RULES: made to be broken?

A former “sea lawyer” goes back to school to revisit the rules for how to sail a boat on a race course.

A very long time ago, I got my hands on the USYRU Appeals Book. It was a short/wide 3-ring binder. In it was the “case law” for the rules of sailboat racing.

I don’t remember how I got it. But, I remember where I opened and started reading it: in a Burger King somewhere in Midtown-East. That makes me wonder if I picked it up at the New York Yacht Club in the 40’s, where the YRALIS had a small “front desk” thing going on.

Anywho, I remember getting grub and going to the downstairs seating area. I ate, and went through the right-of-way section. I started highlighting those appeals that mattered: the ones that dealt with the less obvious “what ifs” of sailboat racing. For all the good it might do…

***In that pic:*** copy of the rule book, two editions ago. It came in the mail as part of my US Sailing membership although I wasn’t racing at the time.

Did I become a “sea lawyer?” No. Not in the generally understood sense of the term. That would mean I was always getting into it with other racers, yelling, threatening, protesting, etc, etc. That wasn’t me. I just wanted to understand the rules and be able to race within them. Sure, that meant having the occasional tactical advantage, and sometimes enforcing it by speaking up on the race course, but always better to avoid tiff and just sail the race.

The idea was to steer clear of trouble, not look for it.

The basics of the racing rules are, basically, like those that apply to everyone else. One is a common sense rule: don’t hit shit from behind. That leaves two other basic rules:

A boat with the wind coming over its starboard (right) side has right of way over the opposite (wind coming over port side). When “steam” (power) driven vessels emerged, the equivalent was that when crossing, the one on the right had right of way. Then, cars came along and, well… same.
When two boats both have the wind coming over the same side, the leeward (downwind) boat has right of way.

But, racing is more complicated. We deliberately cram ourselves into tight quarters and turns, often at speed, and have to deal with the mess when we converge. So, the details are tricky.

***In that pic:*** tight mark rounding at the Finn Masters Worlds, Torbole, Italia (sailing on Lago di Garda), 2016. The Finn was the Olympic singlehanded dinghy for many Olympiads. Had a great run. Despite it being dropped, with the Laser remaining for lighter sailors, the Finn is resilient and sees large numbers of boats at regattas – for “masters” as well as the younger set. It’s a heavyweight brute, and arguably the hardest boat to sail in the world. Berit Hainoja, photo.

The appeals help sort out some of these situations for racers. It starts with a protest, when one boat calls out another over an alleged foul on the race course. If the protested boat doesn’t agree and do penalty turns, there’s a protest hearing after the day’s racing is done. If the loser of the appeal isn’t satisfied, they can appeal it. The race committee for the event organizes an appeals committee..

If THAT doesn’t go their way, and they want to keep it real, they can further appeal it. Ultimately, for America, US Sailing (formerly United States Yacht Racing Union, and before that, North American Yacht Racing Union) is the Supreme Court of sailboat racing. World Sailing is the global Supreme Court.

One appeal in particular always stood out. It dealt with mark roundings. Most sailboat racing involves crossing a specified starting line, turning around specified marks, and crossing a finish line (often the same as the start). When boats meet at those marks, the rules get tricky.

Without worrying about all those rounding rules, we’ll just talk about one principle: room at the mark, or “mark room.” Sometimes, one boat has to give room to another to round the mark, or go first. Everyone who races is at least vaguely aware of how that works.

When a good chunk of the fleet arrives at a mark roughly at the same time, it’s chaotic. Boats that are denied room at the mark have to keep clear. There might be nowhere to go! Sometimes, however, a boat that’s ahead and doesn’t have to give room makes a bad rounding or turn. That can leave room that wasn’t intended. What’s a boat to do?

If you’re coming in from behind, you can take advantage of “room given in error” (formerly, room “freely” given). So, if you get to the right place at the wrong time, but another boat struggles and swings wide, it’s fine to swoop into the gap and round the mark inside of the other boat and wind up ahead.

In my racing experience, going back to the 1980’s, this concept goes beyond being misunderstood. Most people never heard of it. It was the case then; it’s still the case now.

***In that pic:*** BUSC, 2024 – the inaugural Brooklyn Urban Sunfish Championship, hosted by Sebago Canoe Club in Canarsie. I had to miss that one due to teaching commitments. Here, all but two of the boats shown are sailing downwind. Two have rounded a mark that must be out of the pic, and are heading back upwind. The Race Committee boat is anchored mid photo. When it’s not a required turning mark, boats passing it can treat it as an obstruction and potentially get room from competitors to do so. Not so when it’s a starting or finish mark, which it is for every race. Photog unkown.

Back when I was frostbiting in Dyer Dhow dinghies, this came up once. Bud MacIntyre (might be misspelling his name) was a nice guy in the fleet. He was ahead of me as we approached a jibe mark, which is when sailing diagonally downwind, a boat has to execute a “jibe” turn to get around the mark and on course towards the next one further downwind. The course change was typically 60-90 degrees. Jibing means crossing through the wind ass-backwards, when the winds is from behind the boat, and the sails cross over.

I was behind and slightly to the mark side of Bud. I didn’t qualify for “room at the mark.” But, Bud was a big boy. Barely fit in that little boat. He got tangled up and swung wide of the mark, slowly and painfully. He knew I was there and said “don’t go in.” Several times, I think. I don’t remember if I said anything, much less what it was.

(I do know what I’d say now: “Try and stop me!”)

Anywho, Bud swung way wide and gave me more than wee room. I took it and went inside of him at the mark. There was no contact, and he couldn’t shut me out much less round the mark well. He couldn’t have hit me if he tried. (If he could, and did, I’d have to do penalty turns or risk being protested and disqualified.) Of course, he protested. There was a hearing. He said I didn’t have room at the mark but went in anyway. I said he swung way wide and left a ton of room, and couldn’t defend the hole by hitting me if he’d tried, and that I was entitled by the appeal (case law) to take advantage of room freely given.

Despite the facts not being in question, and the appeal ruling being clear, they disqualified me – despite there being no contact. For the low-level of Sunday afternoon frostbite racing, that was silly. But, it’s what’s done, and why it’s best to avoid protests and hearings if at all possible. The people who decide it are on the spot, and usually not up to the task -which is a thankless one, really, when everyone is out playing together and then some have to referee a squabble. No good comes of it.

***In that pic:*** that clump of red isn’t a bloody hanky – it’s a bleedin’ protest flag! This sailor is protesting another boat (or more). The flag must be hoisted or otherwise brandished as soon as practically possible. Upon finish, or as soon as possible thereafter, this sailor would have fully informed the race committee of the protest (which boat/boats he’s protesting). Finn Masters Worlds again (Berit Hainoja, photo).

Fast forward many decades. A client and friend of the school, who took some cruising classes with us and joined the Club, was racing a boat in the Virgin Islands. There’s a series where one can charter a boat and participate. He was protested and disqualified in a race, and asked me what I thought.

The details were different, but the concept was the same: room was given and he took advantage of it. When his competitor lost ground to him based on losing the boat-to-boat duel, said competitor got pissy and protested. Loser.

Unfortunately, he became a winner (at least compared to my buddy) because he won the protest. My buddy got a DSQ. He asked me to look it all over and give my thoughts. I did; and that required revisiting the racing rules.

The rules have changed a lot since I was regularly active in racing. They were simplified; oversimplified, if you ask me. (BTW: check out the YouTube channel “Oversimplified” for quick, cartoon-art videos that whittle down historical events to bite sized chunks. Super entertaining.)

