2015 Spring Season Information

Dear Parents and Sailors,

Thank you to those who were able to make it to our meeting last night. I know it is a very busy time of the year for us all. We covered a lot of information, so please read the following items thoroughly.

Attached you will find  the following documents( I have several copies of each in my office, so please save paper before you print!):

2015 Spring Practice Schedule
2015 Spring Calendar
2015 Spring Registration
2015 Regatta Calendar
Optimist Survival Guide-Spring 2015
Green Fleet Syllabus

1.)   Registration form

a.       Registration forms must be turned in by Jan 2^nd.

2.)    Season Calendar

a.       The season will begin on January 5^th and run until May 17^th.

b.      There will be no green fleet practice on Thursday January 8^th because of the winter banquet.

c.       Our first green fleet practice is on Sunday Jan 11^th and we will be having a boat work morning before practice starting at 11am.

d.      There are two Winter Series and two Spring Series race days for each fleet. Silver fleet will be scored separately than Gold fleet.

3.)    Practice

a.       Always refer to the LYC Opti Blog for schedule updates and changes.

b.      All Club equipment must be returned if you are not planning to sail in the spring. I will be checking after practices this week to make sure that all blades, rudders, sails are returned. If you are not planning to sail in the spring, please notify me so I can remove your monthly charter fee for the spring season. If you are sailing in the spring and would like to request the same or different equipment from in the fall, please let me know.

c.       Commodore’s fleet sailors will not be assigned a club Opti.

d.      Attached you will find the Green Fleet Syllabus. We are still working on the Commodores fleet and Championship fleet syllabus.

e.      Each sailor will receive an end of the season evaluation/progress report from the fall. These will be sent out shortly after the holiday.

4.)    Coaching

a.       We are hiring a Silver Fleet coach for the spring. We interviewing for the position this week.

b.      I will be announcing our new additions to our coaching staff in the next two weeks.

5.)    Regattas

a.       Boomerang Regatta hosted by LYC. Encourage all LYC sailors who participated in the fall to sign up for the event. Registration is open https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_registration_form.php?regatta_id=9264

b.      Refer to the regatta schedule document to get an overview of the events for the season.

c.       Refer to the Opti survival Guide for details on each regatta venue for the spring. (I have several extra copies in my office. I recommend making refundable hotel reservations for the events you think you might participate in.

d.      This summer LYC is supporting Nationals in Pensacola, July 16-26^th. LYC will have a coaching for green fleet and championship fleet. More information on pre-nationals summer clinic dates will go out soon, but it will most likely be the week of June 29-July 3 and July 6-10.

6.)    Blog

a.       Signup sheets for all of the spring regattas are listed on the blog. Check your calendars to see which one you can do, register for the event and then sign up on the blog. This is very important for planning and travel logistics.

b.      Towing Signup sheet will also be up on the blog. We need everyone to take a turn towing.

7.)    Orange Bowl Logistics-

a.       The championship fleet will be practicing in KBYC this weekend and the Opti trailer will be back to the sailing center on Sunday  between 5:30- 6pm. Orange Bowl Sailors will be loading their boats after practice on Sunday. If you are not able to come and are sailing orange bowl, then you need to find a way to get your boat on the trailer or coordinate with me.

b.      Friday Dec. 26^th Check in is from 1pm-5pm.

c.       Saturday Dec. 27^th I would like green fleet sailors to be arriving no later than 7:15am. Green Fleet will have a team meeting before the skippers meeting at 8:45.

d.      Parents please purchase snacks, fruits, Gatorade, and waters. It would be easiest for you to bring the snacks to practice on Sunday and I will load into the cooler and bring to the event.

e.      We are still need 3 parents to tow coach boats. Please let me know if you are able to tow and when you will be able to pick up the boats. I will be making call to those who haven’t towed yet this season.

f.        I saw 9 green fleet sailors signed up for orange bowl, but only 4 are signed up on the blog. Please sign up on the blog as well so we have your contact information. You can find the signup under the regattas and clinics tab or click here.

I think that covers most of it. I know this is a lot of information so please reach out to me with any questions.

It's been such a pleasure to coach the LYC team this year! We look forward to an awesome spring!

Cheers!

Julia Melton

2015 Spring Registration

LYC Opti Team,

The spring season will start the week of January 5^th and run until May 17^th.

2015 Spring Registration is now open! You can click the hyperlink or find the form in the program documents tab. Remember that your spot on the team is not secured until you have turned in your form!

You will notice that there are some new changes to the form. We’ve added a new fleet call “Commodores Fleet”. This is for sailors who are not ready for racing, but have done Mercury Mentors for at least two seasons or have equivalent experience.  This class will focus on developing and refining basic boat handling skills, seamanship, and gaining confidence in sailing. Depending on the wind conditions, the class will be taught in various boats such as the Opti, Mercury, O’Pen Bic or 420. If you are wondering whether this is a good fit for your child, please don’t hesitate to ask me.

