For some reason, some additional comments on ORC aren’t appearing. I’ll just post them here for everyone to see Dave Lynch further question JAM’s rating and US Sailing’s reponse.
From Dave Lynch, in response to US Sailing’s response to his earlier questions regarding Jam’s rating.
Interesting, and thanks for the sleuthing. There were a couple of items I hadn’t noticed, and it’s helpful. Here are a few thoughts in return:
Difference in 2-blade or 3-blade feathering props. One would think that a 3-blade feathering prop would cause more drag than a 2-blade. In contrast the change was coincident with the change in rating from 540 to 533.
Similarly, one would think a roller furling headsail would be less efficient, and thus slower…that change also happened coincident with the faster rating in 2021 compared to 2017.
The issue of crew weight is a bit hard to evaluate. Given the size of the boat and the need for the boat to be sailed well it’s pretty reasonable to assume the boat is fully crewed for most races. In both 2017 and 2021 the maximum crew weight was 907kg, while in 2023 it was 850kg. Assuming weight of an average crew is 185lbs (84.1kgs) that 57kg (a single smaller crewperson) doesn’t seem like much…especially on a boat that displaces 36,000 lbs.
Changes in D/L ration: from 111 (2017 w/ the aluminum rig) to 106.6 (2023 w/ the carbon rig). Not much of a change. Even less of a difference from 2021 (107.7).
Considering how small the changes are from year to year, and even considering the potential of additive effects, I’m still finding it hard to understand how they can add up to an 18spm change in performance.
And US Sailing’s response to David’s additional concerns:
A 2 bladed feathering and a 3 bladed folding prop are very differently treated. In absolutes the changes are small but lots of small changes do lead to large changes. If I mis-typed it as 3 bladed feathering that is my mistake, the current prop is listed as 3 bladed FOLDING.
Yes, furling will be slower than changing jibs, Jam is now rated as changing jibs having previously been rated with furling jibs. They probably should have been rated this way all along.
None of the noted items aside from possibly the rig composition which in default values mean a carbon rig will have a lighter weight and lower CG had a large individual impact on the rating.
The list was more to point out that the inputs for the boat actually were not the same so it’s a little bit of an apples to pears comparison but not as bad a comparing apples to chickens.
There are always efforts to improve the science and the VPP. This is ongoing work by a group of very smart people. Here is the list of those involved with the ITC (International Technical Committee) being those who work directly on the VPP https://orc.org/index.asp?id=62. This is done proactively versus sailors having to protest ratings as is the policy in other rating systems. As the pool of boats being rated has grown so has the work by the ITC to be sure the rule is fairly rating all boats. There are some types of boats which are rare outside of North America (ULDBs) and there has been a directed effort to make sure these boats are accurately and fairly rated by ORC as their numbers have grown in the database and more performance data has become available. Same for relatively wide boats for their length such as Class 40s.
The folks on the South Straits Race got off in a bit of light air however the breeze will pick up for them late this afternoon or early evening and then build into the low 20’s from the ESE for the rest of the race. Not bad!
We’ve had some rain this week which for the month keeps us almost near normal. For the year we are still behind by 5.77”. Unfortunately for all you outside Easter egg hunters, it is going to be wet especially on Sunday when we could see 1”+ of rainfall. The upcoming week will a series of wash, rinse, and repeat as we are into a typical wet Pac NW pattern. The bad part of this is the warm temps that are even getting into the mountains and starting to melt our snow pack. Don’t forget about California as they are going to get two more wet systems this week as well.
For boaters there will definitely be wind both Saturday and Sunday especially in the Eastern end of the Strait of JdF. The races out of Anacortes and Port Townsend will definitely be impacted as the fleets could see 25-30 knots of SE breeze with higher gusts. Plan accordingly. The Central Sound and South Sound will see slightly less breeze however be sure to check conditions before you head out.
The other charts of interest today are the upper level, 500MB charts. The flow is slowly changing from zonal to meridional and the jet stream is finally starting to work its way north. This migration will be slowed by the presence of an upper level low pressure system right off our coast. See the 96Hr, April 11th 500MB chart. This system will also serve to keep us in a relatively wet pattern for the upcoming week. So much for getting the lawn mowed. That does however give you the opportunity to check the boat, and re-tie the mooring lines and fenders. Winter isn’t done with us yet.