It’s much easier if something is added; WAY harder to deal with simplification or subtraction. So, there was that: get acclimated to the new rules. Truth: I’d been racing again, starting in ‘23, and had NOT learned the rule changes. So, I figured that until I did, I’d avoid trouble. If in doubt, turn away from the other boat. I really should have re-learned the rules properly before I got on the race course, but it was super friendly club racing and I could get away with it.

So, I re-learned the rules more or less. Then, I re-visited my buddy’s situation. My original conclusion had been that he was in the right: he’d taken advantage of room given in error/freely. I also found a new rule that went even more in our direction: when a right of way boat alters course, they must initially allow room for the other boat to keep clear. This is more limiting on the right-of-way boat, and should also have helped his case, which was…

***In that pic:*** diagram that Alex drew for the appeal he lodged after being disqualified from a race. He’s #7, far right in diagram.

He was sailing toward the starting line, specifically the anchored committee boat. Ahead of him was the competitor in question. (This was a fleet race; no other boats were close or relevant to this sequence so they’re not shown.) Let’s call them boat A (asshole) and boat B (buddy). Boat A hovered head to wind (pointing directly at the wind) motionless or nearly so. He was blocking the route Boat B would take, to pass directly downwind/behind the committee boat and then head up toward the wind to cross the line and start.

(nb: in the diagram above, “A” is #8 and “B” is #7.)

Something would have to give: Boat A would have to turn away from the wind at some point and actually sail if he were to cross the line and proceed toward the first mark. But, if he didn’t do so before Boat B arrived, B would have to dip below/behind A and hope to make up the lost ground with better speed. (That could open up another can of sea serpents: if there were a boat or three downwind of B, they could potentially block him from passing Boat A, and he’d have to head up to the near side and sit waiting his turn.)

Boat A, predictably, headed away from the wind to accelerate and cross the starting line. That left a lot of room for Boat B to sail in between him and the RC boat. He did. They both crossed the starting line (between RC boat and a mark way to the left, forming the starting line). Some seconds went by. Then, Boat A decided to alter course by heading up toward both the wind and Boat B. Boat B headed up too, as A was entitled to do that – but up to a point:

Can’t go beyond “head to wind,” or you’re “tacking,” and lose all rights to a boat “on a tack;” or, at least that’s what it used to be…
Under new rules, must initially allow the give-way boat room to keep clear. In this case, if boat B was forced past head to wind, it would also be forced into the committee boat or its anchor. Therefore, A couldn’t do that.
Room freely given was almost not even relevant, but would force a competent race committee to ignore that complaint from boat A, which is what it protested about: A claimed B was “barging,” or trying to force its way in between boat A and the starting mark (which it’s not allowed to do). Barging isn’t a rule and isn’t mentioned in the rules, but it’s the common name for the situation. rule that out, and one can then focus on the rules at hand (limits on altering course).

Boat A went beyond “head to wind,” and Boat B didn’t. A hit B lightly; no real damage. But, contact means both boats must retire (quit), or one or both must protest the other and have a hearing. If there’s contact, at least one must be disqualified after the hearing. (No contact? No requirement for a boat to be tossed from the race, although that’s the way it usually goes.)

My buddy in Boat B was DSQ’s as I wrote. Based on my opinion, he decided to appeal. But, he wasn’t able to get a written copy of the Race Committee’s decision and the appeal committee decided against him largely on that basis. (Reasonable, although unreasonable and odd that the RC didn’t supply the decision. Maybe they didn’t want to deal and/or be seen as correcting their own mistake, as RC and Appeals Committee might have overlapped.)

After I’d given him my initial opinion, I also asked for that of key members at Sebago Canoe Club where I race dinghies. Some of them race a lot, and travel to regattas both in the US and abroad. One guy (the most traveled) got back to me. He thought that Boat B was “barging” and didn’t have rights – which is exactly what everyone always thinks, and what the Race Committee thought as well.

I read the rules. I found the appeals. One source of help for that was David Perry. Look him up; he was a top racer back in his day and has been considered the pre-eminent rules expert for a long time. He’s the guy for US Sailing as far as rules are concerned. My Da and I saw him give a talk on racing back in the late ‘80’s somewhere in Connecticut. Nice guy. Well, I emailed US Sailing about the appeals; trying to find them in general and this one in particular. Dave and another fellow both got back to me.

Dave and I share a few things in common: we’re male members of the species, we’ve both lived in Connecticut, and we both raced Lasers and Solings. We’re both good at the rules (me in the past, and playing catch-up now; Dave always). The main difference is in the success level. According to North U (North Sails racing education arm),..

While at Yale (1973-77) he was captain of the National Championship Team in 1975, and was voted All-American in 1975 and 1977. Other racing accomplishments include: 1st, 1978 Tasar North Americans; 5th, 1979 Laser Worlds; 1st, 1982, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2015 U.S. Match Racing Championship (POW); 1st, 1983 and 1984 Congressional Cup; and 1st, 1994, 1999 and 2003 Ideal 18 North American Championship.

Dave also campaigned a Soling at the top tier, vying for but falling short of an Olympic berth.

Me? Largely learned to sail on Solings; raced them at the lowest, weakest level that existed; crewed for someone at the East Coast championships once (zero tactical responsibility on my part and zero fucks given by the skipper for my opinion on anything); raced Lasers with some success at the District level (NYC/Long Island). Got back into Lasers two years ago; everyone considers me “fast.” Haven’t sailed a proper race in one yet since resuming (did so with Sunfish and Vanguard 15’s and, again, “fast,” and occasional moments of brilliance balanced by blunders and mediocrity in a low level fleet).

Dave spent some time getting acquainted with and helping me via email; I very much appreciated that. He put me onto the appeal I needed as well. It’s not the one I remember, but maybe I don’t remember it well. They do delete some and add others, so it’s possible the old one is simply gone and replaced by a “better” one. The concept is exactly the same, and it is in fact settled “case law.”

The net/net: here are the two appeals that apply to this particular race start.

First: Case 146 from World Sailing’s Case Book (Appeals). This one establishes that once a leeward boat (downwind, or to downwind side) lets a windward boat (opposite) in between itself and a starting mark, it can’t whine about it later. It also can’t force the windward boat into that mark. Normally, leeward has rights over windward, and can alter course toward it and make windward move. This is one of the exceptions those rights. The Case goes on to explain that “barging” isn’t a rule or discussed in the rules, and is only an issue when a windward boat forces its way in between a leeward boat and a mark. No force? No foul…

And now, the US Sailing Appeal on room given in error… Appeal #5, all the way from 1950!

Appeal #5 is where it’s at. One of the older appeals; still as unknown today as it was back in my day. It’s the concept of room freely given (now room given in error). One takes a risk trying to take advantage of it, but if an “attacking” boat assesses the course well, and the boat being attacked – and not required to give room – is unable to do anything about it, for any reason, it’s fine to take that room. Common sense, IMHO. Yet, all anyone can think of is “barging.”

B-Buddy (real name Alex) decided that it was a very interesting learning experience and let it lay. He really didn’t have much choice. On the race course, one can usually make this choice: get into it with competitors, or just avoid rule confrontations. Sail faster and smarter, and enjoy playing by trying to win a sailboat race. Stay out of the courtroom. Leave that to the “sea lawyers.“

”Some of my best friends are lawyers.” In fact, my two best friends ever are lawyers. I’ve lost touch with one sadly (he moved to Asia). The other is right here and we still argue about whether his wife and he saw a large barracuda, or a small shark, on one of our Virgin Island trips. He knows all the lawyer/shark jokes.

Here’s one, told by the one I lost touch with. short version (want the long version? Post a comment in reply to this, and I’ll post the whole joke for ya!).

Why do sharks never attack any lawyers they find from shipwrecks?

Professional courtesy.

