Sailing Forever, Forever Sailing
Sailing Into The Eclipse
Sailing Into The Eclipse
About me…
A week after my last Dave Dellenbaugh webinar I began the NorthU Austin Race Week. I felt much better prepared since I had one race week under my PFD and two Dellenbaugh webinars.
But…
I would––for the very first time in my racing life––be with a mixed gender group. I wasn’t certain how that would pan out. Men are great––I love them and have married them and done many sporty things with them. But, when sports or competition is involved, they can be a tad patronizing and a bit pushy––in my experience. Jumping ahead because this is not Page Six or DeuxMoi, I am delighted to report this was not the case. All the men were awesome––both coaches and participants––no one was patronizing and my virtue remains exactly as one might expect.
I would also be sailing on a lake––Lake Travis. The last time I was on Lake Travis was literally 1969 at some in-the-middle-of-nowhere hippy hang out, smoking pot. Lake Travis has changed. Me, not so much.
We would be sailing J80’s. I had never sailed on a J80, but I emailed my coach from the Women’s Performance Race Week to ask for tips/differences. Andrew Kerr very kindly replied and assured me I’d be fine, supplied the asked for tips and even included a paragraph about where best to hang my water bottle. Andrew rocks and is a very nice man to take the time out from his work schedule and family to email me. And he’s not a liar as I was fine.
The Sailing Part…
The Austin Yacht Club hosted us and they were outstanding. Went out of their way to make certain we had what we needed and the boats we used were privately owned so super generous of the owners to allow us to race them around.
Bill Gladstone was our Director. He is the best. OurBelovedBill. He did a terrific job attending to all the bits and pieces which included our Monday-middle-of-the-day stop for THE ECLIPSE, which was awesome. In spite of the occasionally cloudy skies, we still managed to hoot and holler worthy any Texan as the sun disappeared then reappeared. We were all so lucky to have had that experience.
The Coaches:
Geoff Becker
Katie Cornetta
Max Albert
Drew Mitchell
Shala Youngerman
Tom Babel
I was asked by several women who participated in the NorthU Women’s Performance Race Week how it differed (if at all) from the Austin Race.
At the Women’s Race Week, we had:
The kumbaya circle of love with a drone (we went around a circle and introduced ourselves)––did not have that in Austin.
Assigned tables where we sat for every lunch and every break with our coach and crew––did not have that in Austin, which actually improved my experience. .
When I left St. Pete’s I felt like there were a number of women (and most of the coaches) that I didn’t have a chance to get to know. Not having assigned tables in Austin meant we were able to “mix and match” both in the morning before we began sailing and during and briefly after lunch before we headed back out to the docks. As a result, I had some really great conversations with both participants and coaches––everyone was lovely, great senses of humor and loads of shared information. It was, at times, raucous, hilarious and just plain fun. And, of course, we all bonded somewhat that first day when we spent time out on the deck of the club house peering up through the clouds at the eclipse. Someone called it Summer Sailing Camp for “Adults.” And it very much had that vibe in the best ways possible.
St. Pete’s debriefs over lunch––did not have that in Austin (the debriefs in Austin were on the boats and dock)
Catered lunches––we did have that service in both race weeks, but I was told the Austin lunches were tastier––I bring my lunch (vegetarian––it’s easier) so I can’t attest to that fact.
In Austin we had one day of wind gusts that were detrimental so ended up with some mini breakout sessions as we did in St. Pete’s because of lack of wind. The content was different, but both times the mini breakout sessions were informative and valuable. More on the Austin one later, I covered the St. Pete’s in a previous posting.
The body of work we hoped to achieve was the same in both weeks:
Trim
Boat Handling
Crew Organization
Starting Drills and Practice
Spinnaker Trim and Handling
Starting Strategy and Tactics
Practice Races
Races with Practice Starts
And a Friday Regatta followed by awards and good-byes
There was one day of some light rain, as OurBelovedBill says, “We sail in the rain, we don’t sail when there is lightening.” Truly, I didn’t mind sailing in our light rain––you really only notice it when you are back at the dock and putting things away and your gloves are rather bothersome and it takes forever to untie some of the knots etc. Otherwise, no biggie.
