Author: Kurt Hoehne

Youth Sailing Heats Up at Frigid Digit

Kurt Hoehne Racing, Youth Sailing , , , 0 Comment
Youth Sailing Heats Up at Frigid Digit

I was headed downwind passing about 10-15 boatlengths from the Opti’s weather when I heard the jawing. Two Opti kids, one was Dieter Creitz and the other I assume was Jack Carroll, rounded it nearly overlapped, and there were words. Oh oh, I thought, the plague of my racing generation’s yelling has infected the kids. But something different was going on. As they eased off onto the run, I’m pretty sure I heard singing coming from both boys. Singing. How great is that?

There was a distinctive youth movement at this year’s Frigid Digit Regatta. Seven Optis sailed their own course, and as Matt Wood noted, “They were great. After every race they thanked the committee, and they had a great time!” I asked one kid, swishing up the dock bundled up in a drysuit and seemingly carrying more gear than his own body weight, “Did you have fun out there?” Bright eyed, he looked at me and said “Yes! Did you?” How great is that? If I hadn’t had fun (which I did), seeing his enthusiasm would have made the whole weekend for me.

But it wasn’t just the Optis. Ten Laser Radials were out as well, with kids from Portand to West Vancouver coming to Seattle for a weekend of great camaraderie – err – competition. Grant Gridley of Portland managed to beat locals Owen Timms and Abbie Carlson. As the beautiful hat-trophies were handed out, the tightness of this group of Radial sailors was evident.

Of course it was pretty hard not to have a good time out there. On Saturday the wind was light but the air was warm, and on Sunday a good breeze, building to hiking conditions in the last few races, definitely cleared some of  those winter blues from our sailing psyches. Ten races were sailed, except for the Aero class which got an extra race in.

Here’s a sampling of photos from the event. I’m going to try to get some videos up as well. Thanks to Cameron Hoard, Eric Arneson and Erin Timm for taking photos and making this happen.

 

 

This was a sea change for Frigid Digit. It’s been a Seattle Laser Fleet event for 40 some years, managed by the Laser sailors. It’s been held several different places, from Union Bay at UW to Shilshole Bay on the Sound to Sail Sand Point to Leschi. Its history is profound, from the days of 60 boat fleets to barely surviving the down cycles. This year, the fleet decided to give up much of the race and food management of the event to Corinthian YC. Laser sailor Mark Ross worked with Matt Wood of CYC to produce a spectacularly successful event, helped no doubt by the sailing conditions. PRO Geoff Pease took our pleas for lots of races, little downtime, to heart and races got reeled off one after another even  through 55 degree windshifts.

The RS Aeros have certainly taken root in Seattle, and drawn in many top sailors. Carl Buchan managed the win over Jay Renehan in final race. Third in the 13 boat fleet was the mightily-bearded Dan Falk, but only one point ahead of Derek Bottles, who had recently placed third in the Aero Midwinters. Libby McKee is back on the water in her new Aero, and was fourth after the first day but had to miss day two.

A dozen Lasers raced, and it was Dalton Bergan showing that even after Moth sailing and fatherhood, he still knows how to make a Laser go ridiculously fast. Second, but always big in Dalton’s rearview mirror, was David Brink. Blake Bentzen won a race and finished third overall. Carlos Abisambra, who just announced he was leaving Seattle for a new job in Colorado, was fourth and left us all a reminder about just how on it he always is by being the only one to sail the correct course in the last race. (btw, the results at CYC have it as race 8 when it should really be race 10)

Rumor has it that a number of our young Radial sailors are headed to Laser Radials Midwinter East, and that should be yet another milestone in their development. I’ll track what they’re up to there and ask for on-the-scene reporting. I understand that youth no longer do emails. Maybe I can get them to text some reports.

Yeah, I hope they tear up the fleets back east. But mostly, I want them to keep having fun.

Sloop Tavern Seventh Best Yachting Bar, Loses to Peewaukee YC

Kurt Hoehne Community 0 Comment
Sloop Tavern Seventh Best Yachting Bar, Loses to Peewaukee YC
The Sloop Tavern

Wight Vodka came up with one of those attention-getting “competitions” for their brand – the best yachting bar. It seems to be a lot more about fun than inebriation. Let’s hope so. We know we have a great one in Ballard’s Sloop Tavern, but read on and you’ll see why Peewaukee gets the nod. It’s really hard to have more fun that the scow crowd in the Midwest, so this is not a surprise. I think with the Sloop’s Blakely Rock Benefit, innovative races such as Race to the Straits etc., with a little more support we can take the title!

