About Me…
My sailing timeline so far…
Twelve group sailing lessons on a J70 and J24 at Breakwater Yacht Club, Sag Harbor, NY beginning June 8, 2023-August 25, 2023
Three private lessons on a J15 at Breakwater Yacht Club, Sag Harbor, NY July and August 2023
One weekend long racing workshop/regatta Phoenix, Arizona November 2023
Dave Dellenbaugh four session webinar on racing February 2024
NorthU’s Women’s Performance Race Week on J70’s in St. Petersburg, Fl March 2024
Dave Dellenbaugh four session webinar on racing March 2024
NorthU’s Performance Race Week on J80’s in Austin, TX April 2024
(when listed this way it doesn’t sound like I’ve done much, but I hope the hours and hours I’ve spent watching videos, logging onto webinars, tying knots and laboring over books will show up in my future sailing)
In the near future: beginning June 4, 2024 twice a week J70 group lessons at Breakwater Yacht Club for June, July and August, plus weekly (or twice weekly!) JY15 private lessons because I’m a beast.
And hopefully Wednesday evening racing at Breakwater.
The Sailing Part…
After this year of learning, I think of the sailing community as my tribe. There have been other groups I’ve been part of––writers, ski instructors, book binders/conservators, my karate dojo––all communities that also felt like their own unique tribes. It’s a familiar countryside to me––this kind of belonging. I like being part of, yet a distinct member of, a group. Together, yet solitary.
Willem Van Waay refers to sailboats as “the machine” and, as a crew member on a sailboat, I think of us as all part of that machine. If we all do our own individual jobs––the cliched cogs in the machine––then the machine will perform to its highest possible apex. Together, yet each doing their own particular job. I like that. I like being part of the collective “we” to achieve a particular goal. Getting from point A to point B or, bigger picture, winning a race.
To balance that idea: How to find your place in the machine. How do you become part of that machine? How to make certain each part is in the right place doing the job to which they are most suited? And can you, if asked, move to a different part of the machine and still feel you’ve done a good job? Should every person on the boat be able/willing to move to a position not normally “their own” to keep the machine running in the best way possible? How do we know?
Kristen Berry (K.B.) says in one of his videos (link in Take Aways) that he thinks of the Bow Position on a J70 sailboat as the place you want your linebacker. He wants speed and strength and weight right there as far forward as you can legally be in a race. A person who brings power when hoisting the spinnaker halyard to get it into place within seconds and with long strong arms douse that spinnaker also in seconds. And someone with weight so when they hike out the boat flattens. Ergo, for the bow position it helps to have height, strength and long arms.
A week before my sailing classes were to begin at Breakwater Yacht Club 2024 I received a text from a friend asking if I wanted to crew on a J70 for our local race that Wednesday. I jumped at the chance––my first real race. However, I was surprised when she said I would be at the bow position since I’m 5’2” and 100 lbs. with Tyrannosaurus Rex arms––in short, most definitely, most positively NOT a linebacker. I had high hopes it would all go well.
The three crew members greeted me warmly. We laughed and joked as we rigged the boat for our race. I was reminded by all that I needed to be fast with the hoisting and dousing of the spinnaker. And they went over how they like to operate the hoisting and dousing (no time for a practice sail!). Their method was slightly different from how I learned both at Breakwater and at my NorthU Race Weeks, but these three had been sailing together for a while so I knew I would have to adapt the best I could. Sailing is adapting.
During our races I couldn’t really reflect on how I was enabling my part of the machine, in part because my fellow crew members were shouting at me and sometimes those shouts were giving me conflicting information. The experience did not resemble my NorthU races where there was also shouting, but the shouting was adrenalin-based, not blame-based. This is a key difference. Afterward, we derigged the boat and got her shipshape before I drove home. It was an unpleasant drive, not a wasn’t-that-great-good-fun-to-reflect-on drive. I strongly felt my best that evening was not best enough. And I will admit it was discouraging. I never stopped trying during every race and worked hard to do as my fellow crew members shouted, but the experience was confusing and all my hard-won knowledge flew overboard. I failed. I failed myself.
I am a good sailor. I’ve had enough pats on the back from experienced professional coaches to know I do okay at some positions and really well at others. I will work hard this summer to become better at all positions because I do love to race and I don’t want another race like that one.
Be prepared.
Be adaptable.
Take Aways…
Betwixt the end of the race week in Austin (April) and when classes began in Sag Harbor (June) here are some videos I watched…
Sailmixedplus.com The web site is full of information if you are interested in sailing in mixed races and there’s a little video that includes Ed Furry and Jane Millman. (scroll all the way to the bottom on the home page)
YouTube:
J70 Fleet One––I believe there are 19 videos as of today. The two I’ve watched are Kristen Berry––super short on using technology and Cate Muller-Terhune––much longer (like two freaking hours, BUT it zips by)––an in depth look at how she and her crew go to, prepare for and participate in races––really interesting. If you have any desire what-so-ever to travel and race with a boat you own this is a must see. However, even if you don’t have that plan, you should watch for her discussion about crew selection, crew weight, how professional races are conducted. So worth your time to watch. (In an admission of my nerdiness, I’ve watched it twice so far.)
Also, on YouTube in the search type in “mixed + crew position talk” Willem Van Waay discusses crew positions on a J70 and adding a 5th member to the crew plus racing in general. The video also features Ed Furry. If you are a subscriber to Sail22 it should be easy for you to find.
J70 Set up w Kristen Berry (filmed by Bob Fox) highly recommend particularly the concise step-by-step instructions for spinnaker set-up. (and, yes, I’ve posted about this video before, but he’s just so calm and relaxed while still being passionate about sailing it’s good to remind everyone to watch again)
J/70 Boat handling and Tuning Tips with Willem Van Waay
There is another Willem Van Waay racing tips video that has Van Waay and Stephanie Roble mic'd on one of their practice sails so you see and hear them working with their crew. The title of the video is: Sailboat Racing Tips: Listen and Learn
And if you’re curious about what an intense (also really informative in how they move their bodies in the boat and how they work together) J70 race looks like from a camera mounted, I believe, on the mast directed toward the stern here’s yet another Van Waay video title: Willem's Birthday – 2019
Bill Gladstone’s Racing Tips and Tricks is about an hour and contains information you’ll find in his book, NorthU. Racing Tactics. (I wish there was a video for every section of his book)
Do spend an evening or several noodling around on YouTube or Google searching for videos, particularly if you have a specific boat in mind or a particular coach. It will be well worth your time and effort. My only true disappointment and how few women are featured in any video I’ve come across so far––let’s get the women on camera! Please!!
Another video request is a slow-motion video of hoisting and dousing a spinnaker on both a J70 and a J24. The videos I’ve found are in real time and shot from a drone or a motorized dingy behind or to the side of the sailing boat. Not so helpful
Love the new lexicon. How about them "spinnaker halyards"?