You can find our weekly practice schedule here. We revised the Silver Fleet practice schedule. Your child must be approved by me or the Head Opti Coach to move to Silver Fleet. 

The spring calendar has been updated to the Blog as well.

Our preseason parents meeting is on Tuesday December 16^th at 6:30pm. This is designated for parents, but sailors are welcome to come.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Smooth sailing,

Julia Melton

*Important-Winter Banquet Rescheduled to January 8th

LYC Sailing Families,

After a long discussion and look at the calendar,the winter banquet date has been changed to January 8th, due to the rescheduling of the Sailing Foundation dinner. I hope you all can be there to join us in celebrating the fall season!

5:30 Cocktails
6:00 Dinner
6:30 Awards Ceremony

Thank you!

Julia Melton

Practice Debrief 11/15-16 - Arthur Blodgett

This past weekend we focused on improving the biggest issues from Naples: consistent speed, and starting. We watched a couple video's on Saturday morning, and I asked sailors to push their technique through waves as well as their pumping downwind. 

Scott Norman's 2002 tacking video shows how comfortable sailors should be steering behind their backs out of tacks (for reasons dating back to learn-to-sail some of our sailors are not), then doing a 'hip check' forwards as you switch hands, which propels the boat into foot mode (you should foot before and after tacks). 

This second video of an Kiwi opti sailor shows great hiking technique, as well as the forward and aft movement needed to get on, and stay on a wave downwind. Move back as you are getting ready to pump, then slide forward as you are surfing. This keeps the hull trimmed properly so the bow and stern don't dig in as the wave rolls by. The video first shows the "pump then slide" technique from 0:28-0:30, then from 1:18-1:26 in slow motion. 

We went out and practiced this, and here's a compilation of some of the better technique exhibited, set to the New Orleans music of Dr. John to get us in the groove for Midwinters next week! 

Sailors should watch a couple times and evaluate themself and teammates on the following questions:

   * Is the bow staying in contact with the waves

   *Is the hull trim correct (bow neither 'poppin' a wheelie' nor digging in) 

   *Sail trim/pumping good? 

   * Is there too much rudder movement?

   *How does my technique look - feet/knees together (anchored to the boat), shoulders angled out and back, front elbow slightly up,  movement amount and timing matches up with waves? 

Technique + Willingness to work the boat all the way around the course = Speed! Repeat your best techniques until they become habit! 

   

Naples 2014-Green Fleet Regatta Report

Naples Cup November 7-8^th 2014

Green Fleet Regatta Debrief- Julia Melon

The venue was quite challenging and exciting for some of our team members. Our green fleet team is used to practicing in light, variable, shifty conditions in the intracoastal filled with vortexes of current intermingling in every channel. In contrast, the beautiful Naples venue offered our sailors a new experience of sailing in big waves on the open gulf.

The Green Fleet sailors who accompanied us for the Naples trek were Stephan Tate, Michael Morley, Bobby Rielly, Kevin Gosselin, Skye Johnson and Co., Lucy Meagher, Isa du Plessis, Jake Burgess, Miles Wolff, Simone Moss and a special guest appearance from Jack Carroll!

On Saturday, we focused on body kinetics sailing through waves. I learned this technique from sailing with world champion sailor Augie Diaz. Augie relates it to salsa dancing with the hips. Basically, you propel the boat with your hips through the wave crest (hips forward) and as a result, you angle your shoulders back. Then, as you ride down the wave, you hips smoothly return back and shoulders forward.

This motion should feel and look natural and will propel the boat through the waves rather than slapping the bow into the waves. Depending on the size and type of waves, the timing and amount of motion from the sailor will be different.

In addition to kinetics (movement in waves) we focused on the other elements of speed. It is critical that the Opti is up to full speed, and when the boat starts to slow down, you make adjustments accordingly. This includes “switching gears” in the light spots easing the sail, weight in.  I tell the sailors to always feel connected with their feet – whether in the boat or hiking. Being connected can help sailors transition in again (“changing gears”) as the breeze dies.

On Sunday the last three races had the windward mark skewed to the right side of the course. I told my sailors to look at the committee boat flag and point directly upwind, and then compare it to the windward mark 20 degrees to the right. It just makes sense to always be working in the direction of the windward mark, or any mark of that matter. It also is good to split away from a pack of boats. There were only a few of my sailors that actually sailed the long tack out right  - in the last race Jack Carroll and Isa ended up 2^nd and 4^th going right. With most green fleet regattas there are gains to be made by identifying the bias of the course and following your own strategy (take a chance!).

     Thank you to all the parents who made our team dinner a success; to our towers: Stacy Moss, Valerie Rozzo, the Tates, Coach Sharon Johnson - and to Phil Riley for grilling on his birthday!

