2023 RS Aero World Championship - It's been awhile!

I've not posted here in quite awhile. In Sep 2021, to correct irregular heatbeat (afib), had atrial ablation surgery. That went horribly wrong and nearly died in Oct 2021. While emergency doctors tried to repair holes in the heart and esophagus caused by the initial botched procedure, I suffered a stroke and heart attack, and was unable to walk or use my left arm (the gory details here). Spent most of 2022 recovering. 

Pills I now take everyday.

 Finally got back into a dinghy again in Aug 2022, with distant hopes of eventually competing in the 2023 RS Aero Worlds in Calasetta, Sardinia (Italy). Several mishaps along the way, multiple hospital stays and emergency room visits, a defibrillator implant, an upset mother on the West Coast, etc... but nonetheless managed to make it to Italy!

Arrived a few days early at the regatta site, and managed to experience the insane heat that gripped most of Europe during that time: several days above 90 degrees, just miserable. Did manage to get out on the water a few times, had decent speed against UK sailor Chris Hatton and Irishman Roy Van Maanan.

Rugged Calasetta shoreline and nice breeze

What follows are copies of social media posts made at the time. In chronological order:

25 July    I've been in Calasetta, Sardinia since 20 July. It's a quaint, small town by the sea that has been searingly HOT so far. The town's main piazza (stone, naturally) really heats up during the day - I avoid it at all costs, despite street performers and a generally bustling vibe once the sun goes down. There seem to be few foreigners in this town of 3,000, beside sailors preparing for the World Championship.

Narrow stone streets

 

Have been staying at a B-and-B run by a delightful guy from Roma who has been be very accommodating, doing laundry, making nice breakfasts (including lovely buttery croissants) and providing historical perspective on the people and culture of this part of the world. The place is uphill from the sailing center, which is tiring for me after a day of sailing, but I just chug up at a slow and steady pace. Breaking up the climb is the town's gelateria, so there's that...

 

Today was the final day of practice before the 5-day World Championship commences, and the wind was HOWLING out of the NW, providing some respite from the heat but also making launching of boats a challenge. There is one, one-boat-wide ramp from which to launch 140 boats! About 50 of us went out for the practice race in 20-25 knots of breeze and a steep, choppy sea. It was glorious sailing, boats planing madly downwind on big rollers! I took it easy, just went out for an hour to do a little upwind tuning with fellow American Dieter Cruetz. Was happy to have good speed against this very fit 16-year old, who is the reigning Aero 5 World Champion (now sailing, like me, the new 6 rig here).

 

This is the first Worlds where the 6 is sailed. I've only raced against 2 other 6 rigs at home, so the first few races should be very interesting to see how the fleet shakes out. Avoiding capsizes will be a major feat in the steep waves - fingers crossed! 

 

OK, time to head to the opening ceremony. Arrevederci for now from Italia!

 

 

26 July    Marc's overseas regatta breakfast: muesli with milk, croissant, 2 eggs, and green smoothie. Kale isn't in season here, so smoothie consists of cabbage, carrot, celery, banana and a few organic walnuts.

Our Italian host can't understand eggs for breakfast, nor can he get past the consistency of the smoothie (which is a bit...grainy due to his weak blender).

 

This, plus some locally grown cherries, Galatea peaches (incredibly sweet and fragrant!), a few energy bars, and several bottles of water with electrolytes will keep me going through the racing day. Immediately following will be a sandwich, more fluid, then dinner a bit later in the evening.

 

Sail 4466. Too much vang for this windy reach on Day 1.

3 races, I was first to the first 2 marks in R1, and was in solid 3rd when judge flagged me, for what I have NO idea. Lost 7 boats doing exonerating 720 degree turn. 5th in R2, then had breakdown that took a lot of time/energy to fix before R3 and had a stinker. In 5th overall right now.

Heeling too much rounding top mark behind Rhett

 Very tired, don't have much in reserve these days. Will get to bed early and recharge. I'm sail #4466.

Barely hiking but still flying along in champagne conditions.

 27 July    Day 2, three more races. Was in 7th on the last run of the first race when the jury AGAIN flagged me for rocking! Right after completing my 720 degree penalty turn, the boat quickly rolled to windward and capsized. 

 

Since my return to sailing last August, I've capsized only two other times. In both cases I needed outside assistance to right and get back into the boat. So here I was, boat turtled at the Worlds. Eventually got the boat upright and yanked myself back aboard. It was exhausting and took forever. Went from 7th to 31st. F*CK!

 

Had a bad start in the second race of the day but picked my way through and ended up 10th. Got rolled again in the third start but plugged away for a 9th. I've dropped to 10th in the overall standings.

I'm really ticked off at this jury. The wind is strong and the waves are chaotic, making it very difficult to avoid the boat rolling downwind. It's ridiculous the calls they are making. 

 

If I am flagged again in future races, I'll be automatically disqualified from those races We've three more days of racing to complete. It's incredibly frustrating.

 

I can't hike hard enough to put the bow down and sail fast upwind. This makes it hard to get off the starting line well. Fortunately, I have a high mode that allows me to pinch people off once we get going. Planing reaching again requires flat-out hiking, which I can't do effectively. Ironically, when not being flagged by the jury I'm reasonably fast going dead downwind.

 

Tonight was the regatta dinner at a nearby restaurant. Tons of seafood (which I generally don't like and prefer to avoid during regattas). It'll be just my luck to get food poisoning...

 

Apologies for the whinging. Tomorrow's another day. Supposed to be very light wind and hot. Goody goody.

 

Signed, Pissed-Off Marc

 

28 July    One race sailed yesterday. Had a pretty nice start at the starboard end (pic shows me, sail 4466, owning the boat), but had to do a clearing tack that ended up lifting almost the whole way to the starboard layline. Rounded top mark in the top 10, Worked up to 6th, but lost two boats on the final run to end up 8th. At least the jury didn't flag me (again)!