For anybody who’s been wondering what the Globe 40 was all about, and get a taste for these impressive boats, Take a look at this video. Seattle’s Craig Horsfield, who was on the Amhas team that finished second overall, is featured several times in the video.
Correction: A previous version of this post said that the yacht Aquavit lost crew overboard. It did not. It abandoned the race and helped in the recovery of the persons overboard.My apologies to the skipper and crew of Aquavit. This story is still evolving and I hope to get the facts straight soon. KH
If there is a race that signifies the best of Seattle Sailing, this is probably it. By the best, it doesn’t mean the most important or competitive. It does mean fun, inclusiveness, sportsmanship and dose of PNW weather, which can be benign or sporty. Saturday’s Blakely Rock Benefit Race was sporty. So sporty, in fact, a serious rescue was required. Fellow racers, of course, were up for it. More on that later. Results, if you must.
First, we get the photos from our hero Jan Anderson. See the rest of a large album here.
Now, let’s look at inclusiveness. BRBR is a “fun” enough race kids are welcomed. Since this found its way to Youtube from Grady Morgan’s boat, I figure it’s OK to show here. And how did they finish? Better question, who cares?
And now for the sportsmanship and safety issues. This speaks to our great community. During one of the puffs on the return leg from the Rock, the Folkboat Aquavit and other vessels dropped out of the race to help crew overboard situations. Note that the details are still coming together. It’s known that the Seattle Sailing Club boat Avalanche was able to cover the crew overboard. I also heard a firsthand account that one of the overboard crew was in seriously rough shape before rescue. 50-degree water will do that. I’ll let Sloop Tavern Yacht Club Commodore Mike Scribner’s letter to STYC members explain what is known so far.
Hello Sloopers,
Writing to let you know the status of our fellow sailors who were part of the Crew Overboard (CoB) incident during this weekend’s Carol Pearl Blakely Rock Benefit Race. All individuals who were in the water were recovered successfully and transported to on-shore emergency medical services as necessary. All have recovered fully.
A brief recap of what occurred: (This is based on our best current understanding, and is subject to adjustment as we learn more.)
There were three CoB calls within several minutes of each other from three separate vessels participating in the event.
1 of the CoB Calls was withdrawn almost immediately by the vessel as a crew member was found below in the cabin after a crew count occurred.
1 vessel was able to self-recover their crew member who was overboard.
1 vessel had 3 crew members in the water
CoB calls were made by the involved vessel.
The Coast Guard and Seattle Fire responded immediately.
Several event participants immediately retired and/or lowered their sails in order to provide search and recovery assistance.
1 event participant began coordinating the response via radio with the Coast Guard and Seattle Fire & Rescue.
Several event participants attempted to recover individuals in the water, but due to mechanical limitations and higher free-boards, only one vessel was able to recover all three persons in the water.
The recovering vessel was towed into Shilshole Bay by Seattle Fire & Rescue with the crew and recovered COBs on board.
All three individuals were transported to a medical facility and eventually released.
All have recovered fully as of this communication.
I want to take a moment to commend the actions of several vessels that were in the race who immediately responded in an attempt to render assistance.
S/V Avalanche – Skipper: Jean-Piere Boespflug – This was the vessel that was ultimately able to recover all of the individuals who were in the water.
S/V Irie – Skipper: George Dowding – This was the vessel that conducted a substantial amount of on-scene coordination with the Coast Guard and Seattle Fire & Rescue.
This CoB incident could have ended very differently, but did not because of the heroic actions of the vessels, skippers, and crews above. If you see any of these individuals out in our community; please thank them for their quick response in an emergency situation. If you see them at the Sloop; buy them a beer. They deserve that and more.