Peewaukee YC

Here’s Peewaukee. One certainly can’t begrudge them the title.

 

Pewaukee Yacht Club Wins 2016 Wight Vodka Best Yachting Bar

“Wow…was this a different Wight Vodka Favourite Yachting Bar competition,” commented Dan Hiza, founder of Wight Vodka. “We had some of the world’s best yacht clubs and sailing bars in the mix this year, from the Royal Bermuda to the Bitter End, Royal Hong Kong to the Happy Island Bar in the Grenadines, but in the end, the Pewaukee Yacht Club in Pewaukee Wisconsin, USA, has come across the line in first place!”

The Cage

So, some of you may be wondering where the Pewaukee Yacht Club is, aren’t you?

Well, let the crew of Wight Vodka be the first, or the 70,001st to tell you that this is the venerable home of sailing, yacht racing and all things winches, as the Pewaukee Yacht Club is located in the heart of Wisconsin’s lake country, and indeed, the home of Harken.

“The voting this year was absolutely full-on,” said Dan. “With over 130,000 votes cast over the last month, Pewaukee narrowly edged out the Rochester Yacht Club in up-state New York, with the Windward Mark at the awesome Bitter End Yacht Club placing a 3rd place podium finish.”

The top bars of the 2016 competition placed in the following order:

1. Pewaukee Yacht Club, USA
2. Rochester Yacht Club, USA
3. Windward Mark at Bitter End YC, BVI
4. Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, Bermuda
5. Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Bermuda
6. Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Hong Kong
7. Sloop Tavern, Ballard, USA
8. Gladstone’s Long Beach, USA
9. Happy Island Bar, Union Island, St. Vincent & Grenadines
10. Roger’s Beach Bar, Hog Island, Grenada

“As a Green Bay Packers fan, (and (sorry), a New England Patriots fan too), I do love Wisconsin’s beautiful lakes, forests, cheese and Aaron Rodgers’ quarter back rating” continued Dan, “but if you ever find yourself in Beach Bay on the southern coast of Pewaukee Bay in the heart of Wisconsin, let’s meet up for a Wight Vodka cocktail at 2016’s favourite yachting bar, the Pewaukee Yacht Club!”

Here’s to the members and followers of Pewaukee YC! You’re well deserved to be up there with the best of the best.

* Editor: Pewaukee is a Mecca on the sailing map.  Both Harken and Melges have their global headquarters there – and I know they are very aware they were in the hunt and all got behind the club voting.

The photo above and in the gallery... what appears to be what your humble narrator believes to be a, sadly, much overlooked essential for a yachtie bar… a Go-Go dancer cage (for both men and women, of course…)

From one of the PYC’s poobahs:

“Yeah, of course it wasn’t intended to be that but sailors have a way of turning any innocuous object into something to party with.  Clearly this was a pretty good party.”

And from a famed (but unnnamed here) PYC member:

PYC is famous for “The Bar Walk” which is a required activity for whatever competitor is in last place after day two of three during the annual E Scow Blue Chip Championship regatta always held in September. This is the event where we bring in a mystery guest to compete – with the likes of Spithill, Connor, Cayard, Holmberg, Perry, Ullman, Jobson, Isler, Mckee, Gulari, Campbell, Coutts, etc. having competed in the past.

This form of punishment and public ridicule is a time-honored tradition that always has these champion competitors a bit more on edge in racing on day two. With the notoriety of international exposure of a global yachting media partner like Seahorse, I’m certain sphincters will be a little tighter on the start line! Last year, during the Blue Chip’s 50th’s we had Terry Neilsen of Finn and Laser sailing fame up there in boxers and a necktie. He ended up sporting that outfit for the rest of the evening in pure Finn style class.

And finally… something to look forward to this summer when some BIG Harken parties happen there… another unnamed Harken executive has promised a free rounds of drinks to everyone at the club party. On Peter Harken’s tab!

Congratulations to the Pewaukee Yacht Club!

Raise a toast with some Wight Vodka: http://wightvodka.com

Miami Wrapup: Seattle Sailors and Lessons Learned

Kurt Hoehne Racing , , , 0 Comment

When last we checked, our four teams at the Sailing World Cup Miami (aka Miami Olympic Classes Regatta) had finished the first day. Derick Vranizan was the top US Laser sailor and Hanne Weaver was battling in the midst of a really competitive Radial fleet. Talia Toland and Ian Andrewes were learning their way around a Nacra 17 cat, and Kate Shaner and Caroline Atwood faced tough competition and a learning curve in the 49erFX class. Results here.

