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Star Jibs, Mains and Mast for Sale
January 11th, 2012 in General.
Check out the updated FOR SALE link on www.CampbellSailing.com for jibs, mains and masts. Contact me via email at campbellsailing@gmail.com for negotiations and delivery options. Some mains and jibs can be delivered ASAP. All equipment can be delivered for Bacardi Cup in March.
Also check StarClass.org for their classifieds.
50 Rules to Sail by in 2012 - Weeks 1 & 2
January 9th, 2012 in 50 Rules to Sail by in 2012, General.
I’m going to mix things up a bit this year with the weekly column. If we have classic tactical scenarios from sailing situations I am still going to dissect those as best as possible here, in the meantime I figure 2012 is as good a year as any to start compiling that crucial list of rules to sail by. I’ll do my best to cover the bases from minor to major in no particular order. I guarantee that at some point we’ll all stop and think I’ve broken that rule before and maybe it worked, or maybe it didn’t. Some of the rules might be things we already do. A little reinforcement can go a long way so I hope you stick with me.
My sailing strategy in general is to break down sailboat racing into a series of key decisions for each race. If each decision has multiple choices, then I need to assess and decide which of those choices has the highest percentage of success. At that point, my boat needs to execute the decision as well as possible to assure ourselves the best chance of a good position leading into the next choice in the race. It is easy to get ahead of myself and think Well, if I can just get around this mark inside and then tack on three headers I’ll be in the lead after this next beat. A good plan is only as good as its execution.
Even good plans turn out to be founded on a wrong decision early in the race. It is also important to be able to reassess from any given point on the racecourse and adjust any preconceived notions as to how the race was going. I wrote an article for Sailing World Magazine a couple years ago about “Pressing the Reset Button.” It covered that idea about how sailors need to have a “baseball memory.” Even if you struck out the last time you were up to bat, you need to come up the plate the next time with the intentions of getting a hit. That goes for any decision point in a race: a tack or cross situation, an exit from a leeward mark, or a choice of starting position on the line. At every point we need to at least have the capacity to say to ourselves Is this the high percentage choice at this moment?. This year’s list of 50 Rules to Sail by in 2012 will help us to recognize those important points around every race, and then help us make the highest percentage move at each point.
So lets get to our www.CampbellSailing.com 2012 Rule to Sail by Number 1: Have a plan.
That seems simple enough, before every regatta we have an idea about the conditions that are likely for the event. Is it going to be windy? Will it be light? Will it be hot? Is there going to be a rainy cold front? All of these things go into a plan for a regatta. Just as we get properly dressed for the regatta (to be continued in rule #10), we should assess the conditions on the course before each race starts. Singlehanded sailors get to talk to themselves, but multiperson boats should have a pre-race discussion that starts like this: Do we like the Right or the Left side of the racecourse? Why? Is there current advantage on one side or the other? Is the starting line favored to one side or the other? What worked out last race or last time we sailed in this condition? Is there something to make it different from last time?
Once you’ve had that type of discussion, the plan should be generalized something like this:
We like the breeze on the left. The committee boat is favored, thus the fleet will probably be stacked up there. We’ll try and start to leeward of the group and lead them left. Then we’ll cross them and center up in the final 1/4 of the leg -or- We’ll hammer the left until it’s nailed shut and try and win from that side.
Regardless, openly discussing the plan does a number of things. It allows your teammates to be on the same page as the tactician or skipper. In example above, the crew knows that it is important to hike hard and keep our lane off the starting line. Clean up and minor details are not as important as keeping the boat going fast towards the left. If the plan were to go right, its important for the crew to know there is an early tack coming after the start. I think you can see where this is going.
Just chatting about the maneuver or giving brief overview of the plan makes everybody think quickly about their individual roles in helping execute that plan. Going into a windward mark it is the tactician or skipper’s job to vocalize the plan for how to exit the mark. There are more than a few choices, but here are three: 1 Straight Set. 2 Gybe Set. or 3. Set and looking to match the boat behind. Just stating the plan is often enough to remind all of your teammates that they have a critical job to play on the upcoming move.
That gives us a great segue to Rule Number 2: Be Flexible
Just as much as it is important to have a plan, it is just as important to Be Flexible. How many times have we had the plan discussed above and then made a mistake. We wanted the left, we didn’t have a great start, we got rolled off the line and we’re in bad air. The tactician or skipper has to be able to reassess at the point. Sometimes quick decisions need to be made, (more…)
CISA Clinic Applications are OPEN at www.CISASailing.org
January 6th, 2012 in Training, General.