Setting up a great start at the boat. Sail 4466.

Still in 10th Overall, but pulled a bit ahead of the chasing pack. More light-ish wind in the forecast for tomorrow.

 

29 July    Day 4. Took a long 7.5 hours on the water to complete two races. We started in a southerly that plummeted as the day went on. I had a decent race going around the top 10 and was terrified of being called yet again by the on-the-water jury. They literally followed me for several minutes upwind; I was still as a stone. Downwind the same. Had a good leeward mark rounding and was climbing to windward of the guy ahead when the whistles started. The jury asserted that I rocked the boat while rounding the leeward mark.

 

As this was my third "infraction" for the event, I was forced to retire from the race. To say I was pissed is an understatement. It was a long, very hot wait to see if the race could be completed within the one-hour time limit. When the breeze completely shut off, it was abandoned, but not before the jury meted out several more Rule 42 infractions to other competitors. 

 

The jury here is out of control. A Top 5 competitor who was behind me on the leeward leg and rounding sought me out after the race and volunteered he didn't see ANYTHING wrong with my sailing. The wind at the time of the supposed infraction was maybe 2 knots. It was uncomfortable, awkward conditions where it was easy to upset the balance of the boat. Ridiculous calls by the jury. ANYWAY...

 

There was a several-hour wait for sailable conditions. A southerly once again teased the race committee to attempt a start, but huge windshifts meant the course needed to be shifted, and by the time that happened the wind shut off again. Eventually, a northwesterly breeze filled-in, prompting the committee to move the racecourse several miles to the north and east.

 

Because the prior race attempt was abandoned, my disqualification was made moot. I now had to calm down and produce. The wind was a bit light for a NWer. In the first race I had an OK start but lost in little ways around the course and ended up 11th.

 

Had a great start in the second race, and pointing really high, held my lane to the left corner, to eventually tack, loosely lee-bowing regatta leader Rhett Gowans. Rhett did a great job living on my windward hip as I sailed as fast as possible back to the middle. I made good progress on boats to leeward while maintaining height, but a slight right shift in the final eighth of the beat allowed several boats from the right side to round ahead. Went right on the second beat and lost some, but gained ground on the first reach and a few places on the run to end up 9th.

 

In all, it was a "maintenance" day, just held ground. Actually dropped one place overall, to 11th, as a local who was behind me going into the day won both races to lead me by one point. 

 

 

30 July    Today was the finale. First start at 11:30, and the race committee was motivated to get 3 races completed in the forecasted building breeze out of the NW. I was up until nearly 1am arranging showings for clients back home (a Realtor is always on the job!). Woke up agitated at 5:45am and couldn't fall back to sleep. 

 

Now that the regatta is over, I can admit I was concerned I wouldn't be able to sail three races. Actually laid down for 15 minutes at the club and was moving very slowly rigging up, just exhausted. 

 

Fortunately the wind wasn't very strong early in the day, making my high mode upwind particularly effective off the line. I started reasonably well in all three races and had steady finishes of 9,9,12, while several others near me in the standings had more inconsistent days. 

 

In the end, wound up in 10th place, moving up one place overall from the prior day and only 2 points out of 9th. Was also the top old (over 55) guy. As I always said to my high school sailors: every point counts. Think back to prior regattas where final finishes were decided by just a few points. Heck, I blew 2 places on the final leg to the finish in the first race of the last day! 

 

It was lovely to see so many friends and make new ones as well. I feel so lucky to be able to still do what I love, even if it's at a diminished level. 

 

Congratulations to Rhett Gowans on another commanding performance. I'd be remiss to not also mention the incredibly mature regatta sailed by 16-year old Dieter Creitz in Second Overall. Watch out for that one in the coming years... 

Top Old Dudes: Kazuyoshi Nakao (2nd), Me, Roy Van Maanan (3rd)

Final Results, 2 points out of 9th

 

2019 RS Aero Worlds - Day 3/Wrap-Up

The 2019 RS Aero World Championship ended yesterday, with no races sailed on the first and fifth days due to high winds. Nonetheless, we sailed 11 excellent races in 3 days, in winds ranging from 6-20+ knots.

In the 7 fleet, 23-year old Rhett Gowans was wicked fast and smart the whole regatta. He really hit his stride in the last days, getting increasingly fast upwind while retaining his downwind superiority. Rhett handily won the last 7(!) races of the event.

Nice lead on Gowans (3050) and the fleet on Day 3

I was fortunate to place second to Rhett. Was a touch faster upwind in strong breeze, generally competitive reaching (when not affected by nearby wakes), but couldn't keep up with Rhett's blistering pace on the runs, especially in stronger winds. The lack of downwind boatspeed (compared to Rhett--the two of us were a notch above the rest of the fleet), combined with poor first beats (after generally good starts) in the latter days, meant climbing back through the fleet was my mission, not challenging Rhett for the front.

Even with this lead, Gowans was able to catch up and
extend 6 boatlengths on the following run!

Gowans downwind. Very active in the boat!

Going upwind w/Peter Barton (3087) and Michael O'Brien (2500) in pursuit. I should have shoulders open and straighter legs (not fit enough).

Ballsy port-tack approach to second weather mark. Just made it ahead of the 2 closest boats!

C'mon Marc, HIKE! Boat heeling too much here.

 19-year old Noah Rees from GBR came in with Top 10 aspirations and ended up placing 3rd overall. Quite quick at times upwind and down, strong and fit, we expect several more podium finishes from the ever-improving Noah in future!

Winners of 2019 RS Aero Worlds awards in the 5, 7 and 9 fleets.
I placed 2nd Overall, 1st Master (55+) in the 7 fleet.

 

The youngest competitor (15 year-old Aussie Ollie Beretta) with one of the oldest.

