US Naval Academy Wins College Match Race Nationals

(San Francisco, CA)- A revolution in the making?  US Navy Midshipmen learning how to sail, plus sail fast and smart?  No one would've predicted that outcome in the recent College Sailing Match Race Nationals this fall.  After all, the US Naval Academy has been known over time for fielding some good dinghy teams, occasional good women's teams and were, of course, expected to win, place or show in their own regatta held in those massive lead-mines known as Navy 44s (hardly a sailboat, some say, as they drag half the world's Seven Seas behind them once they achieve 6.666 knots of boat speed).

Nevertheless, the "Middies" pulled off what many see as the "coup of the century", at least in this relatively young 21st century (just 88 more years to go to break more records).  Co-hosted by the California Maritime Academy and St. Francis Yacht Club the top college sailing teams in America gathered together on the infamous San Francisco Bay to challenge one another in StFYC's matched J/22 one-design fleet to determine the top intercollegiate match racing team in America.

As some of the older college sailors will recall, the Sloop Nationals used to be a fleet-racing regatta often sailed in various locations in J/24s, Shields and what not.  Recently, the decision to change over to match-racing to reflect the times and interests of college sailors seeking new and different challenges led to this new format.  It was a popular decision that led to renewed enthusiasm for this fall classic.

Ten teams representing all seven ICSA conferences sailed the J/22s with spinnakers; each team had one skipper and two crew members aboard. Racing took place in front of the Golden Gate Bridge under a range of weather conditions including light wind, rain and strong current (to be expected, of course).

The first day of racing began with a southwest breeze 8 – 12 knots with shifts, a variety of puffs and an ebbing current. As the day progressed the current got stronger making pre-start techniques between the boats more difficult because they had to fight with the current and position themselves properly to beat one another at the start. The current played such a role in the start that at times boats were starting on port because they could not make the line on starboard tack, a highly unusual situation. It was a long day of racing with the race committee and volunteers completing 45 races. The US Naval Academy team of Jason Carminati skippering with team-mates Taylor Vann and Killian Corbishley lead after the first day of racing with a record of eight wins and one loss.  Roger Williams University team skippered by Alec Anderson with crew Annie Schmidt and Dylan Vogel was second with seven wins winning a tie-breaker over Tufts University-- they were skippered by sophomore Will Haeger with crew Maggie Bacon and Dave Liebenberg also with seven wins. Stanford University was in fourth with six wins.

Day two racing was postponed all morning due to a lack of wind. The breeze was only 2 – 4 knots, which was not enough for the boats to sail in given the strong current on the course. At about 2 p.m. racing resumed and the format of the regatta had to be amended due to the late start. A Gold Round Robin was eliminated for the top six teams, which would have determined the seeding for them in the quarterfinals. The Repechage round instead began the day’s racing with the teams in 7th – 10th places competing for the last two spots in the quarterfinals. University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin advanced to the quarterfinals with the original top six teams. The light winds continued and the current remained a challenge for the teams especially on the downwind leg where the current swept the boats sideways across the course.

The third and last day of the event sailors were again greeted by light breeze on the Bay and the usual strong current. Sailing resumed with the remaining races in the quarterfinals as boats fought the current and light wind. The teams who advanced to the semi-finals were Navy, Stanford, Roger Williams and University of Southern Florida. In a repechage semi-final round the remaining teams sailed for 5th – 8th place. Simultaneously, a knockout round between the University of Oregon and the University of Texas A&M took place with the teams finishing 9th and 10th respectively in the event.

After all of the semi-finals racing completed it was on to the finals with a match-up between Roger Williams and Navy and University of Southern Florida (USF)(skippered by Bill Stocke with Abagail Featherstone and Chris Stocke as crew) and Stanford (skippers by Nick Dugdale with crew of Kevin Laube and McKenzie Wilson).  After the first few races there was a large wind shift and some rain came in which caused the finals and petit finals racing to be postponed. With everything re-set the racing continued with Stanford and USF in the petit finals and Roger Williams and Navy in the finals. Stanford won the petit finals placing third at Nationals and USF therefore finished 4th.  Going into the third finals race the racing was close and Navy and Roger Williams were all tied up. The breeze had increased with the wind shift making for better sailing at this point. In the end Navy took the last race winning Match Race Nationals and Roger Williams finished second in some fantastic sailing.