I worked with Shala Youngerman. She is a great coach. Not her first rodeo, knows what she’s doing, highly competitive, patient and kind. We were again a boat of three which is a tad different being on a J80 rather than a J70. Thursday afternoon and for Friday’s races we had an extra hand––one of the sailors at the Austin Yacht Club, Bay (and, yes, that is his given name––this is Texas––no one has a normal name), was our guy and he was terrific. I will be forever grateful for his help––he has crewed in loads of races so it was like having an extra coach.
Lake sailing is different from ocean sailing––big duh––and in some way’s lake sailing is the perfect place to learn or practice new techniques. There are no tides and no currents which makes things a bit easier. Lake Travis is notorious for its fickle wind––we had every kind of wind Dellenbaugh talked about in both his webinars from wind shifts to oscillating winds to winds coming down from hills and sweeping across the water for no rhyme or reason. This was fantastic. You had to be constantly aware of the wind because it was constantly changing so everything else changed from main to jib to spinnaker. I loved it. I love the challenge and I love experiencing my ability to improvise in the moment. Sailing equals adapting to the conditions.
Side Note: As mentioned earlier we had some break away sessions when the wind was gusting lustily. Coaches Katie Cornetta, Shala Youngerman and Tom Bable did a terrific session on racing rules. On the large patio outside the main club facility they set up a windward mark, race committee boat and pin using folding chairs as their props and had two people at a time come up to become boats and “race.” Shala was the wind (where she stood was the direction of the wind), Tom was our living, breathing, talking rule book and Katie set up different scenarios and narrated and guided us. Holy smoke what a smart thing to do––I don’t know why it is, but seeing the “boats” moving three dimensionally through the race and listening to Tom explain what rules applied to what situations was just so much more enlightening than the little magnetic boats on a white board (no offense to anyone who uses this method which is, like, everyone). I asked if we could have a session in which all the coaches were boats so we could see a whole race and how they interacted, but there just wasn’t time).
Would I do another race week?
Hellloooooo 2025:
St. Thomas (because it’s St. Thomas––island paradise––right?)
St. Pete’s (because it’s Women’s Performance Race Week)
Austin (because I live in Austin at the time Race Week is scheduled so no flying or hotel––sleeping in my own bed is delightful)
At the very least I’m going for those. I’m trying for a Frequent NorthU Race Week Card––wouldn’t that be great?––a punch card––nine race weeks and the tenth one free. Right?
Take Aways…
I DID NOT HAVE A BRUISED BOTTOM!!!!! My Zhik padded shorts literally saved my rear.
A word about knee pads…I also suffered from bruised knees when I was at St. Pete’s. I tried two different types of knee pads in Austin:
HiRui Sports Protective Gear knee pads––they’re often used for volleyball. I did not have great luck with these. The fit was slightly loose and they rubbed the skin on my knees to an unpleasant point. I know other women have used them with great success––they just aren’t for me.
The knee pads that were more successful for me are from queenpolewear.com Pole dancing knee pads––side note to any men reading this posting––when you ask me what kind of knee pads I’m using and I say knee pads for pole dancers and you say pole dancers don’t wear knee pads––I know way more about you than I wanted to know. I love the pole dancer knee pads. LOVE THEM. You can remove the pads to either replace or for laundering. They are the best (for me).
Another knee pad recommended by coach, Katie Cornetta, are POC knee pads for mountain biking. I haven’t tried them, she swears by them. They are available at REI for sure and probably at a bazillion bike stores that sell mountain bikes. They are heavy duty and seem like they’d be great for racing. They are on my list.
In a previous post I mentioned some racing rule books so this is a repeat:
USSailing The Racing Rules of Sailing
Sailor’s Guide to the Racing Rules
Dave Perry’s Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing
All available on the website: www.ussailing.com