Thanks to the Sailing World Cup press officer Stuart Streuli  for helping get these photos. All photos are ©Jesus Renedo/Sailing Energy/World Sailing.

When all was said and done, Derick was the third US sailor, and reports lessons learned and more sailing plans to come. We’re going to hear more from him in a few days. I’ll try to get Talia to give us another report on her foray into the cat class, and who knows, we might even hear from Kate.

Hanne Weaver

For Hanne Weaver, this is another important step in her sailing career. Her positive attitude and enduring focus on learning have made her a great sailor (and a great fellow competitor). Here’s her regatta diary, borrowed with her permission from weaversailing.com. She’s headed back down to Miami for a US Sailing team clinic, and has plans to train harder in the coming months and has more clinics planned. Go Hanne!!

Miami OCR

Posted on January 30, 2017 by hanneweaver

Day 1

Moderate winds from the NW. The waves were about 1-2 feet tall. I started the day off pretty good. Had a decent start and then went left. This was the way to go for the whole day. I got stuck in bad air which pushed me back. My downwind sailing was good though and I caught a few boats. But I couldn’t make them back for that race. The next race had three general recalls. Started at the boat and had a good start. But the wind went more right than I and I couldn’t keep up with the fleet. Ended that day in the 30’s.

Day 2

Having had a tough day the day before, my goal was to keep pushing through. I knew I still had nothing to lose. But I over-thought today. My head wasn’t out of the boat and I kept second guessing myself. We also only had two races today. It was one of my harder days.

Day 3

Today was one of the tricky days. The wind was coming south, south-west. This made the chop at an angle and harder to carve. I didn’t have great starts and rounded the top mark in last.

But I didn’t give up. I passed boats and made it back into the 40’s. I wasn’t pleased on what I got but was better on how I worked the boat.

Day 4

Today I worked on keeping up my boat speed. I was sailing against world class sailors. We had one start that had 10 boats over early. I was happy to know that I was not one of them. This was one of my better days. I worked the boat hard with winds about 5-10 knots. I was keeping up with the other girls. Moved up a few spots and was ready for anything.

Day 5

Today was the last day. They started us later about 1:30pm. The boys went first and had light wind but when we came out the wind was about 10-15 knots. I started at the pin end every single race and nailed each start. I even won a start. Was around the top mark in the to 10 and finished in the top of the fleet.

Even though I started the event not on a good foot, I still ended it on a good one. I have some things I need to work on. I will be back in Florida in about a week! I can’t wait to better my sailing.

Seattle Sailors in Miami!

Kurt Hoehne Racing 0 Comment
Seattle Sailors in Miami!

Derick Vranizan had a solid first day at the Sailing World Cup Miami, one of the premier pitstops on the world’s high-end dinghy racing circuit. Derick is in 19th overall after yesterday’s racing and is the leading US sailor with finishes of 24, 21 in the 59-boat fleet. Hanne Weaver had a pair of 39ths in the Radial fleet.

Talia Toland appears to have stepped out of Radial and onto a Nacra 17 for the series, and Kate Shaner is competing in the 49erFX class. If any of you readers know of other PNW sailors there that I’m missing, please let me know.

I hope to get some on-the-scene reports from them before it’s all over. Racing continues through the week with medal races Friday, January 28. Our first mini-report comes from Talia Toland:

“I am sailing with Ian Andrewes, also a semi Seattle local. Kate Shaner is also sailing the 49er FX. 

“I am not  completely out of Lasers, just exploring some new classes! 

“We’ve had a little bit of everything in Miami so far. Every direction and wind speed; too light to sail, too windy to sail and some perfect in between days. Sailing catamarans on the international level is a whole new game where everything happens faster and decisions need to be made quickly. We had some trouble starting on the first day but made some good tactical decisions and are looking forward to the rest of the racing!”  

Thanks, Talia!

Results here.

And for those hearing about an Anna Tunnicliffe comeback, you’re going to have to wait. The WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) couldn’t green-light her this soon. She hadn’t been tested in three years away from the sport – a technicality. But once the technicalities are cleared she plans on jumping back in a Radial by July. Yeah! The full explanation can be found on Scuttlebutt.

Anna Tunnicliffe.

