Regatta Debrief - Jensen Beach JO's

Our Opti Teams competed this past weekend on the always challenging venue that is the wide Intercostal Waterway inside of Jensen Beach.  Saturday brought conditions more reminiscent of the English countryside with gusts to 25kts and intermittent rain. Sunday was lighter and we ran 4 races before the 2:30pm cutoff time. Congrats to LYC's top finshers: Justin Callahan 1st, Mitchell Callahan 6th, Bella Casaretto 7th, Garret Dixon 17th, Jonathan Siegel 21st,  and Giulio Zunino 29th out of 120 boats.

Strategy:
The wind was out of the ENE all weekend - coming over the narrow spit of beach that protects the venue from the ocean, and ocellated back and forth pretty regularly all weekend. When it got light midday Sunday picking out the pressure was very important, but for most of the regatta sailing the best angle - staying on the lifted tack to the next mark - was paramount. With 1.5 - 3 "shifts per beat" (a measure I like to use for how rapidly the wind is oscillating) playing towards the middle after gaining the initial advantage was the best strategy.

Not all of our sailors initially took this route. There were 2 common mistakes - giving up on a lift, and banging a corner through several shifts. As previously mentioned, the shifts were coming pretty slowly on a really long beat (the first day it looked like 2 miles through the haze). When you tacked while still lifted, especially on the outside of a lift, you sailed away from the next shift, and consolidated a loss on the fleet. Jack did exactly this on the first beat of the last race - he was bow out on the expansive fleet going to the right and holding his leverage and position in a long lasting left lift. had he waited for the wind to shift back, he could have crossed half the fleet. But instead, by tacking, he ducked the entire fleet! He would boatspeed past 10 boats on the last beat, but the point remains - if you consolidate in a bad position, you loose any opportunity to better that position. Its like selling your stock after it drops to 10 cents a share - if you know the market is fluctuating - hold on and be patient for your next shift!
    Banging a corner is similarly ill-fated in oscilating winds. You may look great when you first tack to come back, but the wind will shift several more times before you reach the mark and you will end up loosing out. What seemed to be a geographic lull on the right made this trip to the extreme right even more costly for Sophia!
In Oscilating conditions seek to position yourself bow out on the lifts, tacking only as the wind shifts. 

Tuning:
Pretty standard big breeze setup for most sailors: tight sail ties all the way up the mast so you flatten the sail as the mast bends. Tight luff (fewer/no turns on the cunningham). Garret sailed at his furthest rake forward to date on Sunday and felt pretty fast! We tune rake to the weight and wind conditions, but also to the skill of the sailor -rakeing forwards powers you up but also makes mainsheet trim critical (the angle of the mainsheet to the boom means its easier to stall the leech) and deprives the boat of windward helm (helpful to steering). On the J Sail, the leech is soo adjustable and can open up soo nicely - Garret just need to be meticulous about adjusting the sprit and trimming his mainsheet, and he can be really fast!

Some really light sailors experimented with pulling the daggerboard up a few inches upwind. This de-powers the boat, and helps reduce weather helm and allows you to get out of "the no go zone." Some did this when it wasn't windy enough - they should have gone for more power and pointing off the start line (Jonathan)! Coach Pili stressed to sailors a great point - that they should initiate the turn down around the windward and reach marks by raising their daggerboard.

How hard you are hiking is a great wind strength indicator for how you should tune the boat. Here's some rules:

*Until you are full out hiking, the goal of Opti tuning is to have as much power as possible.

*Once you are overpowered, de-power only as much as necessary to keep the boat flat (while still at full hike).

*If you are inside the boat (really searching for power) you need to achieve it by developing flow - loose vang, loose sprit, medium outhaul.


Starts:
You needed to get off the line in the front row to be successful. The leaders were always able to get in phase with the first wind shifts, either by crossing the fleet in a lefty, or holding a lane in a righty.

The start line was crowded. On Sunday, the current was flowing from pin to boat, and the pin was usually favored, making starting at the pin the move! Even with a throw out, being OCS will always hurt your regatta, and Garret and Mitchell each picked up the BFD's cousin, the UFD (automatic DSQ for being over inside of 1 minute to the start). Practice the last 30 seconds of the start you want early in the sequence when the line is clear, and you will have a much better feel for the timing.

Many other sailors never got to the first line of the start. This is also a boatahandeling and practice issue - you need to power up, hike and sail the boat up underneath someone to get into the first row. In breeze, sculling does't work as well, and Jonathan's starts improved when he started steering with weight more than rudder. He and Garret both moved up significantly on Sunday.

Mentality:
Sailing in the rain and heavy air always proves to be the most challenging mental conditions (at least for me, some get freaked out in light air but I love it). Know that your competitors are experiencing the same challenges you are, and see it as an opportunity to deal with it better than them. Your love of Competition has to overrule you want for Comfort.


Arthur Blodgett

Lauderdale Yacht Club Opti Clinic with Lucas Calabrese!

Sailors and parents, we are pleased to announce we will be putting on a Lauderdale Yacht Club RWB Opti Clinic with Olympic Medalist and World Class Opti Coach Lucas Calabrese!

This clinic will be a unique opportunity to train on Biscayne Bay under exceptional coaching, in preparation for the Orange Bowl Youth Regatta. The clinic will directly follow the USNT Team Race Practice at LYC and will be perfect for developing sailors speed and technique to reach peak performance in fleet racing! 

