Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Team Blogger Has Mixed Day at Laser Worlds
Our team of bloggers had a very mixed day at the Laser World Championships in Canada on Saturday.
Best performance of the team came from Australian blogger Ashley Brunning who was charging to new heights. His dramatic account of the first race of the day tells us how he "exploded out to leeward of the fleet", "hiked like a demon to cross the fleet", and "made a huge gain downwind." He crossed the finish line 50 meters ahead of his nearest rival to score his first ever Laser World Championship win. Well done Ash!
In between races he munched on bananas and blueberry bread and then sailed another excellent race for a 4th place finish. Maybe if he had stuck to the Clif Bars from Day 2 he would have won the second race too?
In any case, Ashley's results were good enough to pull him up to 6th place overall, and tied on points with two other guys for 4th. Wow! These bloggers are getting damn good.
Dominican blogger Raul Aguayo tells us in AHI VIENE BILL! how he achieved two more solid finishes, but unfortunately not quite good enough to make the cut for the gold fleet. However Raul is still pleased with his progress and looking forward to some close competitive racing in the silver fleet.
American blogger Clay Johnson had the most disappointing day of all the members of Team Blogger, a Crazy Day Three indeed. He arrived at the yacht club on Saturday morning to discover that some members of his Blue fleet had filed for redress for the race committee's failure to abandon Friday's sole qualifying race, in which Clay came third. (I am assuming that the redress request was based on the foggy conditions.) The protest committee agreed that the Blue fleet race was indeed an unfair test of skill and called for it to be resailed on Saturday. In the resail Clay was black flagged so his score for the race went from 3 to BFD!
And then to make things worse Clay chose what turned out to be the wrong side of the first beat in the next race and scored a 32nd. He did a lot better in the final race with a 6th place but with only one discard allowed at this stage he has slipped a long way down the rankings.
After three tough races, finding his way back to the club in fog, helping to pack all the Lasers away in the clubhouse in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Bill, Clay and a few other bluefleeters filed for redress for the decision to throw out Friday's race. But then the protest committee refused to hear their protest because they were five minutes late turning in the form!
Geeze, what a day! Clay admits to being "really upset" but is trying to put what happened behind him and have a good Gold series.
Wait a minute. We haven't heard lately from Team Blogger member Colin Cheng. Has anyone seen him?
Oh there he is with the SIN letters on his sail. What the hell are you doing here Colin?
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Bloggers Dogged by Fog
The second day of qualifying races at the Laser Worlds was a frustrating one for our team of Laser sailing bloggers. The race committee were hoping to run three races but, after a very long day on the water, only managed to achieve one race for each fleet.
Fog rolling over the course and very shifty winds were the culprits. All of our bloggers tell tales of multiple general recalls, abandoned races, marks invisible in the mist, overstanding marks etc. etc. Ugh!
The Australian blogger, Ashley Brunning, made the best of a bad job and scored a 7th place in his fleet, enough to make him top Aussie in the rankings right now. In his account of the day at In rolls the fog he waxes lyrical about what he calls "cliff bars". Maybe they don't have them in Australia because, as all readers of this blog know, they are really Clif Bars - with one F. Someone even wrote a poem about them: Clif Bars.
American blogger Clay Johnson had an even better day scoring a third in his fleet pulling him up to second place overall. In FOGGY Day Two he tells us how, even though he overstood the first mark in the fog, he pulled back from around 15th by sailing a smart second beat. Those compasses sure do help in the fog!
Dominican blogger Raul Aguayo tells us (in Spanish) at FOG-CANADA! how he spent seven hours on the water to complete one race. In spite of "mucha niebla" he finished in 20th which puts him within striking distance of qualifying for the gold fleet if he has another good day today. Animo Raul! A la flota Oro!
Our other Laser sailing bloggers from yesterday must have been too exhausted to post anything last night. I'm not surprised.
Wait a minute. Has anyone seen Colin Cheng?
Oh yes. There he is, in 196024, sailing off into the fog...
Friday, August 21, 2009
Blogging the Worlds
There are some bloggers sailing in the Laser World Championships in Canada this week. Amazing! Where do they find the time to train for a world championship and write a blog? Some of them even have full-time jobs too. More to the point how do they find the energy to go Laser racing all day and then write a blog post in the evening?