Le Cléac’h Wins the Vendee, but O’Coineen and Wilson Embody the Vendee Spirit

Kurt Hoehne Racing, Youth Sailing 0 Comment
Le Cléac’h Wins the Vendee, but O’Coineen and Wilson Embody the Vendee Spirit
Armel Le Cléac’h after finishing. Copyright Jean Marie Liot/DPPI Vendee Globe

As Armel Le Cléac’h came into Les Sables d’Olonne a few hours ahead of Alex Thomson today, one of offshore racing’s great duels ended. Le Cléac’h finished with Banque Populaire VIII amid cheers of thousands at Les Sables and his hero status is assured. Alex Thomson is sure to finish in a few hours.

I’ll be watching too see if Alex Thomson’s Hugo Boss really has as broken foil. He reported his starboard foil broken back on in November while he was leading the race, but has sailed just about as fast as Le Cléac’h ever since. I’m not sure I believe it. And if it is true I’m going to have to have an expert explain to me just how he managed to sail so well in that broken wing condition.

Alex Thomson is great for sailing. A Brit taking on the French at very much their own game, he’s managed to be a wise corporate investment for Hugo Boss (not always the case in yacht racing sponsorship), a consummate showman (check out his skywalk video) and a damn fine sailor. And also a resilient one. It seems no matter how many times his boats break, he always keeps coming back and always sailing all out at or near the front of the fleet. When his foil broke he just kept going, and damn near won this thing. He’s already a household name in the U.K. Maybe they’ll knight him or something between video shoots.

There’s a lot more to be said about IMOCA boats, singlehanding, foils and flat out speed and subsequent seamanship questions. I’ll leave that percolating for now.

But I definitely want to talk about the 61-year-old Irishman Enda O’Coineen. He entered without any real chance of winning, but found sponsorship from several quarters and carried the hopes and dreams of the Irish with him on Kilcullen Voyager. He is a successful businessman and, get this, was president of the International Federation of Irish Pubs. And was a creator of a sailing magazine, Afloat . You gotta admire then ambition, if not the judgment, of someone starting a sailing magazine…. In his pictures and videos, he seems like the kind of guy I’d enjoy hearing tell stories. He’s happy and sees the bright side, and isn’t jaded by the Vendee fanfare.

Enda O’Coineen. Copyright Jean-Marie Liot/DPPI/Vendee Globe

O’Coineen will not officially finish this race. He was dismasted January 1 shortly after doing a very seamanlike pitstop to prepare for the Southern Ocean. But to read his words, you sense a real sailor, one who has thought through the implications of the sport and gets the big picture. His post-dismasting words kind of tell it all. Here’s part of what his report to the race organizers:

“You roll the dice. I was caught a little bit unawares. I was in 20-25 kts of breeze and a very vicious 35kt squall came through, and the self-steering malfunctioned just at the wrong moment. I did an involuntary gybe and then a gybe back. The boat was out of control and I was caught without the runner properly on and the mast snapped.

“I have to laugh because if I don’t I will cry.

“Look, you have to be philosophical. This sort of sailing is living on the edge. I have been doing that for 57 days and as the fella says if you are living on the edge you are taking up too much space. I was taking up too much space on the edge.

“Ironically I had just done a little interview with myself for New Year. I celebrated with a small bottle of champagne. My alter personality asked me about my New Year’s Resolution. And my New Year’s resolution was to take less risk with my life. In business, in my life, I have taken a lot of risk. The risk enabled me to make enough money to buy this boat and to pursue the dream, to pursue my adventure. The irony is that only two hours earlier I had recorded a video to pledge to take less risk. And here I am. Risk is a four letter word, like a lot of meaningful four letter words in the English language.

Here’s the rest of that story.

Yet the Vendee Globe is not really over for O’Coineen. He has vowed to sail his boat back to Ireland. He’s lined up borrowed mast and sails to sail the boat from Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island to Auckland on North Island. He’ll source a new mast, go back for a visit to Ireland, then return to Auckland to refit the boat and finish the circumnavigation. It will apparently make him the first Irishman to singlehand around the world.

Rich Wilson. Copyright Jean-Marie Liot/DPPI/Vendee Globe.

American Rich Wilson, 66, has rounded Cape Horn in Great American IV and is headed up the Atlantic. It looks like he’ll finish in a few days in 14th place. Finish is the key word here. Described as “a brain,” on his Vendee profile, he’s a Harvard graduate, a math whiz and former defense analyst. He’s also a great sailor, having won the Bermuda Race several decades ago, setting several offshore records with the Great American II trimaran. His first attempt at the Vendee was in 2008-9, when he finished in 121 days.