A number of other vessels also ceased racing and attempted to render assistance to the individuals in the water. Their actions are also commendable and should be recognized for their efforts. These vessels are:
S/V Those Guys – Skipper: Tim Huse
S/V 20 Degrees – Skipper: Duncan Chalmers
S/V Gusto – Skipper: Beth Miller
S/V Perfectly Strange – Skipper: Paul Kalina
S/V Aquavit – Skipper: Dave Sinson
S/V Impulsive – Skipper: Ulf Georg Gwildis
There may have been other vessels involved; our understanding of the incident and all boats on scene is developing. If you have more information; please reach out to Commodore@styc.org.
Additionally; we as a club and the broader community must acknowledge and thank the professional & volunteer first responders who were on scene within minutes. This included response teams from the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, Seattle Harbor Patrol Fire & Rescue, and the Seattle Fire Department. Their response in these situations is critical to saving lives.
Moving Forward:
At this time we are working with all individuals known to be involved in the CoB incidents to fully understand the timeline and circumstances that lead up to these events. As we work with those individuals more information may be released; we ask for your patience as we work through our response. There have already been a number of posts on social media and email threads being passed back and forth on the incident. Information sharing is always encouraged, but I ask that we respect the process and the privacy of the individuals involved.
STYC is committed to putting on safe events and part of that commitment is taking the time to learn everything we can from accidents when they happen. Once we fully understand what transpired, a report will be presented to the STYC Executive Board for review and eventually released to general membership and CPBRBR Participants. The objective of this process is to identify any specific actions that STYC can take as a club to improve safety as well as identifying opportunities to educate our members, and other sailors in the community, on safety best practices, risk identification, management, and mitigation. Sailing is an inherently dangerous sport, even on the calmest days. A 100% mitigation of risk would likely mean never going out at all…In lieu of that; we can prepare ourselves with the right tools, the right training, and the right mindset.
If you have any additional information regarding the incident this weekend, have any questions, or are interested in being part of the safety review process. Please let me know. Commodore@styc.org
Once again, it’s going to be a very interesting weekend. The doom and gloom forecasts certainly help to drive ratings for the TV weather nogs but the reality may be something quite different because the models are not in agreement about the system we have coming ashore right now. The sat pic, Doppler radar, and surface analysis all show an occluded front headed our way, and the sat pic in particular shows quite an area of cool, unstable air behind the front. Current readings from Destruction Island on the coast show the barometric pressure is rising and the post-frontal wind building into the 30-knot range. It is always interesting to watch what happens as these fronts encounter the land and the Olympic Mountains. Typically they weaken and slow down however, we shall see.
The overall weather picture from the surface analysis chart shows a moderate low-pressure system (984MB) just off of Sitka, with a weak trough of low-pressure just inland from SE Alaska to Oregon. There is also a weak high-pressure system (1010MB) just on the other side of the Cascades and a series of weak highs (1022-1026MB) in the Pacific. The jet stream and upper air chart for today still show a mostly zonal flow with a cut-off upper-level low just north of Hawaii and the jet stream coming ashore in LA. All of these will keep our temps below normal and keep us in a rainy pattern for today and tomorrow.
It’s the surface forecast chart for tomorrow which shows the pressure gradient easing as the front has passed. Some models have the wind over the central Sound easing to the 5-12 knot range while the UW MM5 model shows a post-frontal flow coming through the Chehalis Gap and up the Sound in the 15-18 knot range and then building to 20-25 in the early afternoon before a northerly of 12-16 knots fills down the Sound in the mid-afternoon. This will keep tacticians and trimmers very busy and help to keep them warm in the cold and the rain.
Tidal Current at West Point won’t be an issue tomorrow.
0700 Slack
1218 Max Fld .32 knts
1430 Slack
1542 Max Ebb .14 knts
1730 Slack
With a consistent southerly for today and tomorrow as well as a fair amount of freshwater being dumped into the Sound by the Duwamish and the Ship Canal may result in a wind-generated surface current flowing to the north and negating the weak flood. Something to watch especially in the neighborhood of the West Point and Meadow Point buoys.
