his start causing him to capsize on poor Matt who in a fantastic position, gearing up to take the sail by a storm. Maybe Matt should protest William for capsizing on him? William proposed for the race to be thrown out.
In any case, the race committee recognises that the green fleeters should not be in the racing areas. But a start is already in sequence, the race committee had already asked the optimist to clear the line prior to it. I felt they had already done their job. And like what I had been saying, if you see trouble, stay clear of it! You will only have yourself to blame if you sail straight into trouble. You must be at the highest state of awareness for all your starts, because even if you manage to protest the fella who messes your start and get him disqualified, you would have already lost the chance to get 1st place and there is no way, a protest committee can reinstate you in 1st position. So moral of the story: STAY CLEAR OF TROUBLE! Even thou it is the favoured side. Bet on them to mess up. The consolation is, they will not have clear air. While you still do.
Gusty day, it was even a challenge to rig up!
Look at the beautiful sky - a perfect condition for a race to remember!
Jeff sailing his guts out as it is his last race.
Bryan sailing his best race ever!
Now Michael, could you tell me what kind of tacking is this? No wonder you have been messing up your tacks! Put that foot under the hiking strap! NOT UR KNEE!
Michael in a perfect position to cover the Laser full rig (Notice the taller mast)
Matt wondering what's going on and appealing to the gods of sailing to let him off some. Michael watches on in amusement.
Seems like somebody's having fun at least.
Chris on a plane
I dun understand why, William always makes it look so good for the picture, only thing is he is siting abit too far back for the plane to actually work. But it is still a good point of reference thou. You pretty much have to move from the middle of the boat to the back to ride out a surf.
Notice the midline sag? How far down the sailors are form the starting line? Another case of not checking the transit line. In an international regatta or even the nationals, that'll be the 5 line start. (Foreground) an optimist getting out of the starting line.
Race 2 - The eventual winner capsizes as Chris slips into 1st, only to make a wrong tactical decision on the upwind leg to loose it all.
This pretty much sums up Matt's day.
Bryan being helped into the docks as he lost his glasses. I hope his dad dun spank him!
The ever supportive bunch of parents!
Guess who's batten pocket is this! A result of letting your sails flap too much in strong wind condition. Always sail your boat and keep it moving. It is never good to let your sail flap for too long. Hence the reason why I kept asking you guys to sail around instead of sitting there waiting.
William with the protest committee. With Michael as his witness.
Big smiles all round from Chris
Michael - the ever play it cool kid.
Opti Results
Laser Results
Going back on the Key Bridge
Set in a corner of a picturesque historical town. This yacht club has quite some winds to offer. A steady 10-12 knots with gust up to 15 knots served up on a silver platter with a bunch of hungry sailors ready to have a go.
I can certainly understand the reason why this regatta do not count for high point. They have a weird starting sequence of 6 mins with funny flags. Scoring system where the first boat gets 0.75 points instead of the usual 1 point. They are not on the Java Score system to send results straight to CBYRA. Plus they set up a one tack course. I had to go tell them, and had to do the shifting for them.
But having said all that, I think all the parents thoroughly enjoyed the regatta as they get to watch and cheer from the docks as they were within viewing and cheering distance. Admist the crazy splashes of water from the choppy bay and howling wind, I can still hear the "ooooh, wooo. yayaaa!!!" as the sailors go about the leeward mark, capsizing, recovering from a near capsize or over take somebody or still in the lead going to the finish. It was quite a fun regatta overall.
Two of our Laser Radial sailors podium-ed. Michael in 2nd and Chris in 3rd. Bryan was having a fantastic day out until he lost his glasses to the bay, contributing to the already 100,587,290 and counting collection of glasses and sunnies that it already has. Jeffrey got top 5 placing in order to continue the season, I'll see how that works out.
It was a very tricky 5 races to sail, it is a decision thru out the entire 5 races whether to sail a shorter course or a faster course. Once again, it will ball down to who you want to cover. But you will still have to make a decision if he/ she did not choose the intended plan that you have, whether or not, should you cover, or sail your plan. Thou the race committee chose to set up in a sheltered cove, it was by no means an easy course to sail. Conditions was changing all the time. Gusts forming over the treeline, wind bending from around the corner of the cove. The lift that usually happen 20 meters away from the upwind mark. Whether to sail round the pin end, or boat end after rounding the windward mark or the leeward mark as the starting line is closed. Constantly batted by difficult choices, I say our sailors did generally well in forming their race plans as they go about the race.
