Wednesday, February 26, 2014

GREEN FLEET SERIES RACE #2


The Green fleet will have their second series race on Sunday March 2nd. The skippers meeting will follow promptly after my meeting with the green fleet sailors at 1pm. The race committee PRO for the series race will be Bob Meagher.

Happy sailing,

Julia



LYC Gold, Silver & Green Fleet Practices (March 15-16)

Dear Opti Families,

Just a quick note to let you all know that thanks to the Dixon and Wellnitz families that offered us the use of their personal boats we are going to be able to run regular practices for all our Opti Fleets during the weekend of the US National Team Practice!!!!

Gold & Silver Fleets will have (2) full days out on the ocean from 9:30 fitness ready through 4:30 in the afternoon.  Practice will be run by our new addition to our LYC coach staff, Markus Edegran, former US Optimist National Team member and current 49er Class sailor.

Our Commodores will have a 'Fun Day' out on the water on that Sunday...Bob Meagher is planning all kind of activities for our sailors with the assistance of our LYC coaches Kyle and Liz.  We will fill you in with more details on the 'Fun Day' in the next couple of weeks.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns and thanks again for your support!

Best,

Juan

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

USODA Sunshine State Championship (March 8-9)

Dear Opti Families,

 We are all very excited and looking forward to the USODA Sunshine State Championship at the Martin County Sailing Center in Jensen Beach, FL on March 8-9!  This is an LYC supported event and all our Opti Fleets (Gold, Silver & Green) are invited to participate.  Below find some important information regarding this event.
Please sign up on the LYC Blog to let us know that you are planning on attending, if you need a spot on the trailer and if you can volunteer to tow a coach boat to the event.  Please take the time to update this infoon the blog promptly so we can plan the logistics accordingly.

Registration; Entry Fee
For those that are not registered yet, please be aware that there will be a $25 late fee ($135 total) if registration is completed after February 26th and a very late fee of $50 ($160 total) if you registered February 27th through March 5th.

LYC trailer Loading & Unloading
All LYC boats and equipment MUST be loaded by Thursday, March 6th.  LYC Truck &Trailer will be on site for unloading on Saturday, 8th at 8:00am.  Note: For this event we are expecting a full trailer, so please take blades, dollies and gear bags with you if it is possible.

Coaches
Juan Carlos Romero & Markus Edegran (Gold & Silver Fleets)
Julia Melton & Kyle Pond (Green Fleet)
As you can see we have lined up (2) coaches at each course based on participation.  This means we will need (4) volunteers to tow our coach boats to the event.

Qualification for Future Events
This regatta is a 2014 USODA Team Trials Qualifying event. The top 25% of Championship Fleet team trials eligible competitors, as defined by the USODA, based on the final results using the total number of boats registered in both the Championship and Green Fleets, may receive invitations to compete in the 2014 USODA Team Trials.

Lodging
We have secured a block rate for rooms at the Clarion Inn, Stuart.  Check out http://www.clarion-stuart.com for further information.  Hotel located about 12 minutes from the venue. 

                                                            CLARION INN STUART
                                                            1200 SOUTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY
                                                            STUART, FL  34994
                                                            PHONE: 727-287-6900 

The regular rate is $89 per night, but we have been given the special rate of $65, which includes breakfast.  All you have to do is mention Lauderdale Yacht Club to receive this rate.

Some additional information such as the ‘schedule of events’, ‘event parents volunteer sign-up sheet’, 'trailer assignments' and any other particulars will be sent by email just to the sailors attending and that has signed up on our blog before the end of the week.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me by email at sailing@lyc.org or phone if you have any questions or concerns.

Cheers,

Juan

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Just for GOLD & SILVER Fleets!!!


South Florida Coaches Regatta 2nd Edition

Lauderdale Yacht Club
February 22th & 23rd, 2014


NOTICE OF RACE
SCHEDULE:

Saturday
                   Rigged & Ready – Team Meetings           9:30 AM
                   Skipper’s Meeting                                          10:00 AM
                   First Warning Signal                                      11:00 AM
                   De-Brief with the Coaches
                  
Sunday
                   Harbor Start                                                     9:30 AM
                   First Warning Signal                                      10:30 AM
                   No warning after                                            2:30 PM
                   De-Brief with the Coaches
                   Awards



For additional information please email Juan at: sailing@lyc.org or by phone (410) 212-5303

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

USNT Practice @ LYC (March 13-16th)

Dear Opti Sailors & Families,

Please see post below from Wanda Casaretto, USNT Practice Coordinator.  We really need the support from all our Opti families so we can host this event and fill in all the volunteering positions.  It is a honor for our club to host a national event like this and would like to keep being consider as a host club by USODA in future years.

