July 8th, 2010
Opti
Newsletter
1)Recap-
The first
few weeks have gone very well down at "the office." Southold Bay has
been blessed with fair winds and clear skies. With 100 degree
temperatures on land, the bay was unquestionably the place to be! The
program is now up around 40 dedicated students. I can't tell you how
great it is to see 40 smiling, sunscreen covered faces that are ecstatic
to go sailing every day. The smaller classes allow the students more
one on one time with the instructors. Some classes are learning so fast,
that I'm afraid that the instructors might run out of curriculum!
2)Opti I-
After
moving some students up to opti II due to age and skill, the class is
now down around 10, which is an excellent number for first time sailors.
The students have started out learning each others names. They quickly
progressed to learning parts of the boat, and how to rig an opti. This
knowledge allowed us to play our first game, a rigging race, which
everyone won! A swim test, that everyone passed, followed as did a
sail-less tow out of the channel. After learning about some basic
sailing mechanics and capsize recovery, the beginners were ready for
their first 5 minute sail on Friday. The class is right on schedule!
Looking ahead, the class will start to sail out into the bay, reaching
back and forth for all three lessons next week, with maybe an adventure
sail on Friday.
3) Opti II-
Opti II is
our largest and most challenging class to teach. There are almost 20
sailors of the same age, but of varying skill level. Rest assured, we
are using all the resources are our disposal to divide and conquer. The
first day went really well, especially considering the heavy wind. Buoys
were placed for reaching the second lesson for the students to sail
around, which they found more challenging than the previous days free
sail. I'll chalk it up to shaking out the cobwebs. By the end of the
lesson, 90% of the boats were sailing around the course no problem, and
spending less time in the no go zone! Reviewing the points of sail in
the class room allowed the students to play their first game, the life
jacket game. This game is simple; the instructors throw a lifejacket in a
different direction in order to force the students to sail at a
different point of sail. The game reinforces what the students learn in
the classroom. Upwind sailing was next on the agenda, which went very
well. With most of the basics under their belts, we can now start
exploring the facets of our wonderful bay!
4) Opti Race-
With the
return of Ronan Guyer and Dan Sullivan, the team is now up to a healthy
12 students. Congratulations to the Cashwell's on the purchase of their
new boat! Take care of it! For the first couple weeks of the season, the
class will be focused on tactics and strategy on the race course. The
curriculum started appropriately with a discussion on startline tactics
and has moved on to the first windward leg. One drill we ran was the two
start line drill, where one startline is placed upwind of the other.
Sailors start at the downwind startline and race to the second
startline. Then, they start a race to a windward mark. This drill
allowed the sailors to practice their startline and upwind tactics in
one drill!
5)Regattas-
We had our
first Monday Night race on June 28th. Thanks to the those who made the
effort to come out, despite light winds and bugs. Scores weren't taken.
We had our second Monday Night race on the 5th. Shifty light winds
prevailed out of the south. The course was set right off of Harbor
Lights. Three Triangles with finishes to windward were run. The breeze
dying off and time running out dictated a simple 1 leg windward race.
Racing was close. At the finish of the third race there was a FOUR way
tie for first, prompting a third and fourth race. Congratulations to Dan
Sullivan on winning 3 out of the 4 races, his first day back!
During
Tuesday's class there was a qualifier for the Midget Mid Atlantic
Qualifiers, which was the following Thursday at Devon YC. After two
races in great breeze, it died off completely. Three races later, and
Dan Sullivan and Kenny Preston barely secured 1st and 2nd, the only
qualifying berths. At Devon, sailing in 10 knots of Southeast breeze in
Nepeague Bay, Dan and Kenny pulled off a third and fourth
respectively, sailing against 7 other boats from clubs all over the
PGJSA. The winner of the regatta will not be able to make the Mid
Atlantic Qualifier, which moves Daniel Sullivan into a qualifying berth!