The sailors are currently split into three fleets for qualifying races so the top guys are not all racing against each other yet. Even so, blogger Clay Johnson of the US had a Great Start to the Laser Worlds with a second and a third in the two races, and is currently in fourth place overall.
Meanwhile blogger Brian Raney, also of the US, was Making a Splash capsizing in the second race.
Blogger Raul Aguayo of the Dominican Republic was kind enough to write the title of his post about Day 1 of the Worlds in English, And We're Off. The rest of the post is in Spanish but I think he's saying that he had a good first race, not so good second, but he's doing better overall than he did in Australia last year.
My favorite post of the day is from blogger Colin Cheng of Singapore, who already has one world championship to his credit: Colin won the 2006 Laser 4.7 Worlds in France besting 236 other competitors. His entire post is "colin goes to the laser worlds and finds himself too exhausted to finish this senten ".
Hang in there Colin. In anticipation of losing a day of racing to Hurricane Bill at the weekend the organizers are planning to add a third race to the schedule today. Good luck guys.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
It Could Be Worse
I'm still feeling pretty ticked off about the theft of my Laser dolly wheels at the weekend. Especially as when I went to buy new wheels from the Laser dealer in Portsmouth (right next door to the factory where they build the boats) I was told that the shop and factory were totally out of dolly wheels. Apparently they are expecting a shipment of 1500 wheels in the next few days. So, no sailing for me until then. I was so desperate I actually went for a long bike ride today instead.
But it could be worse. Our intrepid LaserPerformance duo, Brent and Josh at the Laser Worlds in Canada, the guys handing out all the charter boats, have had their 16 foot inflatable motor boat stolen!
Geeze. You can't trust anybody these days. Not even Canadians.
So if anyone is offered a snazzy inflatable boat covered in LaserPerformance logos... or for that matter three manky old dolly wheels... report the seller to your local police. Everyone else is advised to lock up your boats, your trailers, your dollies, your daughters... whatever. There are some bad people out there.
Laser Worlds Practice Day
All photos © Matias Capizzano / capizzano.com The Laser World Championships start today in Canada. Here are some of the superb pictures from capizzano.com of the Practice Day yesterday. Many more pics here.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
To the Members of ICI (Slough) Sailing Club c.1983-1985
Thank you.
Well, I could stop there but I had better explain what this message to the past in a reverse time capsule is about.
A few months ago I ran some kind of contest here (its details have already slipped from my memory) and the contest was won by Carol Anne of Five O'Clock Somewhere, the wonderfully diverse blog on which Carol Anne covers such subjects as Etchells sailing, New Mexico rural life, pole dancing, grammar, and motivational messages on the wrappers of her feminine-hygiene products. "You go girl!"
Where was I? Where am I?
Oh yes. Carol Anne won the contest and her prize was to choose a subject about which I had to write a blog post. (Note the careful placement of the preposition in that last sentence. Carol Anne teaches grammar and knows that a preposition is not a thing to end a sentence with.) Anyway, Carol Anne assigned me the subject of Who Inspired You? or something like that. It's been a while. My memory isn't what it was.
Anyway. She had probably forgotten that I had already written a post about who inspired me to take up sailing, the punningly titled Men from Mars in which I credited two former colleagues, who also happened to be Olympic sailors, with inspiring me to try out this wonderful sport of sailboat racing.
Then, a few weeks ago, I received an email from a member of what is now called Taplow Lake Sailing Club but which, when I was a member, went by the snappy title of ICI (Slough) Sailing Club. I wrote about their club, my first sailing club, in Where It All Started.
The email rather aggressively asked..
(These people weren't really all called Redacted Redacted. I am just respecting their privacy.)
Actually I didn't remember Redacted. Or al. It's been a while. My memory isn't what it was. But I replied to her and explained that I was the tall skinny (I really was skinny back then) guy with glasses with the orange Laser and mentioned a few names I did remember... Redacted whom I met in Minorca... and that old Redacted guy who was the secretary... and Redacted Redacted who was the club hotshot. I was looking forward to a friendly email exchange that would jog my memory about happy days at my first sailing club in the 1980's. No such luck. I heard nothing more from Ms Redacted. Or al.
Anyway (geeze this is turning into a long post) I've been racking my brains for how to give Carol Anne her prize (remember her? the one who shared the messages from her feminine-hygiene products with the world? "Reach for the finish line!") and I thought, "Ahah. I should write about the members of my first sailing club. They might not have been the ones who inspired me to take up sailing but they were certainly the ones who really showed me what a terrific sport this is and motivated me to make it the primary sport of my life."
