Thursday, March 28, 2013

South East Dinghy Champs


Here's the Regatta Schedule for the South East Dinghy Champs this Friday and Saturday. We are still looking for 3 towers to get the boats down to the event for our coaches. Please let us know ASAP if you can help!

SCHEDULE
4.1          Thursday, 28 March 1600-1800 Early Check-in (highly recommended)
               Friday, 29 March 0730- 0830 Check-in & continental breakfast
                    0730 LYC Arrival
                    0830 LYC Team Meeting
                    0845 Competitors' Briefing- Opti R,W,B/ Lasers/Club 420
                    0930 Green Fleet Competitors' Briefing
                    0900 Harbor start for Opti Red/White/Blue/Laser/Club 420
                    0945 Green Fleet Harbor Start
                    1000 First Warning- Opti R,W,B/Lasers/Club 420
                    1030 Green Fleet First Signal
             
               Saturday, 30 March 0900 Harbor Start for Opti Red/White/Blue/Laser/Club 420
                    0830 LYC Team Meeting
                    0930 Green Fleet Harbor Start
                    1000 First Signal Opti R, W, B/Lasers/Club 420
                    1030 Green Fleet First Signal
                    1330 No Warning Signal After
                    1430 Lunch, Music, and Awards


COURSES
The courses to be sailed be as follows:

Optimist Red, Blue, and White fleets- Modified Windward Leeward
Optimist Green fleet- Modified Triangle

WEATHER

Friday
Clear. High of 73F. Winds from the NE at 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday

Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 77F. Winds from the SE at 10 to 15 mph.


BE ADVISED: The Sony Open Tennis Tournament Finals ON KEY BISCAYNE overlaps with our regatta at KBYC. Give yourself plenty of time to make it to the venue on time.

Women's Singles 2nd Round / Men's Singles 2nd Round / Doubles*
07: DayFriday, March 228:00 am
Women's Singles 3rd Round / Men's Singles 2nd Round / Doubles*
09: DaySaturday, March 238:00 am


Sunday, March 24, 2013

KBYC Regatta

What a windy weekend! Great sailing Saturday and Sunday! Sailing in tough, gusty conditions like that helps build confidence and skill. It's important to quickly move past the "survival mode" and start going down your mental checklist to focus on things like: sail shape, sail trim, body position, hiking posture, race course position, wind pattern, etc.

Next weekend (Friday and Saturday)- we are supporting Key Biscayne Yacht Club's South East Dinghy Champs for both the Red, White, and Blue & Green fleets! Thanks to those of you who have been using the google dock to sign up and reserve a trailer spot.

Here are the boat assignments for the KBYC Regatta. Keep checking the blog for updates this week on regatta schedule and information.

& please let Phil or Juan know if you can tow a coach boat to this event! Here's the link to the regatta website https://www.memberstatements.com/tour/tours.cfm?tourid=87617 

LYC TRUCK
C. Wagerson


T. Wellnitz
G. Barron F. Thompson
H. Gramm J. Siegel
B. Lalor

LYC TRAILER
E. Holden C. Murphy S. Streater J. Meagher
K. Clark M. Moss O. Grubb J.P. Costello
J. Zulim I. Lalor D. Rozzo B. Harvey
C. Aliatis C. Kennedy L. Jones K. Wagerson


If your on home from school on Spring Break this week or next and want to join in on some fun sailing clinics, give us a call in the sailing office!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Spring Break Clinic

Spring break is coming up fast, sign up now to secure your spot!

 

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Upcoming Weekend March 23 & 24

We are looking forward to getting back to a regular practice schedule this upcoming weekend.

Saturday - Advanced & Intermediate 10AM-4PM
Sunday -  Advanced (10-4) Intermediate (12:30-3:30) Commodore's (1:30-4:30)

With the practice time at home we are going to refocus on fine tuning some bad habits and using the video debriefs to bring those mistakes into perspective.

Wishing the best of luck to our sailors racing internationally this week: Sophia Reineke in Porto Alegre, Brazil at the South American Championships; Sinead McManus in Braassemermeer, Holland at the Magic Marine Easter Regatta; and Olivier Grubb, Conner Correll, Luke Welker, and Chase Sabadash at the Fraglia Vela Riva regatta in Lake Garda, Italy. Make us proud!