Perhaps the most profound aspect of Wilson is the commitment he has to sharing his experiences and educating kids. On his Sites Alive website teachers could link to an abundance of teaching materials, plus hook into his ship’s log, position etc. His outreach has attracted hundreds of thousands of kids and certainly opened a lot of eyes to the world outside their favorite video game.

Here is a Q and A from today with one of his young followers, Annya. (note that this was done as he’s racing a 60’ racing machine by himself)

Question: How do the stars look at night from your boat?

Answer: Dear Annya: We have not seen many stars on this trip because of the weather, and that is very disappointing. On other voyages, I would spend a lot of time at night looking at the stars, and studying a book called The Star Book by H. A. Rey. It is the best star book I’ve ever seen.

One aspect of the Vendée Globe is that since we go into the Southern Hemisphere, we get to see all the stars that we cannot see from the Northern Hemisphere. And it’s interesting that when we cross the equator going south, Polaris, the North Star, disappears over the horizon behind us as we head south! It will reappear ahead of us going north over the equator.

While the focus is on Le Cléac’h and Thomson, hold a thought for Enda O’Coineen and Rich Wilson. I’ll admire Le Cléac’h and be enthralled by Thompson’s antics. But it’s O’Coineen and Wilson with whom I’d like to share an ale. They get it that sailing is a lot more than a chance to win. It’s easy to shine a spotlight on Le Cléac’h. It may be more important to put a spotlight on the guys who are going to finish weeks and months after.

 

 

 

 

Duwamish Head is a Complete Race!

Kurt Hoehne Racing 0 Comment
Duwamish Head is a Complete Race!

 

As Bruce mentioned in his pre-race brief last Friday, the wind gods haven’t been looking too kindly on Three Tree Point’s Duwamish Head Race the last few years. And it wasn’t looking too promising this year, either. But as Jan’s photos show, there was wind at the start and enough to get the fleet around the course, and as Dave Knowlton reports, the racing was hard fought with a breezy end to it all. Results here.

Be sure to check out all of Jan’s photos.

Following is Dave Knowlton’s report. And if you have tales to tell, please add them below in the “Comments” section. Make sure that you make all of us who weren’t able to be there feel like we missed something.

By Dave Knowlton

Southern Sound Series Rep Report:  Duwamish Head.

Two races for the price of one!!!!  But Wait!  The adventure starts way before the race held on Saturday, 7 January 2017!

It was bitterly cold the days before the race. There were five racers moored in Swawntown Marina and they unable to move due to about an inch and a half of ice in fairways! Thanks to Bruce Marshall, Olympia Harbormaster, and his crew, they ran the Port’s aluminum skiff up and down the fairways to break up the ice. Four of the boats on ‘H’ dock departed around 1100 on Friday headed for the Tacoma Yacht Club, the fifth departed later in the afternoon and went directly to DesMoines. The four boats arrived at TYC around 1500 and tied up at the reciprocal moorage docks. As we have done for the past 20 years, we had reservations at the wonderful TYC dining room for dinner! A great way to break up a long delivery and have electricity at the docks!

We had all read Bruce Hedrick’s prediction for this race: Four knots of wind dying in the afternoon. Cold. Eighty percent chance of an accurate forecast.  So upon arrival in the starting area, all were surprised to discover some wind in the low teens!

The start in front of the DesMoines breakwater went without a hitch. Boats, after clearing the line, were able to use their spinnakers as they headed north to Alki Point. Then Bruce’s prediction became accurate. The wind diminished and the fleet slowed down.  About three in the afternoon, most of the boats had worked their way around Alki Point in the soft breeze. Crossfire, with a -105 handicap had made it all the way to Blakely Rock. Crossfire contacted the committee boat on VHF Channel 72:  ‘This is Crossfire; we can anchor here and take times when you shorten the course!” You could hear throughout Elliott Bay sighs of relief that this drifter was at least going to end at the rock!  The committee boat responded:  “No, we are going to complete the entire race.” You could then, again, hear sighs of frustration. This could be a long drifter!

Well, the Three Tree Point Yacht Club race committee must have a real powerful crystal ball! About a half hour later the wind picked up from the south and started blasting the fleet! Naturally several sail changes were made, some reefs put in, and the fleet beat hard to the finish line back in DesMoines! Several of the slower boats in the cruising classes decided to drop out.  The wind was too much for them.

Approximately 53 boats registered for the race and about 11 did not finish or did not start. So, 42 boats completed the entire course! This is important, because the past three years of Duwamish Head races did not happen: too much wind and the boats could not get out of the marina;  too little wind; and an abandonment near Alki Point/Duwamish Head due to lack of wind and adverse current.