March 31 Satellite PictureMarch 31 Doppler RadarApril 1 MM5
So how do we sail the race tomorrow? Most likely the usual topographical shifts will still be in play along the east side of the Sound. So getting a clean start and finding a lane of clear air up to West Point will be critical. At West Point, it will be time to head across the Sound and get to the west side to be in a position to take advantage of the puffs that will be lifts on starboard tack as you go up the Bainbridge shore. Watch getting in too close to the Bainbridge shore as it can be lighter in there.
As you approach the Rock you’ll probably set up to do a port pole bear-away set so you can avoid the rocks just north of Blakely Rock. If the wind starts to lighten up, it’s time to gybe and aim for Meadow Point. Near West Point, you’ll want to start trying to figure out how to be the inside boat for the rounding at Meadow Point and discussing what kind of drop you’re going to do so you can have everything clear to tack away from the beach. It gets shallow very quickly in there so be ready and make sure the boats around you know that you’re going to need shore room.
Once on the beat to the finish, you will need to figure out how to get to the favored end of the finish line. If it’s the boat end of the line get back to the beach so you can tack to port and lay the committee boat end. If it’s the buoy end of the line hold port from Meadow Point until you can tack to starboard to get to the buoy.
Have fun, stay safe, stay warm, and enjoy the race.
It is still a cooler and more unstable spring and that will be seen as we race tomorrow. As far as rainfall goes, we are only 1” behind for the month however we are 5.1” behind for the year. Unlike California which is ahead for just about everything. Plus they are going to get another rainy and breezy event on the 28th when another compact low-pressure system comes ashore near San Francisco bringing rain to the Coast and Central Valley and more snow to the Sierra Nevada Range. See the surface forecast chart for 28 March as well as the 500MB charts.
Today’s surface analysis and sat pic show the surface trough of low pressure moving inland with a weak high-pressure system off of Northern CA. In the sat pic, note the trough along the coast and the cool, unstable air behind the trough. As the high builds offshore, the pressure gradient will ease over the Salish Sea. By tomorrow morning a weak trough will drift inland while a secondary lobe of high-pressure builds inland over northern CA and southern OR. This will have the effect of keeping a predominately southerly flow over the area for tomorrow while a weak onshore flow will develop down the Strait of JdF. This may bring a weak northerly flow into the North Sound and Admiralty Inlet late tomorrow, it just won’t last.
March 24 Satellite
For the general race area tomorrow we’ll probably start with a nice southerly of 8-12 knots. This will hold until about mid-day when the gradient will ease and the breeze south of West Point will ease to 3-5 knots but remain in the 8-10 knot range north of West Point. By about 1400hrs the breeze will ease to 3-5 knots from Alki to Edmonds. By about 1500hrs the breeze will be light and variable from Everett to Alki. In other words, we would hope to be finished by 1400-1500hrs.
The other interesting feature tomorrow will be the tidal currents at West Point:
0748 Slack
0930 Max Ebb .37 knts
1212 Slack
1730 Max Flood .84 knots
Presuming an upwind start, that puts us against a weak ebb and if we go to Blakely Rock or Duwamish Head and hopefully nothing further south, we will then have to fight a building flood as the breeze drops. As I said, the “Best Course for the Day” will be a challenge. At least the rain will be light and the temps coolish. YUK!
Sunday will be much the same except up in the Straits where there will be a pre-frontal SE.
#Breaking (1/2) #USCG crews are responding to an abandoned tugboat that sunk this morning in Salmon Bay near #Ballard in Seattle. There are NO pollutants on board. All diesel and oily water was removed in 2021 after the vessel was deemed derelict. @SeattleFire responded as well. pic.twitter.com/oeOnPGRbXE
Well, this will be a short report. The rain is backing off, the jet stream will stay south which will keep the systems going into California. This will also keep temperatures a little cooler than normal. At least for the tomorrow the high will finally be in the low 60’s.
The problem for the Islands Race will be that the breeze is going to be light and variable over the Salish Sea for most of the day tomorrow. As you look at the surface charts, the gap in the isobars is fairly wide, so no pressure gradient. So pretty much you can expect 0-5 knots of wind, at least it won’t be raining and the temp will be in the 60’s.
Enjoy the weekend.
(Ed. Note: Racers might be interested in checking out the ORC article posted earlier today.)