One of my projects the last couple years has been directing the CISA Advanced Racing Clinic for young sailors ages 13-19 who are serious about improving to the top level of junior sailing. The clinic has a tradition of outstanding coaching and an intensive learning environment. It’s a four day clinic consisting of workouts each morning with Annapolis Sailing Fitness trainer Harry Legum followed by a full day usually with two sailing sessions off Long Beach, California, briefings held at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club and evening programs bringing the likes of America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race and Olympic veterans to make presentations to the sailors. The final day of the clinic is a one-day regatta where the sailors test their new skills against one another under the careful eye of world class coaching.
This year we’re stepping CISA Clinic up another notch and bringing in top-level talent to tune, train, and race alongside the youth sailors during the clinic portion. The sailors will get the chance to test against and see first hand how the top sailors at the Olympic level train and practice. I’m very excited about this new development as CISA continues to lead the field in youth sailing training. I encourage sailors to take this opportunity and run with it. Get your applications going and in by the end of the month. Whether you are looking to make the jump onto the US Sailing Team or to make a run at your regional championships, this clinic will make a difference in your not only your sailing but in how you approach the game altogether.
We offer six classes, FJ, Club 420, International 420, 29er, Laser and Laser Radial.
The clinic runs April 12-15, 2012.
Applications can be found here.
Deadline is 5pm California time February 1, 2012 – No exceptions.
Doublehanded teams must apply together. If a sailor would like to be considered in multiple classes they must fill out multiple applications.
If you have questions please email: Danielle@odmsail.com
Star Campaign Final Report: 2011 in Review
December 29th, 2011 in Regattas, General.
The strange thing about Olympic campaigns is that nobody tells you how to end them. I’ve been lucky enough to both win and lose an Olympic campaign. Both endings have similar reality: “What are we going to do now?” That’s the last step in a process that started many years ago. A lot has changed since 2001 when I was a seventeen-year-old kid on the US Sailing Team for the first time. Ten years in the Laser and the Star have shaped my sailing career in ways I never could have imagined. Its hard to believe that this was my fourth Olympic trials since 2000 in San Francisco bay. In the most recent case, we had a very competitive trials with three strong teams that each could have won the Olympic berth if they had a great regatta this past month in Fremantle. Only the Star and the Laser really had that depth on the American team this year. We prepared as well as anybody could have for our trials:
Ian and I spent more than 110 days on the water together in the Star and close to 100 more each racing with other boats. In the last year alone we traveled to Miami four times for three training camps and two regattas; Miami OCR and Bacardi Cup. We made four trips to and from Europe: to Palma, Spain; to Hyeres, France; to Weymouth, England; and to Dublin, Ireland. We went to Fremantle, Australia before Thanksgiving to get ready for the Worlds in Australia. That’s about 60,000 air miles each for the Olympic circuit alone.
We fundraised hard to travel and race as well as commission a new boat from P Star in Michigan in August 2010 to prepare us for the final stretch of the effort. This year we budgeted and spent more than $120,000, half of which needed to be fundraised outside of the USOC direct athlete funding. We had four donors of five figures this year and close to a hundred others ranging from $25 to $5,000. Each of them has played a critical role in our success. The CISA Foundation and the San Diego Yacht Club Sailing Foundation were each outstanding partners in helping facilitate those donations. The Annapolis Yacht Club Sailing foundation of Ian’s home club were also very supportive in 2011.
The support of a number of key sponsors, both monetarily and through product assistance, also helped us keep our budget within reason. Sperry Top-Sider has supported our team above and beyond their commitment to the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics and we’ve enjoyed working together on product development of their new GripX3 hiking boots and deckshoes. North Sails One Design was a major factor in our success, helping us develop sails that we knew could perform at the highest level through the range of conditions. When we needed specific sails for specific locations, they had the insight to help us develop sails that would give us a shot to win. Kaenon Polarized has been keeping my eyes protected and helping me see the breeze on the water since I first joined the US team in 2001. Harken was instrumental in rigging our new boat last year, continued it’s support, and developed products that kept us on the racecourse instead at the dock doing boatwork. McLube not only provided us with spray dry lubricant, but was also very helpful in minimizing the time we spent diving the bottom of the boat thanks to their newly developed HullKote Speed Polish.
