Correction******Green Fleet Winter Series #1 is on 2/2/14

Oops! The previous post had the wrong date.

2014 Boomerang Regatta Report

2014 Boomerang Regatta Report

We had a light and sunny Boomerang weekend at LYC. The Boomerang shaped course was a first for many, and the light and shifty conditions in the ICW, made course and wind awareness an important consideration. 

I had the privilege of coaching the Green and Yellow fleet for the second half of the day on Saturday.  I noticed lots of improvement by many of our sailors.I also saw some areas that we need to work on.

1.)    Starts

a.      Get a line sight and be on the line. This is important in most conditions, but especially in light air.

b.      One thing all of the green fleeters need to work on is holding a spot on the line and then timing with the acceleration at GO.

c.       Having a good start allows you to sail in the pressure first. Be in control, don’t let the fleet control you!

2.)    Game Plan

a.       Have a game plane for the first leg.

b.      Use other fleets that already started as a gauge.

c.       Don’t just follow boats around the course but sail your own race and connect the dots. This is all pre-race research that should be done in the beginning of the starting sequence.

3.)    Course Awareness.

a.       Always have a gauge of where the next mark is and make sure you are sailing your fastest course to the mark.

4.)    Current

a.       Understanding the current and how to use it to your advantage around the course.

b.      It is a good idea to look at a chart before sailing any venue and check the tide. Current is stronger in the channel and deeper water.

5.)    Boat speed, boat speed, boat speed!

a.       Stay tuned in to whether or not your boat is being sailed to its fastest potential. Many of you were sailing upwind heeled to windward in a lull.

b.      Body positioning (weight low and forward) is important in light air.

c.       Sail trim. Never pinching upwind and never over trimmed.

6.)    Attitude

a.       Having a positive mind set can go a long way and is critical for succeeding at most sports. If you are in the back of the fleet don’t get frustrated, but take something from it. Do not criticize your mistakes, but rather make them constructive. Ask yourself after every race, ‘what could I have done differently?’, then apply it to the next race. 

I want to congratulate everyone for a job well done at Boomerang. Keep up the hard work and make the most of your time at practice!

There are lots of events to look forward to this spring, so let’s apply what we learned from Boomerang to our future sailing goals.

Special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Welker, Mrs. Gillette and PRO Past Commodore Wright for running a fabulous event.

Boomerang pictures can be found on John Payne’s website-Boomerang Photos

Have a great week,

Julia Melton

Green Fleet Winter Series Race #1 on 2/2/14

Attention Green fleeters!

Our first Green fleet winter series race is on Sunday 2/2. Skippers meeting will be at 1:30 Racing to follow.

We encourage parents to be involved with race committee. If interested please email Kyle Pond- kylepond@bellsouth.net

This is a great opportunity to practice for the next regatta, Buccaneer Blast! Register today if you haven't already. We will parent volunteers to tow coach boats.

See you on the water,

Julia Melton

Welcome, Sailing Director

It is with great pleasure I can announce what some of you heard over the weekend -- Julia Melton, Interim Sailing Supervisor, has been named the new LYC Sailing Director.  Julia will provide the backbone of organization a diverse program like our needs to run well and efficiently, helping the coaches get the most out of our kids -- and vice versa!   Congratulations, Julia!!

St. Pete & Buccaneer Blast

Yes, Boomerang is tomorrow, and St. Pete is next weekend.  We don't have a good count on who's going to St. Pete.  Registration closes Wednesday, January 29th at www.usoda.com.  A quick glance at registration for Gold fleet shows 8 LYC sailors in Gold:

• Bella Casaretto
• Garrett Dixon
• Eddie Holden
• Joey Meagher
• Connor Murphy
• Denver Rozzo
• Jonathan Siegel
• Christian Wagerson

Please make sure your sailor's name is on the LYC list here.  If it is just 8 sailors, that means one coach driving the truck and pulling a coach boat.  If it's more, we need to know now.  If Gold Fleet sailors want to practice Friday, that also needs to get worked out -- I added a column in the spreadsheet for you to indicate interest in Friday practice.  Please sign up quickly on the link above so Julia and Juan can make this as good as we all want it to be.

Green fleet folks -- the weekend AFTER St. Pete, February 8 & 9, is the Buccaneer Blast in Key Largo.  It's well named -- it's a blast, and ALL GREEN FLEET SAILORS (and others) should go enjoy this.  For Buccaneer Blast, please add your name to the list here and don't forget to register for the regatta here.

Maybe most important -- see you all this weekend.  Boomerang is good family fun, especially when you have a pocket full of raffle tickets.  Thank you in advance to all the volunteers.

Boomerang overview-what to expect

Parents and Sailors,                                                                                                                                     

Boomerang is finally here! This is an overview for the weekend so you will have an idea of what to expect.

Notes:

•   After practices this week, please move Optis to the front NE lawn on their dolly. Please have all LYC boats that are competing moved to the front lawn before Friday night.

•  I recommend carpooling this weekend because parking will be tight at the club.

• Plan for a full day social event. There will be raffle tickets sold all day, food and vendors on the front lawn.

• What to bring: lawn chair, sun block, hats, binoculars, reusable water bottles, and a positive attitude.

• Coaches:

 Green Fleet- Liz Ryder and Kyle Pond

RWB- Juan

Saturday 1/25

·         7:30am LYC sailors arrive. In addition to registration, all sailors need to check-in. This should give you plenty of time to get rigged and check in. Sailors will get wrist bands at check-in. There will also be continental breakfast provided.

·         8:30am Sailors are rigged and ready.

·         8:45am sailors should meet with coaches at the flag pole on the front lawn.

·         9:15am Skipper’s meeting. RWB fleet will have their skipper’s meeting first and the Green fleet skipper’s meeting will follow.

·         Green fleet will be split up in to two starts-green or yellow. This will be assigned at check-in.

·         The PRO of the regatta plans to do two races in the morning (wind dependent), break for lunch, then do two more races (wind dependent).

·         Between races, sailors are not allowed to go back to the floating dock. Sailors should go to coaches on safety boats for coaching between races.

·         When it’s time to break for lunch, sailors need to sail over to their coach so the coach can tie up and anchor the Optis on the water, then coaches will shuttle the sailors to the floating dock on the motor boat. *It is important that we anchor the Optis on the water to avoid congestion on the dock.

·         Buffet dinner and raffle after racing.

Sunday

·         8:15am Arrive at LYC. There will be a hot breakfast provided.

·         8:30am Rigged and ready.

·         8:45am Sailors meet with coaches at the flag pole on the front lawn.

·         9:15am Skipper’s meeting.

·         The PRO plans to do 6 races total for the entire event (4 races on Saturday and 2 races on Sunday). Weather will determine how long racing will be on Sunday.

·         Awards will follow racing. We ask parents and sailors to stay until the end of the award ceremony. 

I will be around the club all week. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Happy Boomerang,

Julia Melton

Spring Calendar/ Regatta Report/ Goal Sheet

Hello all,

I just realized that the link I posted below for the spring calendar was incorrect.

Here is the spring calendar link-2014 spring calendar It can be found in the public document tab.

Regatta Reports

I would like parents to encourage their sailors to do a regatta report. This gives sailors the opportunity to reflect on the conditions of an event and to consider what worked well and what they need to improve on. I keep my regatta reports from regattas I've sailed and coached in a binder so I can refer back to them for future events. Here is the link to the Regatta Report form. You can also find this in the public document folder.

Goal Sheets

It is important that sailors set goals for the season. I'd like each sailor to complete a Preseason goal sheet . Please hang up their goal sheets at home so it can be seen on a daily basis.

Best,
Julia Melton