Daily Lift

Tips on running a successful team race from Joel Hanneman - While all the frills of the biggest team race events in the world make those experiences quite special, they certainly aren’t required. Events like the ISAF Team Race Worlds and U.K. & U.S. National Championships feature fleets of provided boats, a cadre of international umpires, banquets, an army of volunteers and a large budget. On the other end of the spectrum, a nice grassroots regatta can be run with one person in a 15-foot Whaler, four marks and a whistle

Chalk Talk Episode 3

Chris and Jane review the Boston Dinghy Cup, Szambecki, Admiral Moore and Duplin Women's regattas, plus a sneak peek at the Sail1Design.com team race rankings, the Gill Drysuit Contest winner, the race is on for free Sperry Topsiders, "Better Know A District," predictions and more!

Use the comments section on Youtube to make your own predictions, ask a question or give us feedback.

Related links:
Sign up for the college membership: http://racing.ussailing.org/College.htm

Team Race Rankings from Sail1Design:http://www.sail1design.com/rankings/icsa-rankings
News, scores, CSOTW nomination: http://collegesailing.org
Rankings: http://sailingworld.com/collegerankings

Daily Lift

A simple reminder from Bill Gladstone, no matter what you race – bicycles, bobsleds, sailboats – speed wins races.

Admiral Moore Team Race

By Russ O’Reilly

This year's Admiral Moore Team Race was hosted on the East River at SUNY Maritime College. The event was changed from a fleet race to a team race in 2008 and has steadily improved in the level of competition since its debut. This year the regatta had a strong field of ten teams including Dartmouth, Roger Williams, and the University of Rhode Island from NEISA; Georgetown, Hobart/William Smith, Navy, SUNY Maritime, and St. Mary's from MAISA; Eckerd from SAISA, and the much-improved University of Wisconsin traveling from the MCSA Ted Green II from Wickford, R.I. traveled south for the weekend to act as head umpire and his son Ted Green III served as PRO for the event. After two round robins and a final four, NY Maritime finished strong, winning their home event with a 14-4 final record.

Szambecki Team Race Recap

By Kelly Stannard

Despite battling light wind, rain and thunderstorms the Old Dominion University team successfully hosted the Szambecki Team Race last weekend in Norfolk, Va. The College of Charleston Cougars came out victorious with a final record of 11-3. Saturday's racing was sporadic due to weather conditions. On Sunday, racing conditions were much better and competitors didn’t let a little fog or rain get in the way of getting some exciting team racing in. Two full round robins were sailed to complete the event. 

Daily Lift

Dave Perry gives insight on how clubs can build a relationship with the community - turn your club into an “information center,” and invite the community to events and teaching programs.

Daily Lift

Steve Maddox gives a tip about volunteers - volunteers are your friends, use them to expand your program, reach more people and they are a built in advertising function.

Daily Lift

A tip for Jr. sailing programs - Prior to the start of the program, organizers should call a parent orientation session to explain the details of the program. Items covered should include, review of how parents can be involved, attendance, student drop-off and pick-up arrangements, disciplinary code, items to bring to class, and rules and expectations.

Daily Lift

Dave Perry reminds us that... Clear Air = Fast. You need clear air as soon as possible. Usually the majority of the fleet stays on starboard tack for the first few minutes after the gun, so normally your best road to clear air is on port tack heading to the right.

Chalk Talk Episode 2

Chalk Talk Episode 2 is out with some exciting news from our friends Sperry Top-Sider.  College sailors, the team that brings in the most US Sailing memberships by the 2012 Nationals will be outfitted with footwear from Sperry Top-Sider.  Sign up for our special 4 year $95 college membership here.

Daily Lift

Michael Spark gives his perspective on leisure versus racing programs - while clubs need to focus on non-competitive sailing to bring in fresh faces, don’t underestimate the competitive side of the sport.

A Fresh Perspective on Evaluating Your Programs

by Stu Gilfillen, Sailing Program Administrator at US Sailing

When I was a program director, one of the major questions that I always had was, “Where does my program compare to other programs nationwide?” While the question sounds like it was geared towards gauging what my achievements were, in reality it was more about seeing if I was on the right track in comparison to other programs that I viewed as the national standard for excellence.

