State Champs Debrief - Arthur Blodgett

10 minutes before the start of the biggest race of their season to date, I got some final words in with Lucy and Bobby. We all knew the stakes - a trip to USODA Team Trials in San Francisco - where all sailors who grow up in this South-Florida hotbed of sailing talent hope to one day make the National Teams representing the US in international sailing competition. Both Bobby Reilly and Lucy Meagher had risen to the challenge throughout the day, posting mostly good finishes off of safe starts. We had both gone about our homework and were ready for a discussion - they reported that the boat end was favored...but only by about 5 degrees. I had done a current check - tossing a water bottle into the sea next to the committee boat, timing it for a minute, and noting the distance and direction it had traveled before carefully retrieving it (to avoid breaking the rules and sinning against the environment). I found some surprising information: the current was still running strong from left to right, despite it being scheduled to change at the present time, 2pm.

    We knew both sailors had to have a good race, but didn't know how good - the scores on my iPhone had not been updated since 3 races ago. Given my initial prognostication for the regatta -that an average of less than 40 (in the 2 one-hundred boat fleets) would net a top 67 (qualifying) finish, I told them they just needed a top 25. We thought Lucy still had a throw out- to spend, but were not certain of this. Bobby had been Black Flagged in the 3rd race Saturday, and had no such room for error! Given that it was their conditions - light/medium wind with lots of waves, I urged them to start at the downwind, but up-current pin end, get off the line with a lane, and play the left side that had been paying all regatta. Lucy had been pursuing this strategy all day, and was very comfortable with it. Bobby had disagreed with me before the previous race, saying "I think I can start nearer the boat end," but after getting buried in the second row (again, he had to avoid the first row if there was any chance of the fleet being over) was ready slide down the line. Lucy started a little late, but had enough of a lane to go left and came away with another solid finish. Bobby was set up for a great start at 15 seconds - he was 2 boat lengths below the line with a hole to leeward. Then the boat to windward accelerated first and as it began to roll him, Bobby thought he could get to the next hole to windward...and jybed. He wound up ducking most of the fleet on port before fining a lane in which to work back left. Undeterred, he passed 5 boats each on the reach and the run through sheer effort, and benefited from 10 boats being black flagged (I began to feel better about his chances when I heard this on the radio) to finish 57th and take the penultimate qualifying spot overall. Not the regatta he is capable of having, but the result he needed, and once you get into the dance anything can happen! 

    

Strategy should always be a discussion, and the best sailors will always think for themselves - after all they can't talk to coaches for the 5 minutes before the start, so blindly accepting a coaches strategy can be a fools errand. The boat being favored by more than 10 degrees, or the current switching (as it did halfway through Saturdays racing) were both great reasons to slide towards the boat end. However, I really liked the pin third start all regatta for a number of reasons:

1. The left was mostly favored. Key Biscayne was too far to windward to give us much of a shoreline lift, but the bend in the breeze it induced created a "convergent zone" where more breeze came together above the left of the course, resulting in more pressure. Oh, and it was the same breeze direction and course location as Orange Bowl, so we had had experience with this! 

2. The line was too short for the size of the fleet. This made starting in a "thinner" area a much higher percentage move. Also, the short line minimized the advantage of the favored end. When a couple pairs tested the line on Sunday they found that the right boat crossed the left by 3-4 boat lengths. We felt like the advantage of getting left was at least this much. 

3. Most of the boats getting Black flagged (and there were a lot at this regatta) were caught in a mid-boat end line Bulge. The current was pushing boats over the line - from the lee bow when the tide was flooding, and from behind when the tide was ebbing. This coupled with the habitually boat favored end (why they did this I could not fathom) meant it was risky starting in a pack. 

Illustration: when the boat is favored sailors are always over  - the boat to leeward tries to gauge off the boat to windward, and is over: 

4. Experience! While I personally love the thrill of fighting to win the favored end (I'm pretty good at it and can usually recover ok when I don't), I still won't try it if the current is going to plaster me to the committee boat!  And my two top J24 skippers (Robby Brown and Rossi Milev) have really shown me the virtues of starting cleanly down the line when the boat is favored. Here's a picture of J24 Midwinters - same situation, boat slightly favored, Left side of the course paying.

That's us with 799 barely visible on the Jib, 3 boats up from the pin, and just getting clear air! While John Molicon/Tim Healy in the Blue Helly Hansen boat won this particular race, we finished 3rd and took the regatta. We incurred zero risk, and were able to use our speed to hold a lane all the way to the left corner. This was basically Lucy's strategy the entire State Champs Opti regatta and she had the speed for numerous top 25's! 