Now it's time for rest. I'm in a dark room away from the sun, doing laundry on a rare rainy day and enjoying a bit of solitude and relaxation.

HUGE thanks to SailStar (www.SailStar.org) and Tomas Sandström (corporate sponsor of this effort), and all those who contributed to my gofundme campaign. Additional thanks to Andrew Giles and his lovely partner Elaine for allowing me to stay with them during the event and being such pleasant companions this past week.

Results: https://www.clubops.com.au/DisplayResults/DisplayPublicSeriesResults?Id=491&Id2=

Sailing photos by Christopher Visick

2019 RS Aero Worlds - Day 2

Jan 2, 2020
Black Rock, Victoria AUS

So, first day of racing in the new year! Got to the club early to effect repairs suffered the previous day of racing (many thanks to Sammy Issacs-Johnson for splicing the lines!). Three races sailed today.

Race 5
Light-ish wind for the start of this one. Had a great start at the boat, but missed a few shifts and rounded in 5th behind Noah Rees (GBR), Andy Mack (USA), Michael O'Brien (AUS) and Rhett Gowans (AUS). Rhett got around Michael on the first reach but I stupidly tried to go low and got caught behind Michael, who wasn't going terribly well. Rhett sped off and caught Noah on the run to pull out to a big lead. I gained a ton on the first run to round third, then climbed to second by the second weather mark and held to the finish.

Gaining, but not enough. Chasing Gowans AUS 3050,
leading Rees (GBR 3070) at leeward gate on smokey Day 2.

.

Race 6
The breeze built a bit for this one. Had a ripping start at the pin end of the line and leapt two boatlengths ahead of the fleet within 30 seconds. Easily crossed the fleet and led at the top and reach marks, but Rhett once again turned on the afterburners and was leading by the leeward gate. I gained upwind and by the middle of the leg was overlapped with Rhett, but he played the shifts a bit better on the upper half and had a 3 length lead by the second weather mark, from which he extended on the run to easily take the race.

Race 7
Had a good start at the starboard end but couldn't get the boat to settle down; it just felt cranky and slow. Rhett led at the top mark and extended for another decisive win. I ground down people on the runs and beats to score another 2nd place finish, but frankly didn't have much gas in the tank for this one.

Synopsis
Obviously, Rhett's flying downwind, steering big angles to catch waves. I'm doing the same, but not as loosely and confidently, and it shows. Also, I didn't get a good night's rest before, so didn't have the energy needed for three big races. Totally my fault.

Gotta stay high on reaches and away from others' wakes. There's no way to pass if stuck on another boat's quarter-wake.

Tomorrow we're scheduled to do 4 races, so it's early to bed for this guy. Let's see what the day brings!

2019 RS Aero Worlds - Day 1

December 31, 2019
Black Rock (Melbourne) AUS

Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of racing, but 110 degree, 25-40+ knot Northerly winds put the kibosh on racing. Today we partially made up for the lost day by sailing 4 races in a glorious 12-20+ knot Southerly.

RACE 1
Did my usual pre-race current check, which gave me the confidence to get a great start at the boat end of the line. Led at the first and second marks, extending well away from everyone. Then, while pulling on the outhaul before rounding the outside gate, the small dyneema whipping twine holding the ends of the outhaul together snapped! I had to luff up (stopping the boat), grab the line before it completely pulled out of the blocks, tie a quick knot, then round the mark! This allowed Aussie Rhett Gowans to close within three lengths at the gate!

Sailing upwind I was quick, but half-way up the leg there was a loud BANG; my upper downhaul block had exploded! It was incredibly difficult sailing the boat upwind with no downhaul and Rhett got even closer. Despite being hobbled I played a few shifts well and extended on him before the run, where he is wicked fast. Managed to hold him off down the run, but he was close on my tail. The next leg was a flat-out hiking reach with the boat planing fast. Could've used some downhaul on that (and the final short upwind to the finish), but managed to hold off Rhett for a bullet.

We were well ahead of the rest of the fleet, giving me just enough time to jury rig the downhaul and outhaul, get a quick drink, and set-up for the next race.


RACE 2
Another great tussle with Rhett. I got 360 degree video of the whole race, posting to my YouTube channel now (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQTxkTCiwG4sRwca1Ppfj7Q)

Had another solid start at the boat (after doing a quick step-up 20 seconds before to gain some clean air), then tacked on a header shortly thereafter. That shift took me and a few others waaay right, over 4 minutes on port! It was nerve-wracking to be heading so far right (in the Southern Hemisphere, winds generally shift LEFT) but I saw good wind pressure ahead. Dug into that pressure, the compass dropped, I tacked on layline, then was looking down on the entire fleet well behind to the left. Rhett had started further left but tacked to cover me, which allowed him to get a bit of the right shift also, and he rounded 2nd.

Held him off on the reach and most of the run, but that wiley Aussie snuck by on a few waves near the leeward gate. I noted he was sailing quite high and slow after rounding, so footed off with speed and quickly blew through his wind shadow. A little lefty, tacked and he tacked to leeward and ahead. With good pace I moved forward on him, then tacked on a few shifts and was in the lead!

On the final port tack to the 2nd weather mark I sailed into a header and accidentally dropped the mainsheet. Spectators said the mast was almost horizontal as my body completely dumped into the water, the boat nearly capsizing on top of me! I quickly reached up, grabbed several handfuls of mainsheet and was JUST able to get the boat back upright! A bit of drama, a few boatlengths lost, lots of energy expended, but the lead was intact.

Once again Rhett gained significantly on the run, but I had a better leeward mark rounding and blasted off on the final reach. His boom hit the water and he sailed a bit high, allowing me to pull out to a 5-boatlength lead that held to the finish.

All 80 boats sailed back to the club for lunch (which felt quite civilized to this hard-core racer), then went back out for 2pm start of the next two races.