Daily Lift

Tips on how to grow club membership from Gary Jobson: Create and inexpensive membership for 21 to 30 year old sailors. Have a fleet of boats that are available for members to use in two hour blocks. Create a "young members" committee, and host family oriented events like a father/daughter luncheon.

Daily Lift

Did you know that the sport of Sailing made its debut at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris?

Daily Lift

A tip on teaching beginners - the first teaching goal when working with beginners should be to familiarize the student with the hull and its dynamics. Incorporate teaching parts of the boats, rig, and then start by towing without sails. Finally, slowly introduce how to control the boat with sails.

Daily Lift

A helpful hint on posting event results from Carol Cronin - When posting regatta results, be sure that your website is easy to find, easy to update, hosted locally, and archived by year with most current on top. Don’t make the reader download files in order to see results.

Chalk Talk Season Premiere

Chalk Talk, Brought to You by US Sailing, returns with a look at the women's and team racing spring seasons so far. Chris Love and new host Jane Macky break down all the action for you and make predictions about the upcoming weekend.

• Win a Gill Drysuit! Submit your videos to our Facebook Wall
• Sign up for a special $95 college membership

Daily Lift

Did you know that nearly 1,300 Race Officers, Judges and Umpires were certified in 2011.

An Inside Look at the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Training Camp

By Chris Herrera

Last weekend, Bow Down Training and US Sailing held a four-day training camp at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. This camp was held for the 2012 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and US Developmental Team. Below are some questions and answers that will help give you a perspective on what our teams do to get better both physically and mentally to prepare for elite international competition, including the Olympics.

What was the purpose of this training camp?

Our training camp has a variety of goals. We focus on fitness levels, both testing and improvement. We also work on developing and improving the athlete’s ability to enhance and develop their mindset and focus in order to keep pushing their limits. Our four-day program is comprised of:

Daily Lift

Why should sailing organizations bother with sponsorships? It generates revenue, relieves expenses, reduces financial risks, raises your visibility, extends and differentiates your brand, builds long-term relationships with outside partners, forces creativity, and has the possibility for bigger and better parties.

St. Mary’s Team Race Recap

By Kelly Stannard

After a total of 96 races Georgetown came out on top for a second weekend in a row, winning a tie-breaker against Boston College at the St. Mary’s Team Race this past weekend. Rounding out the top four was Stanford in third and Hobart in fourth.

A number of volunteers and umpires helped to ensure smooth racing. PRO, Chris Gaffney who will also be running the show later this year at the ICSA/APS Team Race Nationals, led the crew.

Saturday's racing kept competitors and the race committee on their toes with breeze ranging from 5 to 15 knots and plenty of shifts. Sunday proved to be warmer giving way to lighter but more consistent breeze, and great team racing conditions. All ten teams sailed in both FJ’s and 420’s through two round robin’s before breaking into a final four championship round.

Daily Lift

Dave Perry reminds us - only a few boats in each race have the luxury of going wherever they want on the first beat with no concern for keeping their air clear.

Daily Lift

A tip on keeping children interested in the sport by Jessica Moehler - There are ways for parents and coaches to increase the likelihood that both kids will end up continuing in the sport of sailing and goal setting can help. Creating goals that are focused on skill development versus outcome are important at all levels of sport.

Chalk Talk is coming, are you ready?

Chris Love brings back Chalk Talk with new host Jane Macky.  The first episode of chalk talk will air on Thursday March 15th.

Daily Lift

Nick Turney explains the differences between strategy and tactics. Strategy = Gaining information about the race course and competition to gain the advantage. Tactics = Positioning your boat to implement your strategy.