The longstanding stranglehold PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) holds over PNW handicapping may be waning as ORC (the acronym goes back to Offshore Rating Congress) rises. I’ve thought this, and been wrong, before. This time there appears to be a groundswell of support from owners of smaller boats.
There are a couple of elements at work, the difficulties and frustration with PHRF and the growing international acceptance of ORC as the common measurement rule and handicapping system.
Earlier this year, three custom boats hulls were scanned – a prerequisite for custom boats or those not in the ORC database. It’s part of a big new push to give ORC handicapping a foothold in the smaller boat classes. For years the “big boats” have been racing under ORC while the smaller and slower boats have held fast with PHRF. More boats will be measured in April.
It may help that the Head Measurer for US Sailing is none other than the rigger Chris Tutmark, who has rigged (and measured) many PNW racing boats over the last few decades.
I asked Alex Simanis of Ballard Sails, Nigel Barron of CSR Marine and Chris Tutmark (all instrumental in promoting ORC) to share some thoughts.
Alex Simanis
I think many current PHRF members are seeking a new rating alternative. While I am not an expert in the ORC world, I am becoming more and more educated in the process of obtaining a cert, and the processes for different boats to get them.
Pell Mell being measured in the cold and dark.
My 26-footer Pell Mell has been fully inclined, measured, weighed, and now has been scanned in anticipation of applying for an ORCi (fully measured cert). Most big races on the west coast require a fully measured ORR or ORC cert, and with our level of participation in events outside of Puget sound coming up in the next few years it is a no- brainer.
The fact of the matter is that PHRF is a blunt instrument, and the ratings in the PNW have become very skewed compared to other parts of the country. The current leadership does not seem very interested in looking at actual deltas between boats, or even observed performance.
There are also a number of loopholes in the PHRF NW rule book that they seem reluctant to close.
An ORC rating is actually based in science. The ORC organization spends a lot of money annually getting their VPP programs updated, and they continually revise rules and guidelines for ratings.
One thing that I have felt for years is that there is no way to rate boats on a single number system. Some boats perform very linearly, some do not. I do believe that when boats have been fully measured, and race committees do a good job of administering the system, it should be a more fair system for a wide range of boats, across a wide range of conditions.
It seems like each rating band has an owner or a few owners rara-ing the ORC movement.
The big boats have been racing under ORC club for a few years now. Now, the +/- 18 raters are getting massive interest.
We had Moonshine, Pell Mell, and Scheme (Pyramid 30) hull scanned These super custom boats needed the hull files for ORC to work with.
In the United States, US Sailing is the authority in making ORC Certs, and in charge of administering the rule. After a great chat with Chris Tutmark last week, who is now the US sailing head measurer, he informed me that applying through US sailing is super simple and a one stop shop for ORC/ ORR ratings. You will have to apply, and input data that you have. US Sailing may require more data, depending on the level of rating required.
It is my understanding that most well known production boats already have hull files. So that part will be easy. The weight, inclines and other measurements need to be done by an approved measurer. Chris Tutmark is working with a few local people to get them up to speed on measuring. There will be a big round of measuring/training coming up in April.
For each boat there are multiple ratings, for buoy racing, random leg, and off wind. These are driven by average wind strength chosen by the race committee. There are different ways of coming to this.
As for worldwide acceptance, it seems like ORC is especially taking hold in Europe.
On the east coast, there are a growing number of certificates, and many more events are using this rule, right down to evening beer can races. On the West Coast, St. Francis YC has agreed to adopt the rule for their major events including the Rolex Big Boat series. Van Isle 360 requires ORC. Overall, it seems like this is here to stay.
PHRF will likely always be around. it is good for local beer cans, etc. The reality is that PHRF does not have tools that measurement based rules do.
Nigel Barron
The issue I see with PHRF is that it was a rule designed long before boats could get up on a plane. As Alex says, it’s a single number system so can’t account for how those boats react in different conditions. ORC is gaining momentum. Really the last major races on the West Coast that use anything other than ORC are Transpac, Pacific Cup and Cabo San Lucas. All are California races, hanging on with their last death grip to their rule (ORR – Offshore Racing Rule). Royal Victoria’s Vic-Maui Race uses ORC.