Ian Burman, head coach for the US Naval Academy Sailing Team attributes their success to having a strong keel boat skipper Jason Carminati ‘12, who placed third at Sloop Nationals two years ago and great crew work on the boat by Taylor Vann ‘13 and Killian Corbishley ‘14. “Really a great deal of the credit for our success goes to our assistant coach Brendan Healy who lead the charge in match racing and was with the team every step of the way. It was a real team effort and we also had a lot of people practice with us and give us a lot of help so that we were prepared for anything at this event,” explains Burman.

St. Francis Yacht Club and California Maritime put on a great event along with the help of volunteers and umpires who are an integral part of match racing. The racing was competitive and in challenging conditions, but the Chicago Match Race center kept viewers up to date with live video feed and Twitter updates.    Sailing photo credits- Chris Ray  For more ICSA College Match Racing sailing results.

J/22 & J/80 Sailors- ISAF World Sailors of the Year

* Two sailors who have raced J/22s and J/80s extensively over the course of the past half-dozen years were just awarded the ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year- namely, Anna Tunnicliffe for Women and Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez for Men.  While Iker and Xabier have raced 49ers and other classes, they also share some of their time with family and friends sailing J/80s in Spain-- right now they're in a horse-race to win the Volvo Ocean Race on their V70 TELEFONICA.  Likewise, Anna has sailed J/22s in many women's events with her team, most recently finishing 2nd in the Rolex Women's Worlds in Rochester, NY and winning the Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, MD.  For more ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year award information

J/22 East Coasts Whipped By HOT TODDYs!

(Annapolis, MD)- A wild and windy day on Saturday prompted both the J/22 and J/80 fleets to call for cancellation of racing in their respective East Coast Championships.  The prognosis Saturday was pretty dire, so most of the fleet retired to the BBQ at EYC, or the Boatyard Bar & Grille, or to McGarvey's to watch college football on TV, while still others rambled on over to the Annapolis YC and downtown on Saturday.

Sunday dawned with a gorgeous day and the thirteen boat J/22 fleet took to the waters in great anticipation of going all out to grab bragging rights for the 2011 season as top dog on the East Coast.  After three races, it was pretty clear that Jeff Todd's team on HOT TODDY had the shifty northwesterly breezes pretty well dialed in- smoking the fleet with a 1-2-1 to win by a nifty 3 points.  Second was Brad Julian's JULIAN ASSOCIATES with a 4-1-2 for 7 pts.  The next three boats had a tough fight for third on the podium.  But yet another J/22 champion managed to emerge from the scuffle to snag third, with Todd Hiller's team on LEADING EDGE sailing a 3-3-5 for 11 pts.  Fourth was Jim McKenna with a 2-7-4 for 13 pts and fifth was Sandy Adzick on HOT TICKET, fresh off a good performance at the Rolex Women's Worlds in Rochester, NY, sailing to an 8-4-3 for 15 pts.  Sadly, M.I.A. was Albie Terhune on the infamous DAZZLER-- someone thinks they got sidelined coming back from the J/22 Worlds in Norleans (or, in fact, never left New Orleans's infamous Bourbon Street!).  No question, the locals missed such an entertaining, fun-loving crew!   For more J/22 East Coasts sailing information

Johnston Wins J/22 Worlds

(New Orleans, LA)- Rob Johnston of Heath, TX won the Allstate Sugar Bowl J/22 World Championship by six points over Jim Barnash of Rochester, NY with a fifth-place finish on the last race of the regatta. Racing hull #203, team DIESELSNACK sailed a consistent regatta with all top 20 tallies, dropping a 19 in race 3. Sixty-four boats competed in the event in New Orleans, LA, and 12 races were completed.

Barnash went into the last day of the four-day regatta in the lead but finished 26th to Johnston’s third in the first race. He came back strong, however, with a win in the second race while Johnston finished 12th bringing the championship into play on the last race. Johnston’s fifth place in the last race of the regatta was enough to earn him the winner’s trophy.

Allan Terhune from Arnold, MD rounded out the top three with 103 points overall, including two firsts in the last two races Friday. Saturday’s race winners were Zak Fanberg, Barnash and J. Dwight LeBlanc, III.

On the first day, competitors were postponed on shore due to a lack of wind, and the first gun was rescheduled for 11:55 a.m. CT out of Southern Yacht Club. During the day’s races, breeze started at 5-8 knots but decreased throughout the afternoon, with sunny skies and temperatures around 80 degrees.