Race 3
The battle with Rhett resumed, culminating in an exciting final leg. Near the finish he crossed me on port, then tacked over. I was *just* able to lay the finish line without tacking, pipping him by maybe 2 feet after 40 minutes of racing. Exhilarating stuff!


Race 4
The breeze built to a solid 16-20+ for this one. I got too tricky, tacking too often on the first beat. Peter Barton (GBR) was launched, zooming to the front on leg one and extending from there. Noah Rees (GBR) did quite well to round 2nd, I was 3rd with Rhett breathing down my neck in 4th. Another firehose reach and positions didn't change, then I caught Noah on the run.

Sailing close to shore in the Southerly, there is an area where the wind drops right off. I sailed into this area while Rhett and Noah stayed high and in the breeze. By the time I woke up they had worked ahead, then I tacked too frequently in the latter half of the leg, trying to take advantage of shifts to catch up and moved back instead.

Rhett was dealing with his own problem: the boom vang fitting had pulled out of his mast! It was tolerable upwind, but on the run it looked all sorts of ugly. He did a masterful job hanging onto second. I got a bit closer to Noah by the leeward mark, then he rounded up accidentally, allowing me to squeak into third. Eyes set on Rhett now, with a short reach and beat to the finish. I got within a boatlength at the finish--Rhett really earned that 2nd place!

So, 4 races done. 1,1,1,3 puts me in front, Rhett has 2,2,2,2 and Noah 3,4,3,4. A nice start, but there are three more days of racing to come!

2019 RS Aero Worlds - T-Minus 1 Day

Black Rock Yacht Club, Melbourne AUS

Practice race today before the World Championship starts tomorrow. I was the first to leave the dock about an hour before racing was to start, along with Aussie Michael O'Brien. We sailed upwind for awhile in lumpy hiking conditions then turned back to the committee boat; my speed was fine both ways. Then did the same with American Andy Mack as the breeze started to die. By the time we got back to the committee boat the breeze had almost completely shut off, making it difficult for those who left later to even get to the race course. The committee postponed racing about 40 minutes until the breeze started to fill back in from the same southerly direction.

While waiting for the wind I did some current readings and, contradictory to what locals swore, found there was quite a bit of current running. Tucked that bit of info into my head for planning the start.

The 9 fleet got off first, evenly spread along the start line. It looked like boats that were to the left crossed ahead of boats that started further right, so I decided to favor left.

It took two tries for the 7s to get going. On the first attempt Andy Mack won the pin (left) end of the line and I was the next boat up. Boats just to windward of us looked very solid, but were probably part of the large portion of the fleet over early, inspiring the race committee to bring everyone back for a second attempt.

This time it was Michael O'Brien who won the pin, with me just to windward and Aussie Rhett Gowans to windward of me. The breeze was still a bit light and the water very lumpy/choppy, placing a premium on keeping the boat moving by not slamming into the waves. There was JUST enough breeze for me to keep the boat going, and as Rhett (who is about 15 lbs lighter) started to move forward on me, I was tempted to tack away.

A younger me might have done it out of panic/frustration, but current me looked at the compass, noted we were still a bit lifted on starboard, and resisted the urge. Yes, Rhett was gaining a little, but tacking onto a header would have cost more than just surviving where I was.

As we neared port tack layline, the compass showed a smidge of left starting to creep in. I tacked quickly and took Rhett's stern by about a boatlength. He tacked a bit ahead and to windward, and bore WAY off to try to blow over the top of me--the game was ON! Again experience helped: instead of looking to see where Rhett was, I concentrated on getting the boat through the bumps by watching the water ahead (the noise of Rhett's boat going through the water told me where he was anyway). It was nip-and-tuck for a few long minutes, but I gradually pulled ahead, rounding the top mark first by a few boatlengths, with Michael close astern of Rhett.

The first reach was solidly on the beam, and I blasted away from the top mark hiking hard on a plane. I sailed a little bit low initially in a good puff, thinking I would use the ups to maintain speed in lulls. That worked well and I extended slightly by the wing mark, but spent too much time/effort trying to catch a wave after rounding and slowed way down, allowing Rhett to come roaring up from behind and pass.

Rhett and I had a good battle down the run, but he extended by a few lengths to lead at the leeward mark. We both rounded, then decided to withdraw from the race and sail in--no sense using up our energy on a race that didn't count. We had pulled ahead to a solid 10 length lead over the next few boats, with the rest of the fleet quite a ways behind.

Rhett is relentless, strong and knows his home waters well. It looks like the racing will be quite tight for the actual event!

Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to hit 109 degrees(!!), with a strong gusty northerly wind blowing down from the country's barren interior. Quite different conditions from today's southerly seabreeze--we'll see how things go!

2019 RS Aero Worlds - T-Minus 2 Days

Didn't sail today, but did get in some boat work and socializing.

There are people from all over the World of course, with new sailors from several new countries, like Japan. It was nice catching up with the small but potent US contingent: Derek Bottles from Seattle and Andy Mack from Salmon Falls, OR (the Gorge). Had several people ask various questions, and worked with a rigging specialist from the UK on a secret project that actually ended up no panning out. Oh well...

Tomorrow is the practice race. My goals: get proper tide and wind readings early, formulate a game plan, then execute. Simple stuff, but I've been a bit lax lately about that kind of stuff, and with the TIGHT competition expected, solid regatta prep will be useful.

Sorry for no pics, will try to get some tomorrow.

2019 RS Aero Worlds - T-Minus 3 Days

27 Dec 2019, Black Rock (Melbourne), AUS
Today we were assigned charter boats by the efficient Liam Willis of RS. I jiggered with a few things to make them to my liking, then went out for a quick sail with Brit Noah Rees, Australian National Champ Rhett Gowans, and Jens Roehrssen from Germany. It wasn't as windy as we've seen over the last few days: still hiking breeze, but not enough (for me at least) to start depowering with vang. This is a tough condition to sail in because the boat is fully powered up, making steering around choppy waves very physical, especially when bearing off a bit.