And, speaking of actual sharks, here’s a story relayed by a lawyer about a lawyer: https://www.drewcochranlaw.com/2019/08/06/lawyer-bitten-by-shark-and-other-jokes-that-write-themselves/

Plus: when looking up these lawyer jokes, came across this interesting piece on, of all things, a body-shop web site/blog: https://www.fenderbender.com/running-a-shop/operations/article/33021856/lawyer-jokes

Racing Rules, from World Sailing, 2025-2028 edition: https://www.sailing.org/inside-world-sailing/rules-regulations/racingrules/

US Sailing Appeals (red-lined edition): https://www.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Appeals-Book-2017-2020-Section-3-red-lined-edition-December-21-2020.pdf

Oops, I Did It Again (Again)

I apparently figured out how to sail a Sunfish well enough, and had a similar last regatta of the season compared to last year’s send-off.

Just about a year ago, I’d missed the entire Fall Series of racing at Sebago Canoe Club, where I sail various racing dinghies either for sheer fun or for sport. So had everyone else; the series had basically not been run due to a string a terrible weather weekends. So, the last day of racing was the only day. I showed up. I wrote about that in a prior Blog Rant.

*In that pic:* yours truly, a year ago, sailing a Sunfish for the first time in a racing regatta. Sebago Fall Series, Jamaica Bay, Brooklyn.

This year, I missed all the days except the last, but at least this year, others got to sail and have a meaningful series. I almost didn’t show up so as not to interfere with anyone who’d “qualified” for the final standings. But, that’s not the etiquette. Everyone wants everyone to come out and sail. So I did.

Again, it was all Sunfish racing. I let the racers know in advance that I wanted to AVOID taking one of the better boats and leave them for anyone who had qualified (as I certainly wasn’t, showing up only once and doing no volunteer stint on Race Committee or anything). I was told to not worry about it.

So, I didn’t. I showed up, and a number of boats were already rigging up. I went up to one of the Club’s Sunfish, confirmed it was a Club boat and not private, said, “this looks good,” and rigged it up. I didn’t worry about which sail and foils I took (daggerboard and rudder). As long as I had all the parts, I was good to go. I would have to sail the boat well.

***In that pic:*** Isis on the left, with Max and his newly acquired very young Sunfish. It was from the Sunfish World’s in Lago di Garda, Italia. When it came up for sale, I badly wanted it – but realized I just didn’t need it. Max is really enjoying it. And, as great as the boat is, it’s only the icing on the cake of his dominance of the Sunfish fleet at Sebago lately. He’s just sailing well.

We had light winds, but enough to sail, and sometimes enough to require hiking out to hold the boat down flat. (At least for a Hobbit like me at around 130 pounds soaking wet.) Enough at first, anyway. More on that later.

My plan was to focus intently on the start, get a good one, and be flexible to sail in relation to the wind without worrying about my competitors blocking my choice. Just as with the first race a year ago, I did a good job. Details were different. Last year, I was right on the line with no competition in my way. This time, several competitors were camped out on the line awaiting the final seconds to accelerate and cross it. At first, I was going to camp to the right of them, let them start to turn away from the wind to accelerate, and then jump in between them and the mark. Risky. They could block me out.

Instead, I just sailed fast below them, passed the pack, and rounded up to the line with full speed and crossed just at or after the horn. The pack I passed? Cluster-fucked. They had no speed and trouble keeping out of each others way. I rounded the top mark first, and was leading approaching the bottom. But, then there was Max.

Max is a great guy and one of the better sailors in the fleet. He was leading the fall series, and it didn’t hurt that he had his own boat that was in great shape. “It’s gotta be the boat” said no one ever here. It’s how you sail it. It doesn’t make much difference in speed. Max had a slight edge in speed compared to me, but if I got a better wind shift, or tacked across the wind more efficiently, that would more than offset the nicer boat.

Max was slowly catching up to me the whole way down to the bottom mark, and he was on the verge of getting an “inside overlap” as we got near the zone: the 3-boat length circle that was the deadline to be overlapped and get “mark room.” I wasn’t sure, but it looked like he was barely overlapped consistently for about 10 solid seconds as we approached what I thought we get the circle. I asked him if he thought he had it; he said yes.

It was for me to decide; any doubt would be in my favor. I thought he had it. “You got it. You round first.” He did, and that put him in first fair and square. I wasn’t able to edge him out on the last leg. Max won the first race and I came in second out of 6 boats on the line that day.

Next race? I won. I might have been second and then caught up to the boat in the lead; I can’t remember. But I won fair and square.

My boat speed was excellent. Only Max was faster, and only slightly. But, he was sailing better overall compared to me. No apparent mistakes; solid starts in every race. I was more all over the place, my yo-yo M.O.

But it was fun! Until it wasn’t. The wind got so light and flukey that no one could really figure it out. It was frustrating and we had delays in between the last few races while the Race Committee tried to sort it and make a sensible plan.

***In that pic:*** less work to lay out than keep ones balance sitting and bobbing with the occasional powerboat wake. When it’s that calm, it’s not sailable.

At one point, the wind backed (shifted counter clockwise) from NNW to West. Good start: it was supposed to become SW and, while it was supposed to be light, it would probably pick up slightly at first before dying out. Later, in between the last two races, I saw it coming from the SW and let them know. Woo-hoo! But, it never really arrived. It petered out before it reached us.

Bad sign. Now, it was light and variable with no signs of pending improvement. I decided to bail while they waited. It was going to be a long enough ride in, and I was getting tired.

They did get one last race in, but it was super short in length. Then, they got towed in by the committee boat!

Not starting a race comes with a penalty in the scoring: you’re scored “fleet plus one.” That means you get last place plus one more point. It’s a low-point scoring system: lowest overall score for the day wins. 1st place? Only one point. Last today? 7. I scored 2, 1 4, 5, 7. if I’d sailed the last race and averaged my results for 3rd, I would have come in 3rd for the day. Had I gotten 1st or 2nd, I would have been 2nd for the day. No way I could have beaten out Max, with 3 bullets (first place). Of course, if I’d gotten 4th or lower, best I could have done was 3-way tie for 3rd and I might have been last anyway.

Sometimes, a regatta is won not by winning even a single race, but by sailing consistently “good enough” without any really bad scores. I need more of that to score better on any given day, especially as Sebago seems to prefer not to score with a throw-out (worst finish is deleted and others are averaged to produce final score.) But, I almost prefer the occasional clean victory in a single race which feels so conclusive, I don’t care if I wind up on the proverbial podium.

***In that pic:*** Isis, solid sailor from Sebago, at last year’s Fall Series. She raced in the Sunfish North Americans this summer in snotty conditions on the Great South Bay.

It’s Always Sunny in Canarsie!

But could I figure out how to sail a Sunfish for the last race day of the season at Sebago Canoe Club?

Almost the entire fall series at Sebago was lost due to terrible weather. Orignally scheduled for a month or so worth of Saturdays, only one day turned out to be sailable. But, October 28 – the last day – looked so promising it was spoo-kay…

***IN THAT PIC:*** two Sunfish class dinghies doin it. Fun colors are part of the experience, at least for basic/practice sails – which are often enough to win races. Sebago Fall Series, only day of racing this time due to freakishly bad weather. **This and all photos below: Chris Bickford,** member of Sebago Canoe Club.

No Halloween colors represented on sails, but some nice colorways nonetheless, including the one I picked off the rack. Might have been a basic/practice rig rather than a ‘racing’ sail, but as I discovered, it doesn’t mattah. Not much, anyway. These are simple boats that challenge you to sail them well, not trick-o-treat them out. And, a good start always has and always will be key to consistent success in short course races.