A couple more things on starts: its come to my attention that Opti Kids really have no frickin clue where the start line is. While we can blame the Race Committee for the plethora of black flags at this regatta, here's a picture of a practice start with the LYC and CERT teams from Friday:

With the current sweeping us under the line in this case, everyone is late! My solution is always 'get a line sight!" Connor asked me at this regatta: "why should I get a line sight when I don't usually get to use it." Here's why:

*Even if you can't see it in the last minute, you can usually see how over/under you are when initially setting up with a group of boats, and extrapolate based on breeze strength and current.

*If the current is pushing you under the line, you can use it to start ahead of everyone (free top 10!)

*If you are over the line on a prep flag start, you can use it to know when you are clear. 

Thus, I get to use my line sight only about 50% of the time, but get one every time. For the picture above, I would say to myself: "My line sight is the middle of the small island just below (downwind of) the small bridge to the key. If I am under, the pin will line up with the bridge or the main key. If I am over, I will see all of the tiny island."

5.) For Ryan:

6.) With the inappropriately short start line, sailors this past weekend had to "set up" - make their final approach to the line on starboard - EARLY. If was too difficult to sail through 3 layers of boats and get in the front row. My colleagues Pilar Callabresse and Bobby Noonan took special care to discuss the maneuvering nessicary in this final approach with sailors. The key is to protect your "hole" to leeward - the space needed to bear off and accelerate. With a leeward boat too close (they have rights on you!), you can never gain the speed and flow on your foils to explode off the start line. 

   *Once you set up (2min to 45 seconds to start), protect your hole from trailing boats trying to take it by bearing off, letting your luffing sail out, physically and verbally discouraging them from sailing in to leeward of you. 

    *When there are no prowlers sailing by to leeward looking for a hole, look to work your boat to windward (make your hole bigger at the boat to windward of you's expense). Do this by:

1. Trimming the sheet and heading up to get a little speed 

2. Shooting head to wind.

3. Quick backwind to stop you (also slides you a bit to windward). Stop before you get too close to the line! 

4. Tiller to windward, then scull back down to a close hauled course (no more than 2 pumps on the tiller should be necessary, although unlimited sculling is allowed to "turn the boat down from above a close hauled course." 

5 Let the sail out as you turn down so you don't accelerate (at least not yet). 

Through all these steps the skippers weight will need to be further to windward than when luffing.

When you think its time, accelerate by sailing as fast as you can on a close-reaching course. In light air, rock to leeward one; in heavy air, just hike! 

 In most boats the only danger is the boat to leeward, but in Optis the boat to windward is a real concern, as most sailors have only a general grasp of the Windward/Leeward rule (RRS Rule 11). In most situations, if the boat to windward goes, GO! Don't let them roll you, and role the boat to leeward of you. Make them pay for sailing down on you by pinching them out AFTER the start and AFTER you have MATCHED their speed. 

Results (click here for full results) : LYC regulars and drop ins (we had a number of talented sailors joining our group of coaches and sailors for this event) had a number of awesome finishes: Justin Callahan 2nd, Hayden Earl 4th , Mitchell Callahan 5th, Bella Cassaretto 8th, Ryan Satterburg 15th Jonathan Siegel 19th, Giulio Zunino 28th, Connor Bolland 31st in a 209 boat Fleet!!! We (by which I mean the coaching staff; sailors will have the opportunity to  consider their own goals this coming weekend) hope these top finishes will be a prelude to all these rock stars making the National Team. Current National Teamer Garret Dixon probably belongs in this group -  Garret's scores which counted were 4,6,6,10 - averaging between a 7th and 8th place finish overall - but were bracketed by 2 Black Flag penalties. Bella was BFD'd on the same start as Garret Sunday, and though she had led the regatta up to that point, had to be too conservative from there on out. 

The top 10 overall finishers ordered from left to right. 

Qualifying for the team trials were Lucy Meagher in 43rd and Bobby Reilly in 74th and they join a second group of LYC sailors who all can realistically can make the Development Team!

Regatta MVP's:
*The Judges. I saw very few yellow flags for 42 Infringements, and I think the judges exhibited an enlightened view that in steep chop and medium wind, a lot of body movement is a necessary part of guiding boats through the waves. Downwind and on the start line, competitors seemed to be pretty good at pumping just once per wave and sculling only to turn down to close hauled from above.

Note: WE WILL BE HOSTING A Gold/Silver "PROTEST CLASS" WITH JUDGE MARTY OTTENHEIMER after sailing practice the next two Wednesdays! Please RSVP to Bob Meagher if you want to attend!

*The Winner, Mia Nicolosi, from the USVI. She closed the regatta with 3 bullets and showed some really impressive upwind technique, flicking nicely on each wave.

*Former Eckerd College coach (among many other things) Scott Norman for supplying Hayden who arrived on the race-course bailorsless, with his bailor for Saturday.



Pili and Bobby coaching practice this weekend while I go sailing (50th Don Q Snipe Regatta on...Biscayne Bay!). Hope you have a great practice and I look forward to this month of training looking to peak at Team Trials.