We did a few rabbit starts upwind, then did a couple of long runs back to the harbour. The wind was quite streaky, where a boat just a boatlength or two to windward could be in different wind than you, so outright speed comparisons were difficult to make. I felt generally good with my height, speed was OK, but at times Gowans put the bow down and was quite quick. On the last beat my downhaul strop broke with a loud BANG that the others heard several boatlengths away! A few minutes doing up a jury rig and I was ready to go again, but we were quite far away from the club so decided to sail back.

On the run to the club, Gowans was again fast on his home waters, playing the choppy waves well. Rees seemed to be going well, ever so slightly slower but he wasn't pleased. I found it absolutely vital to catch the few big wave sets that came through, otherwise one was boatlengths behind. Additionally, it was important to stay well clear of slower boats' wakes downwind (standard stuff, but never hurts to re-visit). A little disconcerting was pace toward the end of the day, when the breeze lightened and it was harder to keep up. Being 15-20 lbs heavier than others kinda does that, so here's hoping for a windy regatta!

It was only about an hour's sail for me, a quick check-out of the boat and some of the faster competition. This will be my first international event in a 7 (mid-size) rig, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Tomorrow will get the boat measured/inspected, then MAYBE another quick sail. The next day will be a practice race at 2pm, then actual racing starts at 1pm. Excitement is building, as people are starting to trickle in from around the world. It has been nice to see old friends and make new ones.Can't wait to start racing!

2019 Sail Sydney Regatta

This past weekend was the 2019 Sail Sydney regatta, sailed out of the Woollara Sailing Club in Rose Bay. It'd been 19 years since I last sailed on the Harbour (when training for the 2000 Olympics in the Laser), so it was fun to once again see the beautiful water and topography. Saturday the breeze was a bit more right than Sunday, but both days featured LOTS of chop, motorboat wakes and traffic, including the (in)famous Sydney Harbour ferries, which stop for NO one/boat. As a result of deaths caused by collisions, it is now illegal to pass within 100 meters in front and 50 meters to the side of the ferries, with a fine of up to $2000 for infractions!

Apologies for no videos: my 360 degree camera was only taking 3 second snippets, definitely not usable. Need to get that sorted...

SATURDAY
Back in 1999/2000, we raced on four sailing circles around the Harbour. In 2019, we didn't sail in any of those locations, so past experience didn't help much. Friday before the event a number of us went out for training, but I had a breakdown and couldn't push the boat as hard as I might. Setting up the new boat took a fair bit of time on Saturday morning, so I was the last Aero to leave the ramp. NOT my preferred modus operandi...

I got to the racing area about 10 minutes before the first start. It was just enough time to get the boat set-up for upwind work and check out the start line. The breeze for Race 1 started at a rather pleasant 12-15 knots (plenty to keep me hiking with the 7 rig), and after a good start at the boat, I played a few shifts and had a substantial lead at the first mark that I was able to hold to the finish.

The wind dropped throughout Races 2 and 3, making it harder to hold off the 9s, sailed by locals Simon Reffold and David Andrew. I made a big mistake in the final run of Race 3, getting stuck to leeward of a slow I420 and staying there for too long, which allowed Simon to walk away for the on-the-water win.

SUNDAY
Another late departure had me racing to get to the line. Fortunately the breeze was a bit stronger, so I had enough time to do some wind and current readings before the start that turned out to be crucial.

We started around 1050, and the locals said the tide would switch at 1100. OK fine, but my readings showed a still-significant amount of incoming tide, which would favor staying right on the beats and left (looking upwind) on the runs. In Race 4 I port-tacked the fleet (surfing a nice motorboat wake) and covered the right side of the fleet upwind. Simon did another fine job of playing shifts and we rounded very close at the top mark. On the runs there was a definite current line (a band of leaves/debris) that I made sure to stay on the correct side of, while the rest of the fleet sailed more directly toward the mark, but in bad current. This allowed me to gain on the runs. It wasn't until the final run of Race 6 that I felt comfortable sailing more directly to the leeward mark on the runs (nearly 1.5 hours after the tide was "supposed" to have changed). Simon got ahead of me on one of the races upwind, but I won the other two on-the-water to take the event overall.

There was tons of chop and boat wakes to deal with on busy Sydney Harbour. I worked really hard downwind, steering all over the place to catch waves and ride them as long as possible. Upwind, one could occasionally surf wakes by sitting very far forward and hiking super hard. The nice thing about the Aero in these conditions is that it accelerates so incredibly well--I was even able to hold off the leading I420s on some beats Sunday!

The Sydney Aero fleet is growing rapidly. It's a good bunch of people who are keen to sail and learn the boat. Off the water we spent a lot of time going over rigging and techniques, which resulted in significantly tighter competition as the weekend went on. I look forward to sailing against a number of these fine sailors again at the World Championship in Melbourne 28 Dec-4 Jan!

I HAVE A SPONSOR!
Be sure to check out www.SailStar.org, a sponsor of my 2019 Worlds campaign! They are a sailing school with locations in Sweden, Croatia and Tenerife. For those who want to enjoy some Winter sailing in the sun and surf, SailStar recently added 4 RS Aeros to their Tenerife fleet, which includes bigger and smaller boats as well.

POST SCRIPT
I was heartened to see so many junior sailors handling the windier conditions just fine. They looked fit, focused and competent. It was so nice seeing young sailors not afraid of wind--if anything, they wanted more. American instructors, race officers and yacht clubs: please allow our youth to learn/sail/grow in stronger breezes, or we will continue to fall behind the rest of the world.

In general, the Aussie sailors looked more trim/muscular than Americans--clearly they're not shying away from fitness. If I was a junior, I'd definitely be working on my strength and stamina to compete at the international level!