The Three Tree Point Yacht Club ran a great race, although most did not realize it until about 1500 in the afternoon!

 

Melges 24 Worlds Wrapup

Kurt Hoehne Racing 0 Comment

The Melges 24 Worlds finished as they started, with great conditions and a really, really competitive fleet. Winner Embarr was from Ireland, though there wasn’t much of the Irish luck involved in their win. The crew were professional in their approach and prepped on site in Miami. Embarr was consistently at or near the top, which is always key to winning a major championship. More on that below in Ian Sloan’s comments. The winner in the Corinthian (aka amateur) division was Taki II from Italy.

Our Northwest sailors sailed well and no doubt will bring lots of lessons learned back with them. West Marine Rigging (aka Airforce 1), skippered by Bora Gulari with our own Jonathan McKee called tactics, ended up fifth. The last race’s black flag disqualification and additional 75 points must have been painful, but no doubt the team was going for it in the last race.

Correction! We forgot at least one PNW pro in the Melges 24 Worlds, Matt Pistay aboard 7th place Blind Squirrel (pictured here). Alert reader and proud dad Bob Pistay pointed it out. If there are any other PNW sailors (pro or otherwise) I missed, let me know and I’ll make amends. Again, if you have some tales to tell, or pix to share, please do!

Kevin Welch and the supercharged crew on MiKEY ended 16th (more on that below), Mike Goldfarb on Blue Moon with the Brink father and son combination on board were 28th, Duncan Stamper’s Goes to Eleven was 39th and the Arntson’s Nikita finished 65th.

While to some of us it seems like yesterday that the Melges 24 revolutionized the small one design keelboat world, the class can actually be considered mature and even threatened by newer designs. But this year’s Worlds prove that it’s still the forum of choice for professional, high octane one design sailing. And with the Worlds headed our way in 2018, the future of the class on the Salish Sea seems bright.

And now for the report from Ian Sloan and the MiKEY crew. To be able to come back from a DNF and finish 16th shows a lot of resiliency. Kudos. By the way, if any of you other M-24 sailors back from Miami are recovered enough to share some of your experiences with PNW sailors, send them to me and I’ll post them.

Ian Sloan:

The MiKEY team had its ups and downs at the 2016 Melges 24 Worlds. The best moment was winning race 1 on day two. We had a hard fought battle in the top 4 group, but managed to edge out the other teams on the final run to the finish. The worst moment would come that same day in race 3 when we got tangled with the pin end boat anchor rode, and damaged our keel fin. We retired from that race to assess and repair the damage back at the dock.

Overall the level of competition at this event was incredible. The best boats put a premium on starting well, out of traffic, and maintaining good lanes on the first beat.

MiKEY

If you could keep in the top ten or twelve boats around the weather mark, racing became more straightforward. If you were caught back in the twenties (or higher), it was incredibly difficult to find a way through to the top group. The winners, Embarr, have some great interviews on what made them successful, and its very interesting to hear their strategy. Their basic recipe for success was clear lanes, proper rig tune, and downwind boathandling/mode changes. They put in more time than just about anyone else, and it showed. They truly deserved the win.

The conditions put a premium on downwind speed and boathandling. Unfortunately, our team hadn’t sailed together much and we struggled downwind in the swell and chop. Upwind we could be as fast as anyone on the course, but the sea conditions made it difficult to maintain all the time. With 75 boats on the line, starting was also very important. The PRO would drop the middle boat in the three boat line back one to three boatlengths every start. I’m not sure why, but it incentivized starting at one end or the other, and often the traffic was very heavy at the ends. It became apparent that giving up some line bias in favor of a more clear starting area could reap rewards.

Miami truly delivered with the conditions. Temps were 10 degrees or so above average the whole week, which meant most folks were sporting shorts and tees the entire event. Some of our Canadian friends didn’t wear a shirt the whole week! Winds were almost always raceable. Thursday, day 3, saw only one race in somewhat unsettled conditions, but besides that it was planing or near planing conditions the entire time.

The next event for MiKEY is Key West Race Week, and after that Nationals in Charleston. Worlds are in Helsinki in 2017 and then in 2018 Worlds are right here in our home waters of Victoria BC! If you have ever thought about getting into the most exciting one design sportboat in the world, there is no better time than now!”

Ian’s shop is Anacortes Rigging in, you guessed it, Anacortes. If you’d like help getting up to speed with equipment or service, give them a call.

Ed note: Thanks, Ian, for providing the reports!

Here is a selection of day 4 photos from the Melges media crew. Gives a pretty good sense of the closeness and intensity.