Here's this weekend's forecast... looks breezy!



Saturday
mostlycloudy Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 82F. Breezy. Winds from the South at 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20%.
Saturday Night
nt_partlycloudy Partly cloudy in the evening, then clear. Low of 72F. Winds from the South at 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday
partlycloudy Mostly cloudy. High of 86F. Breezy. Winds from the SSW at 15 to 25 mph.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Weekend Update 3/17/2013

Thanks to all the parents who helped with Safety and Race Committee during the Advanced, Intermediate Opti, and Laser Spring Series Races on Saturday.

Sunday's schedule will host regular practice times for Advanced (10-4), Intermediate(12:30-3:30), and Commodore's Fleet Optimists (1:30 - 4:30). The Commodore's Fleet will sail their Spring Series race tomorrow. Parents: thanks in advance for your help.

Just a heads up: Commodore's Fleet coaches Sharon and Kyle are participating in the Don Q Snipe Regatta in Miami this weekend. We wish them luck and look forward to learn from their first hand experience. Assisting Corey on Sunday is Optimist National Champion Wade Waddell. Wade helped the Red, White, and Blue fleet last weekend in Jensen Beach and is looking forward to helping the Green Fleet on Sunday.

Please keep in mind that the Mercury group will be racing tomorrow, with a start time of 2:00pm. It will be busy in the Sailing Center. It will be helpful to keep the pathways to the cranes open and keep track of your dollies.  Thanks.


Thursday, March 14, 2013

Chris Williford Prayer Group, Transplant Day


Friends of Christopher Williford have decided to join as a group next Tuesday, March 19th, at Saint Anthony's Catholic Church to pray for Christopher Williford on the day of his bone marrow transplant.

Anyone who wants to participate, please come to Saint Anthony's between 8:00 and 11:00 a.m.  Mass runs from 8:15 until 8:45 a.m., and afterwards, many intend to stay in the church and pray for Christopher and his family.  The church doors will be closed after mass around 8:45, but Father Singleton will allow for the southwest door (the door at the bell tower) to remain open until 11:00 a.m. to accommodate those who wish to join the prayer group.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Jensen Beach Re-Cap

I have a few thoughts that I'd like to share as a general regatta wrap up from last weekend's regatta in Jensen Beach. Let me start by saying that this past weekend was fantastic. Well done! to all the sailors and THANK YOU parents from all your help towing, launching boats, pick up waters, etc.

Great sailing to our top ten finishers Sophia Reineke and Conner Correll in RWB and Jonathan Siegel and Benjamin Harvey in Green Fleet. And CONGRATULATIONS to our 10 year old break out performers Kelly Clark and Joey Meagher for their hard work this past weekend.

Wind Conditions & Patterns :

Saturday - Wind speed: 8 - 11 knots out of the East North East. Regular oscillating breeze, some larger lefties moving down the course. Saturday's trend--pressure filling in from the left with the lulls and smaller puffs coming out of the right side.

Sunday - Wind speed: 8-14 knots from the East South East. Oscillating breeze.  In the morning, the pressure filled in from the right and the lulls came from the left side. The pattern switched after race 2, flight 2 and in the afternoon the pressure was similar to Saturday, with stronger lefties and shorter immediate right puffs.

With two starting flights to use to figure out the wind pattern, we realized the oscillations were typically different for each fleet. Example: 1st flight, major left shift played a large role / 2nd flight, right shift proved more favorable.

What we learned:

Top sailors avoided the corners of the race course and held close to the center, working the oscillating shifts upwind and staying on the favored tack. 

Sailors in the back of the fleet usually hit the layline too early. The result: overstanding the layline with the majority of the fleet rounding the top mark ahead and inside. 

Geographic Factors:

The top of the course was drastically different than the bottom. Marks 1, 2, and 4 sitting closer to the land, you could count on the left shift to fill in. This was hard to see on the water's surface (since the more protected water appeared calmer and less affected by the wind), but still 8 times out of 10 the leaders approached the mark from the left side.

