What a great event!! 10 races held in incredible conditions with great committee work and amazing competition. What more could you ask for??
I made a mini comeback with three 5th place finishes today to end up 7th overall. Considering the way I began the regatta, I was pretty pleased with the progress that I made as the event went on. I wished the regatta started tomorrow. I felt like I was definitely getting into the groove with my starts and upwind work and my downwind sailing was getting better as well. My body even felt better as the regatta went on.
The bottom line (once again) is that if you want to win one of these events, you have to put time in the boat. The Alamitos Bay sailors trained together for several weeks leading up to the event. I sailed a Laser about 2 hours since the Nationals in May. That type of preparation is just not going to get it done with this kind of competition. That is okay though because it just isn't possible for me to put that kind of energy into with all of the kid and family activities that I have going on.
The main take away is to have realistic expectations on how I expect to do. If I don't put in the preparation, and unless the venue is the type that I tend to prefer (lake sailing with a lot of wind shifts], I need to learn to not be disapointed with a less than stellar result.
My main goal for this regatta was to try and improve my open water sailing, especially downwind and to get some big fleet experience prior to going to the J-80 North Americans and Worlds coming up next month. My other goal was to try and get better as the regatta went on and improve my competitivenes. I would say mission accomplished on both fronts.
Kevin Taugher from the host yacht club sailed an amazing regatta. Not only was he fast upwind and down, he sailed incredibly smart. It was especially fun to get to know Vann Wilson and to watch him compete. Vann's mast broke before the start of the 9th race and he had to take a DNC. Having already wrapped up the regatta, Kevin gave Vann his boat and Vann went on to win the last race to wrap up 2nd. That story just exemplifies the commraderie and sportsmanship that you find at these master events. I think we all feel pretty blessed to be able to still be out there competing hard in a boat that is not that easy to sail well.
Andy Roy from Canda sailed great to finished 3rd and my old friend Greg Tawaststijerna just got better and better to finish a strong 4th.
Here is the top 15 and a link to the final results: There were a lot of really great sailors in this fleet:
1st: Kevin Taugher
2nd: Vann Wilson
3rd: Andy Roy
4th: Greg Tawaststijerna
5th: Peter Vessella
6th: Chuck Tripp
7th: Scott Young
8th: Connor Gallagher
9th: Bill Symes
10th: Peter Drasnin
11th: Tracy Usher
12th: Vlhelm Roberts
13th: Pat Toole
14th: David Lapier
15th: Mike Bishop
http://www.abyc.org/upload/laser15.htm
Sunday, August 15, 2010
These guys are really good!!
In my effort to "call it as I see it"' I must confess that I am a bit overmatched out here. Th locals along with the San Francisco sailors are so much better prepared for these conditions than I am. In my younger days it was a bit more possible to hang in there physically without much preparation. As I have gotten older, If I am serious about doing well in the Laser, it really takes months of preparation to do well at a venue like this.
In smoother water with lots of wind shifts to play, I have a much better chance to hang in there with the top guys. To their credit, these guys are not only supremely fit, they are very well prepared and are extremely good sailors. Best of all, they are really great guys that absolutely love Laser sailing!
My goal was to get better sailing downwind in big waves. I have had my moments when I get into a good rhythm and can go pretty well. If I get out of synch, I can easily lose 100 yards. They key is to minimize going really slow. One thing that I think I have learned is that since we are on starboard tack for the entire run, it is important to stay a little over-trimmed and to sail a fairly heated up angle to keep the speed to catch the waves. Once you have caught the wave and you bear off to ride it, the apparent wind comes so far forward that being a little over-trimmed is actually a good thing.
We have three races to go and I am hovering around 9th with a chance to move Up 2 or 3 places if I can sail well today. I had a 5th and a 6th yesterday so I am showing some progress.
In smoother water with lots of wind shifts to play, I have a much better chance to hang in there with the top guys. To their credit, these guys are not only supremely fit, they are very well prepared and are extremely good sailors. Best of all, they are really great guys that absolutely love Laser sailing!
My goal was to get better sailing downwind in big waves. I have had my moments when I get into a good rhythm and can go pretty well. If I get out of synch, I can easily lose 100 yards. They key is to minimize going really slow. One thing that I think I have learned is that since we are on starboard tack for the entire run, it is important to stay a little over-trimmed and to sail a fairly heated up angle to keep the speed to catch the waves. Once you have caught the wave and you bear off to ride it, the apparent wind comes so far forward that being a little over-trimmed is actually a good thing.
We have three races to go and I am hovering around 9th with a chance to move Up 2 or 3 places if I can sail well today. I had a 5th and a 6th yesterday so I am showing some progress.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Humbling....
Th first day of the Laser Master's North Americans brought pretty ideal conditions in a slowly increasing breeze that hit close to 25 knots in the last race. It was a grind upwind and equally tough on the reaches and runs. In the big waves, there was no point during the race that you could rest.
The first race, I got flushed at the start, bailed to the right, ducked a majority of the fleet and headed to the right. When I tacked back, I was looking pretty good and then promptly got my boom hung on my life jacket during the tack and capsized. We are carrying so much boom vang in the breeze that Andy Roy commented that he always makes a mental note to "kiss the rachet block" during the tack to ensure that the gets low enough to not get hung up.