Race 1 - A one tack race from Pin. The lifter 2/3 the way up made it even sweeter. There was a gust forming on the left side of the course and Michael rode it all the way down overtaking about 4 boats in the process. Chris eventually pipped him to the finish line by a hair on the upwind leg.
Race 2 - The mark was shifted to make it a somewhat more even course, but due to how and where the race committee was set up, I could only move it so far. The left side was still the shorter course to sail, but a gust was forming in the middle of the course and was coming from the right handside of the course to the middle about 20 seconds before the start. One boat caught it, and was miles ahead of anybody at the windward mark. He also went round the committee boat end going downwind where everybody went to round the pin end which was the longer route. The first boat capsized at the upwind mark and Chris was there to take the lead, with Willaim following closely in 4th. However William lost his nerve and capsize downwind as well. Chris on the other hand, sailed well downwind, only to have a silly idea to round the pin end coming upwind which was a VERY VERY LONG COURSE, the gust had all moved to the right by the time he reached the pin end and he was caught out with no wind. It was a lesson he will not forget.
Race 3 - A close fight for the 1st place. Some boats tried to go around the committee boat end coming down wind, but the gust did not happen and was actually slower than those who went on the inside where a gust took them faster around a longer course. (Also because an optimist dragged the pin end mark which made it shorter for them).
Lunch - Matt was having a bad day and I took the opportunity to correct some of his mistakes. like putting the leg closer to the stern over the hiking strap just before he tack so that he have something to hook onto immediately and may hike out faster and keep the boat flat, which was pretty much the reason why he kept capsizing, because he did not hike out fast enough. Tightened his hiking strap for the downwind leg so that he have something to grip onto and his sitting position.
Walking up the ramp, I saw the chance to teach the sailors something. Laid out infront of the boardwalk was the race course, and the perfect spot to view the race course, see the pattern of gust forming and how they move down the race course. I got them all to bring their lunch to the boardwalk and see it. They were suppose to play a mental game of virtual skipper and decide how they will plan the race according to where and how the gusts are forming and moving. Getting them to close their eyes, tilting their head a little backwards pointing their chins into the wind and turning it in accordance to the wind shifts allow them to appreciate and feel the wind on a more personal basis. Feeling how it feels against their cheeks will help them "feel" if something is weird and trigger their senses to check if they are in a header or lifter and ultimately sail a better race.
Race 4 - Michael immediately sailed a perfect race catching all the gusts and came in 1st. He almost beat the Laser Standard if not for a lousy final tack on the last up wind leg. I would have sailed up higher to lay the committee boat end and not tack so soon as he did. What it will do is, it'll frustrate the Laser, and he may tack to duck underneath me, and when he do that, all I have to do is tack on top of him, and he will be covered. Or, when I lay the line, and then tack, he would have sailed a longer course. Either way, the position where the Laser was, was there for the taking. Michael didn't mind that he lost out to a faster boat from a different class. But I would have found it sweeter to win a race and beat the faster boats. That's what I mean by the sailors not being hungry enough.
Race 5 - It was Chris's turn to come in first. Michael was 10 seconds late to the starting line and allowed the guy that he was suppose to cover to get away. He also hit the upwind mark and when he rounded the leeward mark in 2nd position, he had to do a 360 before he crosses the finish mark. He made a mistake of not continuing to sail his boat fast, I'll put it down to inexperience. One thing to remember, when you have to do a penalty, on a beat, start with a gybe. and u will not have to duck anybody. When you are on a run or reach, start with a tack.
Final Results - Laser Radial
Michael - 2nd
Chris - 3rd
Jeff - 5th
William - 8th
Matthew - 10th
Final Results - Optimist
Bryan - 15th - Best race - 5th. (Bryan did not sail the last two race) But he was doing really well until that happened.
Josh - 8th - Best race - 8th
Story of the regatta:
William protested the Race Committee on the grounds that they did not order the green fleeters to clear the starting area and they messed up his start causing him to capsize on poor Matt who in a fantastic position, gearing up to take the sail by a storm. Maybe Matt should protest William for capsizing on him? William proposed for the race to be thrown out.