Were the conditions the same for those not in the top pack?

Yes, the wind's trend and pattern were the same across the race course, and those sailors who were not in the top pack did one of two things: (A) sailed on the hip of the fleet and hit the layline too early, which in the end pushed your position behind those sailors that (B) kept up with the back of their pack, playing the shifts and sailing toward the 3 boat length zone [not the layline]. B was the better course of action to take because it put those boats ahead of the second pack of mark rounders.

3 lessons to take away from the regatta:

1) Preparation is key. Adjusting your sails (outhaul, sprit, and preventer tension) to the existing conditions is important. We left the beach expecting more wind than we actually raced in, so shifting the sail's rigging was crucial to reaching top boat speed both up and down wind.

2) Consistency is key: Looking at most sailor's results form the event. In 5 out of 8 races most sailor's finished in the same place (give or take 3-5 boats places), but the other 3 races were bombs (add 5-10 boats to your regular finish place). Since there was only 1 throwout in the series the other 2 bomb races really affected your overall finishing position. Check your scores and think back to any moments in those bomb races that you knew you screwed up. If it was something obvious, focus on learning from those mistakes, and create a goal to right that wrong next time you go sailing.

3) Letters are bad: A lot of sailors have ZFP, OCS, DSQ, BFD somewhere on their scoresheet. Yellow flags for sculling or pumping, overstanding the starting line, black flags, etc. --- all these things are in your control and drastically affect your overall standings. Remember the race begins at the 4 minute count down (preparatory flag up), not at GO. So when you hear the 5 minute signal (class flag up) take the next minute to get into race mode, because in 60 seconds the judges are going to look for you. 


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A new tool to encorporate into our practice

For the Advanced and Intermediate sailors.... another tool to help improve the your sailor's experience on the water. 

The coaches have recently purchased two way radios to better communication on the water. We have been experimented using them with the sailors and are very happy with the results. 

What is it? We bought the Motorola MS350R 35-Mile Talkabout Waterproof 2-Way Radio (Pair) .

And the reason?

One radio for the coach, the other strapped to your sailor's front airbag (out of reach).

1) It's a teaching tool.  It enables coaches to provide instant, real-time feedback to your sailor while they are practicing, to develop their ability to identify problems and opportunities from the coach's point of view. 

2) It's a safety tool, enabling coaches to give clear instructions while sailors are out of earshot, and part of our ongoing commitment to our sailors' safety on the water.

3) Suggested in a parent's meeting, now worked into the curriculum.  

4) Like any tool, it will have strict rules for use, the chief one being the sailors are to use them for receiving only, not transmitting except in case of emergency. If they become a distraction they will be removed from use and returned to the parent.  We trust that children in the age of iPhones will have little difficulty learning to operate the device, and we will ask that they have a minimum level of familiarity with it (changing channels & volume, battery maintenance, etc.). 

We bought them from Amazon (link below) and so can you. Team up with another sailing family (they come in pairs). And make sure you get the same model as below (or the coaches won't be able to communicate with your sailor).

Motorola MS350R 35-Mile Talkabout Waterproof 2-Way Radio (Pair) by Motorola

Product Details 

 

Thursday, March 7, 2013

JENSEN BEACH UPDATE



We are looking forward to the regatta this weekend in Jensen Beach. As an added note: There are 200 sailors registered for this event. We know from experience that hosting that many sailors requires lots of help and understanding from the competitors and their entourage 

We urge you to help USSCMC by arriving early and sorting out car parking, boat parking, and control of gear.  On the race management side of things, we know they're short on various staff, so it will be more important than usual for your sailors to check the notice boards in the mornings and afternoons.  

Here's the forecast for this weekend.... Looking breezy!

  • Friday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
  • Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. East northeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
  • Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind 10 to 15 mph.
  • Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Windy, with a east wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
  • Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. East wind 10 to 15 mph.


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

MORE JENSEN BEACH INFO

We are set with coach boat towers to the event. Thanks Bob Meagher, Roger Welker, Francesca Kennedy, and Mike Mullen for helping the team out!

As soon as towers arrive to Jensen Beach please splash the boats and park the trailers in the lot. If you need help, coaches can help delegate.