I showed up early to grab the Laser I was familiar with. I didn’t expect to be on a ‘Sunny,’ as some call the Sunfish: one of the world’s most popular and important boats: with a well attended Word’s, in the Pan Am Games, and the mainstay sailboat class at Sebago. A few of the key club members were there before I arrived. Tracy asked if I wanted to sail one, in which case we’d go one-design that day. I said, “I’ve never sailed a Sunfish in my life, but sure!” I love one-design: all the same boats on the line, so no wondering who sailed better and who really won. Hadn’t done it in forever either.

***IN THAT PIC:*** Collette and Isis having a laugh while rigging a Sunny before the racing. This was on the grounds of **Sebago Canoe Club**, which we’re all members of. It’s a cooperative that some members describe as a community garden with a dock. But, it also has a large fleet of kayaks, canoes, and sailing dinghies members can use after getting checked out on them. Safety first!

So, I started picking parts and gear out of the locker, and Max kindly helped me put it all together. Months ago, at new-member orientation in June, Paul gave a rigging and sailing demo of the Sunfish. I could tell he knew what he was doing and saying. Several veteran members of the Club wanted to give their two cents as well despite it being Paul’s gig. I ignored them and listened to Paul. But, I didn’t get around to trying out a Sunny myself so forgot his tricks. Max fixed that.

And Paul was racing today! He comes down once in awhile from Toronto to grace the area with his presence. I figured Paul would be one of the sailors hardest to beat in the fleet today; he proved me right. (He races Sunfish and Lasers and travels around to do it.)

It was so summery-warm on the way out I was sweating. Forgot about it once out in the Bay with more consistent wind. No wetsuit despite late October, as it was too damn warm. Water wasn’t so cold after all; hard to not get feet and butt wet in a dinghy and didn’t exactly freeze up. This weather was a gift.

***IN THAT PIC:*** RC duty. Race Committee has to be staffed somehow. Everyone participating in a spring or fall series has to chip in. This is the ‘**Canarsian**,’ a home-made wood boat (built right at Sebago) with a (factory built) Suzuki outboard motor.

So, after the Sebago Cup in September that I wrote about in the last Rant, I was wary of not being on my game for the start. Only had the one back in September as it was one distance race of around 7 miles. This time? A bunch of short course races. That meant a number of opportunities to get a good start, but also that each race’s result largely depended on those starts. So, I perused the starting line to see where advantage might be gained. I made a plan for how to time the start and have some latitude to react to competitors who could wind up in my way, possibly with right-of-way.

First race: I decided on a windward (right side of line) to mid-line start. That would give a little more leeway for timing and dinghy-dodging, and also give me more freedom to tack (cross the wind and sail the other way) in response to wind shifts or to clear my air from competitors. I visualized my out-and-back path, focused on timing, and executed.

***IN THAT PIC:*** a tight start. Isis is in the foreground, hiking flat out. I’m sitting up in the colored Sunny. Not sure which race this is, but probably the one I’m describing above and below…

BAM! On the line, at full speed, near the windward end, at the gun. I pulled ahead and soon after tacked to cover the boats that had started going right, which was the call due to a current setting left and the fact that the first mark, ‘windward’ or upwind, was a little off center to right.

I led that race the whole way, and finished first. Wow! Only my second actual race in decades, and my first time in a Sunfish. I was “starting to believe.”

Turns out… I rounded the downwind mark the wrong way. Didn’t affect anything; no advantage. But, it was the wrong way. I was advised of this casually by the RC (Race committee) when approaching the finish line. Oopsie…. So, I said, okay, toss me from the race. Not worth sailing back to round the correct way and dodge oncoming boats only to officially finish last. They scored me DNF (Did Not Finish). Might as well have made it DAF. (First letter is for Dumb; you can figure the rest out.)

Then it came back to me: that was my Dad’s and my MO. We were infamous for rounding the wrong way, or rounding the wrong marks. Keeping up the family traditions!

***IN THAT PIC:*** I lead the fleet, and as I only did that once, this is that race. I’m looking back at Isis closing in on me, but this time, she didn’t make it. She did the next time…

Next race: thought I was doing okay at the start, but then just after the gun, I saw two or three boats cross fast at the leeward end on port tack. Done. They probably timed the wind shifts well, and they were off to the races. I stayed left for a bit to try to clear my air and look for more wind; only chance to recover. I wound up way back in the pack. Don’t remember my finish but it was close to last. (Someone always has to come in last, of course.) Oh, well. More races to come.

Next race: nailed another start; rounded first mark in 2nd place. But, I dropped a position as Isis expertly overtook me at the downwind mark after we debated whether she had an inside overlap in time (2 boat lengths before the mark), and therefore rights to room at said mark. I said no, you’re clear astern. No problem for Isis; she went wide of me and executed an expert mark rounding. I flubbed mine. She was in the zone, and got just past me at the starting line. I like a tight finish, so didn’t mind that she nudged me back to 3rd.

***IN THAT PIC:*** Isis and Tracy in fine flat form. They’re both active racers, and both have the top tier qualification (4) for all the common boats in the fleet at Sebago.

Next race? Dip start! Dad’s go-to, and a favorite of mine. Come in from upwind of the starting line (wrong side), and dip down into a hole with good speed and clear air, plus room to maneuver. Risk; everyone downwind of you has total right of way. I was correct in that there’d be room. But, apparently, I was over the line early; they said so, and while I was convinced I was not, as I’d been looking back and forth over my shoulder to confirm the bearings, they of course had a better view and no bias. So, had to go around the end which costs a lot of time and distance. (Didn’t realize they only require dipping back down over the line, but that is often impossible with other boats on either side of you.)

And then, another revelation: Yo-Yo! Dad, especially, was a Yo-Yo. Up and down; consistency wasn’t a concept we seemed to sail by. I was being a yo-yo, yo! We both kept it more together when there was a regatta to be scored, but in “any given Sunday” frostbite racing, for example, we (he especially) ran up and down that yo-yo string.

***IN THAT PIC:*** the infamous Paul up close in foreground; probably about to nail a start. I’m close to getting mired in the mess at the other end of the line, but this is probably the start where I got right on the line and overdid it, getting called over early and blowing it.

So it went, and we got 6 races in. Abundant sunshine; comfy temps; 12 boats on the line! That was all but unheard of at Sebago in recent years. They have closer to 15 Sunfish that the Club owns, plus a few private ones, but it’s very rare to get that many people choosing to sail in the same boats on the same day. Maybe this glorious day will prompt more of that.

Plus, there’s some kind of riding stable nearby, and we were treated to small groups of horses being ridden along the upwind shore from time to time! Special sight…

***IN THAT PIC:*** horse HO! YUP! That’s a horsie behind the Sunny I’m sailing. We saw many riders that day. And, apparantly, my boat was named Willow Wind. Love it!

I don’t have much experience at Sebago yet, so I’m not sure what’s common. That said, it seems that women participate as much as men. This race day was a fairly equal mix. I like to see that in any sport or activity in which it makes sense (as opposed to full contact martial sports, for example). Some sailing classes require heavy and strong people to sail them, so they’re men-only on the race course. Classic example: the Finn Dinghy, the former Olympic heavyweight singlehanded class. It used to be the only singlehander, but to accommodate smaller athletes, they added the Laser. Even the full-sized Laser is too large for too many women, but the Radial and the one smaller than that (forget the name/size) have their own starts and women race against each other. Co-ed sailing is increasing as well, including in the Pan Am Games and the Olympics.

***IN THAT PIC:*** Collette and another woman in between races. Didn’t get her name! But she makes another appearance below – look carefully to see why. She was in the lead in one race; didn’t see if she kept that lead and bulleted (won).