Thanks in advance for your support...looking forward to a great event!

Juan
PS.  Please contact Wanda directly and let her know your availability.
 

Hello Opti Families!

LYC has been granted the honor of Host Club for the upcoming USNT Practice. As the host club, we are required to secure housing for the optimist national team who will be holding practice at our club on March 14-16th with sailors expected to arrive on March 13th between 3-6pm.   We anticipate approximately 20 sailors.

It is my understanding that host families are only providing a place to sleep.  The USNT has given us a stipend to provide all meals at the club.  The attached notice of practice has more details- kids are really only expecting a couch to crash on!  These are not only great sailors but well behaved kids who are extremely independent and great role models for all opti sailors. It appears they'd prefer to keep groups of 3 sailors to a host family- not sure if this is feasible for all- so maybe a minimum of 2 or more.  If you're unable to house anybody- we will be in need of parents who can help with transportation needs especially airport pick ups/drop offs. Also if you are interested in holding the farewell dinner at your home (expenses will be covered by the stipend) let me know.

We desperately need every family's participation in some capacity to make this a success.  Thank you in advance for your assistance!
Please email me or call with what you can do to help out. THANKS!!!!

Sincerely,

Wanda Casaretto
Email: Wandacasaretto@yahoo.com
Cell: 954-258-1410

Monday, February 17, 2014

Opti Fleet Parent's Meeting

There will be an all fleet Opti parent meeting after practice on Sunday at 4:30pm in the upstairs class.
The purpose will be establishing goals for the Opti program and introducing positive changes. Please plan on attending!

Julia Melton



Sunday, February 16, 2014

USODA Sunshine State Championship Deadline Before Late Fees Apply



USODA Sunshine State Championship Deadline Before Late Fees Apply
Posted: Tuesday, February 11th, 2014   1:06 pm   



The USODA Sunshine State Championship in Jensen Beach, FL at the US Sailing Center Martin County is coming up on March 8-9th. This is a Team Trials Qualifier (TTQ) event. Registration deadline before late fees apply is February 19th before midnight EST. Log-in to www.usoda.org to register.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Dear Opti Sailors & Families,

Please see below the LYC Spring Season supported and non-supported events.

GOLD, SILVER & COMMODORES FLEETS

Club Supported

Dates                          Event                                                  Location
March 8-9                  FL State Championship                  Jensen Beach, FL
April 5-6                    Spring Fling Regatta                        Coconut Grove, FL
April 18-19                South East Dinghy Champs            Key Biscayne, FL

Non- Supported (Additional Fee) just for Gold & Silver

March 1-2                  Team For Invitational                    Clearwater, FL
May 1-4                      USODA Team Trials                        Stamford, CT

Please let me know if you have any questions about these events.  I will send more information when we get closer to the dates.

See you all this weekend!

Juan

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

2014 Buccaneer Blast Regatta Report




We had a great regatta this weekend at Buccaneer Blast. Light air and shifty conditions caused us to see very inconsistent scores from all of our sailors. It was great to see every single one of our sailors have a race in the top 25 and more than half of our sailors have a race in the top 10.
As we discussed in our meeting on Sunday, the main keys to success were boat speed and focus on point. I stressed to the sailors at every opportunity that they had to keep their sail trimmed and tell tales flying. For many of our sailors (Jake, Miles, Stephen, Jack, Bobby, and Anna) maintaining proper trim and point was the most noticeable difference between their good races and bad races.
We also discussed with the sailors the importance of being on the line especially in light air. When a sailor starts anywhere except the front of the pack the boats in front of them block the wind and sailors are forced to sail in what is called bad air. In light air being anywhere except the front is suicidal. We saw this in the first race on Sunday (race 7). Many of our sailors started in the middle to back of the pack and were as far 20-30 boat lengths behind the leaders by the time they got to the starting line. With what little breeze they had being blocked by the boats in front of them they had no ability to gain boat speed and catch up. Five of our sailors had their worst race of the regatta in race seven because of this effect.
This weekend I began to introduce to several of our sailors to factors that affect the wind on the course. We covered topics from just watching for puffs on the water to anticipating changes in wind speed and velocity. I talked to the sailors during and after lunch about connecting the puffs on the course. By staying in more pressure and always sailing toward the next puff, sailors can maintain higher boat speed and work up the course faster. I also discussed how the storm clouds we had roll over midway through the day caused a shift in direction and a velocity change of the wind. Lucy, Isa, and Tye were all able to improve their results midway through the day by applying this information.
It was great to coach all the kids this weekend and see them improve throughout the days. I want to give a shout out to Jake who completed every race in a regatta for the first time. I clearly remember how defeated I felt as a coach trying to talk him down from tears with less than 3 minutes till the start of the first race. As I pushed him off reminding him that it was just like practice and there was nothing to worry about, I was worried he would just give up. Instead he blew my mind and sailed his best race of the regatta finishing 25th and rounding the top mark in the top 15. We all can learn from Jake as he very clearly demonstrated how mental this sport is. In a matter of seconds a choice to never give up can be the turning point in a regatta and one’s sailing career.
Great job this weekend team LYC.  I look forward to seeing all of you this weekend for practice. Results from this weekend can be found at http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/7326#_newsroom+results
Kyle

US National Team Practice @ LYC (March 13-16)

Hello Opti Families!