Don’t forget that our third and final fall series racing is on Sunday!!!

Have a great weekend :)

Regatta Debrief Naples Cup - Arthur Blodgett

Great racing at this years Naples Cup, held out in the Gulf of Mexico with a 111 boat Championship fleet. Saturday was picturesque with a 5-8kt breeze from the South-West, while Sunday was cold, rainy, and started breezy from the North, before shifting right and dying (from 15 all the way down to 3 kts!). Several of our top sailors were hurt by an OCS on Saturday, while pretty much the whole team improved Sunday – Garret finished 24^th, Denver 28^th and Joey 29^th. Nevertheless, the results were less than I as a coach was hoping for - less than our sailors are capable of. We still have a tendency to get down during a bad race, and the long 5 leg courses were a test of sailors focus and commitment. Try to set goals for yourself as a sailor for each regatta, both qualitative (I want to outwork my competitors downwind) and quantitative (I want to finish in the top 15), and remind yourself of the individual goal for each race (top10? 20?) and how you plan to get there (it doesn't just happen!) Correct Strategy + Execution + Speed will always net you a good race; execution meaning getting a good start and being patient enough to follow your strategy.

Different conditions bring out different strengths and weaknesses in each sailor. One of the ways I try to be good in all conditions is by re-prioritizing what I will be looking at and focusing on. For example – if it's not shifty, stop looking around for windshifts!! There is certainly a difference between sailing in a big or small fleets, which Stewart Walker notes in his book Positioning; you should always prioritize clear air in a big fleet, covering specific boats in a small one. Instead, i've made the following two tables to factor in the conditions and venue. First a review of some standard definitions:

Strategy: The fastest way around the course in the absence of other boats. The best way to play the shifts and current.

Tactics: How you sail specifically with relation to other boats – to stay out of bad air from boats ahead, and cover/lead

back the boats behind.

Boatspeed: How fast you are relative to your competitors, as a result of technique, sail trim, boat preparation, weight, and

helming. We always want to be as fast as possible, but some conditions put more of a premium on it than others.

For the first table, 5 is most important, 1 is least important. The conditions we had at Naples are highlighted.

Keys to Winning by Breeze Type

Conditions:	Strategy	Tactics	Boatspeed
Light, Steady	3	5	4
Light, Shifty Venue	5	4	3
Medium, Open Venue	2	5	5
Medium, Shifty Venue	5	3	3 (everyone's fast!)
Heavy, Open Venue	3	2	5
Heavy, Shifty Venue	5	1	3

The common thread with these valuations is that speed is critical when there are waves + small shifts, Shifts are key when they are larger. To break these keys into how we might actualize them...

Estimated time spent looking at _____ while racing upwind:

Conditions:	Telltales/Sail	Waves	Windshifts	Other Boats
Light, Steady	83.00%	10.00%	2.00%	5% (remember where they are! Find sustainable lanes!
Light, Shifty Venue	83.00%	1% - just powerboat chop	10.00%	6.00% Clear air? Showing headers or lifts?
Medium, Open Venue	75.00%	15.00% Work on going fast!	2.00%	8.00% Clear Air!!!!
Medium, Shifty Venue	79% Head up when you get lifted!	5.00%	10.00%	6% Crossing?=Cross ½ way Loosing?=Lead back
Heavy, Open Venue	75.00%	17.00%	4.00%	4.00%
Heavy, Shifty Venue	80.00%	8.00%	10.00%	2% don't hit them, other wise, who cares?

Limiting extraneous head/eye movement is a quick and surefire way to improve ones sailing. Looking at the boats behind you upwind is useless and hurts your speed. Any time you look 'back shoulder' your are taking your head too far from the telltales, wind direction, and waves. Like a dog that needs a bigger flea collar, everytime you go outside the cone-of-productive-places-to-be-looking, you are making the wound worse!

Additional Notes from the weekend:

*Starts were a huge pre-requisite to good races. Joey improved immensely, while Michael and John had some issues. Work on both accelerations, and gaining hight without sailing too much to leeward in practice, and get a line sight, wind-shot, read on the current, and do a practice run before every start!

*Several heavier sailors have all mentioned to me their concerns about pointing. Chill out. In anything less than full hiking conditions, you are going to be pointing lower than a lighter boat next to you. By expecting this and committing to foot mode in light wind, you will have better flow on your foils and better overall performance/VMG. Even you sail is cut to not point as high – the deeper sails have a more obtuse entry angle. Tactically, try to set yourself up in wider lanes where there isn't a boat close to leeward. Remember, you are also more experienced and potentially smarter than your competition, embrace the challenge of sailing strategically and tactically well in light airs where you may not be the fastest, and rely on good boathandeling to keep speed out of maneuvers.