My takeaways on the Sunfish? It’s great! I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s simple, forgiving, and lets you focus on just sailing the boat well and placing yourself in relation to your competitors. It’s the great equalizer. I had a dubious practice/play rig; others had ‘race’ sails with more shape and more adjustments. But, it didn’t seem to make much difference if any. Maybe at much higher levels of competition, but not for pick-up local racing on very short courses.

***IN THAT PIC:*** Carla, in the lead in a race she won. Carla is a new member like I, and races in several locations, including Mamaroneck Frostbite (which I did decades ago).

Sailors of very different physical proportions can be competitive together in a Sunny fleet. Part of that is the sail being lower, so there’s less leverage to lean the boat over and potentially flip it. It has the same sail area as a full-size Laser rig (75 v. 76 square feet), but the overall height of the sail is lower, and much more of it is way further down due to it’s very triangular ‘lateen’ rig. Tech terms: CE be low. Sure, it’s less efficient. But if you’re sailing against other Sunfish and not full-rig Lasers, who cares? And it’s a really fun boat.

***IN THAT PIC:*** Why not bring a friend? Look closely at the companion in the boat. Seemed to enjoy it as much as the sailors.

If sailing a Sunny is what it takes to get more of the same boats on the starting line, then I’m all Sunny Dee-Lite. And I’m sure I’ll choose to take one out once in awhile for more casual bopping around in a sailing dinghy when it’s just about time on – and super close to – the water.

***IN THAT PIC:*** I’m heeling the boat well to windward on the downwind leg of a race. This is to get the sail up higher in the wind column (more wind) and also keep it more over the boat for balance. Makes for a wet butt, but that’s part of the game.

Olympics Day: on How Many Boats Did I Play?

Our Director reminisces about Olympic sailing class boats he’s raced, and how it helps teach you how to sail and learn to sail better.

Laser dinghy, stand-up style! On Lake Garda, Italy: from Gregorio Moreschi’s Instagram.

I’ve been at this for awhile. I started sailing as a small boy aboard whatever my parents were on, and sometimes boats that just my Dad and I were aboard. We were both relative latecomers to one thing: sailing dinghies. He started WAYYY late, and I started somewhat late (at 15). Some of my fondest memories are of the two of us on separate Dyer Dhows in the Mamaroneck Frostbiting Association winter series. I sailed ‘Dyer Straits;’ he joined the next season on ‘Apocalypse Dhow.’ We had mixed race records, with a modest rate of success (i.e, staying in A Division and taking home some plaques and platter) But we hands-down had the best punny names for our Dyers.

But, I digress. Apparently, yesterday was Olympics Day! I figured it out on my Insta feed. I’ve followed Olympic sailing to some degree for decades. While I never competed at the national or world level, I did compete to one degree or another in three different Olympic classes:

Laser
Soling
Star

Sadly, I can’t find a single photo of me in any of those boats. There’s a great shot of me sitting on the rail of my capsized Laser in between races off City Island one day. In between races, one could sail by the committee boat and ask for a can of Coke. I flipped my boat so I could just relax with my feet on the daggerboard sipping my soda while others wasted energy sailing around for no reason. I won the regatta that day. I lost the photo. But, temporarily; it’s somewhere in family photo records.

Late 1970’s; a Soling converted for sailing instruction. This was when our family owned and operated New York Sailing School. We installed custom bench seats on two of the boats to make instruction and day sailing a little easier. Harsh boat otherwise, but oh, boy – did it sail! Almost all schools eventually switched to more student-friendly designs that were more effective for instruction. Almost. (We ditched them in the early 80’s for this purpose and never looked back.)

The Soling came first, as it was the teaching boat used at our family’s first sailing school (NYSS, or New York Sailing School). Dad sold that school in the winter of 86/87, and I started mine in the fall of 1997 with classes underway in the spring of ’98.

The Soling is a truly elegant, pedigree little yacht. 27 feet of purity and grace and zero creature comforts. It’s a racing machine, straight up. Yet, it’s fun to day sail and a surprisingly good teaching boat. However, the lack of seating, lifelines, etc and the wet nature of the boat really interfered with instruction and learning. So, when Dad found a better alternative, he took that tack away from the fleet of other schools.

I mostly raced Solings at the school. We had a Tuesday night series in the summer. No, not really very competitive – but still, super instructive as it was repetitive short-course racing with tight starting lines and put a premium on tactics and boat handling. And, we used spinnakers. My favorite was a solid black chute with a stark white steer skull in the middle.

Relatively recent action on a Soling: only the skipper stays on or in the boat on a windy day! Not just a venerable Olympic class, the Soling was heavily used by adult sailing school programs across the country if not the world.

The highest level I raced a Soling? The East Coast Championships one fall out of Stamford Connecticut. I was crewing, not skippering. Perennial class champ Hans Fogh of Canada was the skipper to beat that time. We didn’t. Windy couple of days; I spent much of it hiked out over the side in the manner shown in the photo above.

The Soling was an Olympic class for quite awhile. Two veteran American racers who did well in Solings were Dave Perry and John Kostecki; Perry also excelled in the Laser. One of the best sailboat racers in history, Robert Scheidt of Brasil, won 5 Olympic medals combined in the Laser and the Star: 2 gold, 2 silver, and a bronze. Only man to win Olympic medals in both dinghy and keelboat classes. Hmmmmm….

1972 Olympic Gold Medalists: Australian style! Star Class.

Then came the Star. The Stuyvesant Yacht Club on City Island, which was around from the late 1800’s, had a nice fleet of these sloops stored on trailers which they dry sailed by lowering and hoisting on a dedicated lift. I was invited to crew on a couple of occasions for Sunday afternoon racing. We had light winds, so it wasn’t too exciting – but it was fun and tactical. No spinnaker, so easier to shift gears on shifting winds in an instant and focus the whole time and tactics and strategy.

Star white room; typical recent scene for this low-riding, wet and athletic class that has seriously withstood the test of time.

The Star was in the Olympics for some time. It was the 2-person keelboat. One crew hikes over the side when needed; both sailors need to be decently sized to hold that boat down. It’s work. While no longer in the Olympics, the boat is still super competitive and used in series including the Bacardi Cup in Miami and the Star Sailors League Invitational regatta. Dennis Conner of America’s Cup fame was a world champion in the Star before he got involved in the Cup.

Next: the Laser, which came later to the Olympics but was already one of the world’s most widely sailed boats and is now the most. It’s a singlehanded performance dinghy with one sail (cat boat or uni rig), with three choices of sail size.

Olympic medalist Anna Tunnicliffe, from Steven Lippman’s shoot in ESPN’s In the Buff series. Note the cuts; this is an athletic boat to sail competitively.

I started sailing these in the early 1980’s and raced them for a few years in the NYC/Long Island district of the Laser Class Association. I also qualified for the Empire State Games once and drove my Laser atop my Pontiac Ventura Hatchback up to Syracuse. I was only about 118 pounds soaking wet, and raced a full rig – but as we’re in a light wind region here, I got away with it. The one time I actually won a regatta saw 15-20 with some higher gusts, but some of the better racers in that district didn’t attend. But, I sailed hard and beat larger sailors. First race: chose not to jibe on the screaming reach to the jibe mark. I did a ‘chicken jibe:’ I lowered the board, spun around in a tack, and continued. The guy I was basically fighting the whole day for 1st place? He kept it real and jibed. He flipped. I won the regatta by a hair and his capsize spelled the difference.

Medals in the Laser Class, District 8 (NYC/Long Island). From back in the day when our Director actively raced the world’s most popular sailboat. It’s still in the Olympics despite recent challenges by upstart imitator classes.