Great job all around
The Shelter Island Yacht Club Opti
Invitational was on Friday. This regatta featured over 100 boats from
the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound, a very old,
competitive sailing district. Only two races were run before the weather
set in. Result are not in yet, but, for the size of the fleets, our
sailors did well. Most of finished in the top third of their respective
fleets. Again, great job.
6) Looking Forward
Monday,
July 12th, we will host our first Larry Cullen Club Championship Opti
race. The first race will start promptly at 6pm. The results will count
and protests will be heard. There will be a skippers meeting at 5:30pm
inside the clubhouse. The Race Committee will run this like a serious
regatta, so please treat it as such. For every 6 races sailed, there
will be 1 throw-out. Scores will cumulate for the overall championship.
You must participate in 80% of the races in order to be placed in the
running for club champion, meaning I want participation! Again, this is
reinforcement for what we learn in class. The only excuse for missing a
MNR LC is for being at another regatta, in which case you will receive
average scores for the races missed. The RC will hold approximately
four to five, 25 to 30 minute long races.
Thursday,
July 15th, is the Southampton Invitational. I expect every member of the
race team to attend. Please come in on Tuesday with a plan, signed by a
parent, on how you will get your boats over. It would also be helpful
to know what kind of trailer you have. If you don't have a trailer and
roof rack it, let me know that too! Also, please let me know if your
family has any small motorboat. Thanks!
The week
after Southampton is our first travel regatta to Niantic. Please let me
know if you're interested in going. It's a one day regatta and is a good
venue.
As some of you know, I've been very sick
this past week with tonsillitis. I'd like to thank my instructors for
picking up the slack. Special thanks to Geoff as well.
Signing off,
Alex
Opti Coach
cell#631 676 0781 email:abktoo@gmail.com
-------------------------
June 20th, 2010
Southold YC Opti Race Team Newsletter #1:
1)Upcoming Regattas
The Midatlantic Championship is being held at Devon Yacht Club this Summer. It is an excellent opportunity for a couple of our sailors to represent our club in a competitive, regional fleet at a familiar venue. In order to compete at the Championship, our sailors must first qualify at the PBGJSA qualifier, on July 8th. This qualifier is also at Devon. The top two from that fleet will advance to the Championship on July 27th -28th . As much as I would like to bring the whole Racing Team to the qualifier, we are only allowed two representatives from our yacht club. I will be running the SYC qualifier regatta for the Midatlantic Championship PBGJSA Qualifier (confusing I know...) regular class on Thursday, July 1st. I know that this is fairly early in the season, so I encourage every member of the team to practice independently as much as possible before this date. To better prepare sailors for the our club qualifier, we will hold our the first of many Monday Night Races on Monday, June 28th. The start of the first race will be promptly at 5:45pm, depending on weather. Ultimately, I will be making the final call as to who has the privilege to represent the club at this event, but I will rely heavily on the results of our club regatta on July 1st. Please plan on being available to transport your sailor to Devon on July 8th if your sailor qualifies!
Also, for those not attending the regatta at Devon, there is a regatta across the Sound at Watch Hill, RI. Watch Hill is good venue and will allow our sailors to sail against some new faces! I won't be too depressed if we can't attend because the day after, Friday July 9th, is the Shelter Island Yacht Club Invitational. It is by far the easiest event to get to! We will meet at SYC in the morning and tow to SIYC. Racing takes place in a usually very windy Pipes Cove, Greenport. The regatta is very well run and draws strong competition from up island. I expect everyone from the race team to attend.