I almost wrote a post along these lines until I looked back at Men from Mars, and saw that I had effectively already written that story in the last section of that (also way too long) post. I had totally forgotten doing this. It's been a while. My memory isn't what it was.
Anyway, now I can give Carol Anne her prize by recycling that section slightly and saying...
To the Members of ICI (Slough) Sailing Club c.1983-1985,
Thank you.
You inspired in me a life-long passion for the sport of sailing.
You passed on to me your sense of fun and enthusiasm for sailboat racing.
You taught me tactics by pulling moves on me on the racecourse and then explaining to me afterwards how I should have countered them.
You taught me respect for the rules by winning protests against me but always treating me in a friendly and sportsmanlike manner.
You encouraged me to travel and to compete with sailors from other local clubs.
You showed me that ice and snow are no reasons to stop sailing in the winter.
And every other place I have sailed since then I have found sailors just as welcoming, just as helpful... and just as competitive as you.
Thanks to all of you.
From the tall skinny (yes I was) guy with glasses and orange Laser.
Well, I could stop there but I had better explain what this message to the past in a reverse time capsule is about.
A few months ago I ran some kind of contest here (its details have already slipped from my memory) and the contest was won by Carol Anne of Five O'Clock Somewhere, the wonderfully diverse blog on which Carol Anne covers such subjects as Etchells sailing, New Mexico rural life, pole dancing, grammar, and motivational messages on the wrappers of her feminine-hygiene products. "You go girl!"
Where was I? Where am I?
Oh yes. Carol Anne won the contest and her prize was to choose a subject about which I had to write a blog post. (Note the careful placement of the preposition in that last sentence. Carol Anne teaches grammar and knows that a preposition is not a thing to end a sentence with.) Anyway, Carol Anne assigned me the subject of Who Inspired You? or something like that. It's been a while. My memory isn't what it was.
Anyway. She had probably forgotten that I had already written a post about who inspired me to take up sailing, the punningly titled Men from Mars in which I credited two former colleagues, who also happened to be Olympic sailors, with inspiring me to try out this wonderful sport of sailboat racing.
Then, a few weeks ago, I received an email from a member of what is now called Taplow Lake Sailing Club but which, when I was a member, went by the snappy title of ICI (Slough) Sailing Club. I wrote about their club, my first sailing club, in Where It All Started.
The email rather aggressively asked..
Who are you Tillerman?
I am Redacted Redacted. Do you remember me?
Or Redacted Redacted, my husband? Redacted Redacted, Redacted Redacted, Redacted Redacted, etc etc? Please reply and identify yourself. I would like to know who you are and get in contact.
I'm sure lots of other older members would like to know too. Maybe I can fill you in with whats happening at Taplow Lake.
Awaiting your reply,
Redacted et al
(These people weren't really all called Redacted Redacted. I am just respecting their privacy.)
Actually I didn't remember Redacted. Or al. It's been a while. My memory isn't what it was. But I replied to her and explained that I was the tall skinny (I really was skinny back then) guy with glasses with the orange Laser and mentioned a few names I did remember... Redacted whom I met in Minorca... and that old Redacted guy who was the secretary... and Redacted Redacted who was the club hotshot. I was looking forward to a friendly email exchange that would jog my memory about happy days at my first sailing club in the 1980's. No such luck. I heard nothing more from Ms Redacted. Or al.
Anyway (geeze this is turning into a long post) I've been racking my brains for how to give Carol Anne her prize (remember her? the one who shared the messages from her feminine-hygiene products with the world? "Reach for the finish line!") and I thought, "Ahah. I should write about the members of my first sailing club. They might not have been the ones who inspired me to take up sailing but they were certainly the ones who really showed me what a terrific sport this is and motivated me to make it the primary sport of my life."
I almost wrote a post along these lines until I looked back at Men from Mars, and saw that I had effectively already written that story in the last section of that (also way too long) post. I had totally forgotten doing this. It's been a while. My memory isn't what it was.
Anyway, now I can give Carol Anne her prize by recycling that section slightly and saying...
To the Members of ICI (Slough) Sailing Club c.1983-1985,
Thank you.
You inspired in me a life-long passion for the sport of sailing.
You passed on to me your sense of fun and enthusiasm for sailboat racing.