So, sailing on some Olympic classes paid off. First, it made me a better sailor. Second, it made me better understand how boats relate to teaching beginners and intermediates. Our family started teaching on the Olympic Soling in 1968. Since then, we’ve used three more designs for teaching beginners, in this order:

J/24, in late 70’s (immediately abandoned and returned to Solings)
Sonar in 1980 or thereabouts, continuing until NYSS sold;
Beneteau First 21 with my new school in 1998

I could have gone out and bought a fleet of Solings, Sonars, or especially J/24’s to make a cheap fleet. You get what you pay for. Spare parts for our Beneteau First 21 sloops typically exceed the purchase price of a cheap used J/24 and often that of a Sonar. I leave that for the multitudes of other schools that don’t know or don’t care.

Our Beneteau First 21 sloops have an enviable distinction: they’re the only sailboat design ever endorsed by a national sailing school organization such as ASA or US Sailing. The First 21 is the same boat as the Beneteau 22 and the ASA First 22. What’s the only difference between them? The ASA First 22 had a longer cockpit and smaller cabin. It’s the same exact hull, keel, twin rudders, mast, etc. The only real difference is the cockpit to cabin ratio. The Beneteau models have plenty of room already, so no problem there. Guess we got it right in 1998!

Here’s a couple sailing one back to our moorings on a windy day. This couple has a fair amount of experience: both raced J/24’s in NY Harbor; both sailed J/105’s. He did a Transatlantic! Also grew up cruising Maine. She did two levels of ASA courses in NY Harbor as well as an offshore delivery from Florida to New York.

Guess which Club they belong to now, and what their current favorite boat is? It’s ours – what many European sailors call the Baby Ben…

“At NY Sailing Center, we know a thing or two because we’ve sailed scores of boats, not just a few… including 3 Olympic classes.”
Captain Stephen Glenn Card, Director and HBIC (Head Bozo in Charge).

Olympics: Bronze for USA, plus the Couple Who Sails Apart…

Caleb Paine was in fourth place going into the medal race in the Finn dinghy class on Tuesday. He led at every mark and took the race – and took the Bronze medal in the process.

caleb bronze — Sailing equivalent of a victory lap. Caleb Paine celebrating after securing Bronze.

The Finn is a large singlehanded dinghy, used as the ‘heavyweight’ men’s singlehanded class. It’s had a very long reign in Olympic sailing – uninterrupted since the 1952 Games. It’s arguably the hardest boat to sail well in the world. It’s certainly the most brutal.

This was Paine’s first Olympic appearance. He skipped college to pursue competitive sailing, and apparently it paid off. Congratulations!

Two other Olympians who wound up with significant fourth place stats in their classes have a lot in common…

Sail the same boat (Laser)
Live in the same country (Italy)
Share blood relatives

Who are they?

Gintaré and Robert Scheidt…

scheidette 2012 — Yes, her boat says 2012 – but she was indeed in the current 2016 Games too. This pic syncs well with the next one…

So, they sail they same boat, although Gintaré’s rig is the Radial (smaller sail and bottom half of mast). They represent different countries (Gintaré is originally from Lithuania). They are married with children, and live together in Italy. Gintaré was fourth in the medal race (7th overall), and Robert won the medal race which brought him to 4th overall. He won one of the earlier races but also had some poor outings.

Had he Bronzed, he would have won his 6th Olympic sailing medal in two classes – the Laser and the Star class doublehanded keelboat, which are as far apart as actual boats get in the Olympics. Only the sailboard class (RS:X) is further removed from the Star. Two Golds, two Silvers, and a Bronze – in two very different boats. This writer can’t think of a better Olympic sailing record. Elvström won 4 golds in two dinghies, the Firefly and the Finn, but I think Scheidt’s record is even more impressive.

Here’s hoping that the US women’s 470 team converts their 2nd place in overall standings into a podium finish. To be continued…

Want to watch live and also get some replays? Here are links to NBC’s streaming page for sailing. Most prior days’ coverage are available but the last two weren’t last time we checked.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/sailing (Main sailing page with news and schedules for streaming)

http://stream.nbcolympics.com/sailing-day-3 (First day of replays that are actually available on demand. Edit the number to try the day you want. Was working up through day 8 last time we checked and tech difficulties for days 1 & 2.)

Olympic Sailing Update

August 15, 2016 (edited on the 16th)

US Sailing, our country’s organization for sailboat racing, announced yesterday that things were looking good for Team US on the Olympic sailing front. “Five sailors are in the top 10.”

That’s lame! Guess we suck at sailing this time…

Well, it’s lame for us in the historical scheme of things. We have tended to be the country to beat. But the rest of the world is getting more competitive in the sport, which is a good thing.

There are numerous sailing classes for both men and women in the Olympics. They range from the RS:X sailboard (‘windsurfer’) to the Star class double handed keelboat. Most boats are boardboats. Right now only the Star class has a keel.

( – aside: there was a Star fleet at the Stuyvesant Yacht Club on City Island for decades. They dry-sailed them. This writer got on one for a few races a long time ago when a skipper needed a crew. That’s some hard-core boat! But like many pedigree platforms, it can be sailed on a more casual than Olympic basis and still be enjoyable.)

So; who’s good from the good ‘ol USA..

Womens 470: Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, currently in second place!..

Finn: Caleb Paine, 4th place, 5 points out of Bronze so could medal…

Kudos to Great Britain’s Giles Scott, who has already clinched the gold. The medal race is on Tuesday, limited to the top 10 contenders, so this is definitely worth watching. Easier to follow than the whole fleet. Cheer Caleb Paine on to Bronze!

Brazilian hometown favorite Robert Scheidt was doing very well in the Laser class. He was second for awhile in the standings, but disappointing finishes in later races dropped him down. Scheidt is one of the winningest sailors in Olympic history, with 5 Olympic Medals in the sport. He’s taken two gold, two silver, and a bronze, and these are spread out over two totally different classes: the singlehanded Laser dinghy, and the doublehanded Star keelboat. That’s very impressive in my log book. In fact, I can’t think of a better Olympic sailing record. Super kudos!

And then there’s his wife! Gintarė Scheidt (Gintarė Volungevičiūtė-Scheidt) represents Lithuania in sailing. The two met at a training event and later got married. Gintaré was Lithuania’s standard bearer for the opening ceremonies. The two live with their children in Italy.

So… if we’re not exactly the standard setters this time, which countries are sailing more consistently?

Britain, and France. They’re solidly in the top ten in almost every event. As mentioned, Giles Scott had the Finn Gold wrapped up before the final race. France medaled in both mens and women’s RS:X sailboard events, so that’s impressive.

Want to watch replays and be ready to stream live when racing resumes (probably on midday, Tuesday August 16)? Here you go…

http://stream.nbcolympics.com/sailing-day-8

(update: NBC’s replay links are currently just saying “Coverage has concluded” for days 10 and 11. Lame. But maybe that’ll sort itself out.)

This is the link for racing on Sunday. Monday saw poor conditions with a lot of cancellations, and the replay seems to not be available for anything they did air. But you can edit the number “8” in your browser and substitute anything smaller, and you’ll get the replays for that day’s racing. Very hard to find otherwise. Footage is excellent. It’s mostly real video, with occasional graphic race course overlays. Sometimes they give real-time graphic renditions of the fleet instead.

You’ll probably have to sign in with your cable provider the first time but then be good to go.

Want results and schedules?

https://www.rio2016.com/en/sailing-schedule-and-results

Shortly after it says Schedule and Results in bold, you’ll see a list of all the sailing classes for men, women, and the one mixed class – the Nacra catamaran. There you can choose the class whose standings you want to see. Or, further down, you can browse by calendar date for individual race results or to see what’s coming up when starting Tuesday the 16th.

https://www.olympic.org/sailing

The Olympics home page for sailing, in case you like that better. Variety & options…

Watch Live Feeds of Olympic Sailing in Rio

Live footage begins today on NBC…

http://www.nbcolympics.com/live-stream-schedule/sailing

Today, at noon, we have Laser racing. Awesome little boat that is one of the most important classes in the history of the sport. Well worth checking this out, and also sailing one yourself at some point. Most America’s Cup skippers in recent history were winners in Lasers at some point.