In any case, the race committee recognises that the green fleeters should not be in the racing areas. But a start is already in sequence, the race committee had already asked the optimist to clear the line prior to it. I felt they had already done their job. And like what I had been saying, if you see trouble, stay clear of it! You will only have yourself to blame if you sail straight into trouble. You must be at the highest state of awareness for all your starts, because even if you manage to protest the fella who messes your start and get him disqualified, you would have already lost the chance to get 1st place and there is no way, a protest committee can reinstate you in 1st position. So moral of the story: STAY CLEAR OF TROUBLE! Even thou it is the favoured side. Bet on them to mess up. The consolation is, they will not have clear air. While you still do.
Gusty day, it was even a challenge to rig up!
Look at the beautiful sky - a perfect condition for a race to remember!
Jeff sailing his guts out as it is his last race.
Bryan sailing his best race ever!
Now Michael, could you tell me what kind of tacking is this? No wonder you have been messing up your tacks! Put that foot under the hiking strap! NOT UR KNEE!
Michael in a perfect position to cover the Laser full rig (Notice the taller mast)
Matt wondering what's going on and appealing to the gods of sailing to let him off some. Michael watches on in amusement.
Seems like somebody's having fun at least.
Chris on a plane
I dun understand why, William always makes it look so good for the picture, only thing is he is siting abit too far back for the plane to actually work. But it is still a good point of reference thou. You pretty much have to move from the middle of the boat to the back to ride out a surf.
Notice the midline sag? How far down the sailors are form the starting line? Another case of not checking the transit line. In an international regatta or even the nationals, that'll be the 5 line start. (Foreground) an optimist getting out of the starting line.
Race 2 - The eventual winner capsizes as Chris slips into 1st, only to make a wrong tactical decision on the upwind leg to loose it all.
This pretty much sums up Matt's day.
Bryan being helped into the docks as he lost his glasses. I hope his dad dun spank him!
The ever supportive bunch of parents!
Guess who's batten pocket is this! A result of letting your sails flap too much in strong wind condition. Always sail your boat and keep it moving. It is never good to let your sail flap for too long. Hence the reason why I kept asking you guys to sail around instead of sitting there waiting.
William with the protest committee. With Michael as his witness.
Big smiles all round from Chris
Michael - the ever play it cool kid.
Opti Results
Laser Results
Going back on the Key BridgeGibson Island Junior Regatta - Race Report - A race to be won by the nose and math
Going against traditional norms and a initiating a first to launch policy proved the way to go at the 2007 Gibson Island Junior Regatta. The tacks and gybes were alot smoother and the sailors looks more comfortable on the water and sure of what they are doing on the course. Weather.com has it that it will be doing WSW from 10 and shifting S @ 12 and back to WSW @ 2. It did exactly that 'cept for a few mins off from the hour, but of course the predictions were all rounded off to the nearest hour, so I would say that it was pretty accurate.
The wind was blowing a constant 6-8 knts, gusting 10-12 knts. Conditions was tricky to sail as it was very gusty, there was patches all over in different directions. Sailors will have to be very alert of what's going on around the race course and what lies ahead and behind them.
Michael took the first race by a mile tacking up the middle of the course, the way to go when you couldn't figure out exactly which side of the course is more favoured. And Chris lost out on a 1st place as he tacked away from a gust, a SSA sailor lying in 4th caught the gust and he went on a home run.
William showed what he is made of - sailing his best race of the season so far. Finishing 9th overall, with two race finishing in 8th. He is one happy puppy.
Matt had a good last race, placing 10th after washing off some of the bad luck stains from his boat.
Jeff has a great last race, finishing 5th, only to be scored DNS (did not start) which wasn't possible cos he did, the other possibility was an OCS (On Course Start) which means that he started early and did not exonerate himself. GIYS has not came back to us at press time.
The winner - Lauren Schoene came from a mile behind in 7th position, to overtake 6 boats to claim first and ran away with the title. Although I thought she was rocking, pumping and cajoling the boat too much, with nobody protesting her, there's nothing much that could be done. Given that she overtook her own brother who was in first. Chris and Michael on the other hand was having their own duel, Michael choosing to go on a port tack sailing on a lee and Chris staying on a starboard. Chris eventually won the battle. On hindsight however, both of them shouldn't even be sailing there at all. The wind was shifting or rather has shifted to the left of the course, where the whole fleet was, and they were still in their own world on the right handside of the course. Looking back at the scores, all Michael need to do for the last race is to finish 3rd and he would have won the regatta.
