After leaving Chicago, Casey and I traveled through the farmland of Illinois and Iowa. Lots of corn. In the early evening we arrived in Omaha at the home of my Aunt Mona and Uncle Keith where they welcomed us with open arms. Casey and I went for a jog through their neighborhood in oppressive heat and humidity which rivaled the Gulf Coast. I have to admit I was quite anxious about the heavy dark sky above as we trotted off. Mona goaded me with a common Nebraskan reference to the Wizard of Oz, “You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy!” Luckily we were not swept up by a tornado and we returned to quick showers before a famous dinner of Keith’s smoked ribs, native tomatoes and corn on the cob, and Grandmere’s special potato salad. For dessert we had Mona’s delectable banana-pineapple surprise. Mmmm Mmmm good! Before turning in for the night, Keith took us into his Air Force Intelligence Operations home office to look at pictures of Kyle, their son, competing on Colorado State’s ROTC rifle drill team.
Keith and Mona met when they were both Air Force intelligence officers. They are both retired from active duty now, but Keith still works as a civilian contractor consulting the Air Force on matters of national security. Kyle is in the Air Force ROTC program at Colorado State. He is a senior this year, and will enter the Air Force next summer. This summer Kyle had an internship with law enforcement at Air Force Base F.E. Warren in Cheyenne. When we left Keith and Mona the next morning, with clean laundry and a homemade lunch, we scheduled a rendezvous with Kyle for a mid-afternoon workout at the base. After working out, Kyle gave us a tour. We saw antelope and warehouses where nuclear warheads are cleaned and maintained. Kyle has some ambitious plans to become an air battle strategist, however he may begin his career guarding ICBM silos. Whoa!
We drove on after our excursion with Kyle. We made it into Utah pretty late in the evening. Winding through the Wasatch Mountains at night with the truckin’ 18-wheelers and the periodic construction zones was a little frightening. By 11pm we made it to our destination for the night. Mona and Keith reached into their network of Air Force friends to find us housing in Ogden with Roxie, Jerry and Rory Sianez. Roxie and Jerry warmly greeted us despite the late hour. We only chatted briefly before crashing for the night. But in the morning, Roxie made all of us (including Rory, their 13-year old son, who gallantly awoke early to see us off) a wonderful breakfast – complete with a wicked triple shot cappuccino for me!
Right now we are somewhere in the middle of Nevada, after spending the morning driving across the salt flats of Utah. A special thanks for our wingmen who helped us get this far!
Friday, August 10, 2007
Newport in Review -- Part III
While boat handling was our primary objective in Newport, we managed to learn much more. An important part of controlling a 470 is related to powering up and depowering the sail plan. An understanding of how to achieve proper power for given conditions is a major aspect of boat speed. With these overlapping characteristics, we are bound to become faster as we learn the various ways to control the boat so it performs better. In Newport we learned the elementary principles of rig tuning and sail control, something we will refine in the coming weeks in California before the trials. Sailing side by side with other 470 teams will be a very important part of the fine tuning… a.k.a. speed tuning.
Since there weren’t any 470 teams training with us in Niantic or Newport, we were dependent on tuning guides put out by various sail makers, enhanced by our reconnaissance work among current 470 experts. At first, the tuning guides provided us with target rake, tension and bend numbers for the different wind ranges. There were references to the common masts used by 470 sailors and some guidelines for how the mast should be stepped to yield an accurate starting point. The key people who have helped us better understand what the numbers mean and how to actually apply them while sailing include Tracy Smith, Zack Leonard, John Morgan, Skip Whyte and David Hughes.
In Niantic and for the first week in Newport, Casey and I were sailing with a Proctor Cumulus mast. We had an old suit of Toni Tio sails. We had some basic settings for light, medium and heavy conditions. We didn’t bother thinking about mast bend except whenever I used the vang we would put puller on. Our sails looked terrible, but we cared most about boat handling. We made pin changes mainly to remain safe as the wind came up. Tracy Smith helped us clarify our settings a little bit, and we put a chart on the back of the boat with the various control settings for the different wind strengths. This sufficed for our first stage of learning the 470.