The Dockmaster's collection of Laser racing awards — The Dockmaster’s collection of Laser racing awards

The medals above are NOT from the Olympics. They are from the local/regional level in Long Island Sound/NYC. But they are so kewl. That’s the boat as profiled on each medallion. Check out the live coverage or recaps as the Rio Olympiad rolls along and you’ll see why this boat rules.

Thanks, Bruce Kirby, for designing it.

Design Review: Beneteau First 21.0

We recently came across this review of our learn-to-sail boat, the Beneteau First 21.0. It’s sometimes called the First 210. Many Europeans call it the Baby Ben.

Beneteau First 21.0 sloop sailing fast upwind. — One of our Beneteau First 21.0 sloops at New York Sailing Center.

It’s the smallest sailboat made by the largest (and oldest) sailboat manufacturer in the world. It’s two and a half editions, or generations, or models old depending on how one defines that. Started with the First 21.0; became the First 20. (Boat didn’t shrink.) Then, Beneteau and ASA (American Sailing Association) teamed up to produce a slightly modified version – that’s the “half” to which I refer – called the ASA Trainer or First 22. (Again, the boat didn’t grow.) The chief difference on this one is that they made a smaller cabin and larger cockpit.

asa first 22 pair — A pair of ASA First 22 sloops duking it out somewhere. Note sail number: “20,” same on both, leftover from Beneteau’s standard production model – the First 20. They’re all the same size boat.

But, all versions have these things in common:

Hull. (Boat body) The size and shape are the same.
Keel. (The fin that stops the boat from going sideways and from flipping over.)
Rudders. (Steering fins.) Yes, plural. There are two.
Rig. The spars (poles that hold the sails up, out, etc), and basic sailplan, are the same except for the squared-off top of the mainsail on the newer boats.

Bob Perry, a highly esteemed naval architect and author, with a regular column on design in Sailing magazine, penned this article some time ago. Here are his words, and some pics we saw fit to slip in…

Perry on Design: the Beneteau First 21.0.

(Bob’s prose appears below in quotes. Any editorial notes I couldn’t resist are indented in parentheses as I’ve done here.)

“Let’s go small and look at a trailerable boat. This one is from the board of Group Finot and built by Beneteau. It is a very different approach, abandoning tradition and going after speed and convenience with modern design features.

ben blueprint — **ABOVE:** Blueprint of the Beneteau First 21.0, showing the swing keel in both extremes of its range. This is a ‘high aspect’ design: the sails and the keel (foils) are tall up and down, and short fore and aft.

“The benefit of this type of boat is the ability to move easily to exotic or semi-exotic locations for regattas. The 210 will make a great daysailer or a camp-style cruiser. While trailerable sailboats are seldom examples of refined design, the First 210 shows design innovation aimed at sparkling performance and eye appeal. This boat is also unsinkable.

ben trailer — Keel fully retracted, a First 21.0 on its trailer and ready to roll.

“With an LOA of 21 feet, the First 210 shows a modern, round bilge hull form with a very broad transom to give it dinghylike proportions. Look carefully at the plan view, deck layout or interior. Note the location of maximum beam. In most modern designs the maximum beam is located at or around station six. If you use the same system of establishing stations and break the 210’s DWL into 10 segments, you will find the max beam around station nine! There is even a curious little hook in the deck line right at station nine. The result of this shape is extreme maximization of the small volume available in 21 feet and a wide platform aft to optimize the righting moment effect of crew weight.

(We’ve always called this boat a big dinghy with a keel on it. A dinghy is a sailboat that can flip over and requires the crew’s weight on the rail to hold it down. The Beneteau First 21.0 is very sensitive to crew weight, and reacts immediately to changes – but it won’t flip over if the crew fails to react. That makes it ideal for learning and training.)

ben 20 birdseye — Bird’s eye of the Beneteau First 20 plan. Note how wide the back, or transom, of the boat is and also the twin rudders on the back. All this is the same configuration as the First 21.0.

“The extremely high-aspect-ratio centerboard (ed. note: it’s a ballasted swing keel, not a centerboard or centerboard keel) is housed in an odd shaped nacelle below the hull for a board-up draft of 2 feet, 3 inches. Almost every appendage is a candidate for “ellipticalization” these days, and I find it interesting that the designers have ended this board in a sharp point. In profile, the rudder looks ridiculously small until you realize that there are in fact two rudders. They are canted outboard at 15 degrees. With this extreme distribution of beam aft a normal rudder would pull almost clear of the water at high degrees of heel. With the two rudders, when the boat is heeled one of the rudders will still be at an effective working angle with the water. This is a slick way of reducing the required draft of the rudders. Note that the draft of the twin rudders is the same as the draft of the board housing. The rudders are linked through the member at the top of the open transom.

ben 20 sailing — A First 20 in fine form upwind. Note the rudder barely touching the water. The other one is all the way in and fairly straight, meaning it works well. When a sailboat leans to the side, its rudder loses some effectiveness and this twin rudder design reduces that.

(The design was great by itself, but what puts it over the top is the twin rudders. Sailboats lean to the side naturally, as shown in the pic above. The more they lean, however, the less effective their rudder (steering fin) becomes. It loses its bite on the water, so it has to be held to one side to go straight. This creates drag and further reduces its effectiveness. But the twin rudders on the First 21.0, each one angled outward, become straight when the boat heels a normal amount, and when the boat heels too much, the rudder angle isn’t bad. This makes for a forgiving feel that allows students to learn from mistakes rather than be confused or overwhelmed by them. And that makes them better able to sail any boat afterward.)

“There are no overhangs on this little packet. The bow profile shows a hint of concavity to allow some flare into the forward sections. There is also a tiny amount of tumblehome in the midsection with a moderate BWL.

“The shrouds are taken to the deck edge allowing a small jib to be sheeted inside. The mainsheet sheets to a single attachment point on the cockpit sole. All halyards lead aft to jammers within easy reach of the helm. The spar is deck stepped with a hinged step. The interior is a one piece GRP molding with small sink and one burner stove. The portable head is under the V-berth. The small interior space is divided by a trunk that carries that top of the swing keel. A hinged leaf table is attached to this trunk. The four berths are all adult sized.

“On deck, the swim ladder and outboard bracket fit neatly between the twin rudders. The two cockpit lockers contain a space specifically for the outboard fuel tank. The bubblelike desk is striking and set off by a varnished mahogany toerail.

asa first 22 1 boat 1 couple — Closer view of the newer ASA First 22. Larger cockpit, smaller cabin, and Stars n Stripes graphics are the key differences between the original First 21.0 and this version.

“The First 210 appears to combine careful styling with performance and safety. The general approach to this design is similar to the Mini-Transatlantic Class, but the boat is not as radical in proportions as a true mini-transat racer. Beneteau’s tooling of molded parts is as good as any in the business and their approach to finish and style is perhaps the best in the business. These aspects combine to ensure that the little 210 will be a standout.”

(“Mini-transat” refers to the Mini 6.5 class boat: 6.5 meters, basically the same as the first 21.0. It’s a serious racer. How serious? They are raced singlehanded across the Atlantic – with spinnaker. No shit. They have twin rudders like the Beneteaus. This class is also raced doublehanded for some regattas.)

ben b & w spinn — Black & white is so timeless! Here’s a great shot of the First 21.0 flying along while flying a kite (spinnaker). Note the simple, spacious cockpit, balancing well with the open deck space making it easy to go forward to moor, anchor, rig a non-furling jib (which is best for learning to sail), etc.