On the Opti Course,
The wind was pretty light and and fluky. Josh, in his first Blue Fleet race, did pretty good to finish 13th and even managing to start at the favoured pin end on port in race 2 , and Bryan, with the wind not in his favour, finished a little behind in 19th. Both sailors did really well to keep their boats flat and well trimmed in the trying conditions. They will need more races to improve on their tactics on water.
Lesson to be learnt -
Although I often stress that you are sailing against yourself. I find our sailors being caught up with doing better than their own team mates, as long as they finish infront of the other team mates, they are happy. Which, in my opinion, is really unhealthy. Why pit yourself against a sailor that you can beat or try to beat everyday during training? Look at the big picture. Are you allowing the rest of the fleet to catch up with you while you are "dog fighting" with your own team mate? Are you sailing away from a favoured position on the course? Why not share the information with your teammate? and then the both of you may benefit? Wouldn't that feel alot better than beating this other team mate while the rest of the fleet sails infront of you?
I remember an incident during the Radials championship in Singapore, a coupla old boys came back to race in the regatta and they are still pretty good. I was on port lifter with no rights and there's one of them coming on starboard, I couldn't really make across his bow without him dipping, preparing myself to dip his stern, he shouted "Hold your course, you are on a lifter!" He dipped me and sailed into clear air and tacked onto port. Both of us were enjoying clear air and I had a warm fuzzy feeling of friendship. We were not in a position for 1st place or a podium finish. We were in the regatta for fun and see how well we can do. Unless you are in a 1st place position, please, go ahead and be as selfish about information if you want to. If not, I believe everybody in the regatta just wants to improve on their standing in regattas and to learn more.
Knowing your competition -
Now if you are in a position to gun for a 1st place finish, or aspiration for one. You will have to start knowing your competition and start doing a little math in your head. Let's take this regatta for example.
1st place - Lauren Schoene - 3 - 1 - 6 - 1 <-- Total 11 points
2nd place - Michael Gorman - 1 - 3 - 4 - 6 <-- Total 14 points
3rd place - Matt Schoene - 5 - 5 - 2 - 2 <-- Total 14 points
Consider these three sailors. Now do not ever bank or count on having a race to drop to get first. Becuase it will never happen. Besides, in the case of a tie breaker, your discard race will be taken into consideration. At the end of the 3rd race. This is how their standing looks
Lauren Schone - 3 - 1 - 6 <--- Total 10 points
Michael Gorman - 1 - 3 - 4 <---- Total 8 points
Matt Schoene - 5 - 5 - 2 <-- Total 12 points
Who's lying in 1st place? Michael! All he needed to do, is to keep himself in front of these two sailors, and he would have won the regatta, he wouldn't need to bother about the rest of the sailors. He could even afford to drop 1 point against the girl to get a clean win without having to go down to the tie breaker. Instead, he got himself caught up with Chris, in an ego battle, and lost the war in entirety. How the race is to be sailed, is going to be different altogether. It is no longer about the favoured side, favoured end. When it is a battle between 2 or 3 sailors, it is about keeping yourself between the mark and them. and knowing where they are all time, and giving thoughts to who to cover. Who could you afford to set free and who you must win. It becomes a mathematical game and a game of weighing the losses.
How to do it?
1. Know your competition - After sailing in so many regattas, there's bound to be familiar faces, and you'll notice who's around you most of the time. You'll also know who wins and who to avoid.
2. Keep a mental score - If it is a small fleet, it is easy to keep score, if you are in the first pack. it is easy to keep score, if you are at the back of the fleet, it is also easy to keep score. 1st from last.. 2nd from last... etc. hahaha...
3. Know how your competition are doing - If it is a one day regatta, it maybe hard to keep track, but it is possible. But if it is a two day event like the JO's or the adult's weekend or nationals that happens over a few days. It is important to check out your competition's points and their worst races and such at the end of each day.
Sailing by the nose -
There are many times where you can literally smell the new wind. When there is a major wind shift, caused by the weather, eg. storm, new front... etc. You can be certain that the new wind brings new smells. Be aware of how the wind smells all the time! And you may just be sailing your way to a podium finish!