Needless to say, a capsize on the first beat of the first race is not a great way to start. After falling to about 30th, I was able to rally back to a 12th.
The second race was a long Olympic course with a downwind finish. I had another bad start but was able to sail in the top 10 and finished 8th. I had a bad final run and couldn't get back in synch with the waves after burying my boat in the back of a wave and filling up the cockpit.
The last race was really windy and I got a decent start at the committee boat end, thinking the right was the place to be. It shifted left and I rounded the weather mark around 8th. I had two good reaches and worked up to 5th but just couldn't get anything going on the next beat. I was exhausted!! Definitley not in good Laser sailing shape. You can hide your deficiencies in smooth water and wind shifts but there is no where to hide in the open ocean.
I did improve my downwind technique as the day went on and I finished 7th in the last race of the day. I think everyone on thie race course today felt like they ran a marathon. Today's schedule calls for 4 races. It is going to be a really long day if it is breezy like yesterday. Hopefully I can continue to improve a bit.
The first race, I got flushed at the start, bailed to the right, ducked a majority of the fleet and headed to the right. When I tacked back, I was looking pretty good and then promptly got my boom hung on my life jacket during the tack and capsized. We are carrying so much boom vang in the breeze that Andy Roy commented that he always makes a mental note to "kiss the rachet block" during the tack to ensure that the gets low enough to not get hung up.
Needless to say, a capsize on the first beat of the first race is not a great way to start. After falling to about 30th, I was able to rally back to a 12th.
The second race was a long Olympic course with a downwind finish. I had another bad start but was able to sail in the top 10 and finished 8th. I had a bad final run and couldn't get back in synch with the waves after burying my boat in the back of a wave and filling up the cockpit.
The last race was really windy and I got a decent start at the committee boat end, thinking the right was the place to be. It shifted left and I rounded the weather mark around 8th. I had two good reaches and worked up to 5th but just couldn't get anything going on the next beat. I was exhausted!! Definitley not in good Laser sailing shape. You can hide your deficiencies in smooth water and wind shifts but there is no where to hide in the open ocean.
I did improve my downwind technique as the day went on and I finished 7th in the last race of the day. I think everyone on thie race course today felt like they ran a marathon. Today's schedule calls for 4 races. It is going to be a really long day if it is breezy like yesterday. Hopefully I can continue to improve a bit.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Where has the summer gone?
It has been some time since my last post. I was able to sail with Glennn Darden and Philip Williamson on their Swan 42 in the New York Yacht Club Annual regatta followed by the nationals a couple of weeks later. We finished second in both events to two different winners. Ironically, the winner of each regatta had pretty bad regattas in the event they didn't win.
The reality of racing NY 42's is that the racing is so even and the start so important that if a team can get in a good starting rhythm, it is likely that they will string together some good races and maybe even win the event. The best way to get in this rhythm is to have a very precise pre-start routine and to stick with it. We have learned that you just can't put yourself in a position where your speed falls below 4.5 knots. On smaller boats it is possible to stop the boat to create separation on the starting line. On the NY 42, it always seems better to rumble down the line at full speed and look for a hole to open up.
Had a great time sailing with Glenn and Philip and always enjoy their wonderful hospitality while in Newport!
I thought I was going to hunker down in Austin until school started for the kids but the stars aligned to allow me to go to Long Beach, CA for the Laser Master's North Americans. I was able to find a charter boat and an airline ticket I am on my way. I have only sailed a Laser once since the Master's nationals in May so I would say that I am totally unprepared for this event.
I have two goals going into this. The first goal is to get some good racing under my belt to prepare for the J-80 NA's in early September followed by the Worlds in early October. While the boats are completely different, I think that a Laser can help you sail any boat better.
My second goal is to try and improve my downwind speed in every race of the 10 race series. I have always felt that downwind in waves has alwAys been a weakness for me. There are going to be a lot of good guys at the NA's so I am sure I will learn a ton.
I will keep you posted!
The reality of racing NY 42's is that the racing is so even and the start so important that if a team can get in a good starting rhythm, it is likely that they will string together some good races and maybe even win the event. The best way to get in this rhythm is to have a very precise pre-start routine and to stick with it. We have learned that you just can't put yourself in a position where your speed falls below 4.5 knots. On smaller boats it is possible to stop the boat to create separation on the starting line. On the NY 42, it always seems better to rumble down the line at full speed and look for a hole to open up.
Had a great time sailing with Glenn and Philip and always enjoy their wonderful hospitality while in Newport!
I thought I was going to hunker down in Austin until school started for the kids but the stars aligned to allow me to go to Long Beach, CA for the Laser Master's North Americans. I was able to find a charter boat and an airline ticket I am on my way. I have only sailed a Laser once since the Master's nationals in May so I would say that I am totally unprepared for this event.
I have two goals going into this. The first goal is to get some good racing under my belt to prepare for the J-80 NA's in early September followed by the Worlds in early October. While the boats are completely different, I think that a Laser can help you sail any boat better.
My second goal is to try and improve my downwind speed in every race of the 10 race series. I have always felt that downwind in waves has alwAys been a weakness for me. There are going to be a lot of good guys at the NA's so I am sure I will learn a ton.
I will keep you posted!
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