Winning a Windy Winter Vashon with Santa Hats

Kurt Hoehne Racing 0 Comment

Tacoma Yacht Club’s Winter Vashon race can be painfully cold and slow or an unforgettable pre-holiday hoot. The latter was pretty much the latter this year, with the handicap advantage going to the slower/smaller boats . And among those, it was Mark Harang’s 26′ Nimbus that topped the fleet, followed by the Cal 40 Madrugador and the Cal 33 Cherokee. Results here.

Harang, no stranger to the winner’s circle, chalked up the overall win. His blow-by-blow makes it all seem so easy, though it’s clear he had a secret weapon on board in the form of Stephanie Schwenk.

Santa hats were clearly key to the Nimbus’ Winter Vashon win. (click to enlarge)

It was a reaching start in a puffy WSW.  As we cleared the wind-shadow from Pt Defiance, the wind built then backed towards the south as got into Colvos Passage.  While we had ideas about how to play the wind and currents down the passage, in practice our strategy became heavily influenced by traffic and puffs (keeping options open with bigger boats overtaking, etc…).   We had a conservative take-down at the north end of the island, followed by a starboard tack upwind fetch to Pt Robinson.  This leg was probably key to our success, as Stephanie Schwenk (driving this leg) was able to hold a high line with good speed.  Holding the high line provided some relief from the chop (which can be problematic for the Evelyn 26).  After clearing Pt Robinson, we changed up to a #2 genoa (which worked great until the wind built and we had to switch back to the #3 – drat).  Back on the #3 we made good time and benefited from what turned into a 2 mile port tack layline to the finish.

I think our success was due to:

• We had a good start and good clean run, with no gear failures, crashes, etc….

• We had excellent crew work.

• Although it was windy (for us), the course provided some wave/chop relief

• I think the smaller boats benefited from the timing of the tide change.

But of course Mark wasn’t the only person on board. Stephanie Schwenk returned the compliment, pointing out “Mark does the work by having the boat prepped and calling tactics and driving, but Nick Farley cleverly replied ‘well you know those Santa hats aren’t just going to wear themselves!'”

And Kathryn Brunette is a big Winter Vashon fan.”I just have to say like Christmas, Winter Vashon only comes once a year. Santa hats, hot drinks, holiday lights at TYC, and usually breeze, who could ask for more?”

Congrats to all the crews who bundled up and got out there. There are a lot of places in the Northern Hemisphere where this sort of thing just doesn’t happen in December.

And here are a selection of Jan Anderson’s photos. Remember to go to her smugmug website and buy some, either from this race or another 2016 event. Hint: they make great gifts!

It’s worth noting that 14 of the 66 boats registered were in the Commodore (cruising) class, including a 10-boat flying sails division. A lot of those boats probably had heaters cranked.

Pacific Northwest Racers Romp at Melges 24 Worlds

Kurt Hoehne Racing 0 Comment
Pacific Northwest Racers Romp at Melges 24 Worlds

While most of us are here “enjoying” the cool damp and bracing ourselves for the holidays, a lucky few are in Miami throwing up rooster tails off their Melges 24 rides in the World Championships. Ian Sloan of Anacortes Rigging and Yacht Services is one of the lucky ones, sailing on Kevin Welch’s Mikey, and we’re lucky enough to have caught up with him mid-regatta. Mikey has, shall we say, a stacked crew with owner Welch joined by Sloan, Jeff Madrigali, Ross Macdonald and Serena Vilage with Jason Rhodes as the coach. Here’s what Sloan had to say after racing Thursday:

“The regatta has been stellar so far. These are really fantastic conditions and it’s amazing competition. The first two days were pretty windy and very big, choppy waves. Today was light moderate with smaller but still choppy leftover seas. We have struggled a bit with starts and downwind speed in these larger waves. When we’re hooked in we’re fast but just can’t seem to be hooked in enough of the time. A little mistake costs four or five boats at a time in this fleet. The number of different boats with first place finishes is evidence of that.

“We trained down here for four days prior to thanksgiving. It was a good bit of sailing but we never got really windy conditions during our training session.

“One thing is for sure, these boats reward good sailing and there is always room to get faster!”

Mikey isn’t the only Northwest Melges. Krak Arntson and his crew are there with Nikita, and Mike Goldfarb is driving Blue Moon hard with Mark Brink and his son David in the crew. Canadian Duncan Stamper is mid-fleet with Goes to Eleven. Pro sailor Matt Pistay is on Blind Squirrel. In third overall is Bora Gulari’s Air Force 1 with none other than Seattle’s all-pro Jonathan McKee calling tactics.