Eckard Intersectional

By: Tony Collins

Congratulations to the Coast Guard Academy for their 1st place finish at the Eckerd Intersectional, hosted by Eckerd College. Fifteen schools raced it out in sunny St. Petersburg, Fla. The venue's reputation was withheld, teams saw lots of breeze, lots of chop, and countless reasons to remember why they compete in the sport. Saturday morning, sailors arrived to a humid, 80-degree waterfront facility. Upon shuttling the competitors and coaches to Eckerd’s floating houseboat, competitors faced a growing southerly breeze direction and a tide motion which made the racecourse extremely choppy. Throughout the day, the wavelength of the chop grew wider and wider, making for some surfable swell. In addition to the 20 knot winds, this choppy water tested the sailors skill and ability to keep their boats moving fast upwind as well as downwind.

Charleston Women’s Intersectional

By: Katy Baker

Every year the Charleston Women’s Intersectional poses challenging conditions. This year is no exception. With strong gusts, a ripping current and the threat of thunderstorms, this event was memorable for everyone involved. However, despite these rather trying conditions, a total of 12 races were sailed.

Photo by Katy Baker.

   

Daily Lift

Is your club looking for ways to get involved with your community? Working with high school sailing teams is a great way for junior sailing programs to reach out to their communities and introduce sailing to youth.

Don’t Forget to Tune the Trailer

By Harold Bauer

Are you ready for the sailing season? You’ve checked the boat out and determined the mast, boom and sails are ready. Rigging is good to go. The hardware is right. Lines are in great shape. Now all you need is to take the boat to the club and put it all together.

Before you take the boat out of the driveway, or the club, you may want to take a look at what’s underneath the trailer. Here are a few things to check before you put your rig on the road.

What Makes Classes Strong?

By Paul Young

Paul Young, President of Rondar UK, gave a presentation entitled “What Makes Classes Strong” at US Sailing’s One-Design Symposium at Bay Head Yacht Club last fall. Rondar has earned a reputation as a pre-eminent builder of fast one-design race boats. Rondar hulls have won world championships in the Contender, the 420, the Fireball, the Enterprise and most notably, the highly competitive 505 class. Eight out of ten 505 World Championships have been won in a Rondar hull. Their reputation for quality and technical expertise is second to none. Rondar is based near Devizes in the county of Wiltshire, UK and produce between 200 and 250 boats a year… Here are 15 tips from Young on how to strengthen your class:

Sailing Fitness with Bow Down Training

Testing your fitness to guide your program design
By Chris Herrera

Racers everywhere are looking for that competitive edge. During the offseason, sailors are turning to physical fitness training that specifically targets their needs, maximizes their abilities and improves their performances. As the official physical trainer of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, Bow Down Training has been developing innovative training techniques that suit sailors needs. Chris Herrera, President and Head Trainer of Bow Down Training has provided US Sailing with a guide on planning your program design.

Daily Lift

A tip on building club membership from Clay Deutsch - A successful club builds D.E.E.P. relationships with its members: Development of a strong membership, Engagement of a high percentage of members, Enrichment of identity and affinity, and Perpetuation of the club.

Daily Lift

Donald Wilson of the Chicago Match Race Center stresses the importance of having high level umpires and race committee personnel at a match race event. Attracting world class umpires and well respected race committee teams are extremely important to an efficient and successful event.

College Sailing - Graham Hall Team Race

By Kelly Stannard

After a closely contested final four round, Georgetown won the Graham Hall Team Race event in a dramatic tiebreaker with Roger Williams. Charleston had a strong three races which helped them edge out Boston College for third place.

The event consisted of a full round robin stage with all 16 teams, which determined the gold and silver rounds. Boston College entered the final four with a record of 15-7, Charleston had a record of 16-6, Georgetown had a record of 18-4 and Roger Williams with a record of 19-3.

Daily Lift

Paul Young reminds you that in order to have a strong boat class you need the following: confidence, communication, clear understanding of your customers,  a focus, strong promotion, forward progression, motivated builders, and to continually modernize.

Daily Lift

Steve Maddox on rope materials - Nylon fibers are strong and stretchable. Its strength and good shock absorbing properties, coupled with its resistance to wear and tear, UV damage and chemicals make it the fiber of choice for anchor ropes and dock lines.

Daily Lift

Regatta management tip by Gary Jobson - What makes a good regatta? Efficient race management, an easy launch, good port, and committed volunteers.