Additionally, PHRF has a habit of adjusting ratings and considering that rating change in vacuum without consideration of what it does to the boats around or in the same relative range.
The Pyramid 30 Scheme gets scanned as well.
One of the biggest things holding back ORC implementation in Seattle is the aversion of certain yacht clubs to do anything to help it or to score it correctly. For many years, Corinthian Yacht Club used the GPH number on the certificate in spite of the fact that it clearly states, do not use this number – it’s only for class breaks. CYC still, even now with the Center Sound Series insists on using only the ToT All-Purpose Medium number. SYC will use the triple number system and uses the appropriate wind range. CYC, by doing this, negates all the advantages of having a multi-number rating system.
Getting a certificate is relatively simple. It gets a little more complicated for a one-off design or boat that has had a lot of modifications. Truly the best part for me is the idea that you can’t have an argument with an inanimate object. You put data in, and a rating comes out. That’s it. No politics, no consideration as to how it fits in a fleet, just a number.
Chris Tutmark
I had been working as a local measurer since 2017 for the measurement rules, both ORC and ORR. In the PNW ORR is not used but races in CA do use ORR. The prior Head Measurer reached out to me when he decided to retire a little over a year ago. I interviewed for the position in Mid-April and my first day was May 1. I split time working in the office and remotely until I could relocate to RI in August.
There are three of us in the Offshore office; Jim Teeters who is head of the office, Sydney Hough and me. We support all handicap systems in use by US boats; ORC, ORR, IRC and PHRF. In regard to numbers, in 2022, we issued close to 1000 ORC certificates, just over 300 ORR certificate and a smaller number of IRC certificates for US boats racing in Europe, the Caribbean and Australia. As 2022 was a Newport-Bermuda year we expect a slight downturn in ORR certificates for 2023 with ORC continuing to expand in North America. Some areas have or are expanding ORC for weeknight and more casual racing. Annapolis added ORC for weeknight racing in 2022, Detroit is planning to do this in 2023 and clubs in San Diego are also looking into this.
A part of my job is to give the local measurers the tools/skills to get boats measured in their areas. In the PNW, my departure created a gap in the coverage so my trip there in April will be to work with some people who have expressed interest in becoming measurers as well as getting boats measured which need to be measured. Most of these are custom or semi-custom boats where sistership data is not available or the boat is different from sisterships. For production boats the process is very quick to get a rating, should a boat want to be directly measured, this can be arranged, and that data will be applied for that boat’s rating.
For those boats who need an ORC certificate, the first step is on the US Sailing ORC page https://www.ussailing.org/competition/offshore/orc/ On the page is large red button to “Start your 2023 ORC Application” https://www.ussailing.org/competition/offshore/orc/#application which takes the sailor to a list of items to have handy for the application. If someone has questions or runs into difficulties with the application, they can always reach out to us in the office offshore@USsailing.org or me directly christutmark@ussailing.org. This offer also applies to YCs/OAs which may have questions on scoring or how to use the variety of ratings that are produced on an ORC certificate. As part of my trip to the PNW we are also looking at doing a presentation- Q&A session in Seattle, details are still being finalized. (Ed. Note: We’ll share those details when they’re available)
With a full staff in the offshore office and our new application form, we are looking forward to 2023 and helping sailors get their certificates.
My Thoughts
The problem with PHRF coincides with its strength, flexibility. PHRF evolved as an inexpensive handicapping system that could rate disparate boats for the predominant conditions in a given area. With enough data, interpreted by experienced handicappers, this would be perfect. And it served its purpose, to a degree, for decades.
The TP52s Smoke and Glory, plus all other big boats, have been using ORC successfully for several years. Jan Anderson photo.
Problems with PHRF are well known, but in my opinion, they come down to one simple element – the human factor. Handicappers are human, and humans (whether they know it or not) are susceptible to preconceptions, prejudices and mis-information.