*We did a good job as a team with tuning at this regatta. Sprit inflicted creases were absent from the sails, and everyone went to great pains to get enough vang and outhaul at the beginning of Sunday. Always tune to the first leg of the race, regardless of what you think the wind will do. If it lightens, easing the Vang is one of the easiest adjustments you need to make – it opens the leach of the sail for fast twist upwind and downwind.

*The regatta was not judged, and other coaches as well as myself were wondering why sailors weren’t pumping and moving more downwind. Work your boat to the limit of Rule 42 – 1 pump per wave on every wave, aft then forward movement (not an ooch=legal) to accompany each pump!

*Good job by the whole team getting psyched up in the rain and wind Sunday morning. Other coaches had a number of sailors contract “windsickness,” and I was impressed to see our team's trip to New Jersey and individual toughness paying dividends.

Sunday Technique Practice - Arthur Blodgett

Check out the below video of Denver, John, B and Joey working the waves upwind this past Sunday.  The northerly breeze gave us smaller shorter waves - more like what we'll have on Biscayne Bay (Orangebowl, Team Trials) than the usual ocean swell. The basics we've discussed at length in past debriefs - work the bow down into the trough of the wave by moving hips forward and shoulders back as you punch through the wave crest. Remember: correct positioning in the boat, knees and feet together and locking you to the bulkhead in light air or the hiking strap in heavy air are key pre-conditions to effective movement! John looks really good in this clip but later in the practice his sail trim slipped killing his pointing.

In the next video, Bryce and B show the potential with some waves (big swells or boat chop) for upwind surfing. While waves generally slow a boat upwind, its important to remember that every wave has a backside which you can potentially surf to regain speed. Note the nice shoulder 'pop' by Bryce (2nd Opti shown). 

In preparation for Naples this weekend (please read Julia's post below on logistics, Gold/Silver Report time is 8:30am Saturday) sailors should visualize themselves sailing upwind with proper technique,  getting good starts then going fast! Looking forward to it! 

Naples Regatta Logistics

Coach Arthur, Sharon and I are very excited for the Naples regatta this weekend! After Wednesday and Thursday practices this week we will be loading boats on the trailer. If you are not at practice this week you will need to find a time to load your boat and pick up your equipment.

Trailer spot assignments will be posted on the truck window. We will have spots for both the truck rack and the Opti trailer.

With 21 boats signed up on the blog, we will need to conserve space so we ask that Silver & Gold fleet will need to take their own sails and dollies, and blades.

Green Fleet will again be assigned a dolly for the regatta and are responsible for assembling at the event and reassembling when the trailer/ truck return to LYC. Green fleet sailors can pack their blades, sails and dollies on the bed of the truck or trailer. Please let me know if your sailor has any boat repairs needed done this week by tomorrow.

I plan to leave LYC around 1pm on Friday, so I hopefully be getting to the park around 3pm. The coaches and I plan to stick around and help unload until 6pm. I’d like to have a team designated rigging spot. 

HUGE thanks to Tate’s, Stacy Moss and Valerie Rozzo for towing. We will be taking the 15’RIB, Lil’ blue and the 17’RIB.

Saturday a.m. Arrival

Ø  We will be launching coach boats Saturday a.m. The launch ramp is about a 45 minute drive away. I will need 2 volunteers to drive the coach boats in the morning. The boats need to get to the launching ramp by 6:30am. Please let me know if you can tow one of the boats in the a.m.

Ø  I plan to be at the sailing center by 7:45. I would like GF to be there by 8:15 or earlier. We will have our team meeting at 9:20am. The skippers meeting is at 9:45

Ø  Saturday night Team dinner will be a bbq at the Park shore hotel. Lynn Dixon has stepped up to provide marinated chicken and fish for the grill at $5 per person. We also would like each family to sign up for one of the items listed  in the Google doc. Lynn would like a head count so please indicate on the blog sign up if you are planning on joing us for dinner. Click here to sign up!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12J8BMYD_-vB9YEX4P2-uqVBAbGbjNyycHFgEC07bB1U/edit#gid=0

Ø  Other things to pack: (refer to opti survival guide attached) Sun block, sunglasses, refillable water bottle snacks, spray jacket or warm gear, life jacket, etc.

Ø  Beth Reilly has picked up bars/ waters for the Green fleet boats. Silver and Gold fleet should designate a parent to get waters and bars for Arthur’s boat.

Ø  As always, you will be assigned a group text message group, which will be used to communicate to the team throughout the weekend.

Ø  Please do not forget to bring team gear! It is mandatory that all Opti sailors wear their blue polos at the awards ceremony.

You can find the Notice of Race here:

https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/9163/notice_of_race2014.pdf#page=1&zoom=auto,-99,798

I think that covers most of the logistics. Looking forward to a great weekend!

Julia Melton