Day 3 of Preparing to go Offshore

Any of our constituency that knows me personally, knows that I am not only a better talker than writer, also knows that I am pretty horrible writer.  That’s the disclaimer mates.  The World is taking on a little bit of a make over.  As the right side of my brain (KB) explained in the previous post we are pointing our bows towards deep water.  On a personal note, as I simultaneously prepare for the J 80 World Championships, off shore could be my favorite destination that I have been.  Sorry Gustavia, St. Barts, you are really a close second.  In a world that seems to be continuously more connected, I personally find solace in being unconnected.  The brief respite from laptops and cell phones can be very liberating, and also very pure.  Your priorities and focus change immensely.  I remember a conference held by Microsft in the early 90’s based on Bill Gates book Business at the Speed of Thought  suggested  that technology would let us work less and play more.  In my opinion it just allows us to work all of the time.  All that said I am personally committed to taking 6 students offshore, my boss and my insurance agent could not be more thrilled.  For our current crews we have tried to build a program that would provide training in all of the areas of education that Kristen and I feel are necessary to give the grand sensation of  ” I got this”.  In honesty, when you cast off the lines to enter the deep blue, if you do not have butterflies, you simply do not understand what you have signed up to do.

Last weekend we spent time learning a about my current sweetheart, Euro Trash Girl.  No I  will never change the name, I love the name, the song and the owner.  We sailed, we reefed, we did countless COBs (used to be MOBs) with JWA veterans.    Read more

J World Annapolis Points the Bow Towards The Ocean

Our friend Andy Schell who has helped us to become the World Cruising Club’s official training partner, encouraged us to join the ARC Bahamas Rally and is a major contributor to the global ocean sailing discussion writes a really cool blog that you should check out at http://59-north.com.  59º North Ocean Sailing is a blog filled with Offshore sailing articles by your favorite writers. Plus events, seminars, gear, books, charts & podcasts. Hosted by Andy Schell.  Not too long ago, all of the sailors in the world were at sea – and needing to fill a little air time, Andy took the time to Skype us from Sweden and conduct an interview.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has heard me speak that I went on and on about myself without saying much – but if you’ve got nothing better to do, you might grab a glass of wine and have a listen.  Better make that a bottle.

Kristen Berry is one of the directors at J/World Annapolis sailing school. Andy chatted with him in early August about his racing and cruising career, his transition into professional sailing from managing political campaigns (you’d be surprised at the similarities), his thoughts on what racers can learn from cruisers (and vice versa) and how he creates successful trainig programs at J/World and manages successful ocean racing campaigns. J/World Annapolis is now the Official Training Partner of World Cruising Club USA, and are hosting their first Ocean ‘OPS’ course on September 22-23. The Ocean Preparedness Seminar will be a hands-on weekend learning safety and emergency management specific to ocean sailing. Check them out at jworldannapolis.com.

Annapolis-to-Newport Race Committee to Conduct Special “What to Expect” Seminar on Friday, October 10th

The Start of the Annapolis to Newport Race

“What to Expect” when racing offshore covers all the key topics for first-timers

Always wanted to enter the Annapolis-to-Newport Race, but didn’t know exactly what it entailed? Had a hankering to complete an offshore passage, but just needed a little guidance as to how to accomplish such a feat? Own a comfortable cruising type of boat and wondered whether it was capable of competing successfully in such an event?

All those questions and many, many more will be answered during the inaugural Annapolis-to-Newport Race seminar, which will be held Oct. 10 (4-6 p.m.) at the Annapolis Yacht Club. Titled “Annapolis-to-Newport: What to Expect,” the two-hour session will feature four veterans of offshore racing dispensing valuable advice and answering every possible question about what it takes to prepare for and complete the renowned 475-nautical mile race that connects two of the country’s greatest sailing towns.

Panelists will cover all the basics, beginning with a complete description of the course, which is unique because it combines both inshore and offshore elements. Skippers that attend the seminar will learn specific factors to consider in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Tips about routing and how to handle such interesting elements as rounding Block Island will be discussed along with how long in terms of total hours it can take to reach Newport. Read more

Day 1 of Annapolis Labor Day Regatta

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Longtime alumnus, Norm Olson, and a slew of JWA coaches sailed his boat QA 2 to a tie for first on day one of Annapolis Labor Day Regatta.  Below is a breakdown of the race by tactician Kent Bartlett:

Day One of the inaugural Annapolis Yacht Club Labor Day Regatta was challenging.  The tide predictions were way off.  At 1130 it was predicted that the current would be at its maximum sending water out of the bay away from Annapolis when in reality it was flooding and it took two whole races to convince me of that fact.  I thought it was just going to switch late if anything but really it was just going to do the exact opposite of what some scientist thought it was going to do.  In the days leading up to Day One the forecasts said it would be light but the next day the forecasts bumped up a little and that happened every day.  On the morning of Day One the forecasts said 8-10 knots and it was 8-10 knots.  Let’s give those meteorologists a raise. Read more

2015 Newport to Cabo Race

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If you are going to be on the left coast next March, you should consider joining our friend at J World San Diego on the Newport to Cabo Race.  Details below:

Come join J World aboard a turboed 50 footer for the West Coast classic Newport to Cabo Race.  In March of 2015, six clients and three J World coaches will crew the legendaryHula Girl down the coast from California to sunny, happy Cabo San Lucas.  If you want to gain valuable offshore experience, or just have a great time racing aboard a grand-prix ULDB sled, this is a rare opportunity.  Everyone aboard gets to take turns at doing everything, including driving.  The environment will be fun, positive, and conducive to learning…  and we’ll of course work hard to achieve a great finish!   Visit the link below, or contact our West Coast office for more info:  800-910-1101   info@sailing-jworld.com

Post Cards From Paradise – J/24 National Championship

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Being a tactician requires intense focus and concentration. Hey! Is that a cumulus cloud?

Editor’s Note:  This is the second dispatch from our man in Amsterdam Kent Bartlett who reported on his experience a the J/24 National Championship.

Day 2 of the J/24 US National Championships was nothing short of spectacular.  The breeze was stronger topping out at about 16 knots with the puffs going to 18 knots but still from about 65 degrees off magnetic north.  The fleet split in their decision to use either the genoa or the jib with the top competitors opting for the increase in sail area to cut through the chop and the majority of the rest of us opting for more pointing ability in the flat sections of water.  Our first race we decided to use the genoa and quickly abandoned that idea after we saw 90% of the fleet ahead of us at the windward mark with 60% of the boats in front of us using the jib.  We noted that if the driver wasn’t changing their main trim every 3-5 seconds the boat would heal excessively sliding the boat to leeward and adding to the windward helm causing the boat to slow down while it rounded up to slightly above the groove everyone was aiming for.  It also didn’t hurt the jib trimmer to only have to move the clew of the jib 3 feet across the boat instead of the 15 feet that the genoa required for a proper close-hauled to close-hauled course.  Being the jib trimmer I thanked (insert preferred savior here) for that last benefit.  Race 1 with the genoa left us 35th across the finish line in a 45 boat fleet while Race 2 with the jib put us at 21st across the finish line.  Suffice it to say we decided the jib worked just fine for us and gave us more room for error with the repercussions of being caught off guard in the chop or puffs being less than if we flew the genoa.    Read more

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