Traveling Internationally? Read on...

When planning an international trip, a few tips:

- Check with your cell provider about service to the country/countries you're planning to visit. They'll probably say: "We provide international data while you travel."

Question is: is it HIGH-SPEED data? Probably not. Then you'll need to purchase their "enhanced" data package, usually at some crazy price (in Sprint's case: $25/week). If you're like me and don't want to pay that, read on...

- BEFORE leaving your country, ask your cell provider if a "SIM Unlock Code" is needed to use a different company's SIM card. This code allows one to get a local SIM card at destination, often with better data and international rates (Telstra had a special offer in-airport here in Australia: AU$20 for unlimited calling to/from USA/Canada/others, and 35gig data for 35 days!).

I didn't know such a code was needed for my carrier (Sprint), and am now trying to deal with this via email over excruciatingly slow roaming data (it's too slow to handle online chat).

- Noise canceling headphones. Just do it. Spend the money, get decent ones (as of this post, Bose QuietComfort 35 II or 700, Sony WH-1000XM3 are the frontrunners). I got mine used on craigslist for nearly half-price. Incredible how much quieter these make the journey, especially for those of us flying in the back!

Happy Traveling! Signed,

Learn From My Mistakes/Experience

2018 RS Aero World Championship - Days 5 & 6

Sorry for the delay in wrapping this regatta up.

DAY 5
Regatta rituals are, for me at least, very important. Day 5 started on an off note when I had no more bananas; as a result, my morning smoothie consisted of kale, carrot and walnuts only. Even for me, it was tough to choke down...

I left the dock late and didn't have much time to do pre-race homework on the racecourse. My energy level was off and I just didn't feel settled in the boat. This was going to be a challenging day.

Stronger wind overall, along with some very nasty chop. Peter Barton was really motoring upwind, sailing low and fast, and pulled out to a significant lead in the first race. Midway through I found myself panicking a bit, with thoughts like "oh no, there goes my perfect scorecard" running through my head.

Then I reminded myself that what ultimately mattered was the overall regatta result, and there was no sense risking a poor finish by sailing a flyer when 2nd would be more than good enough. I continued to have good pace running, and gained several boatlengths to surf into an inside overlap at the very last mark. Peter had a better gybe though, and that was it.
 
Peter had more decisive victories in the remaining two races, including a runaway in the final. I managed to pull down two more 2nds. With only two races scheduled for the final day, I had mathematically cemented First Overall for my second consecutive RS Aero 9 World Championship win!

DAY 6

The forecast for the final day was quite ominous, with near-gale conditions anticipated in the late morning/early afternoon. The night before I had a dream about going out and getting conked in the head by the boom. That's never happened to me in an Aero (the boom is nice and high), but the premonition was very strong. That, and my desire to find my dolly in the stack of 206(!) made me decide to sit out racing.

Turns out the wind was quite sailable, at least early, but then filled to pucker-inducing strength toward the end of the first race. Barton added to his string of 1sts, sewing up Second Overall, while George Cousins locked down Third Overall.

2018 RS Aero World Championship - Day 3

Another brisk day in the open ocean outside Portland Harbour. Writing this very late after preparing an offer for a client (I'm a Realtor in "real life"); everything noted here actually happened, but possibly not in the order noted. :)

Race 6
Started at the pin. Rounded weather mark in second just behind Chris Larr, with George Cousins and Peter Barton in hot pursuit. The three of us quickly passed Larr in big waves going right-to-left looking downwind. The lead shifted several times between Barton and me before I caught a few good wave sets near the leeward gate to round 3 boatlengths ahead.

The chop on top of the big swells was vicious, making forward progress upwind quite difficult. The breeze was oscillating through about 15 degrees, with a few oscillating cycles per beat. I missed one of the cycles but got more correct, especially the last at the top to extend on the beat.

Blasted down the reach, during which I hit a light-ish patch that allowed Barton and Cousins to get closer, then on the latter quarter of the run had a real case of the slows, allowing Barton to zoom up from astern. A bad gybe at the final mark and he was nearly overlapped, but I managed to get my act together and surfed a final wave to be clear ahead and prevail by less than 10 seconds. What a nail-biter!


Race 7
After a general recall, we had to wait quite a long time for another start under black flag. I had a good start near the boat, with Peter Barton about 1.5 boatlengths to leeward. He sailed low and fast over the boats to leeward of him, while I, noting we were in a header, sailed in high mode, not sacrificing much fore-and-aft speed. Nonetheless, 3/4 up the beat it looked like Barton would be first to the top mark, until he did another tack to get more left. I stayed on the (barely) lifted port tack, digging into a nice little header about a minute later then tacking on layline to reach the top mark in first. Extended nicely on the run and ended up with a 25 second lead over the hard charging Barton, with Cousins in 3rd.


Race 8
By now just about everyone was good and tired. I had trouble setting something up during my pre-start routine that left me a bit discombobulated. Managed to sneak into a little hole to leeward of Liam Willis at the boat during a black flag start, but slammed into one wave immediately after the gun that let both him and the boat to leeward pull ahead. Tacked quickly onto port, which was the favored tack anyway, ducked about 5 transoms then settled in. Sailed and sailed and sailed on port waiting for the compass to confirm it was OK to sail back to the middle of the course. When it finally did, I tacked over and had a big lead, rounding first after playing a final shift near the first mark. Extended from there. Cousins beat Barton in this one to stay in 2nd overall, with Barton four points back.

2018 RS Aero World Championship - Day 2

Today was very long and I'm bushed, so this will be short.

Left dock at 10am in very light NWly, took the better part of an hour to get to the course, where the breeze bounced between W and SW and occasionally freshened to 15-17 knots. Since we were sailing trapezoid courses, the race committee waited for the breeze to settle down between races, which led to up to 1-hour gaps between races. That, and general recalls, kept us racing until 5:20pm, then a nearly 1-hour sail upwind/tight reaching home. Exhausting!

