Here Comes The Sun

solstice-desember

Today must be the coldest day of the year.  OK – I admit I am usually somewhere south of Fort Lauderdale during the January-March time frame, so I may not have a perfect memory of last winter, but it is COLD this morning.  The only good news is that today the sun begins setting later in the day.

I know what you are thinking – this isn’t the shortest day of the year!  You would be right, the winter solstice occurs on December 21 or 22 each year, however that doesn’t mean that the sun sets the earliest on the winter solstice. Read more

Transatlantic Update

Columbus
Columbus’ trips across the Atlantic were not much different than Coach T’s will be. Even though Coach T and Columbus are about the same age, Columbus didn’t have a SPOT tracker that we could use to see his actual position.

This morning we received our first update from Coach Tihansky as he embarks on his first transatlantic crossing.  With thousands of sea miles under his keel, Jahn’s no stranger to the open ocean but this is his first crossing.  Their route is a well traveled one that traces the same arc that Christopher Columbus sailed on his second voyage to the new world.  While the entire crossing will take about a month, the team is planning a short leg over to the Canary Islands before making the big (2500 nm) leap to the Caribbean.  Here is what Jahn posted this morning before slipping the dock lines and heading into the offing. Read more

What’s in my sea bag? Part II

Welcome to the second installment of “What’s in my sea bag?”  We are going to share with you what kind of things we would pack depending on what kind of trip and the location.  Up next, Jahn Tihansky, as many of you know Jahn has a formidable sailing resume but this time around packing was a new experience.  How do you pack for your first ocean crossing?  So Jahn, What’s in the bag?

Jahn Tihansky Owner
Jahn Tihansky
Owner

I am preparing to embark on a trans-Atlantic passage from Portimao on the south coast of Portugal to St. Maarten in the Caribbean via Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Read more

Wing on Wing and Win!

The recent America’s Cup and Annapolis Yacht Club’s weekly “frostbite racing” have a lot more in common than you might think.    The courses are short, there are boundary lines, nobody is hoisting a chute at the windward mark and velocity made good or VMG is the holy grail of performance.  What is different is how we maximize VMG downwind.

Chester Wing and Wing

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Bang the Vang!

Vang .001
Vang tension impact when sailing upwind.

Last Sunday, during the Annapolis Yacht Club Frostbite series, I watched nearly a dozen boats wipe out on the reach to the finish because they didn’t play the vang!   In a moment of hyperbole, I said to my team – “the vang is probably the most important sail control on the boat.”  OK OK OK – that might have been a bit aggressive, but I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to say it is the most important sail control most racers rarely think about. Read more

Frostbite Rules Question – Obstructions RRS 19 and 20.

Yesterday’s post about the 2013 Frostbite series and the rules that govern what boats can do at obstructions created quite a stir.  This morning we’ll look at two common rules scenarios that seem to take place every Sunday during frostbite racing.  There are dozens of conceivable situations where the rules that govern obstructions can come into play on the frostbite course – but we will only unpack two. Read more

What’s in my sea bag?

Welcome to the first installment of “What’s in my sea bag?”  We are going to share with you what kind of things we would pack depending on what kind of trip and the location.  First up is Carole who is a repeat offender when it comes to cruising in the Caribbean, (also a master provisioner).  So Carole, What’s in the bag?

 

Carole Jordan Co-Director
Carole Jordan

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Eight Bells – Bert Jabin

BertJabin-620x350

Annapolis lost one of the legendary figures on its maritime scene when yacht yard owner and sailor Bert Jabin died Saturday (Nov. 9, 2013). He was 83. Jabin, who had been splitting time between homes in Annapolis and Miami, had long been battling cancer.  “My dad touched a lot of people’s lives around Annapolis. He was an icon for what he developed and was able to achieve,” said Rod Jabin, who bought his father’s boatyard on Back Creek in 1998.  Bert Jabin, born and raised in Miami, sailed into Annapolis as a teenager and fell in love with the Chesapeake Bay seaport. He had dropped out of high school to work as a deckhand aboard sailboats.   Read more

Mackerel Skies and Mares Tails…

cirro-cummulus
Cirrocumulus Clouds – Mares Tails

While sitting in the warm sun aboard a client’s boat yesterday the question was asked – “how can you possibly know what the wind will do?  Do those clouds tell us anything?”  The sky was clear, there was little to no wind and only a few whispy cirrocumulus clouds in the sky.  While today’s sailors are hopeless inured to devices, immediate buoy data and forecasting tools; the sky still has an awful lot to tell us about what to expect next.

There are plenty of old weather rhymes to help make your next forecast accurate and easy.   Read more

Frostbite Racing Begins

2010 FB Logo

Annapolis Yacht Club hosts annual frostbite racing every Sunday from mid-November until mid-December.  Annapolis frostbiting is exhilarating, challenging, fun and unlike most other kinds of racing “discipline” in Annapolis.  Few other racing events (except for J World Annapolis Thursday Night Racing) put such a huge premium on starting, boat to boat tactics and local knowledge.

Why is frostbite racing so different?  Short courses, crowded heavily end favored start lines, obstructions, a very healthy mix of reaching and upwind/downwind, limited passing lanes and funky geographic influenced wind patterns make for racing that is unlike anything else taking place in Annapolis throughout the year.  It is FANTASTIC! Read more

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