We love this boat, and while they’re fewer and farther between, and much more expensive to buy than the boats more commonly used in sailing schools (J-24’s and Sonars come to mind), they’re worth it as they just work better for teaching.

“Don’t take our word for it!” Everyone says they have the best boat. But this is the only design ever endorsed for sailing instruction by a national sail training or sailing school organization such as ASA or US Sailing.

Here are a couple of related links…

Bob Perry’s web site
Beneteau
Mini 6.5 class web site (Mini Transat)

America’s Cup and why Sailing the Hudson Still Sucks…

So, the America’s Cup came to New York earlier this season, and it was half empty.

The world’s best sailors and boats – and they couldn’t even get a series off on day one? They lost half the weekend. Was it sailable? Eh….

I was at City Island. We had a fine time. But on the Hudson, they had strong enough currents to make it unsailable. On Sunday, they were sometimes standing still after maneuvers. Sure, the wind was a little light. But not THAT light.

This is just one example. It’s an historical conundrum. Why do so many people (try to) learn to sail in NY Harbor and the Hudson, when pro sailors can’t figure it out?

Perceived proximity
Marketing hype
The ? factor (as in we just don’t get it)

Don’t take our word for it! This shot, and the following article excerpts, sum it up nicely. One of our instructors recently took this picture of a picture. It was on the wall of another sailing school (down Mid-Atlantic way…)

krunch — Real? Photoshopped? Don’t know… but we know this scene has happened on numerous occasions with several schools in New York Harbor and the Hudson.

And now, back to the America’s Cup from earlier this summer…

Read the following article excerpts, or the whole article via link at bottom, and imagine trying to learn to sail or even enjoy new skills (if even acquired) in NY Harbor and the Hudson.

-from Extreme Sailing to Meet Extreme Conditions on Hudson by Cory Kilgannon (New York Times, May 5, 2016)

nb: we’ve inserted some editorial notes here and there, indented like this.

“Holding a world-class sailing race, part of the America’s Cup series, off Battery Park City may make for spectacular shoreline viewing, but it is not easy for organizers or racers, who may prefer a location farther offshore with easier winds to navigate and little interference from other boat traffic.”

“The race poses daunting logistical challenges. There is the harbor traffic — ferries, tugboats, barges and other large vessels that ply the Hudson — that must be diverted, along with a designated area for the more than 700 personal recreational boats expected to anchor for the event.”

…not to mention Circle Line, the Shark Speedboat Thrill Ride, various large booze cruise boats, etc.

“Then there is the rapid current of the Hudson River as well as effects on the wind by the tall buildings flanking the racecourse, both in Manhattan and on the other side of the river in Jersey City.”

The current is so strong that anyone who’s spent a little time sailing here has had their boat ‘in the groove,’ going full tilt, only to look at the shoreline and see that they’re just standing still. All boats down there need engines to deal with this and usually get underway and stop under power. Doesn’t teach how to do it under sail…

The wind sheers and downdrafts created by the buildings are neither pleasant nor productive.

“All of which complicates the task of timing the races to start precisely at 2 p.m. for live coverage of the regatta on Saturday and Sunday. Races have been held near urban areas before, including in San Francisco and Gothenburg, Sweden, but they have never been staged this close to a downtown area.”

“Organizers have met for months with New York City officials and law enforcement agencies and other parties. Commercial shipping companies have agreed to work around the race times, and a separate lane will be established near the shoreline for ferries and other vessels.”

Sailing school activities (classes, club sails, and races), cruising boats visiting, sailing tours and charters, etc. don’t get this kind of special attention at all and must scurry out of the way of all the commercial traffic – which comes from every direction at once.

“For sailors, a major challenge will be the Hudson’s wind and current conditions. To adapt to the strong tidal current, which during the race will be running south with the outgoing tide, organizers are using heavier anchors and longer chains than usual to secure the race buoys, which are called marks.”

The strong current coupled with light winds wound up killing Saturday. Whole day lost. (This is supposed to be a competition of the world’s best sailors on fast, high-tech boats capable of speeds over 40 knots.)

“As for the air, the canyon of high-rises in Manhattan’s financial district and in Jersey City could negatively affect the all-important wind that is the sailor’s fuel.”

“Practice races on Friday will be filmed for use in case conditions on Saturday or Sunday prevent the regatta.”

Welcome to Manhattan, the Mecca of metropolitan Sailing!.. NOT.

Here’s a link to the entire article with a few pics.

America’s Cup: back across the Pond

Looks like Team Oracle (USA) leads here, right? Wrong. Watch the video clip to see how Land Rover rolled right through this group and blew them away. Use the link below to go to the AmCup site and get the app.

The cup action has moved to Portsmouth, England and is exciting as usual. Local team Land Rover BAR, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, was in the lead after Saturday’s round of racing. Ainslie is without a doubt one of the best sailboat racers in recent history, with Olympic medals and world championships under his belt in such tough classes as the Laser and Finn. Add foiling catamarans to the list, and his path to glory starts to resemble that of ‘The Great Dane’ – Paul Elvstrom.

Elvstrom is arguably the most successful sailor in racing history.

Quick stats…

Sailed in 8 Olympiads
Won Gold Medals in 4 consecutive Olympiads, a feat duplicated by only 3 other athletes, including Ben Ainslie and Carl Lewis;
Medaled (1st, 2nd or 3rd) in 11 World Championships;
Did all this in 9 different classes of boat, running the full gamut: singlehanded dinghies, double handed dinghies, 2-man keelboats, 3-man keelboats, and catamarans. Only thing he didn’t do was sailboards which became popular too late in his career.

Here is a list of racing classes he did all this in:

Firefly (singlehanded dinghy)
Finn (singlehanded dinshy)
Snipe (doublehanded dinghy)
505 (doublehanded dinghy)
Flying Dutchman (doublehanded beast of a dinghy/boardboat)
Star (doublehanded keelboat)
5.5 Metre (3-man keelboat)
Soling* (3-man keelboat)
Tornado (doublehanded catamaran)

*The Soling was a true pedigree racing class, but was also very commonly used in adult sailing school programs for a long time. We used them in our first school. Sweet ride, but not particularly comfortable or ergonomic for beginners.

On top of all that, he just missed an Olympic bronze medal by one place in the Tornado class catamaran in his 50’s with his teen daughter, Trina, crewing for him. He also victored in numerous Pan-European Championships, including in the Dragon class keelboat which was very competitive back in the day.

On and off the race course, Elvstrom was developmental in many ways., ranging from sail and spar design and manufacturing to improvements in components (such as self bailing mechanisms), training techniques (his ground breaking hiking bench), and race organization (such as using gates, or two marks to pass between, for large fleets). He wrote a few books too including Expert Dingy and Keelboat Racing.

Anyway, the times and boats were somewhat different, but all can agree that these are two of the greatest names in the sport of sailboat racing. Sir Ben Ainslie has the distinction of competing in the America’s Cup, the premier small fleet/match-racing event in the sport, and is doing a very good job.

CUPDATE: Ainslie and Team Land Rover (pictured below) won the Portsmouth regatta and have the America’s Cup trial series lead. That makes them currently the boat to beat and if they maintain their lead, they challenge Team Oracle for the actual Cup.

Team Land Rover foiling along during the July 23 action on the Solent. Note the stadium seating in background.

To watch previous races, both real-time with commentary and a variety of viewing angles, and really kewl virtual renditions, go to the official America’s Cup site and browse around or better still, get their app. Racing resumes on Sunday (July 24). Check it out…

https://www.americascup.com/en/home.html