First off, great job to both teams who sailed the Sarasota SailFest. I was impressed and happy with the progress and performance. Sometimes the finishes don’t always reflect the performance but I think it was a great learning experience and will only help for the next race. Take what you can from the regatta and review the things we talked about along with trying to examine some choices you made and how it turned out. THANKS SO MUCH to the parents and support. I know it is a long drive and I truly appreciate the parents making this one happen with the tow support and getting everyone there when they need to be. Thanks so much to the competitors and parents. It was a lot of fun and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!

Next up we have the Davis Island Schools Out regatta coming up in 2 weeks. So far we’ve been struggling to put two boats together and really the only way to have one boat sail is to have one skipper not too happy. So to solve this problem we have three basic options as of this moment. We can have Mitchell sail with Amanda one day and Noah the next, if we can talk Noah into it. You guys are great at networking and making friends so if you find any crews who’d be up to sail, rope them in! The other two options I’m working on; is for Mitchell to pick up a Davis Island sailor for the regatta but haven’t been able to get a hold of Arthur yet…. and the last option; there is a younger team looking for crew at Match Racing National Qualifiers for Area F which Mitchell would be more than welcome to sail. This is the event unfortunately I committed to before I really knew whether we’d attend Schools Out Regatta, so I will be there. Below I pasted info on that if anyone else is interested as well, it’s a cheap event but kind of a drive; however, anyone could probably ride with me. Thanks again and I’ll continue to keep you informed on developments for Schools Out Regatta. As soon as I hear from Arthur or Tim I’ll relay back. I’m hoping we’ll snag a Davis Island sailor. Amanda if you can commit to one day just shoot me an e-mail and keep the date open for now. Mitchell I posted info on the match race below but hopefully we can get you on the water with the team. Thanks for being a trooper!

Great practice yesterday, it was short and relaxed, but keep working on holding position on the line! You guys were looking better every start and maintaining position and lane off the line was the struggle last regatta, so keep building on that. Thanks again and talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Will
CCSC 420 Coach

MATCH RACE:
Area D&F USMRC Qualifier/Group Championship At Titusville Municipal Marina Titusville Florida, USA
ISAF GRADE 5 NOTICE OF RACE
Date of Race Memoral Day Weekend Saturday May 26, 2012
May 27, 2012 will be used if racing is not completed on Saturday.
$30-35 a person and staying at a hotel if racing goes past Saturday….

Address:Lake Baldwin Florida Community Sailing LLC
2374 Archer Blvd
Orlando, FL 32833-

William Felder
USF Sailing Team Treasurer
Phone: (508)-221-7519
PO Box 2380
Vineyard Haven, MA 02568

Last weekend I was very impressed with the maturity and sailing ability of our Green Team members. We had two very new sailors from Indian Rocks Christian School and our team was very patient and helpful with them, even though it may not have been as fun as regular practice. This weekend practice will be from 10:30 – 3:00 on Saturday. We will work on their starts and mark roundings, and then run some races. At the end we will play tennis ball tag seeing as it is one of our last practices. I have decided not to have the kids go to the School’s Out Regatta Memorial Day weekend. There is a $75 registration fee and then each sailor needs to be a member of USODA, which is an additional $40 fee. This is one of the few regattas that you need to be a member of USODA for, especially in Green Fleet. I will be encouraging the team to compete in the first regatta this Fall, which is the Labor Day Regatta in Sarasota. Please let me know if you have any questions.

See you this weekend,

Erin

Board Member Lex Raas raised the idea of a Silent Auction when he offered us a 7 day bareboat yacht charter in the British Virgin Islands from MarineMax Vacations to raise much needed funds for the sailing center and to enable us to host Camp Awesome, a Summer Camp program for kids with Special Needs. Thank you Lex

Together with a handful of volunteers (Bonnie Munroe and her friend Laurie Cleveland, John French, Alma Wiseman, Betty LeDoux-Morris, Bri Raas and Kelly Dorn) we managed to pull in that amazing list of donations and pull off an incredible event. Our Web-guru Becky Melton kept our sponsors happy by updating our website sometimes multiple times a day as donations poured in. Special thanks to those who jumped in and did the seriously hard work: Kelly Dorn, our receptionist was AMAZING, she volunteered to come into work extra early in the mornings to help set-up (she did all the bid-sheets and header-sheets), she took ownership of that amazing bar, she set it up, she organized it, she worked it, she was tireless. Speaking of that amazing bar – almost ALL that liquor was donated by the Raileys. Zach Railey, Shax Steward and Luis Nieves lugged super-heavy coolers from Clearwater to CCSC, up and down stairs, in and out lockrooms, they were amazing. Great Bay Distributors added to our bounty with boxes and boxes of beer!