Race 3
Don't remember much about this one except that I was about 50 seconds ahead at the finish. ;)

Race 4
Got lucky here. First, had a bad start at the boat, did 2 quick tacks to clear as a booming 40 degree righty had everyone planing to the weather mark. We gybed around the mark for another fast reach to the leeward gate. The committee abandoned the race near this mark, much to my relief, as I was in about 6th at the time. It was unfortunate for my training partner Madhavan, who'd had a great start and was walking away from everybody in the breezy reaching conditions.

On the re-sail, had another terrible start at the boat and was shot out the back. Tacked over immediately and, with Chris Larr of the UK just to weather, couldn't tack until nearly on the starboard layline. Fortunately, we tacked onto a lift and crossed back to the middle of the course comfortably ahead of the fleet.

Had another fast run and extended a bit before rounding the leeward gate. The breeze was really pumping now, and the chop was nasty. I tried "Secret Upwind Mode" (SUM, to be revealed in a few days) but it was too bumpy and I slid a bit to leeward of George Cousins, a very fit Brit. He also played a few shifts well near the top, but I called the last one right to lead at the second top mark. Held my own on the reach, extended a bit on the run, and had about a 20-second lead at the finish.

Race 5
More luck. Had a good start, but my downhaul wouldn't tighten. I pulled and pulled on the line, but...nothing. It took about 30 seconds to realize the line wasn't secured in the leeward cleat and, because the system is a continuous loop, I could have kept pulling for hours and nothing would've happened. Eased sail, reached down to leeward, cleated the line then sheeted back in. Fortunately, we were in a big right-hand shift and I had been able to keep going upwind at about 80% efficiency while fiddling with lines, so hadn't lost much.

Peter Barton was to windward and ahead, Liam Willis to leeward and ahead. Once the boat was sorted I was able to move forward between the two Brits, with Peter tacking off my hip near the port tack layline. I waited until the breeze shifted a smidge more left and freshened before tacking and had a nice clear line to the windward mark.

Extended handily on the first run in the puffy Westerly and rounded comfortably ahead. Misjudged a few small shifts allowing the others to get closer, then put the boat into SUM and just pulled away. Did OK on the first reach even though I hit a light spot the boats behind didn't, then extended on the outer run to lead by about 25 seconds after the short final reach to the finish.

SUMMARY
5 first-place finishes is tough to beat. :) George Cousins has worked up into 2nd with 3,2,2 finishes today to be 6 points behind, while Liam Willis and Peter Barton are tied for 3rd another 5 points back.

Upwind I'm fast, mostly due to good transitioning between stronger and lighter breeze. Also, because the Aero is so light, it accelerates like crazy when slightly cracked off. In the big shifts of today, I converted some lifts to cracked-off bursts of speed, and was also able to keep speed up while pointing high in headers. SUM helps in both these scenarios, especially in flatter water. Adjusting the downhaul in the puffs and lulls does also.

Running I'm fast. It helps to be first to the weather mark (smile), but also have been keeping track of which shift I'm rounding in, then playing others down to the mark. Often there have been enough current differences on opposite sides of the course to reward working one side over the other. Finally, sailing dead-down in puffs and saving by-the-lee and reaching for lulls and catching waves translates into big gains over the course of a leg.

Sorry, no pics today, except for this blurry one of the fleet heading out to the racecourse. Apparently, a waterproof bag is not a good thing to be taking a cell phone pic from...

Bad pic of 205 Aeros sailing to the racing area. Awesome sight!

2018 RS Aero World Championship - Day 1

Conditions for the first day of the 2018 RS Aero World Championship were almost exactly as predicted, with sunny skies and a weak NW breeze quickly swinging around to the SW at around 1030 and building to about 8 knots. It was a perfect start to the Worlds for its 205 competitors, and beautifully suited to the 48 9-rig boats in attendance.

My training partner Madhavan Thirumalai and I were the first boats off the ramp this morning. We were anxious to get acquainted with the racing area and do some upwind splits. "Splits" are when boats go off on opposite tacks for a few minutes (in our case, 3), then both boats tack back to the middle of the course. When the boats meet back in the middle, if one is ahead, that boat's side was the favored one.

Madhavan and I did three, 3-minute splits, with the right coming out ahead 2 out of 3 times. We also noted that the wind shifted about 7 degrees left over the time we did the splits. It was so nice having compass angles for both tacks figured out and written down on the deck, easy to see. I also did a few current checks by tossing my full water bottle next to a mark and seeing what direction, and how far, the bottle moved in 30 seconds. Current determined, sailing angles determined, a basic strategy for the first leg determined (go right), we were armed with meaty info with which to start our Worlds.

RACE 1

The 9s started last, which gave me about 25 minutes to watch the three other fleets going up their first windward leg. Contradicting the earlier split research, it seemed boats on the *left* side of the course seemed to be coming out ahead. Generally accepted local knowledge is that left pays in a southwesterly, so, given the left hand favor to the start line and the fleets above showing left favor, I abandoned my earlier plan to go right about 2 minutes before the start and went to the pin.

I was a bit too conservative off the start, with Aero legend Peter Barton to windward and two boats to leeward and ahead, all of whom left me in their dust after less than 30 seconds--yikes! I looked over my shoulder for a lane to bail out into, but if I went that way I'd have to duck behind nearly 2/3 of the fleet--unacceptable. Instead, I reached off to leeward of the leeward-most boat and concentrated on speed. I lost a tremendous amount of height reaching down, but was able to work forward enough to have clear air, on the liifted starboard tack, for a long sail to the left of the course. 