Local Benz Faget scored two bullets and a sixth-place tally to lead the fleet.  With crew Randall Richmond and Thomas Sweeney, Fats stood with a solid lead of 8 points.  Jim Barnash, helming his Rochester, NY team, had 14 points in second place; Fred Hunger from Cleveland, OH was in third with 23 points.  Faget opened the regatta with a victory in Race 1, trailed by a fellow New Orleans boat skippered by Zak Fanberg in second and Barnash in third. Race 2 saw another local winner in Richard “Boo” Heausler, followed by Hunger and then Southern Yacht Club commodore J. Dwight LeBlanc, III. In the day’s final, race, Faget took the victory again, with Brant Koepke (Texas) in second and Nick Turney (Ohio) in third.

On the second day of racing, competitors enjoyed a gorgeous day of racing on Lake Pontchartrain with breeze at 10-15 knots, brilliant sunshine and temperatures staying around 80 degrees.  It seemed the "playbook" again favored New Orleans native Benz Faget, who held on to his first-place position. With consistent finishes in the top 12 (dropping the 12), Team Fats tallied just 26 points over the first seven races of the regatta. With crew Randall Richmond and Thomas Sweeney, Faget was four points ahead of Texan Terry Flynn who registered consistent scores of 3, 5, 5, 1 (with a drop from day 1 of 18 points).  Max Scott opened day two with a victory in Race 4, pursued by Chris Doyle in second and Flynn in third. Race 5 was won by Travis Odenbach, with Faget and Chad Wilson in the next two slots. Rob Johnston took the top position in Race 6, trailed by Chris Doyle and Dave Kerr, who just returned to the race course after a repair needed from an incident in the day’s first race. In Thursday’s fourth and final contest, Flynn nailed first place, and Zak Fanberg and Mike Farrington followed.

The J/22 Class extends appreciation to PRO Hank Stuart and his Race Committee, the staff of Southern Yacht Club and all sponsors including the title sponsor Allstate Sugar Bowl.  For more J/22 Worlds sailing information

  

Sailing "Friends & Mentors"- Why They're Important

"Friends & Mentors" - Dawn Nelson, who sails out of Chandlers Landing Yacht Club in Rockwall, Texas, is a Child & Family Therapist and a sailing mom. Here she provides her professional and personal experience regarding one design fleet growth:

Ever walked into a party and felt like the whole room stopped and stared at you?

If you're part of a fleet that is trying to encourage kids to sail with you, being a "strong fleet" won't help at all if everyone is staring at the kids when they come to the big party, aka the regatta. There are two things you should consider:

1) Are you making the kids feel welcome, off the water as well as on the water? It's easy for adults to sail with the kids, teach them during the races, and then at the dock, walk over to the keg and talk 'above' the kids. If they aren't welcome at your table, they won't want to be on the boat for very long. If you answered 'yes', are the kids being included in the sailing discussions at the table? Are adults talking to them, not condescending down to them?

2) Speaking of condescending, when you get an experienced youth sailor in a regatta, cheating is a really good way to get kids to choose a different boat class. That kid at the helm of that keelboat, the one that another boat's skipper is yelling at, trying to intimidate him to get off the starting line, has probably sailed in more regattas because he doesn't have to work all summer. If he wanted to, the kid could quote the RRS sections and numbers, and successfully protest for violating his right-of-way and lack of sportsmanship. But he won't do that; he'll just never sail your boat class again (true story)!

At 9, 7, and 4 years old, my sons fell in love with sailing on a J/22; just them and one extremely patient skipper. The boys have since raced in national and international championships in eight different boat classes in eight years. Yes, they love high-tech and speed, and are currently begging for a Nacra F18, but on any given Wednesday night, you'll find a 17 year old working spin on a J/92, the 15 year old on the helm of a J/22, and the 12 year old cranking sheets on a Hunter 35.... because it's the relationships that make the difference.

The sailing crowd are friends AND mentors.   Thanks for contribution from SailingScuttlebutt.com

  

Thoughts on One-Design Growth- by Dawn Nelson

*  "Friends & Mentors" - Dawn Nelson, who sails out of Chandlers Landing Yacht Club in Rockwall, Texas, is a Child & Family Therapist and a sailing mom. Here she provides her professional and personal experience regarding one design fleet growth:

Ever walked into a party and felt like the whole room stopped and stared at you?