Josh - 10415 - 2nd boat from right with Bryan 11197 slightly behind. Josh needs to sit over faster after a tack.
Josh (first from left) keeping up with the lead pack
Notice the two group of boats - Michael & Chris on the right, Michael on port tack, if he wants to do that, he have to ease his boom beyond 90 degree and bear away more to go towards the wind - in this case - the left of the picture. He would have gained more speed that way and pulled infront of the other boats and won the regatta.
Chris rueing his near miss of finishing 1st in a race
Michael - on a run to finish 1st in the first race while Matt's still going up the course.
William rounding the mark in 4th position in the 1st race.
Matt making sure his mast tie down is in. Something that Chris always forgets.
Bryang approaching the leeward mark while Josh goes up wind.
Bryan needing to get over alot faster rather than lettering the gunwhale dip in the water.
Rear Commodore (Left) Chief Instructor (Right). Both from GIYS
The rear commodore congratulating Michael on his win.
Suzanne, Lois, Louise, Michael and Jeff at the prize presentation.
Michael n his mum after winning 2nd in the regatta!
Driving home in the slight drizzle.
The wind was blowing a constant 6-8 knts, gusting 10-12 knts. Conditions was tricky to sail as it was very gusty, there was patches all over in different directions. Sailors will have to be very alert of what's going on around the race course and what lies ahead and behind them.
Michael took the first race by a mile tacking up the middle of the course, the way to go when you couldn't figure out exactly which side of the course is more favoured. And Chris lost out on a 1st place as he tacked away from a gust, a SSA sailor lying in 4th caught the gust and he went on a home run.
William showed what he is made of - sailing his best race of the season so far. Finishing 9th overall, with two race finishing in 8th. He is one happy puppy.
Matt had a good last race, placing 10th after washing off some of the bad luck stains from his boat.
Jeff has a great last race, finishing 5th, only to be scored DNS (did not start) which wasn't possible cos he did, the other possibility was an OCS (On Course Start) which means that he started early and did not exonerate himself. GIYS has not came back to us at press time.
The winner - Lauren Schoene came from a mile behind in 7th position, to overtake 6 boats to claim first and ran away with the title. Although I thought she was rocking, pumping and cajoling the boat too much, with nobody protesting her, there's nothing much that could be done. Given that she overtook her own brother who was in first. Chris and Michael on the other hand was having their own duel, Michael choosing to go on a port tack sailing on a lee and Chris staying on a starboard. Chris eventually won the battle. On hindsight however, both of them shouldn't even be sailing there at all. The wind was shifting or rather has shifted to the left of the course, where the whole fleet was, and they were still in their own world on the right handside of the course. Looking back at the scores, all Michael need to do for the last race is to finish 3rd and he would have won the regatta.
On the Opti Course,
The wind was pretty light and and fluky. Josh, in his first Blue Fleet race, did pretty good to finish 13th and even managing to start at the favoured pin end on port in race 2 , and Bryan, with the wind not in his favour, finished a little behind in 19th. Both sailors did really well to keep their boats flat and well trimmed in the trying conditions. They will need more races to improve on their tactics on water.
Lesson to be learnt -
Although I often stress that you are sailing against yourself. I find our sailors being caught up with doing better than their own team mates, as long as they finish infront of the other team mates, they are happy. Which, in my opinion, is really unhealthy. Why pit yourself against a sailor that you can beat or try to beat everyday during training? Look at the big picture. Are you allowing the rest of the fleet to catch up with you while you are "dog fighting" with your own team mate? Are you sailing away from a favoured position on the course? Why not share the information with your teammate? and then the both of you may benefit? Wouldn't that feel alot better than beating this other team mate while the rest of the fleet sails infront of you?
I remember an incident during the Radials championship in Singapore, a coupla old boys came back to race in the regatta and they are still pretty good. I was on port lifter with no rights and there's one of them coming on starboard, I couldn't really make across his bow without him dipping, preparing myself to dip his stern, he shouted "Hold your course, you are on a lifter!" He dipped me and sailed into clear air and tacked onto port. Both of us were enjoying clear air and I had a warm fuzzy feeling of friendship. We were not in a position for 1st place or a podium finish. We were in the regatta for fun and see how well we can do. Unless you are in a 1st place position, please, go ahead and be as selfish about information if you want to. If not, I believe everybody in the regatta just wants to improve on their standing in regattas and to learn more.