You taught me tactics by pulling moves on me on the racecourse and then explaining to me afterwards how I should have countered them.
You taught me respect for the rules by winning protests against me but always treating me in a friendly and sportsmanlike manner.
You encouraged me to travel and to compete with sailors from other local clubs.
You showed me that ice and snow are no reasons to stop sailing in the winter.
And every other place I have sailed since then I have found sailors just as welcoming, just as helpful... and just as competitive as you.
Thanks to all of you.
From the tall skinny (yes I was) guy with glasses and orange Laser.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Original MIT Tech Dinghies - Where Are They Now?
Thanks to Tweezerman, who writes the excellent sailing blog Earwigoagin, for bringing to our attention this old video of wooden lapstrake Tech dinghies participating in collegiate sailing at MIT around 1945. He wonders if any of these beautiful examples of wooden boat-building survived.
Great question Tweezerman. And not just because they were beautiful boats. The fleet of Tech Dinghies that you see in the video gave birth to American college sailing as it we know it today. The Tech was designed specifically for MIT by Professor George Owen, and the first boats were made for the opening of the MIT Sailing Pavilion in 1935 by the famous Herreshoff Yard in Bristol, Rhode Island. In the following years, the first ten Dinghy Championships of the newly organized Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association (ICYRA) were sailed on the Charles River in that fleet of cat-rigged, wooden Tech Dinghies.
So what happened to them?
In 1952, MIT's Second Fleet of Tech Dinghies was built in fiberglass by Cape Cod Shipbuilding in Wareham, MA. (MIT are now on their Fifth Fleet.) I don't have a clue what MIT did with the First Fleet after taking delivery of the Second Fleet, but if modern day practice is any guide they probably sold the old boats to another college (or perhaps high school) sailing team.
Using the most sophisticated and powerful research tool known to professional historians I have discovered the following information about the whereabouts of some surviving boats from the First Fleet.
The website of the Little Boat Shop in Maine has pictures of the hulls of two of the original MIT Tech Dinghies. One is described as "on display at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum" and the other is being restored by the Little Boat Shop and is said to be "scheduled for complete restoration this year and is available for sale." (It's not entirely clear to me whether these are two different hulls or whether the shop is restoring the boat that was in the museum, or indeed if the website is actually current.)
There are also some pictures of an old wooden Tech dinghy on Flickr.
The caption is a little confusing in that it doesn't specifically say it was one of the First Fleet (but that was the only wooden fleet as far as I know) but it does say that it is "the only remaining one of its class" which seems to conflict with the claims for the boats in the photos on the Little Boat Shop website (unless they are all three actually pictures of the same boat.) The Flickr boat is said to be "at the pavilion" (presumably the MIT Sailing Pavilion), has a very old (torn) sail, and is apparently kept outside. I wonder if it is still sailed?
I mentioned that the First Fleet of Techs was built by Herreshoff in Bristol RI and I know that the Herreshoff Marine Museum has an extensive collection of boats built and/or designed by the Herreshoffs over the years. Sure enough the museum's website confirms that their boat collection does include an MIT Tech Dinghy built in 1936, presumably also one of the First Fleet.
So there we have it Tweezerman. Apparently at least four of those original forty boats still exist (unless I've counted some boats twice) and there may be more. I know that at least one former MIT sailing team member and Tech ace reads this blog so perhaps he, or others in the know, can cast more light on this subject?
Postscript
Now that I've answered Tweezerman's question I have a couple of my own...
Is the video found by Tweezerman the oldest (or at least the oldest online) video of dinghy racing?
Does anyone know the names of any of the sailors in the video?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Rule #1 - Have Fun!
The best part of this video is at the 42 second mark where a kid in an O'pen BIC blasts past some poor kid in an Optimist miserably bailing out her plastic box.
This is the future of junior sailing. Check out the description of the recent O'pen BIC Un-Regatta held earlier this year at Miami Yacht Club.
It all started with an unconventional La Mans beach start at the gun. The spectator fleet was then surprised with the mandatory mid-course freestyle moves such as Spidermans (fast flips), Supermans (body drags), King Kongs (mast climbs), and compulsory 720s. The "serious play" format brought roars from the spectators and huge grins from the kids at every level of the fleet. Some boats were single handed, some double, a few triples. It doesn't matter- "this is the "UN-Regatta" where anything goes as long as it follows Rule #1- Have Fun!
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