April 3rd, 2008: Article written by Cailin Brophy, Southampton Press Western Edition

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Spring Break was a blast.  Harpoon Harry’s and Spinnaker Beach Club were good times.  Camping at the St. Andrew’s Bay Yacht Club was the popular thing to do, I would estimate at least half the sailors camped out for the week, making the experience all the more fun.  Thanks again for all the hospitality.

Team Racing Nationals:

3 races were contested on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008.  3 teams consisting of 4 team members each dualed it out for the Team Racing National Championship.

At the end of the day, Chip Clifton, Peter Wuescher, Lee Montes and Brian McGinnis were crowned the new national champions.  Each race of the day was closely contested.  In the first race, our team would have appeared to have the race all locked up by the first mark having 3 team members (Chip Clifton, Lee Montes and then myself) leading the race.  However, the first 2 sailors missed the offset mark, and by the time they went back and rounded, a comeback was certainly necessary.  As the 3rd sailor around the mark, I did my best to slow up all the sailors and allow my team members to get back in it.  By the leeward mark, Chip had made it back to 2nd and was on the chase after Rob Eberle for 1st.  By the end of the race, Chip won it, Rob Eberle finished 2nd, and we took the 3 and 4 positions to clinch the race.

The other race pitted Chip Clifton vs. Karl Kleinschrodt.  However, Karl backed off the sprint race to assist his teammates, this strategy ultimately backfired.  Karl basically crushed me, however in the process, we were able to spring Peter Wuescher into 2nd, with Karl ultimately finishing 3rd and myself hanging on for a tightly contested 4th place.  Our team finished undefeated on the day and received nice trophies in the end.

US Nationals at Midwinters

10 races total were held over the next 3 days for the sunfish singlehanded US National Championship.

The first day’s racing brought us out into the big bay, having 40 sailors sailing over an hours sail out to the course.  3 races were held that day, the first 2 races in 7-8mph conditions and the last race building to 10mph. The first 2 races were dominated by Chip Clifton (1998 US National Champion) who worked his speed and smarts to the left side of the course and finished with 2 bullets to show for it.  The last race of the day was a bit breezier and saw the rise of Hank Saurage’s run to the ultimate championship.

The next 5 races were run in even breezier conditions, around 14-18mph.  Due to the lingering T-storms in the area, the race committee brought us back to the little bay out in front of the yacht club.  The top sailors scores grew fiercely close by the end of the day, with Hank Saurage coming out on top after grabbing 2 more bullets (races four and six) and remaining consistent throughout the day.  2002 US National Champion Todd Edwards also won 2 races that day (races five and eight) and at the end finished the regatta in 3rd place overall.  Greg Gust (5th at the 2007 Worlds) won race 7 that day ultimately finishing the regatta in 4th place overall.  Greg’s win was especially impressive considering he had to re-start after being called over early at the start.  Unfortunately for Greg, he did have to accept a 20% penalty on that race (scoring him a 9 for the race).  Chip Clifton remained in the hunt but an OCS that day had done some considerable damage to his victory hopes, and at the end finished in 5th place overall.

The last 2 races were a showcase of the talents of 2-time World Champion (1995, 2006) and 2001 US National Champion David Loring as he scored 2 bullets to finish as the regatta runner-up.  David sailed consistently throughout but really came to form on the last day.  The last 2 races were also sailed in the little bay in front of the club due to lingering T-storms in the area.  Best guess on the wind would be somewhere around 10-14mph for the day.

Rounding out the top ten were Karl Kleinschrodt and Don Brennan in 6th and 7th place overall.  1976 US Olympic 470 Class Representative and 2008 International Masters Champion Tom Whitehurst finished 8th overall.  2000 US National Champion Zane Yoder finished 9th place overall.  1980 North American Continental Champion Joe Blouin rounded out the top 10.

Yours truly finished in 11th place overall and was the top sailor from North of the Mason-Dixon line.

2008 Sunfish Midwinter US Nationals Results

2008 Sunfish Midwinter US Nationals Photos

Additional Notes:

Big improvement over past performances for me at Midwinters regattas.  It was a very top-heavy fleet and was some fast racing on the course.  Current was a major factor in all sailing areas there.  In the small bay, there was also a point off to the left upwind that had many of the top sailors racing towards it looking for the lift that they received coming out of that corner.  It was possible to compete at the top of the fleet by going right upwind if you were committed enough to get all the way up into the current one would find there in the small bay.  Conditioning was pretty good for me at this regatta.  Areas of improvement are leg strength and bicep muscles (was tough 2-blocking).  I was actually surprised how much people were trimming the mainsheet upwind as the wind strength grew.  I rarely sheet in as much as I was seeing the top sailors do so there in Panama City.  The larger version mainsheet block might be helpful in this scenario.