When we decided to jump into the short-duration Olympic campaign, Casey and I wanted to eliminate guess work and experimentation. We found out what boat, mast, and sails most of the top 470 sailors were using and determined that to be our starting point: MacKay boat, SuperSpar M7+ mast, North Sails – Japan design. We made a big jump into the technical realm of rig tuning when we purchased 2 used SuperSpar M7+ masts and changed out the Tony Tio sails for our newest set of North sails. We transitioned into our second stage of learning at this point. Here is a run-down of what we have achieved so far. I will spare you the details of the hot parking lot, the water jug, the saw horses, the number grids, the stepping of masts, the turning of the boat on its side, the returning of the boat upright, the measuring devices, the mix of English measurements and metric, the old Loos gauges and the acquiring of the new, the tension going on, the tension coming off, the Excel spreadsheets… just know that where we are now required a process of meandering and frustrating proportions. And ironically, where we are now is essentially a very simple place.
1) Mast deflection: All 470 masts are different. After measuring our 2 SuperSpar masts’ fore and aft bend and side to side bend under controlled circumstances, we have found one to be stiffer than the other, but both to be on the bendier side of the stiffness range. We plan to retest them one more time, and also test the Proctor Cumulus before we make a final decision on which mast to use in the trials.
2) Sails: While the jib and spinnaker sail order with North is relatively simple, the main sail we order depends on the mast we plan to use. Our current North main sail (the N9-L5) has a flatter cut and tends to work better with a stiffer mast. There are two modified versions of this sail that will work better with a bendier mast (the N10-L5 and the C21-L5). We will test out both versions and make our decision at some point in September.
3) Rake: There is a magic base setting (for light wind) that all 470 sailors use. By English measurement it is 22’2” from the top black band on the mast to the top of the transom. There is a growing movement of people (it’s up to 3 people now) who don’t believe in rake beyond this starting point. What this means is that measuring rake settings when you drop pins is not important. Of course there are rake measurements to take, and they generally decrease as the mast is raked back in increasing wind velocity.
4) Tension: There is a magic tension setting to try to maintain for all wind ranges. It is probably different for every specific mast and crew combination, but the common base number is 25-26 on the forestay using a PT-1 Loos Gauge. This number is specific to the jib luff wire we use (which is a standard European deiform 2mm).
5) Bend: The amount of mast bend at a given rake and tension is controlled by a lot of variables: fore/aft placement of the mast step, the pin setting, the spreader fore/aft position, the spreader length and the puller. Pulling the main halyard straight down from top black band to the gooseneck black band produces a straight edge. The distance from the back of the mast to the straight edge at the spreaders should be generally within the range of 45mm to 65mm depending on sea state and wind strength. We learned a couple of tricks to manipulate the bend of the mast. Depending on which trick we employ, we can affect where the bend is greater on the mast from top to bottom. For example, we can pull the mast step back in light air to produce a general increase in overall bend to flatten the sail; we can put the spreaders forward or back to induce bend or straighten the middle of the mast; we can put puller on to reduce lower bend. And we can use a combination of these controls to produce a desired result in the mainsail shape. What shape we want depends on the conditions we face.
Warning! The technical set up, all of the numbers (of which I have only presented a few), can be overwhelming. And we did at times become overwhelmed. What is most important to remember is what all these numbers really mean when applied to a sailing 470… The main two things they means are sail shape and feel, the former being an influence on the latter.
A balanced boat produces a balanced helm, and the boat goes straight. A boat not in balance will fight the skippers hand on the helm as he tries to keep the boat going straight. Try to isolate your sense of touch to detect the forces on the helm without distraction. Another aspect of feel is the obvious feeling of going faster. The more time Casey and I spend in the 470, the more sensitive our sense of feel becomes. We are now guided by a general rule of thumb regarding rake. As the wind increases, we rake back when we feel the boat is bound up and hard to muscle flat and move forward. For every ½ pin hole down we go, we move our spreaders forward to maintain our desired bend for the conditions. We also increase puller as the vang comes on harder so that we don’t produce too much bend down low. Puller is a feel thing too. If the chop kicks up or waves build with the wind, we can feel the need for power through the waves and puller gives it to us. Spreader changes and puller are still a bit elusive to us at this point. I think that once we have the trials mast and sails decided on, then sail shape will guide us in using them properly.
Sail shape is something we are also starting to understand more. Both John Morgan and Skip Whyte taught us how to read the wrinkles in the mainsail in combination with how the boat feels through the helm. We now can see when there is too much or too little bend and apply that to our trim for optimal boat feel.