Bar tenders Supreme – Kelly Dorn, Ali Rybski and Erin Mckie kept the crowds lubricated and happy pouring great cocktails, Justin and Cullen Ahearn and John and Ian Adair did a serious amount of hard work in the background, Mitzi Hinds, Syd Zipperman, Eloise Hayes, Doreen Intagliata, Kathy Moss all stepped in on the night and helped out wherever they could. Ticket sellers Bonnie Munroe, Rich White and Shanna Beineke did an outstanding job for the raffle, Chuck Fonshell was a great DJ and MC. Island Way Grill did the amazing food, Sheraton Hotel on Sand Key provided all the linens, table and chair set-up and lots more carrying of heavy things was done by our awesome team of “Stan and Dan” thanks guys, you were endlessly patient with us!

Our guests of Honor – Zach and Paige Railey – were FABULOUS! Paige flew home from her Olympic training camp that evening and flew out early the next morning especially to be at our fundraiser – the Railey family were OUTSTANDING in their support of our auction. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to Anne, Dan, Zach and Paige Railey and their supporters (the crew from MedRX) for all that they did for our fundraiser. We saved thousands of dollars – all our signage, all our admin equipment, loads of liquor – everything was given to us by the Raileys. Jennifer Heckman from MedRX played a huge role in the success of the Railey’s Olympic Gold Auction – and she stepped right in and helped make ours great too.

Last – but most important – my thanks go to every single person that attended the event. The Kai Aniani Canoe Club were responsible for a large percentage of the folk who attended – Bri Raas – you did an exceptional job of pulling in the crowds. We raised a lot of money, we pulled off a great event.

Bonnie and Rich, your dream of hosting Camp Awesome 2012 is now a reality!!! Well done to you both.

Starting May 16th every Wednesday from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM running through June 20th.

Each week we will work on a new skill to get you up to speed so you feel comfortable on the race course.

Week one: we will go over the boat and boat handling skills.

Week two: we will work on the start of the race. ( Where do I want to be and why! )

Week three: we learn how to sail the weather leg. You will learn rules , tactics, and how to read the wind and current, and rounding the weather mark.

Week four: it is time to sail the down wind leg and what we need to think about. ( the down wind leg is not the time to relax! This is the time that a lot of ground can be made. )

Week five: the finish. Just like the start there are things we have to think about when we are coming to the finish.

Week six:we will end our class with some racing. Let’s see how well you can do. Remember it is not who crosses the line first, but did everyone have a good time???

This is a great way to get into racing and make new friends. You will learn on land and practice on the water. Come out and have a ball!

Greetings,
First off, an early Happy Cinco De Mayo to those of you who I’ll miss on Saturday for SailFest; however, we have a great coach filling in who is fluent in Spanish, so hopefully he’ll bring some holiday flare…. Anyway… Here is the schedule for the regatta, some info about racing/tuning, and some info about Robert Combs (a.k.a. Bobby), the fill in coach:

Bobby’s Phone: 305-747-2943

Schedule of Events
SATURDAY
8-9 AM Check-In and Late Registration
9:30 Competitors’ Briefing
10:30 First Signal for All classes except Optimist and Flying Scot
Post sailing Raffle

SUNDAY
9:30 AM
First Signal for all classes except Optimist Green and Flying Scot

The NOR has been posted with all other information:

Both Saturday and Sunday are calling for 5-10 on the low end in the morning, picking up to 8-13 at 2 pm both days. Sunday should be a bit lighter than Saturday but the forecast is calling for light mornings with building afternoon breeze as it fills. I’m not sure how big a factor current is but if I remember correctly it’s a factor depending on the racing area. Go over our current talk from last practice in your head and consider wind shifts as the breeze builds in the afternoon. A major focus in our practices at Clearwater have dealt with transitional winds, as the sea breeze fills half way through practice. This should be similar with light and variable breeze in the morning building to a consistent direction as the day wears on. Watch the clouds, look for pressure up the course, and try to analyze patterns in different phases. You’ll probably have three phases if the wind is fairly consistent; light and shifty phase in the AM when anticipation and transition for boat speed is most important (open slot, increase flow, 5 degrees leeward heel, vang only on in pressure, bridal block to block with leech slightly open, and leech tales flying majority of the time). Phase 2; transitional phase, the wind will be building with variable shifts and developing patterns will emerge. (Watch for a dominant side of the course or oscillating winds. Put on slightly more jib tension depending on how much it picks up and lower bridal. You can play the trim slightly tighter during pressure and keep the boat flatter. Put less twist in the sails and close the leeches when flow is at max = trimming more) Phase 3: Consistent breeze; really can pick out the patterns at this point if it is a steady 13. We’ve done tuning for 10-13 several times but I took some numbers out of my personal notebook and listed them below. I’m really confident in you guys once the breeze steadies so I think once it builds it’ll be a cakewalk. Remember to play the fleet with the shifts and not get caught out on one side of the course if the shifts take you that way. Coming back to loose cover is always a safe play to keep in phase with majority of the fleet if you’re ahead. I know you guys will do great and I wish I could be there Saturday but have to support USF. Bobby is a great coach and you’ll do great. I’m so excited for you guys, so stay focused and have fun. The winds may do several things on Saturday but if you keep your eyes up the course and focus on boat speed you’ll do great. I listed your names below with one reminder for tomorrow, along with tuning tips.

Mitchell: Weight forward! Straddle the traveler bar and watch those tell tales. Your speed has been great lately and you’ll do awesome with a consistent heading and good trim.

Charlotte: Watch for the early roll in light wind; remember to pace off the backwind of the jib. Lighter the breeze the bigger the roll, the slower the tack. Keep that boat speed up and manage a good heel for the breeze upwind.

Ally: Remember when it is important to stay in phase and tack back with the fleet. Play the shifts well like you always do but remember to consolidate and not lose ground. Sometimes conservative is good but take the shift if you got it.

Kyle: Watch for hot reaches if there are any and pick lay lines according to the current and shifts. Every mark you round find the next one and get a perfect lay-line to establish maximum velocity made good.

TUNING: (Take into account that these are personal numbers for my weight and off the old Vanguard or PS2000 design, the rake should be about right but look to the tuning guide I gave you for tension and tune with each other upwind to compare best speed before races)

Light Wind Rake = 20′ 4″ (5-10 knots) to 20′ 7″(0-5 knots)

Medium Air Rake = 20′ 3″ (10- 15 knots)

Light tension – 280 -300

Medium Tension – 300- 350 (try and find the fancy gauge (Charlotte/ Ally knows), somebody should have one, but I’ll try and bring one)

**Again, play around and find your right setting but these are general guidelines. Tension changes rake if adjusted after measuring. I know we’ve gone over this and hopefully you’ve developed some of your own numbers, so use what you got and if you don’t feel fast you probably aren’t. Feel the boat out and tune off each other, I’ll be there to help you on Sunday.

Bobby is going to be your coach Saturday, I’ll bring the coach boat for him and leave a tape measurer, some E-tape, and the tension gauge with the coach boat. He’s a Sail Laser coach with lots of experience and can help out a lot with tactics. He’s a high performance and keel boat sailor so he can help you tune but mostly will be giving you advice on the water. He’s super nice, a very close friend, and on my J24 worlds team (so don’t let him trip and break an ankle) ; ask him anything and don’t be afraid to get help. You can call him Bobby or Coach Bobby and he’ll track you down in the boat pen or can meet you in front of the club. His number is 305 -747-2943. Thanks guys and have a lot of fun!!

Sincerely,
Will Felder
CCSC 420 Race Coach

Come out and learn to sail on your own or with assistance. Join our racing teams or just learn to sail for fun.
For more information call Bonnie Monroe at (727)224-1726.

Pinellas County Schools is neither sponsoring or endorsing the program nor endorsing the views of the organizations.

Want to help?
Every little bit helps and we are depending on donations to help us raise much needed funds for the Program. If you are able to help, you can contribute here:

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone has a had a good week. I have heard from mostly everyone about watching the regatta this weekend (Clark Mills regatta, 28/29 April) .
Either day I would like the kids to come at 8:30 if they plan on watching from my coach boat. If I could just get a confirmation from everyone the day they plan on coming.
Everyone should bring a lunch and water bottle!!

See you all this weekend,

Erin