I began racing with Ian Coleman in early 2011 and our World Ranking climbed from finishes consistently in the top 10 to a strong 4th as we headed down to the Worlds this past month. I would be remiss if I didn’t give thanks to the hard work of Brad Nichol, my crew in the first few years of my star sailing, and Magnus Liljedahl, who helped me get serious attention from the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics in 2009 and 2010 when I jumped into the Star class out of the Laser.
Mark Ivey helped us come a long way in the first two years of the US Star Team’s campaign, coaching us to 1st and 5th place finishes at the worlds in 2009 and Leandro Spina helped us continue on a consistent track of improvement in the third year of this quadrennium. Our time in Miami this winter helped Ian and I break down our maneuvering to a point where we never got one wrong in the final few events of the season. Our speed tuning and testing as a team were the reason we had four US teams ranked in the top 20 in the world in 2011.
We spent countless hours in the gym with Harry Legum at Annapolis Sailing Fitness, with the Georgetown University Varsity Strength and Conditioning staff, and with Chris Herrera in Miami at Bow Down Training. I can’t speak for Ian, but I know he put on 15 pounds and improved his fitness immensely from our March testing to our October testing, which both took place at the USOTC in Colorado Springs. After losing nearly 20 pounds to get down to 165lbs for my Olympic regatta in Beijing in 2008, I carefully put 30lbs back on to transition into the Star.
In the end it came down to two regattas in Weymouth and Fremantle this year. We knew the system and the consequences. We felt like we had a strong chance in the big breeze. The tuning leading into the regatta had been improving our 15-25 knot sailing. Our final few months of training prepared us well for that condition. At no point did we think we had given away our speed in sub-15 knot conditions. In Fremantle, we ended up having a few key situations that would have drastically changed how our final result turned out. The breeze shifted wrong for us a few times in ways that made us scratch our heads. I always preach making high percentage decisions on the racecourse and this regatta ended up being one where the other percentage worked out a few times too often. Things did not go our way. Looking back on it, I would race the regatta the same way again if we were staring anew. I think 8 times out of 10 we would be top ten at big events. At 8 big regattas out of 10 we were top 10 this year and beat our tough US competitors. Unfortunately the 2 out of 10 events that we needed to, we didn’t. I don’t think it was nerves or pressure, it was just the way the cards were dealt. We approached those two events with the same intensity and focus that we had all season. The success of our season gives me confidence that we approached those two events correctly. I am glad that we were able to perform well enough to qualify the country for the Olympics, any of three American teams could have done that. There are some strong teams from other countires still looking to secure their country’s berth. I want to congratulate Brian and Mark for the outstanding regatta they had in Fremantle. I hope that is indicative of how they can perform at the Olympics.
Let me take one moment to thank my wife Jacqueline for her unrivaled support, keeping me focused on what I needed to do to win and helping me have a ton of fun during the process. My entire family has been unbelievably supportive not only in their time and advice. They have all been a sounding board for ideas and have also watched from the wings as sailing has taken me places in the sport that they knew I could go and beyond. They are an inspiration to my sailing. Thanks to them, I have a complete understanding of how to approach and win at the top end of the sport, but also know how to have fun on the water with the people I love most. Sailing with my family is an experience unlike any other, just ask anybody who’s done it! They keep the pressure on while racing and smile about it afterwards. I can’t thank them enough for showing me the way the sport should be played.
So that leaves us with what?… The Star Class at the moment has been removed from the 2016 Olympic class list. It’s hard to believe that I’ve spent 10 years on the Olympic sailing circuit when I wasn’t going to school. The next step for now will be committing myself to professional sailing and coaching. I am looking forward to continuing to coach and sail on the match racing circuit and big boat circuits. Hopefully there is more small boat sailing in the future as well.