Since there weren’t any 470 teams training with us in Niantic or Newport, we were dependent on tuning guides put out by various sail makers, enhanced by our reconnaissance work among current 470 experts. At first, the tuning guides provided us with target rake, tension and bend numbers for the different wind ranges. There were references to the common masts used by 470 sailors and some guidelines for how the mast should be stepped to yield an accurate starting point. The key people who have helped us better understand what the numbers mean and how to actually apply them while sailing include Tracy Smith, Zack Leonard, John Morgan, Skip Whyte and David Hughes.
In Niantic and for the first week in Newport, Casey and I were sailing with a Proctor Cumulus mast. We had an old suit of Toni Tio sails. We had some basic settings for light, medium and heavy conditions. We didn’t bother thinking about mast bend except whenever I used the vang we would put puller on. Our sails looked terrible, but we cared most about boat handling. We made pin changes mainly to remain safe as the wind came up. Tracy Smith helped us clarify our settings a little bit, and we put a chart on the back of the boat with the various control settings for the different wind strengths. This sufficed for our first stage of learning the 470.
When we decided to jump into the short-duration Olympic campaign, Casey and I wanted to eliminate guess work and experimentation. We found out what boat, mast, and sails most of the top 470 sailors were using and determined that to be our starting point: MacKay boat, SuperSpar M7+ mast, North Sails – Japan design. We made a big jump into the technical realm of rig tuning when we purchased 2 used SuperSpar M7+ masts and changed out the Tony Tio sails for our newest set of North sails. We transitioned into our second stage of learning at this point. Here is a run-down of what we have achieved so far. I will spare you the details of the hot parking lot, the water jug, the saw horses, the number grids, the stepping of masts, the turning of the boat on its side, the returning of the boat upright, the measuring devices, the mix of English measurements and metric, the old Loos gauges and the acquiring of the new, the tension going on, the tension coming off, the Excel spreadsheets… just know that where we are now required a process of meandering and frustrating proportions. And ironically, where we are now is essentially a very simple place.
1) Mast deflection: All 470 masts are different. After measuring our 2 SuperSpar masts’ fore and aft bend and side to side bend under controlled circumstances, we have found one to be stiffer than the other, but both to be on the bendier side of the stiffness range. We plan to retest them one more time, and also test the Proctor Cumulus before we make a final decision on which mast to use in the trials.
2) Sails: While the jib and spinnaker sail order with North is relatively simple, the main sail we order depends on the mast we plan to use. Our current North main sail (the N9-L5) has a flatter cut and tends to work better with a stiffer mast. There are two modified versions of this sail that will work better with a bendier mast (the N10-L5 and the C21-L5). We will test out both versions and make our decision at some point in September.
3) Rake: There is a magic base setting (for light wind) that all 470 sailors use. By English measurement it is 22’2” from the top black band on the mast to the top of the transom. There is a growing movement of people (it’s up to 3 people now) who don’t believe in rake beyond this starting point. What this means is that measuring rake settings when you drop pins is not important. Of course there are rake measurements to take, and they generally decrease as the mast is raked back in increasing wind velocity.
4) Tension: There is a magic tension setting to try to maintain for all wind ranges. It is probably different for every specific mast and crew combination, but the common base number is 25-26 on the forestay using a PT-1 Loos Gauge. This number is specific to the jib luff wire we use (which is a standard European deiform 2mm).
5) Bend: The amount of mast bend at a given rake and tension is controlled by a lot of variables: fore/aft placement of the mast step, the pin setting, the spreader fore/aft position, the spreader length and the puller. Pulling the main halyard straight down from top black band to the gooseneck black band produces a straight edge. The distance from the back of the mast to the straight edge at the spreaders should be generally within the range of 45mm to 65mm depending on sea state and wind strength. We learned a couple of tricks to manipulate the bend of the mast. Depending on which trick we employ, we can affect where the bend is greater on the mast from top to bottom. For example, we can pull the mast step back in light air to produce a general increase in overall bend to flatten the sail; we can put the spreaders forward or back to induce bend or straighten the middle of the mast; we can put puller on to reduce lower bend. And we can use a combination of these controls to produce a desired result in the mainsail shape. What shape we want depends on the conditions we face.