The schedule for the weekend has not changed. I will post again below.

FYI -

On the Red, White, and Blue course the coaches will be Philip, Colin, and special guest coach and USODA National Champion WADE WADDELL!

On the Green fleet course the coaches will be Juan Carlos and Corey.

Saturday –March 9 0800 Continental Breakfast
0800 -1000 Check-in
0930 LYC Rigged and Ready Meeting for RWB and GREEN
1000 Competitors, Coaches and Parents Mandatory Meeting (Upper Deck)
1000 Green Fleet Coaches Mandatory Meeting (South Classroom)
1030 Green Fleet Competitors, Coaches and Parents Mandatory Briefing (Upper Deck)
1100 First Warning (except Green Fleet)
1130 First Warning – Green Fleet
Lunch on the Water
1700 Cook-out Dinner

Sunday –March 10 0730 – 0830 Continental Breakfast
0830 LYC Rigged and Ready Meeting for RWB
0930 First Warning Signal
Racing to follow
Lunch on the Water
1430 No warning signal after this time After racing Awards Ceremony

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

SCHEDULE IN JENSEN BEACH






Almost 200 Optis are registered for the event which means the sailing center will more chaotic than usual on Saturday morning, so please remember a few things to simplify unloading.

1) The LYC truck will arrive no later than 8:15AM.  LYC drivers will send a GroupMe text when coming over the big bridge 5 minutes out.  If you aren't familiar with GroupMe, click here to learn more and sign up.
2) If possible, bring your dolly in your car and assemble it prior to the truck's arrival.  This makes removing your boat much quicker as you're not scrambling to find a missing dolly part. 
3) The truck will be moved to the nearby parking lot 30 minutes after it arrives.  If you don't remove your boat or gear by this time, you will have to walk farther to collect it.  Please be ready.
4) When you remove your Opti, put your boat in its assigned lawn spot. (You'll receive your lawn spot once you check in at the registration table).  When one person takes the wrong spot it sets off a chain reaction that affects many others.
5) As always, be respectful of the volunteers managing traffic and parking.  That was us a few short weeks ago at Boomerang.

Friday – March 8 1600 -1900 Check-in & Late Registration




Saturday –March 9 0800 Continental Breakfast
0800 -1000 Check-in
0930 LYC Rigged and Ready Meeting for RWB and GREEN
1000 Competitors, Coaches and Parents Mandatory Meeting (Upper Deck)
1000 Green Fleet Coaches Mandatory Meeting (South Classroom)
1030 Green Fleet Competitors, Coaches and Parents Mandatory Briefing (Upper Deck)
1100 First Warning (except Green Fleet)
1130 First Warning – Green Fleet
Lunch on the Water
1700 Cook-out Dinner

Sunday –March 10 0730 – 0830 Continental Breakfast
0830 LYC Rigged and Ready Meeting for RWB
0930 First Warning Signal
Racing to follow
Lunch on the Water
1430 No warning signal after this time After racing Awards Ceremony

The Green Fleet sailors’ schedule will be the same through the competitors’ meeting at which point a second, separate meeting for Green Fleet sailors will be conducted and the remainder of the schedule for that fleet will be announced.

TRAILER SPOTS FOR JENSEN BEACH

Regarding the Florida State Championships hosted by the US Sailing Center of Martin County in Jensen Beach this weekend...

We have 34 sailors from LYC attending this regatta, so some of you will need to make your own arrangements to get your Optis to the event. As a reminder the trailer spot positions are first reserved to Commodore's fleet Sailors, second to sailors who are towing coach boats, next to families with multiple siblings, and lastly by sign up on the g.docs blog list.

Those of you with a boat still on the trailer from last weekend, we thank you for your cooperation in unloading it this week if you do not have a spot for Jensen Beach. Here are the boat assignments for Jensen Beach.


BRINSON SIEGEL ARCH WELKER HOLDEN SABADASH
THOM ZULIM BUCKLES MEAGHER MURPHY DIXON
I. LALOR WELLNITZ MULLEN BARRON STREATER CLARK
C. WAGERSON KENNEDY  GENNETT DUBOIS WEBER CERVONI