Schedule:

Wednesday Dec. 22nd           9:00am-4:30pm

Thursday Dec. 23rd                9:00am-4:30pm

Friday Dec. 24th                     9:00am-2:30pm 

Location: US Sailing Center Miami. 2476 South Bayshore Drive • Miami, Florida 33133. 

     -The Opti Trailer will transport Boats from LYC the morning of the 22nd 

     -Storage at the USSC is included in Registration Fees! 

Fees:

$350 Drop in           $300 LYC Youth Sailing Guest      $200 LYC Member

     While we recommend practicing up until the day before Orange Bowl, we understand not everyone can sail on Christmas Eve. If you plan on sailing the first 2 days of the clinic ONLY, the fees will be: $300 Drop in/$250 YSG/ $160 Member 

To Register: Add your name to our regatta signup sheet for the event on our Opti Blog (click here), then Submit payment to the LYC Jr Sailing Office (Make checks payable to Lauderdale Yacht Club). 

To maintain personal attention from coaches, we intend to cap the clinic at the first 24 sailors - get registered today! 

Thank you,

Your Team of LYC Coaches

 

PS Want to sail Orange Bowl with us??? We have an exceptional team of coaches lined up: Lucas Calabrese, Arthur Blodgett, Pilar Calabrese, and Christopher  Williford! Drop ins are welcome - $85/day (Orange Bowl Coaching is included/free for LYC Fall Season Sailors!!!) 

2016 Boomerang Regatta

Registration is now open for the 2016 Boomerang Regatta!

Click the link below to get registered for this fantastic regatta at our home club!


2016 Boomerang Regatta

Two New AB Coach Boats!

LYC Sailing is pleased to announce the recent approval to update our fleet of coach boats! The Lauderdale Yacht Club Board of Governors voted unanimously to support an initiative to purchase new coach boats for the sailing program. The vote came at the end of a 6 month process led by Fleet Captain Chip Sabadash and Powerboat Committee Chair Ted Morley, along with the Yachting Committee, to review the needs of the program and identify key manufacturers that can provide a highly customized fleet of coach boats to address the unique needs of LYC.

The result was the approval to purchase AB Profile series coach boats, with their F15 model for our inshore Opti fleet and their F17 for our offshore fleets. These boats are custom designed to specifications provided by LYC and are truly robust platforms.  The boats are powered by 4-stroke Yamaha commercial outboards and equipped with tow posts, jockey consoles, and state of the art communication and GPS devices that will allow the LYC coaches to safely and efficiently provide on-site support and guidance to sailors. 

LYC Sailing currently has 8 coach boats in service supporting sailors in Optimist Dinghies, Lasers, 420s, Snipes, and Mercury sailboats. The first 2 new boats will join the newly acquired 17’ Seaflight coach boat as part of our acclaimed opti sailing program and are due in service within a couple of months!! 

The Sailing Program would like to express their thanks for the tireless support of LYC Commodore Jim Lang, Vice Commodore Peter Commette, Rear Commodore Greg Bellows, the Board of Governors, the membership, and all those that worked to make this a reality.

The LYC Sailing coaches look forward to putting the new coach boats in service during practice and during regattas. These boats, paired with the incredible skills that our sailors and coaches possess, will take the Sailing Program at Lauderdale Yacht Club to new levels!  

Upcoming Practice Schedule & Regatta Signup Sheets

Team,

 

Please see previous post for practice schedule next week.

On Sunday, November 29^th we will be having our 3^rd and final series race day for the fall season. Races will be scored for Green, Silver and Gold.

December 5-6^th  is the Junior Olympics regatta at US Sailing Center Martin County. Registration can be found here.  After you register on Regatta Network, you need to signup on the LYC Opti Blog in order to reserve a spot for your boat on the trailer. The JOs regatta signup sheet can be found here.

Also, the Orange Bowl signup sheet can be found on the blog here. Again you must sign up on the blog if you want to reserve a spot on the trailer. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

JM

Upcoming Calendar Reminders!!!

LYC Opti Team,

Please make sure your calendars are marked for the following dates:

Saturday is Fall Series Racing #2 for Gold, Silver and Green Fleet!

Naples Cup regatta is on November 7-8. Register Now! Click here to register and view the NOR. There will be no LYC practice this weekend for Green, Silver and Gold fleet.

There will be NO Lime Fleet practice on November 14th (LYC hosts Opti Team Race Regatta) and the week of Thanksgiving on November 24th, and 28th.

There will be NO Green Fleet practice on November 14th-15th, 26th and 28th. There will be Green fleet practice on the 29th.

There will be NO Silver and Gold Fleet practice on November 25th, but there will be Silver and Gold Fleet practice on the  28th and 29th.

Happy Sailing :-)

Recent Guest Speakers at LYC Practice!

Top: Erika Reineke talks to the  Green and Lime Fleet teams about her 2016 Olympic campaign. Reineke began sailing in Green fleet at LYC! Above: Erica poses for a picture with the teams.

Above: US Olympic Coach, former British Olympic Coach, and 470 Silver Medalist Morgan Reeser sharing his knowledge with the LYC Opti Gold and Silver Teams.

A huge thank you to these two phenomenal sailors for giving their time to our program! Thank you as well to US Sailing Judge Martin Ottenheimer who worked on and off the water with our Opti Race Team this past Sunday!