Knowing your competition -
Now if you are in a position to gun for a 1st place finish, or aspiration for one. You will have to start knowing your competition and start doing a little math in your head. Let's take this regatta for example.
1st place - Lauren Schoene - 3 - 1 - 6 - 1 <-- Total 11 points
2nd place - Michael Gorman - 1 - 3 - 4 - 6 <-- Total 14 points
3rd place - Matt Schoene - 5 - 5 - 2 - 2 <-- Total 14 points
Consider these three sailors. Now do not ever bank or count on having a race to drop to get first. Becuase it will never happen. Besides, in the case of a tie breaker, your discard race will be taken into consideration. At the end of the 3rd race. This is how their standing looks
Lauren Schone - 3 - 1 - 6 <--- Total 10 points
Michael Gorman - 1 - 3 - 4 <---- Total 8 points
Matt Schoene - 5 - 5 - 2 <-- Total 12 points
Who's lying in 1st place? Michael! All he needed to do, is to keep himself in front of these two sailors, and he would have won the regatta, he wouldn't need to bother about the rest of the sailors. He could even afford to drop 1 point against the girl to get a clean win without having to go down to the tie breaker. Instead, he got himself caught up with Chris, in an ego battle, and lost the war in entirety. How the race is to be sailed, is going to be different altogether. It is no longer about the favoured side, favoured end. When it is a battle between 2 or 3 sailors, it is about keeping yourself between the mark and them. and knowing where they are all time, and giving thoughts to who to cover. Who could you afford to set free and who you must win. It becomes a mathematical game and a game of weighing the losses.
How to do it?
1. Know your competition - After sailing in so many regattas, there's bound to be familiar faces, and you'll notice who's around you most of the time. You'll also know who wins and who to avoid.
2. Keep a mental score - If it is a small fleet, it is easy to keep score, if you are in the first pack. it is easy to keep score, if you are at the back of the fleet, it is also easy to keep score. 1st from last.. 2nd from last... etc. hahaha...
3. Know how your competition are doing - If it is a one day regatta, it maybe hard to keep track, but it is possible. But if it is a two day event like the JO's or the adult's weekend or nationals that happens over a few days. It is important to check out your competition's points and their worst races and such at the end of each day.
Sailing by the nose -
There are many times where you can literally smell the new wind. When there is a major wind shift, caused by the weather, eg. storm, new front... etc. You can be certain that the new wind brings new smells. Be aware of how the wind smells all the time! And you may just be sailing your way to a podium finish!
Josh - 10415 - 2nd boat from right with Bryan 11197 slightly behind. Josh needs to sit over faster after a tack.
Josh (first from left) keeping up with the lead pack
Notice the two group of boats - Michael & Chris on the right, Michael on port tack, if he wants to do that, he have to ease his boom beyond 90 degree and bear away more to go towards the wind - in this case - the left of the picture. He would have gained more speed that way and pulled infront of the other boats and won the regatta.
Chris rueing his near miss of finishing 1st in a race
Michael - on a run to finish 1st in the first race while Matt's still going up the course.
William rounding the mark in 4th position in the 1st race.
Matt making sure his mast tie down is in. Something that Chris always forgets.
Bryang approaching the leeward mark while Josh goes up wind.
Bryan needing to get over alot faster rather than lettering the gunwhale dip in the water.
Rear Commodore (Left) Chief Instructor (Right). Both from GIYS
The rear commodore congratulating Michael on his win.
Suzanne, Lois, Louise, Michael and Jeff at the prize presentation.
Michael n his mum after winning 2nd in the regatta!
Driving home in the slight drizzle.Thursday, July 19, 2007
Gibson Island Junior Regatta - Results
Congratulations to all sailors!
Please find results as below..
Laser Radials
2nd - Michael Gorman
6th - Chris Pettijohn
9th - William Herman
11th - Jeff Markley (redress pending)
13th - Matthew Good
Optimist (Overall)
13th - Josh Dragon
19th - Bryan Doherty
Please find results as below..