Warning! The technical set up, all of the numbers (of which I have only presented a few), can be overwhelming. And we did at times become overwhelmed. What is most important to remember is what all these numbers really mean when applied to a sailing 470… The main two things they means are sail shape and feel, the former being an influence on the latter.
A balanced boat produces a balanced helm, and the boat goes straight. A boat not in balance will fight the skippers hand on the helm as he tries to keep the boat going straight. Try to isolate your sense of touch to detect the forces on the helm without distraction. Another aspect of feel is the obvious feeling of going faster. The more time Casey and I spend in the 470, the more sensitive our sense of feel becomes. We are now guided by a general rule of thumb regarding rake. As the wind increases, we rake back when we feel the boat is bound up and hard to muscle flat and move forward. For every ½ pin hole down we go, we move our spreaders forward to maintain our desired bend for the conditions. We also increase puller as the vang comes on harder so that we don’t produce too much bend down low. Puller is a feel thing too. If the chop kicks up or waves build with the wind, we can feel the need for power through the waves and puller gives it to us. Spreader changes and puller are still a bit elusive to us at this point. I think that once we have the trials mast and sails decided on, then sail shape will guide us in using them properly.
Sail shape is something we are also starting to understand more. Both John Morgan and Skip Whyte taught us how to read the wrinkles in the mainsail in combination with how the boat feels through the helm. We now can see when there is too much or too little bend and apply that to our trim for optimal boat feel.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Newport in Review -- Part II
Okay… Newport Review Part II. Lolita proved too much a distraction for me … demented, disgusting and ridiculously well-written. It’s a trap, don’t fall into it. So Casey revved up the iPod and on came Counting Crows’ Omaha. Suitable to our destination today!
Let me describe for you the “triangle of death” we employed in that first week of sailing in Newport. We have two inflatable marks, but no tackle. So we used the government marks and plethora of moorings and lobster pot buoys that seemed to suit the wind direction and geography available to us off Newport harbor. Generally we located ourselves between Goat and Rose Island, where the breeze tended to channel through south to north. But one day we found our spot north of the bridge, right off the Naval War College. There a red nun, its green can counterpart across the channel, and a mid-channel green and red can formed an intimidating triangle course. The beat (from red/green can to red nun) was short – maybe three tacks in quick succession could be completed with the outgoing tide. The nun to can reach was very tight, as was the return reach to the bottom mark once we managed to pull out of the gybe (intact). It was very windy that day we discovered this race course. It took us three or four unsuccessful laps and a tantrum of frustration by yours truly before we succeeded in rounding the reach mark. We continued to go round and round, until our flailing survival began to smooth out. In that practice session we drew the attention of several Navy 44s out practicing, much of the Newport Bridge traffic (including Ezra Smith and Tim Healy who commented later to us that they saw us that day), and a Fountain speed boat full of beer swilling tough guys who had to stop and watch us in total awe of our stealthy speed!
Most of our solo practice sessions in Newport consisted of the following regimen. First we would sail out of the harbor under spinnaker which would usually result in a long tight reach across to the Jamestown side. We would douse the kite and head on a long upwind sail out to the ocean. We would concentrate on straight line speed and form. Every day we seem to develop a more sensitive feel for the balance and trim of the boat. As our boat handling improved we would stretch our time in the waves off Beavertail and between Point Judith and Brenton Reef (without a support boat we rarely extended this beyond an hour). Then we would set the chute and gybe our way back into the Bay. In between gybes we worked the boat through the waves and learned how important and effective pumping and weight movement can be. Once we were back in the Bay, we would find our boat handling marks and start working on sets, gybes, drops, and tacks until exhaustion.
Before she left for the Pan Am Games in Rio, Tracy often talked with us about our practice sessions and gave us advice on things to try, working from her memory in the class. Both Zack and John worked on our upwind and downwind techniques during the respective sessions they had with us. Zack introduced us to a great drill called “up-downs.” This involved us heading up from a run to a reach, and then back down to a run, and then back up to a reach over and over again. John taught us about speed and kinetic technique in the waves while running and broad reaching. Our culminating boat handling lessons came from Skip Whyte, the legendary 470 gybe expert. He worked with us on our gybing technique in light to medium air. He taught us to Rock & Roll with the all-important Boogie. All of these boat handling lessons from the few times we had coaching in Newport, combined with our individual drill time, have brought Casey and I a long way in our goal to become 470 boat handling masters. But we are not masters yet. That’s why we are going to San Francisco for some windy Bay action for a week before we spend many hours in the waters off Long Beach in September. We also are determined to have a coach with us for as much of that time as possible. We have already lined up a coach boat for San Francisco (and possibly Long Beach too) … and in that boat we will have Jonas Haggbom from Sweden, 470 coach extraordinaire!