Photos are also available at my facebook and my flickr accounts.  Additional photos available via the St. Andrews Bay YC Photo Gallery.

Newspaper Links:

• NewsHerald.com - Midwinter sailing race begins
• NewsHerald.com - Teamwork pays off
• NewsHerald.com - Midwinters Regatta Photo Gallery

New David Loring Video is now available at sunfishracing.com. Check out the trailer below.

• April 19-20 - Laser Gulf Coast Champs at Edison S.C.
• May 10 - SANJL Day 1 at Hunterdon SC, Spruce Run Reservoir, Clinton, NJ
• May 17 - SANJL Day 2 at Hendershot’s Boat Launch, Swartswood Lake, NJ
• May 31 - GSBYRA Men’s Championship (Flying Scot) at Babylon YC
• Tuesdays - (May-September) Sunfish Racing 6pm at Wet Pants S.A.
• June 7-8 - Sunfish New England Regional I at Barrington YC
• June 14-15 - GSBYRA Westin Trophy (Sunfish) at Sayville YC
• June 20-22 - Laser US Masters Nationals at New Bedford YC
• June 28-29 - Laser D10 G.P. at Little Egg Harbor YC
• July 5-6 - Babylon YC Invitational (Sunfish)
• July 12-13 - Area B O’Day Champs Qualifier (Sunfish) at Bay Shore YC
• July 16-19 - Sunfish North Americans at Erie YC
• July 26-27 - Sunfish New England Regional II at Wequaquet Lake YC
• July 29 - Ma Huus Trophy (Sunfish) at Wet Pants S.A.
• Aug. 1 - Sunfish Derby at Mattituck YC
• Aug. 2 - Sunfish Team Racing at Aspatuck YC
• Aug. 3 - Sunfish Kraebel Cup at Mattituck YC
• Aug. 6-10 - U.S. Sailing O’Day Champs (Sunfish) at Sayville YC
• Aug. 9-10 - Sunfish NY Upstates at Rochester C.C.
• Aug. 16-17 - Sunfish NY Downstates at Mattituck YC
• Aug. 23-29 - 38th Sunfish Worlds at Buffalo C.C.
• Sept. 6 - L.I. Sunfish Champs at Wet Pants S.A.
• Sept. 7 - Oct. 12 - W.Y.S. Sunday Fall Series (Sunfish)
• Sept. 20 - SANJL Day 3 at Highland Lakes CC; Highland Lake, NJ
• Sept. 27 - Maycroft Cup at Sag Harbor Y.C.
• Oct. 4 - SANJL Day 4 at Green Pond YC, Green Pond, NJ
• Oct. 11 - Whitebread XV at P.B.S.A

• Saint Andrews Bay Yacht Club
• Notice of Race
• 10 Day Weather Forecast for Panama City, FL (32401) - weather.com
• AccuWeather.com - Panama City, FL - Weather Forecast
• Panama City, Florida (32401) Weather Underground
• Bay County Chamber of Commerce
• Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce
• City of Panama City, Florida
• Angelo’s Steak Pit
• Boatyard Restaurant
• Capt. Anderson’s Restaurant and Waterfront Market
• Hammerhead Fred’s
• Harpoon Harry’s Beachfront Restaurant and Tiki Bar
• Dirty Dick’s Crab House
• Boar’s Head Restaurant and Tavern
• The Treasure Ship Restaurant
• Captain Jack’s Family Buffet
• Casa De Fogo
• Schooners - Last Local Beach Club and Restaurant
• Club La Vela
• Spinnaker Beach Club
• Official MTV mtvU Village Spring Break Hotel
• Spring Break Concerts and Events - Panama City Beach
• Spring Break 2008 Panama City Beach, Florida
• Radio Margaritaville on Sirius 31

Social:

Shephard’s Beach Resort and Jimmy’s Fish House and Iguana Bar were hot spots for the week, well within reasonable walking distance from the Red Roof Inn Clearwater Beach Florida Hotel .

Frenchy’s Clearwater Beach Seafood Restaurants has a great reputation and is definitely on the lists for future visits.

