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 25^th 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