The wind was quite steady, with little tiny shots of starboard lift. Several boats that liked the right or had bad starts peeled off onto port, so there was quite a bit of separation between boats going right and left. Separation = leverage, leverage = risk, so, about half-way up the leg, several of the boats near me toward the left tacked back to stay in touch with the fleet going right.

I knew from the splits that the shifts were quite minor and slow to form. When boats to weather of me started consolidating right we were still in a right hand lift, so they were eating a bad port tack angle (and getting out of phase with the wind) to get right. The guy to windward of me was the last to peel back right, but I sailed for another 30-45 seconds into a nice little increase in pressure, tacking onto a new port-tack lift and hiking hard.

Within a minute I was bow-forward of the guy who tacked a few moments earlier, and the two of us were launched, nearly laying the weather mark in good pressure, lifted, and in more favorable current! I rounded the weather mark about 30 seconds ahead of the next boat and extended, winning the inner-trapezoid race by about 45 seconds.

After the race I had a badly-need slug of water, rested a bit, then re-checked the current near the start line. There was still current flowing roughly with the wind, a bit stronger at about 3/4 boatlength every 30 seconds.

RACE 2

No-doubt noticing the left side was favored, the Race Committee re-set the line to be right-side favored for the second start. Because I had such a good idea what the tide was doing, I was able to set up perfectly at the committee boat (right) end of the line, blasting off in a right shift with great speed at the gun.

As before, the wind was quite steady; I eventually tacked just below the port-tack layline on a slight left shift and was first by a handy margin at Mark 1. Had good speed downwind, then worked the left side on the second upwind, before blasting off on the final three reach-run-reach legs to the finish for another bullet.

SO, good start to the event. "Lightning" Liam Willis, second to me last year at the Worlds in France, finished 2, 3 today, definitely scoring keepers. The wind forecast now shows increasing wind throughout the week, so it will be interesting to see how things go in planing conditions.

After returning to shore and having a quick bite to eat, a group of us got together for stretching and massages. It felt good to get the kinks out! Madhavan and I decided to skip the scheduled Monday dinner in nearby Weymouth, instead grabbing Indian food on Portland Island and then walking home.

Racing starts at 1130 tomorrow, so I have to be at the club earlier than today. Time for bed!

Stone buildings on historic Portland Island, with
Chesil Beach and a beautiful sunset in the background.

2018 RS Aero World Championship, Weymouth UK - D-minus 1

Just a quick note before bed.

Clinic with Sam Whaley

Warm, light air today. Did a bit of boat work, helped out running an on-shore clinic with 2-Time UK Aero 7 Champ Sam Whaley, then popped out for a quick two-hour sail in rapidly decreasing wind. Not much learned, except how vitally important hydration will be tomorrow in what is supposed to be even lighter air.

After getting back, the official opening ceremonies for the RS Games began, with a parade of nations, then speeches by RS bigwigs and locals involved in the planning and execution of this massive event, which will take place over 3 weeks with over 850 boats and literally thousands of competitors and bystanders. It's quite impressive to see!

Conditions for the regatta are meant to be quite light on Monday, then freshening throughout the week. Wouldn't be surprised if we only get a race or two in on Monday, then they'll try to make it up later. It'll be important to avoid major mistakes early, and get plenty of rest early as well for the grind to come.

2018 RS Aero World Championship, Weymouth UK - D-minus 2

Thanks to Sammy I-J,
these lines run like buttah!

I've been in the UK for nearly two weeks, so it was nice to arrive yesterday at the Weymouth/Portland Sailing Center and rig-up my brand new charter boat for the 2018 RS Aero World Championship. Over 200 boats are entered in three divisions (5, 7, 9) for the event, scheduled to take place Aug 6-10, 2018. I am entered in the 9 class, as are approximately 50 other sailors from around the globe.

Today, with the patient, skillful help of Sammy Isaacs-Johnson, I completely re-rigged and fine-tuned my downhaul, outhaul and vang (sail control) systems--they now run like glass. Normally I don't like to make any big changes to routines or boat set-up before big events; but, while visiting with Lymington sailor Karl Thorne earlier in the week, I tried his boat and became convinced modifications needed to be made. All up-side, as far as I'm concerned!

USA sailors Ash Beatty (TX) and
Hank Saurage (LA)  two of 205+ boats
that needed to be measured in.

After getting the boat rigged then measured-in (inspected to make sure everything on it met the letter of Aero class rules), I popped out for what was to be a short sail with training partner Madhavan Thirumalai. Portland Harbour was completed in 1872 after 7 years' labor, and is, even today, the third largest man-made harbor in the world at 11,000 acres! That said, our regatta will be held OUTSIDE, which meant a very long sail across said 11,000 acre harbor and out one of its two entrances to the open ocean in a pleasant 8-12 knot Southwesterly breeze.

Once outside, there were a few sets of bigger swells underlying a slight chop, making for interesting decision-making, especially downwind: work the chop, or try to catch one of those big rollers? Mess it up and the boat next to you gains 2 boatlenghts; get it right, and you gain 5!

Training partner extraordinaire,
Madhavan Thirumalai

I seemed to have unusually good upwind height, so Madhavan and I switched boats to see if that would make a difference. During the changeover, both of us capsized (breaking my brand-new masthead wind indicator in the process!). The water was brisk, encouraging quick recoveries before we sailed upwind, did some reaching, then sailed the long beat up the Harbour back to the sailing center (site of the 2012 Olympic Sailing Games). Back home in Connecticut, Madhavan had been much faster in certain conditions, so it was encouraging that, even after switching boats, my pointing and speed remained solid.

Good night from Portland/Weymouth!

Tonight we joined several sailors at a local restaurant for dinner. Enjoyed getting to know new friends and catching up with those met last year, then the sunset walk back to my hotel, a shower, and now writing this quick note before bed. Eating better/more selectively, getting enough rest and conserving energy will help with 6 more days of sailing (5 of those racing) ahead!