LYC has been granted the honor of Host Club for the upcoming USNT Practice. As the host club, we are required to secure housing for the optimist national team who will be holding practice at our club on March 14-16th with sailors expected to arrive on March 13th between 3-6pm.   We anticipate approximately 20 sailors.

It is my understanding that host families are only providing a place to sleep.  The USNT has given us a stipend to provide all meals at the club.  The attached notice of practice has more details- kids are really only expecting a couch to crash on!  These are not only great sailors but well behaved kids who are extremely independent and great role models for all opti sailors. It appears they'd prefer to keep groups of 3 sailors to a host family- not sure if this is feasible for all- so maybe a minimum of 2 or more.  If you're unable to house anybody- we will be in need of parents who can help with transportation needs especially airport pick ups/drop offs. Also if you are interested in holding the farewell dinner at your home (expenses will be covered by the stipend) let me know.

We desperately need every family's participation in some capacity to make this a success.  Thank you in advance for your assistance!
Please email me or call with what you can do to help out. THANKS!!!!

Sincerely,

Wanda Casaretto
Email: Wandacasaretto@yahoo.com
Cell: 954-258-1410

Friday, February 7, 2014

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Martin County USODA State Champs Hotel



Hello LYC Sailing Families,

In anticipation of another fun weekend March 8 & 9th for Martin County's Sailing Center "USODA State Championship",  we have secured a block rate for rooms at the Clarion Inn, Stuart.  Check out http://www.clarion-stuart.com for further information.  It's a nice, clean place about 12 minutes to the venue. 

                                                            CLARION INN STUART
                                                            1200 SOUTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY
                                                            STUART, FL  34994
                                                            PHONE: 727-287-6900 

The regular rate is $89 per night, but we have been given the special rate of $65, which includes breakfast.  All you have to do is mention Lauderdale Yacht Club to receive this rate.  The hotel has renovated their Tiki bar with complete menu that we could use for our Saturday evening LYC team get together around 6:30 pm.  The pool is heated, so the sailors can enjoy some swimming if they wish.  Please let me know if you plan on staying at the hotel or only plan on enjoying the Saturday evening event.  The hotel staff would appreciate some advance notice so they can accommodate our group at the Tiki bar/restaurant. 

Thanks,

Virginia Holden

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Buccaneer Blast & Silver/Gold Weekend Practice



LYC Optimists,

We have a busy weekend with sailors traveling to the Buccaneer Blast regatta and the LOCR regatta hosted by LYC.

Buccaneer Blast Sailors:

Kyle will be coaching at Buccaneer Blast and he plans to leave early on Saturday morning. Green and RWB are sailing on the same course so he will be able to coach both fleets.
Parents, remember to bring snacks, and plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Saturday 

0815 - LYC Truck arrives at Upper Keys Sailing Club
0930 - LYC team meeting at flagpole (Rigged and Ready)
1000 - Skippers meeting
1730- Dinner/Raffle at Upper Keys

Sunday

0815 - LYC Team meeting at flagpole (Rigged and Ready)
0900 - First warning on the water
1200 - Last warning signal

Remember Sailors to complete a regatta report to share at practice next week.

Silver and Gold Fleet,

Joakim and Juan will be coaching a combined Silver and Gold fleet practice at LYC this weekend. Depending on the breeze and time, practice will most likely be held inside.

We are running practice around the LOCR regatta. To avoid traffic, Optis should be launched from the front East lawn and stored there over night on Saturday. You can move Optis to the front lawn after practices this week.and
Plan on arriving at the club around 10am to rig and move boats to the front east lawn. Practice will start at 10:30am. Meet the coaches at the flag pole at this time.  Practice will run until 4:30pm. Practice times will be the same time on Sunday. Move Optis back to the sailing center after practice on Sunday.

Practice summary: Gold & Silver Fleet
 
Sat 2/8 10:30am-4:30pm
Sun 2/9 10:30am-4:30pm

I will be coaching a high school regatta in St.Petersburg on Saturday (I hope we have wind!).  I will be back on Sunday.

Good luck to those traveling to the Upper Keys! I hope you have a lot of fun.
Julia Melton