Let me describe for you the “triangle of death” we employed in that first week of sailing in Newport. We have two inflatable marks, but no tackle. So we used the government marks and plethora of moorings and lobster pot buoys that seemed to suit the wind direction and geography available to us off Newport harbor. Generally we located ourselves between Goat and Rose Island, where the breeze tended to channel through south to north. But one day we found our spot north of the bridge, right off the Naval War College. There a red nun, its green can counterpart across the channel, and a mid-channel green and red can formed an intimidating triangle course. The beat (from red/green can to red nun) was short – maybe three tacks in quick succession could be completed with the outgoing tide. The nun to can reach was very tight, as was the return reach to the bottom mark once we managed to pull out of the gybe (intact). It was very windy that day we discovered this race course. It took us three or four unsuccessful laps and a tantrum of frustration by yours truly before we succeeded in rounding the reach mark. We continued to go round and round, until our flailing survival began to smooth out. In that practice session we drew the attention of several Navy 44s out practicing, much of the Newport Bridge traffic (including Ezra Smith and Tim Healy who commented later to us that they saw us that day), and a Fountain speed boat full of beer swilling tough guys who had to stop and watch us in total awe of our stealthy speed!
Most of our solo practice sessions in Newport consisted of the following regimen. First we would sail out of the harbor under spinnaker which would usually result in a long tight reach across to the Jamestown side. We would douse the kite and head on a long upwind sail out to the ocean. We would concentrate on straight line speed and form. Every day we seem to develop a more sensitive feel for the balance and trim of the boat. As our boat handling improved we would stretch our time in the waves off Beavertail and between Point Judith and Brenton Reef (without a support boat we rarely extended this beyond an hour). Then we would set the chute and gybe our way back into the Bay. In between gybes we worked the boat through the waves and learned how important and effective pumping and weight movement can be. Once we were back in the Bay, we would find our boat handling marks and start working on sets, gybes, drops, and tacks until exhaustion.
Before she left for the Pan Am Games in Rio, Tracy often talked with us about our practice sessions and gave us advice on things to try, working from her memory in the class. Both Zack and John worked on our upwind and downwind techniques during the respective sessions they had with us. Zack introduced us to a great drill called “up-downs.” This involved us heading up from a run to a reach, and then back down to a run, and then back up to a reach over and over again. John taught us about speed and kinetic technique in the waves while running and broad reaching. Our culminating boat handling lessons came from Skip Whyte, the legendary 470 gybe expert. He worked with us on our gybing technique in light to medium air. He taught us to Rock & Roll with the all-important Boogie. All of these boat handling lessons from the few times we had coaching in Newport, combined with our individual drill time, have brought Casey and I a long way in our goal to become 470 boat handling masters. But we are not masters yet. That’s why we are going to San Francisco for some windy Bay action for a week before we spend many hours in the waters off Long Beach in September. We also are determined to have a coach with us for as much of that time as possible. We have already lined up a coach boat for San Francisco (and possibly Long Beach too) … and in that boat we will have Jonas Haggbom from Sweden, 470 coach extraordinaire!
Pictoral Newport
Now that Nicole is behind the wheel and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov as read by Jeremy Irons is playing, it is my turn to continue to report what we have learned so far. After yesterday’s post about Pennsylvania, however, I have learned that I will feel a bit car sick after typing and my inability to spell and use grammar is evident. So I’ll catch up with some photos.
Sail Newport
Personal Inspiration: goats and llama (who is a snob)
While Sailing (Courtesy of Skip)
Sail Newport
Personal Inspiration: goats and llama (who is a snob)
While Sailing (Courtesy of Skip)
Newport in Review -- Part I
We are driving around Chicago this morning. Construction detours make things confusing. We stayed with Clayton Root last night. He is a lake region native, grew up on scows and raced solings for a while. His most recent sailing pursuits are on a friend’s Farr 40. He is a Cornell alum and a real estate developer. Casey and I chatted with him last night about his Cornell sailing days before turning in for the night. It was a long drive yesterday; we hit 6 states over the 16 hour drive. All is well with the rig.