If you're part of a fleet that is trying to encourage kids to sail with you, being a "strong fleet" won't help at all if everyone is staring at the kids when they come to the big party, aka the regatta. There are two things you should consider:

1) Are you making the kids feel welcome, off the water as well as on the water? It's easy for adults to sail with the kids, teach them during the races, and then at the dock, walk over to the keg and talk 'above' the kids. If they aren't welcome at your table, they won't want to be on the boat for very long. If you answered 'yes', are the kids being included in the sailing discussions at the table? Are adults talking to them, not condescending down to them?

2) Speaking of condescending, when you get an experienced youth sailor in a regatta, cheating is a really good way to get kids to choose a different boat class. That kid at the helm of that keelboat, the one that another boat's skipper is yelling at, trying to intimidate him to get off the starting line, has probably sailed in more regattas because he doesn't have to work all summer. If he wanted to, the kid could quote the RRS sections and numbers, and successfully protest for violating his right-of-way and lack of sportsmanship. But he won't do that; he'll just never sail your boat class again (true story)!

At 9, 7, and 4 years old, my sons fell in love with sailing on a J/22; just them and one extremely patient skipper. The boys have since raced in national and international championships in eight different boat classes in eight years. Yes, they love high-tech and speed, and are currently begging for a Nacra F18, but on any given Wednesday night, you'll find a 17 year old working spin on a J/92, the 15 year old on the helm of a J/22, and the 12 year old cranking sheets on a Hunter 35.... because it's the relationships that make the difference.

The sailing crowd are friends AND mentors.   Thanks for contribution from SailingScuttlebutt.com

  

J/22 Worlds Preview

(New Orleans, LA)- As one of their first major regattas to be hosted in the new club facilities post-Hurricane Katrina, Southern Yacht Club is planning a memorable event for J/22 World's sailors, both on and off-the-water.  For starters, Allstate Sugar Bowl has traditionally been a strong supporter of sailing in the New Orleans area, sponsoring the annual Allstate Sugar Bowl Regatta for college sailors. Their support of the J/22 Worlds is very significant and symbolic, the "re-birth" of world-class events hosted by one of the most gracious clubs to host events in the American "South".  Off the water, the regatta promises an experience that only New Orleans can deliver.  The entertainment starts Tuesday, October 11 with a competitors’ meeting and reception at Southern Yacht Club with hors d’oeuvres featuring local seafood and other tastes of New Orleans.  Wednesday, October 12 will feature a French Quarter party for participants, scheduled at the famous Tropical Isle Bar’s balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. There is nothing like a "Tropical Isle Hand Grenade".  Before racing starts on Thursday morning, the famous Café Du Monde will serve "café au alit" and "beignets" to all competitors to get the regatta going in a traditional New Orleans style. That evening, Southern Yacht Club will host a seafood party on the lawn of the club featuring south Louisiana’s finest offerings of shrimp, jambalaya and other tasty examples of local cuisine.  The French creole influence is unmistakable, and delicious!

On the water, October on Lake Pontchartrain generally offers excellent sailing conditions, with warm temperatures and breezes that can range from 5-25 knots. Because Lake Pontchartrain is very shallow, averaging 14 feet deep, north winds with a 25-mile fetch can kick up a short, steep chop that challenges the best sailors.  With sixty-six boats from the Cayman Island, Canada, Germany and the USA, the fleet looks to be as competitive as it's been in years.  In fact, several notable World Champion and Olympian sailors are well-represented in the stellar field of sailors.  For starters, Soling and Star World Champion John Dane is sailing with a family crew!  And, another local sailor, Dwight and Beau LeBlanc- former Star and 12 Meter America's Cup veterans- are sailing as a team.  Renowned Annapolis J/22 sailor Albie Terhune has a strong team attending.  Local "Norleans" star Benz Faget is fielding a strong crew.  Class stalwart and past President, Galen Freeman, from Brentwood, TN, promises he won't hit anybody (although he may assert "senior moment rights" at appropriate opportunities!  Travis Odenbach, fresh from winning the J/24 COC in Lake George, is hoping to not embarrass himself and finish in the top 3.  Both Doyles, Kevin and Chris from upstate Kenmore, NY hope to be a factor amongst the leaders.  Another J-class champ, Travis Weisleder- from Richmond, VA- may or may not have the horsepower to keep all these champions in check to grab the brass ring.  The Hiller family gang from Annapolis (Todd and crew) are always a factor.  Then, of course, you can't forget the fact that Terry Flynn from Houston, TX- past J/22 World Champion may have designs to ensure they're at the top of the leader-board, too!    For more J/22 Worlds sailing information