2)Monday Night Racing
In regards to Monday Night Racing, (MNR,) we will be racing every Monday Night. Attendance for the race team is highly encouraged. Class time will be used to teach boat handling, strategy, and tactics. However, it is imperative that students practice these skills out of class. MNR provides an excellent forum to do so. For sailors that are not enrolled in the race team, invitations are available on a request basis, by emailing me. Some MNR's will count towards the SYC Larry Cullen Opti Championship, marked LC on the calendar. Holding these events on Monday's will free up class time to focus on boathandling. The Club Championship will be treated as a regular regatta with no coaching on or off the race course. It is also my desire to promote a more social club atmosphere. Please feel free to come down, watch racing, relax on the beach, or help us out on the race course! It would also be great if we could organize bbq's for after racing! I understand that the time that we all spend out here is limited, but with good planning, I believe that all of these goals can be accomplished. These races are a great opportunity for the sailors to gain valuable racing experience while having fun on and off the water! The MNR's not marked LC will be more clinic based, and will focus on different kinds of racing and race courses. This program will be a great extension of the work accomplished during regular class hours. We can also make up tshirts and plan fun activities for after racing, or during scheduled racing for those no wind Monday Nights!
3)Clinics
There will be a rigging clinic that I expect both parents and sailors to attend. Even if your sailor feels they are beyond such a clinic, then come down and prove it by helping others! We can all always learn something new! Also, Joe Farell from SailAction Inc. will be down at the club during this time with all necessary gear for rigging your opti! Please call ahead if you need something like a sprit! He will be extending his Southold YC discount. We will also go over cleaning your boat and making it race ready. It is an excellent time to remember how to rig your boat properly and find out what gear your missing in preparation for the upcoming season. This clinic will take place June 26th, 9:30am. It will run approximately 2 hours. Please plan on being there on time.
I would also like to hold a Regatta Clinic, where I would review what to bring, how to prepare, how to tow boats, etc. It is also my intention to get an idea of who can attend what, and who can bring boats to these events.
4)Expectations for the Race Team
I have posted a race calendar on Southold YC's website. I highly encourage everyone on the race team to attend the events highlighted in GREEN. I would like to set a date to organize transport and supervision for each event listed. There are some overlaps, but they will generally only affect a few of the sailors. These events in green are the LOCAL events. For the more experienced racers, these races will be good practice for our larger regattas. I expect each sailor to approach these events in a professional manner. Again, these events will be excellent reinforcement for what we learn in class. We will only be successful if we all practice, work, act, and execute professionally as a team! This is not to say we are not going to have fun while we are doing it!
The events highlighted in pink are the travel events. These include a trip up island to Sayville, a few day trips to Southern CT, and a couple days sailing in the nations sailing capital- Newport, RI in the New England Opti Championship. I have picked these events based on the venues. I have experience racing in all of these places and they can all teach our sailors something different. It is also important for both the parents and the sailors to establish certain regatta routines. If we are able to all come up with certain routines, the sailors can focus more on racing, and less on last minute preparation. I believe this will make regattas more fun and less of a cause of anxiety. The sailors will become comfortable with sailing further from home, in new venues, in new fleets. What they learn from participating in these events will be applicable for racing in regattas, and real world experiences for the rest of their lives. I need to get an idea of who is willing to travel and do these regattas. It is through sailing at events such as these that our racers will learn and grow!
I am leaving the weekends open for clinics and independent practice. I feel that it is imperative that each sailor learns how to practice a specific technique (ie Roll tacking) on their own, or tune up with a friend! It is only after each student masters specific skill that we can move on to learning other aspects of the sport. The weekends will give the sailors a break.....and let's face it, we all could use a break sometimes!
Practices will focus on boathandling, tuning, and technique. We will use MNR's and local regattas as practices for tactics and strategy. My main focus for this summer is for everyone to perfect or better their technique. Even if we don't win everything under the sun, as long as we sailed as we practice, meaning every tack and gybe counts, I will consider the season a success.
LASTLY, I want everyone to have fun. I know that sometimes we are all going to be put in situations that aren't very fun. Learning how to handle these situations and succeed despite them will only make us better sailors and people! The joy that I get from doing well, after battling through adverse conditions, is completely unparalleled by anything else in my life! I want all of our sailors to develop this stick-to-it-ness. I look forward to seeing you all at the yacht club.
Signing off overlooking Southold Bay,
Alex Kraebel
Opti Coach
c: 631-676-0781
note:it is my intention on writing up these newsletters every week. Feedback is also appreciated!