This morning we had breakfast at the Golden Apple diner near Clayton’s. Oh, we just found our way to I-55 again, so we are back on track. We go to Omaha today. Should be a much shorter day on the road. We are looking forward to the visit with the Hendrickson’s and Keith’s smoked BBQ ribs!
As Casey has the first shift driving today, it is time for me to reflect on our training experience in Newport. Since we began our blog only recently, we need to play catch up.
Our initial goal for Newport was to achieve mastery of the 470 in all conditions with regard to boat handling. We wanted to be able to pull off any maneuver in any wind strength and any sea state, and have general control of the boat at all times. In Niantic we had a couple of windy days, but relatively flat water. The first week we were sailing in Newport it happened to be pretty windy (15-22 knots). With the tall ships and regular seasonal boat traffic (ferries, yachts, cargo ships) we were intimidated. It was pretty clear to us that our boat handling had not progressed far enough for us to start taking big risks. So during this first week we stayed in the Bay and concentrated on tight boat handling drills in the higher breeze range. We were encouraged by Tracy Nan Smith, one of the greatest hardcore dinghy sailors in my network of friends, that pushing ourselves on the “triangle of death” would lead to great progress. It was a challenging time on the water.
We were working out tacking and gybing techniques using mainly guesswork, influenced a little bit by my memory. There don’t seem to be any available “from the experts” articles on 470 boat handling. Getting some coaching on the water seemed increasingly important. We didn’t want to learn the wrong ways of doing things, only to start all over again once we realized the error of our ways. We had a major stumbling block in our plans for guest coaches – no coach boat. You would not believe the number of hard bottom inflatables in Newport. They are everywhere. And they are being used all the time. Working out a charter seemed either way too expensive or way too inconvenient for the owners. I suppose we could have pushed a little harder, or hunted a little more creatively, but we were faced with time management issues. A huge reality of the US Olympic sailing campaign is that all of the management tasks parallel the athlete’s physical and skill training. During the day the athlete needs to do specific physical exercise to gain strength and endurance, practice on the water with a constructive plan for attaining goals and objectives, maintain the boat for functionality and safety, eat for health and energy, drink water, manage the sun, and get plenty of sleep. But the “campaign” also requires the athlete to fit in logistical work time as well: finances, networking, research… it is in this latter realm that finding a coach boat and scheduling guest coaches falls. The answer ended up being very simple, but when you are exhausted at the end of the day, the ideas and follow up don’t roll out of your head so easily. It wasn’t until the last 2 weeks of our Newport training that we managed to put something together. The Comfort family turned out to be a major ally to us. If we only had thought of this contact sooner! They loaned us their RIB so that Zack Leonard could come out on the water with us one Friday afternoon. Jeff Johnstone also loaned us his J Boats RIB so that Skip Whyte could coach us on two separate occasions. We also had a day on the water with Kiwi coach John Morgan, who borrowed a boat from Connanicut YC. These days with coaches on the water proved very valuable. Not only did the coaching lead to fruitful practice sessions packed full of learning for us, but each session ended up being a great confidence boost for us. Ironically, the few days we had with coaches confirmed that our solo work had been very productive, despite some of the frustration of navigating in-the-dark the intricacies of the 470. What this tells me is that the bottom line for us has been to spend as much time in the boat as possible. Casey and I are smart and driven people. No matter what we are doing in the boat, the time is productive. Our solo work has provided a platform for coaches to take off from when they work with us. We are more than a lump of clay. They see our potential.
My turn to drive. I’ll be back! -nb
This morning we had breakfast at the Golden Apple diner near Clayton’s. Oh, we just found our way to I-55 again, so we are back on track. We go to Omaha today. Should be a much shorter day on the road. We are looking forward to the visit with the Hendrickson’s and Keith’s smoked BBQ ribs!
As Casey has the first shift driving today, it is time for me to reflect on our training experience in Newport. Since we began our blog only recently, we need to play catch up.