Competitive sailors are also human. When they fail to compete effectively, they seek a reason. In one-design, it all basically comes down to the sailors themselves, how they prepared themselves and the boat and how they sailed. In handicapped racing, it’s much the same – the sailors are responsible for boat preparation and decisions on the race course.
But then there’s the additional element of handicapping. The key here is perception of fairness. Usually a “wrong” handicap doesn’t affect results too much – an unfair rating might mean a place or two. However, the competitive sailor goes directly to the reason why they didn’t win. If the non-winners feel they’ve been unfairly penalized, or that the competition has been given a “gift” rating, it’s hard for them to feel good about the racing. If a winner senses their competitors feel he/she has a gift rating, winning doesn’t feel so good. These feelings abound after racing, especially close racing, and if there’s even a hint of human error in the rating (which in PHRF is all the time) the discussion focuses on that.
Then there’s the chance to protest one’s own or one’s competitor’s rating by presenting to a roomful of handicappers. This “opportunity” has caused untold stress for anyone involved and left countless friendly competitor relationships in tatters.
For some, this whole fairness thing doesn’t matter much to their enjoyment. They’re happy to be on the water in the company of other boats, and if there’s a victory involved it’s a bonus. But for the more competitive sailor, the sense of fairness means a lot.
Measurement rules are not panaceas. Problems always arise and ratings often seem unfair. But at least the system gets blamed and not Joe Handicapper or that skipper who wrote a 200-page legal brief to get their rating changed. A measurement system makes it much easier to toast one’s competitors back at the club.
If you’re like me, you have some mixed emotions any time a sailing movie comes out. I keep hoping one of those brilliant movie minds will somehow share with the world how great sailing is. Sometimes it comes close. More often, we get The Whomper (Wind) or the abysmal All is Lost. I’m pleased to report that True Spirit, the recently released Netflix movie about Jessica Watson’s circumnavigation, is engaging and accurate enough. It is only cringe-worthy in a few places, which for a sailing movie makes it a success.
Actress Teagan Croft as Jessica Watson
First off, Jessica Watson’s story is remarkable. You might remember when in 2010 the 16-year-old sailed into Sydney Harbor to be greeted by 100,000 thousand adoring Aussies including the prime minister. She is the youngest person to solo circumnavigate nonstop. While much of the sailing world wasn’t aware of her trip until that moment, Aussies had been tracking it all along. The movie makes clear just how important this voyage was to Australians.
The movie splits time between “Jess” on the boat and her family watching from home. Unlike sailors like my childhood hero Robin Lee Graham, today’s adolescent voyagers can (and do) call home daily on satellite phones. And with help from big sisters on shore, they even blog en route.
As far as the sailing footage and computer-generated monster waves, I’m reminded of A Perfect Storm. Some sensorial things can’t be generated in a computer. The cringe-worth moments were an overly drawn-out pitchpoling which left the lovely S&S 34 upside down for an eternity. While it surely felt like that to Watson, the sailors in the audience will likely cringe at the boat being upside down long enough for the EPIRB to go off, that information to be picked up by the rescue services, and a phone call made to the family.
Anna Paquin had the most impressive acting performance as Watson’s mother, transitioning from supportive and loving to her daughter and family, then breaking down with fear when the time came to be afraid. Teagan Croft does a good job of portraying Watson, and director Sarah Spillane managed to craft a movie that is inspiring but not too sappy.
The real Jessica Watson.Photo by Kate Dyer
My favorite moment in the movie was when the sailing community pulled together. I’ll bet they did just that. And I’m so glad Watson did her circumnavigation in a modest (but well built and prepared) older 34-footer. No need for new or big.
You might remember Maidentrip, the story of Laura Dekker’s circumnavigation. That too was a worthwhile movie and an amazing story.
I’d suggest going to the history vs. Hollywood website page to weed through the real vs fiction versions.
As an aside, moviemakers seem to be drawn to idea of a girl circumnavigating as opposed to a boy. One thing that True Spirit, Maidentrip and Jeanne Socrates‘ voyages make clear: the love for sailing and the desire to head out to sea doesn’t have much to do with gender or age. Girls of any age are just as drawn to it and capable as boys of any age, if not more. No serious sailors I know would see it any other way.