This Worlds marks a bit of a resurgence in the class, and exactly half the fleet (37/74 boats) are considered professionally crewed.  The top Corinthian boat, by the way, is in 13th place overall. It’s also interesting to note how international the fleet is with boats from China, Norway, the Netherlands, Greece and others. Currently an Irish boat is in first while an Italian boat lies second.

Mikey is in 19th, Blue Moon in 27th, Goes to Eleven in 39th and Nikita in 63rd. Results can be found here.

We plan on hearing from Ian Sloan again, and I hope to hear from other PNWers in the fleet as well. There will surely be lots of stories, and none will be of cold, damp or holiday shopping.

Here’s just a sampling of photos, all of which can be seen at the Melges 24 Worlds website.

Wind, No Wind. Round the County 2016

Kurt Hoehne Racing 0 Comment
Wind, No Wind. Round the County 2016

I told Round the County newby Paula that this race could either blow dogs off chains or be a completely soul-sucking calm. RTC came through with both, though it held back on the biting cold that sometimes makes things challenging for those who have live nerves in their extremities. And, as usual, last weekend’s RTC  proved to be a wildly entertaining race and nothing less than a great reason to live and sail in the Pacific Northwest.

Bruce Hedrick’s forecast was remarkably accurate. It blew dogs off chains for the start and the beat south through Rosario Strait. The fast early starters and the big boats got to enjoy a big air reach for some time after turning right at Davidson Rock, popping kites as the wind started to drop. But drop it did, and a calm descended on the fleet. Onboard the J/133 Tango we ended up around the accursed Lime Kiln Lighthouse when the currrent decided to send us back two boatlengths for every boatlength gained. White Cloud and Madrona held a little further off the point and managed to overcome the current.

Check out all of Jan’s photos here.

 

A couple of other class winners I kept an eye on were Alex Simanis’ Evelyn 32 Poke and Destroy and Jimmy and Robin Roser’s Cal 39 Chinook. Jimmy Roser knows the Islands about as well as anyone. He and Robin own and operate Baja Boat Works, which installs and maintains mooring buoys, among other things, all around the San Juans. “We were out in front with Alex (Simanis). Then our number 1 came out of the track and flew behind us. It was a mess.” They managed to cross the halfway finish line in first, but weren’t able to finish the full course. Fortunately for them nobody in their class finished the full course that first day.

And Poke and Destroy? Simanis’ RTC actually started this summer. When he pulled P&D to paint the rudder, he happened to wiggle the keel. It wobbled, and further inspection revealed the sump lamination was failing. CSR Marine did its magic with the repair. There was some delaminating balsa core in the decks that had to be dealt with as well. “The boat’s a LOT stiffer now,” Simanis says, which came in handy on that hard beat. With a code zero (Simanis operates Ballard Sails , after all) P&G was launched enough to finish with only a handful of boats, and really big/fast ones at that, ahead, and won the day Division 3 easily.

Day two brought the seemingly inevitable light air spinnaker start off Roche Harbor. As the fleet compressed along Stuart Island’s shore, it became an epic battle as to who could manage the traffic jam the best, with big gains usually followed by big losses. The smart money (including Chinook) stayed offshore from the mix and came clear of Turn Point cleanly. On Tango we played the traffic game most of the time, but our best move was bailing out just before Turn Point and taking transoms to get away from the mess.

P&G played the point well, but then took an ill advised tack into the the shore after Turn Point. “Pretty much the whole fleet passed us,” Simanis said. “We were third or fourth from last.”

As predicted, after the fleet got around Patos Island to head south it enjoyed another hard beat. Here the boats with an extra gear for upwind work thrived. Things got squirrely near the finish at Deer Point on Orcas Island, especially for the TP 52 finish. Staying away from the wind holes at the finish was key.

Chinook won her class, as did P&G. Valkyrie beat the three other TP5s to take the win in ORC. Onboard Tango we had a very satisfying second day, having ground down the competition on the breezy beat and losing only to Terremoto by four seconds. Terremoto managed to win the class ahead of the Melges 32 Mischief and White Cloud, which had two excellent performances. Results here.

Round the County rocked. You’ll want to ready when registration opens for 2017. The spots fill up quickly, and with good reason.

 

Ed. Note: An earlier version had Jason Rhodes aboard Mischief, when in fact he was on Valkyrie. Many apologies and many thanks to Joe Cline and Bruce Hedrick for straightening me out.