Knology Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival was an amazing event. Eric Lindell, Bettye LaVette, and Derek Trucks Band played Saturday afternoon/evening. Good times were had by all. Event format was truly friendly for all ages.

Sailing:

Light Air Upwind Sailing(5 knots): Vang On (Picture Note)

Downwinds: Vang or Cunningham on was really slow

Coaches there were all amazing sailors, maybe some worth thinking about.

Need to get reacquainted with using a compass for singlehanded sailing again.

6 races held over 2 days, mostly in good breeze on long courses. 3rd day was cancelled due to Thunderstorms in the area and final day seabreeze wind did not arrive until too late.

Conditioning:

Core definitely needs more work. Hard replicating sailing technique in gym. Yoga definitely helpful. Hiking Bench would definitely be worthwhile workout investment.

Additional Notes:

Congrats to Raul Aguayo (Dominican Republic), whom I first met while competing at the 2004 Sunfish North Americans in Canandaigua, for winning the full rig fleet. Raul is also a qualifier for 2008 Olympics.

Paige Railey won the Laser Radial Gold Fleet. Her brother Zach Railey, the US 2008 Olympian in the Finn class was also in attendance.

Good times sailing against a bunch of beautiful ladies, cheers go to Canada, they definitely represented in that regard.

Cheers to Jeff Olson (coaching), Ryan Minth (coaching), Carlos Abisambra (Colombia by way of Wisconsin), and Alexander Zimmerman (Peru) for being in attendance! Good seeing you all.

Bobby Boger, Scott Boger, Collin Leon, Jorge Prieto, and Fred Abels all were in the house representing Long Island.

Ryan Minth had the best quote of the regatta informing Carlos Abisambra he is too light for the Full Rig and should sail Radial Rig, “hoping for light air is no way to go through life”. Perfectly said! Ryan Minth is a former US Sailing Team Member who moved up from the Radial to Full Rig after years of training. Ryan explained that from his point of view, unless you are jacked and at least 165 pounds, you are crazy to be racing anything other than the Radial Rig when it comes to Laser Sailing.

Shout out to Kurt and Meka Taulbee, good seeing you two as well, and thanks for the boat charter. Sailfit. Also, greatly appreciated the Buffalo Canoe Club briefing.

Nick Thompson (England) whom just finished 8th at the Laser Worlds was there coaching Paige Railey. Nice meeting you my friend and congrats, England beat France in Rugby that day in question.

Sarah Lihan (Yale Sailing), and Megan Spurling (Bermuda/Manhattan Sailing Club), nice meeting you all.

All in all, at least 12 countries were in attendance.� If you include the coaches there, you can add a few more to the list for sure.

Final Results - Full Rig

Final Results - Radial Gold

Final Results - Radial Silver

Final Results - Laser 4.7

Clearwater Yacht Club Pictures

Laser Radial Midwinters Photos on My Flickr Account - Click on any thumbnail, brings one to a new screen. Above photo there at the new screen, one can click on icon for “All Sizes”. One will redirected to new screen where above the photo there, it will show you the available sizes for download, it defaults to a large photo, the original size (recommended) is available for download there. This is the easiest way to share the original 444 Hi-Res photos taken by me at the regatta. Some of you may prefer viewing the photos using the Slideshow option.

I also have the photos available at my Facebook.

Additional Photos available for purchase at Photoboat, they also have a blog going here Photoboat on Blogspot

If you have not already, be sure to check out the Laser Class Facebook Group

Tampa Airport is very cool. They have outdoor observation/smoking rooms in many areas there. Free internet works well there as well. I noticed free wireless internet at many other areas throughout Clearwater. Red Roof Inn had it, the Clearwater Community Sailing Center had it as well. One thing I noticed about the free one at Red Roof, it was great for checking email and websites, but not so good for uploading photos. Every 15 minutes or so it would boot you off the network and give you a new IP address. Better off doing small batches when uploading photos or find yourself similarly hornschwaggled.

• National Data Buoy Center - Station CWBF1 - 8726724 - Clearwater Beach, FL
• weather.com - Boat & Beach - Weather Forecast
• 7-Day Zone Forecast for Pinellas County
• Clearwater, Florida (33755) Conditions & Forecast Weather Underground
• Clearwater Community Sailing Center
• Clearwater Yacht Club
• Laser Midwinter’s East Regatta Processing
• Laser Midwinters East - Pre-registered Competitors List
• Laser Midwinter’s East Notice of Race
• Sailfit
• Red Roof Inn Clearwater Beach Florida Hotel
• Shephard’s Beach Resort
• Knology Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival
• Laser Radial Checklist

Here is a preliminary list of the dates for Sunfish at WPSA.