Our initial goal for Newport was to achieve mastery of the 470 in all conditions with regard to boat handling. We wanted to be able to pull off any maneuver in any wind strength and any sea state, and have general control of the boat at all times. In Niantic we had a couple of windy days, but relatively flat water. The first week we were sailing in Newport it happened to be pretty windy (15-22 knots). With the tall ships and regular seasonal boat traffic (ferries, yachts, cargo ships) we were intimidated. It was pretty clear to us that our boat handling had not progressed far enough for us to start taking big risks. So during this first week we stayed in the Bay and concentrated on tight boat handling drills in the higher breeze range. We were encouraged by Tracy Nan Smith, one of the greatest hardcore dinghy sailors in my network of friends, that pushing ourselves on the “triangle of death” would lead to great progress. It was a challenging time on the water.
We were working out tacking and gybing techniques using mainly guesswork, influenced a little bit by my memory. There don’t seem to be any available “from the experts” articles on 470 boat handling. Getting some coaching on the water seemed increasingly important. We didn’t want to learn the wrong ways of doing things, only to start all over again once we realized the error of our ways. We had a major stumbling block in our plans for guest coaches – no coach boat. You would not believe the number of hard bottom inflatables in Newport. They are everywhere. And they are being used all the time. Working out a charter seemed either way too expensive or way too inconvenient for the owners. I suppose we could have pushed a little harder, or hunted a little more creatively, but we were faced with time management issues. A huge reality of the US Olympic sailing campaign is that all of the management tasks parallel the athlete’s physical and skill training. During the day the athlete needs to do specific physical exercise to gain strength and endurance, practice on the water with a constructive plan for attaining goals and objectives, maintain the boat for functionality and safety, eat for health and energy, drink water, manage the sun, and get plenty of sleep. But the “campaign” also requires the athlete to fit in logistical work time as well: finances, networking, research… it is in this latter realm that finding a coach boat and scheduling guest coaches falls. The answer ended up being very simple, but when you are exhausted at the end of the day, the ideas and follow up don’t roll out of your head so easily. It wasn’t until the last 2 weeks of our Newport training that we managed to put something together. The Comfort family turned out to be a major ally to us. If we only had thought of this contact sooner! They loaned us their RIB so that Zack Leonard could come out on the water with us one Friday afternoon. Jeff Johnstone also loaned us his J Boats RIB so that Skip Whyte could coach us on two separate occasions. We also had a day on the water with Kiwi coach John Morgan, who borrowed a boat from Connanicut YC. These days with coaches on the water proved very valuable. Not only did the coaching lead to fruitful practice sessions packed full of learning for us, but each session ended up being a great confidence boost for us. Ironically, the few days we had with coaches confirmed that our solo work had been very productive, despite some of the frustration of navigating in-the-dark the intricacies of the 470. What this tells me is that the bottom line for us has been to spend as much time in the boat as possible. Casey and I are smart and driven people. No matter what we are doing in the boat, the time is productive. Our solo work has provided a platform for coaches to take off from when they work with us. We are more than a lump of clay. They see our potential.
My turn to drive. I’ll be back! -nb
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Where were the Amish?
I entered
The eastern part of the state was surprisingly uneventful which did not appease my worry as I was certain that something was waiting for us down the road. Nicole mentioned that she thought we had entered the
But we planned to work out at a gym everyday while driving across the country, so we exited the highway in
Needless to say, the other residents of
Monday, August 6, 2007
Road Trip Hurdle #1
It’s Monday morning, August 6. We are heading to California this week. Last night we had planned to finish packing up in Newport and head to Old Lyme to see my parents before the long road trip. We raced BBR in a Vanguard 15 this weekend, so we were tying up 470 masts and hooking up the trailer pretty late in the evening. When we did the requisite lights check on the 470 trailer, we discovered problems. After an hour or so of fiddling and fretting, we aborted the mission for the night and headed back to the Freedom House to sleep and wait for daylight.
Casey just woke up. We feel better about tackling the trailer lights now, and safer driving if they remain compromised. After three days of hiking on a V15 and duking it out with college kids, we needed some rest to handle the Land Cruiser laden with one boat on top, one boat in tow, and four masts strapped to either side. (We’ll show you a picture later.)
We have lots to write, but it will have to wait because it’s time to hit the road.
Casey just woke up. We feel better about tackling the trailer lights now, and safer driving if they remain compromised. After three days of hiking on a V15 and duking it out with college kids, we needed some rest to handle the Land Cruiser laden with one boat on top, one boat in tow, and four masts strapped to either side. (We’ll show you a picture later.)
We have lots to write, but it will have to wait because it’s time to hit the road.
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