Laser Radials
2nd - Michael Gorman
6th - Chris Pettijohn
9th - William Herman
11th - Jeff Markley (redress pending)
13th - Matthew Good
Optimist (Overall)
13th - Josh Dragon
19th - Bryan Doherty
The upwind mark
"I have something to say... I'm not last anymore!"
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Junior Olympic @ the Corsica River - Race Report - Day 2
Red skies at night, sailor's delight. True enough. It did not fail to disappoint. White caps were all over, faces with mixed emotions - eyes darting with fear, sparkling with excitement, teeth gritted, grunting noises from trying to keep the boat flat. Man.. this is going to be exciting. This is by far, the strongest winds that they have sailed in a race. Going around to make sure they understand how to set up each of their sails, I'm getting excited thinking about how the sailors will react to these winds.
Chris was absolutely squealing with delight. He kept going, "Yeah, this is my wind" but I had to yell at him for him to go onto a close-haul (going upwind) because he kept saying that he needs to conserve his energy. Geez... What energy are you conserving? If you can't sail it right up wind, you are wasting your energy. I'm trying to help you sail the boat right going upwind and set your sail right for going upwind. So quit arguing and get moving! He finally did and true enough, he doesn't quite understand the fundamentals of it. After adjusting the cunningham for the upteempth time, he finally got it. I can only cross my fingers that he will apply it in the race.
Chris - playing it safe sitting in the middle of the boat. Not very fast, but at least he was sailing it by the lee.Jeff wasn't tacking right when I got to him, he always tuck his leg under his knees which was really bad. What he really need to do, is to put his leg under his hiking strap, so that he can flatten the boat in a more effective way.
Anyway, to the race proper.
It is one big gust, not much of a favoured side, but we still know that the wind likes to clock left, so if I'm a smart sailor, I'll start on the favour end of the start line, work the course on the favoured side, hit a header, and back to the middle line and back out again. It is important to keep to the favoured side as well as the middle, and also, watching out for your closest competition. For eg. If you are tied for 1st place, you only need to beat that one fella. You shouldn't go out on a wild card and go a completely direction than he/she is. You have to follow, or cover the fella. Always stay with your competition. I learnt that the hard way, I thought I was good enough to pick up the wind, but a stray gust came and I went to the right, my competition went to the left and picked it up and pulled half a leg away. I was even leading by 1 point at that time, but lost it all by not sticking with him and lost 1st place overall eventually.
Andrew had a good day out, he was even in 2nd place for the 1st race only loose some going upwind. He had two 4th place finishes out of the 3 races that day. Congrats!
Michael on the other hand did not really have a good day out. Not having enough weight was an issue, but it could be overcome by working harder (Always give it your all, do not conserve your energy, our body have a funny way of finding energy to burn somewhere). You wouldn't know if you will have a good start for the last race anyway, sail each and every race like it matters, and the last.
Matt did good the 6th race only to loose his fundamentals and not put down his daggerboard sailing the last upwind leg. He could have had a proud moment and say that he beat Michael and Andrew, but alas. In his 5th Race, he even pipped no.39 to the gybe mark, but not being very sure of his rules, he allowed no.39 to bully him into doing a 720. Showing lotsa potential in this regatta, he needs to work on being more consistent.
Josh had a good field day, but I did not see him sailing as they only had to do 2 race and they were done by the time I made my way over to their course.
Bryan on the other hand was finding it hard to cope with the heavier wind condition, which was disappointing as I thought he would fare better with the wind to his favour. But I wouldn't blame him as it takes as much skill, if not more to control the optimist in heavier conditions. The usual mistakes were still being made. A mainsheet too loose, not pointing high enough (check your telltales!) , not balancing the boat right and a loose vang.
Matt hiking out hard - one of the mistakes that sailors often make, is when they hike out, they bring the tiller extension with them, bearing the boat away and causing the boat to heel even more! Your ELBOW is extendable! Keep the tiller in the middle! OR let it do what it wants to do, all you have to do is just to pull back so slightly when it flattens out - Hell you can even sail a boat in 20 knots of wind with your fingertips! 
Jeff with "THE" look
William working hard as usual
Ok, check this out (above) Andrew's muscles. (below) A female sailor's muscle. 'nuff said.
Willam: I beat ya!
Andrew rounding the mark, it was a nice and tight rounding, but he needed more weight to keep his boat flat to shoot forward after the rounding.
Bryan going downwind
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