Super Spring Series:

• May 6,13,20,27 (Tuesday Evenings)
• June 3,10,17,24 (Tuesday Evenings)

(some clinincs/coaching to be done in between racing)

July Tues. Eve Series: July 1,8,15,22

WPSA GSBYRA Regatta: July 12, Junior regatta sails July 11

WPSA versus POWYS Sunfish Team Racing: July 19

Ma Huus: July 29

August Tues. Eve Series: Aug 5,12,19,26

September Wind Down: Sept 2

LI Sunfish Championships: Sept 6

Over the past few years, I have found myself moving upwards within the big fleets I find at a Sunfish Worlds, North Americans, or Midwinters US Nationals. As I have moved up, I’ve tried to keep in perspective some of the techniques I’ve used to improve my finishes.

One major trick I have noticed seems to work well. When approaching the windward marks, be wary of the disturbed air funnel that is created as the leaders begin their layline approach to the mark. As the leaders begin rounding the windward mark, a disturbed air funnel, usually cone shaped, begins to become a major factor for the chasing pack of boats where one can make up serious ground on their competitors.

Unless your boat speed is faster, quite often it is advantageous to make your layline approach from the opposite layline as the leaders.

Another tip for the last half of the beat is to be sure to completely cross the rhumb line, and get beyond the disturbed air funnel, get to the other side of it as quickly as possible. Some of you may be questioning what I mean by this point, well let me give you an example to illustrate my point.

How often have you found yourself in a group of boats heading upwind, and within that group, quite often you all find yourself tacking back and forth rapidly in order to maintain a lane. Think about the times you have been in this situation, I would bet money that more often than not, one of the two outside boats in this group whooped everyone else in the group to the mark. How did this happen you may wonder. My guess is that they were crossing the rhumb line and getting out clean to the other side. By doing this, they sailed in much cleaner air than the people that kept doing short tacks along the rhumb line, the disturbed air funnel effect has just been illustrated.

I have personally found this technique a good way to make up 100-400 yards just on the last half of the beat or even just the last thousand yards. Not to mention that if you were in a group of boats, a great way to pick off say 5 out of 6 boats in just half a beat or less. Also note, the deeper in the fleet you are positioned, the bigger the funnel will be. If you are one of the few lead boats, this is basically a non-issue, enjoy it while it lasts.

• March 8-10 - International Masters at Pensacola YC
• March 12 - Sunfish Team Racing at St. Andrews Bay YC
• March 13-15 - Midwinter US Nationals at St. Andrews Bay YC
• June 7-8 - New England Regional 1 at Barrington YC
• July 13-15 - Junior North Americans at Erie YC
• July 16-19 - North Americans at Erie YC
• July 26-27 - New England Regional 2 at Wequaquet Lake Yacht Club
• Aug. 6-10 - U.S. Singlehanded Champs O’Day Trophy at Sayville YC
• Aug. 9-10 - NY Upstate Regional at Rochester Canoe Club
• Aug. 16-17 - NY Downstate Regional at Mattituck Yacht Club
• Aug. 23-29 - 38th Sunfish Worlds at Buffalo Canoe Club
• Sept. 24-27 - U.S. Champs of Champions at Sayville YC
• Sept. 26-28 - US Masters at Fairhope YC
• Oct. 10-11 - Southwest Regional South at Austin Yacht Club

2008 GSBYRA Sailing Regattas at a Glance

• June 28-29 - GSBYRA Westin Trophy at Sayville YC (sunfish)
• July 5-6 - GSBYRA 4th of July Regatta at Babylon YC
• July 12 - GSBYRA Wet Pants Sailing Association Regatta
• July12-13 - Area B Singlehanded Champs at Bay Shore YC (sunfish)
• July 18-20 - GSBYRA Race Week at Bellport YC
• July 23-27 - Optimist Nationals in Patchogue
• July 26-27 - GSBYRA Bay Shore YC Regatta
• August 2-3 - GSBYRA Narrasketuck YC Regatta
• August 30-31 - GSBYRA Bellport YC Regatta
• Sept. 6 - L.I. Sunfish Championship at Wet Pants Sailing Association