When I first started this weblog it was meant as a point of contact for my family, friends and donors. I could give them updates on my sailing and they could live my journey with me as I traveled around the world racing Lasers and more boats than I can think of off the top of my head. I briefly had a Monday Morning Tactician column that would break down racing situations for readers to digest and discuss, and hopefully develop a new perspective on tactical sailboat racing. This weblog has surprised me, to say the least. I’ve been invited to help with rules committees, write articles and talk at yacht clubs and clinics based solely on ideas that I’ve written about here. How lucky I am to be given the opportunity to give back to the sport I love. We’ve had as many as 5,000 views a week and averaged close to 2,000 during regattas. It still shocks me to see 500 viewers on an off-sailing week, and inspires me to get going and put something new and valid up on the website. I wish there was a way that I could repay all of your support and attention. I will do my best to refresh this website to talk about any sailing that I am doing in the future. Likewise I will be making an effort to re-start the Monday Morning Tactician column to hopefully provoke some more discussions about tactical sailboat racing and anything else that comes to mind about our great game.
Please check back, because there will be more to come from www.CampbellSailing.com.
Also check out the twitter feed @campbellsailing
Tuesday
December 13th, 2011 in General.
We threatened to have a good day yesterday but suffered a setback at the first mark of the day. We had succeeded on getting to the favored left side of the course but failed to get a safe lane on the port approach to the weather mark. I risked tacking shy of a group and trying to lay the mark but instead of rounding top ten we were forced to bail out and rounded in the mid twenties. We came back well but not well enough to 19th in race five.Â
The second race of the day was very similar. We were top ten around the top and finished 7th after racing around the track in 15-18 knots of southeasterly breeze.Â
Four races remain before the medal race. Ian and I are 12 points out of 8th place so we are very much in the game with a couple good races today. It will take a miracle to win this Olympic trials this week, but we’re going to keep showing up and keep the pressure on.Â
Anybody looking at the scores see that the regatta leaders have dropped out of the event after taking a second yellow flag umpire penalty and then apparently are withdrawing due to injury. This after watching Ben Ainslie flame out on the final day of the Finn worlds last week makes for some interesting boatpark chatter. We’ll see how it all falls out.Â
Results: www.Perth2011.com
11, 10 on Day Two. Strange Conditions on Gage Roads today
December 12th, 2011 in General.
We had everything from 8 to 20 knots through our two races today. Ian and I took two very different paths to get two very similar scores. Race one was a mostly cloudy offshore puffy race. A persistent lefty dominated the first best and caught us out right. We rounded 25th or worse and had to scramble back through the shifty course to get 11th.
Race two was a very different story. Two rain cells on either side of the course funneled 15-18 knots of southerly breeze onto the course. Lightning spread across the distance toward Rottnest Island as we went into sequence. Ian and I started on the leeward half of the line and faded into a slow lefty. We were able to hold lanes. Better in the breezier conditions and rounded the mark about 7th. The battle was on from there and we went back and forth with about 10 boats around us in the next three legs and were able to pull off a 10th.
All in all, it was a better day. But we’ll have to do better tomorrow. Â
Ugly first day in Perth. Looking forward to tomorrow
December 11th, 2011 in General.
A non traditional seabreeze filled in a little late for our 1230 start today. We had a short delay but got under way after one general recall on Leighton course to the north of the mouth of the swan river. Â We sailed around the course in race one in the middle of the pack without really threatening the front but making nice gains on the runs. Between races the breeze shifted to nearly parallel the shore from the south and the course was stuck under the breakwater at the river mouth. The breeze was chaotic at best and the conditions made it really tough. We got hammered at the first mark rounding and spent the last three legs catching back up.
Tomorrow has to be a better day to turn this thing around. We’re ready. The breaks will start coming. Â
Made it to Fremantle
November 24th, 2011 in General.
30 hours of traveling is enough. We had a rainy stopover in Sydney and raced toward Perth across almost 5 hours of Australian desert to a blustery and dry ride in. Ian flew through Hong Kong and somehow we all made it. Our bags made it. Our sail tubes made it. Our boat made it.*
*Full disclosure, it was a mission getting the boat through customs the last couple weeks, but its here and Ian and I spent the morning getting it out of the box. Here’s a shot of Ian in the container:
After a bit of a runaround along the Fremantle waterfront we’ll be training out of a park south of Fremantle for the first weekend here until the Royal Perth YC opens its gates to us. All the clubs are a bit overwhelmed at the moment until they go into regatta-mode around town. The city of Fremantle is going to be 100% regatta headquarters come Monday. We’re ready for that to happen because until then we’re stepping on toes with our trailer wheels.
More to come from <a href=”http://www.campbellsailing.com” mce_href=”http://www.campbellsailing.com”>www.CampbellSailing.com</a>.
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<a href=”http://www.mclubemarine.com/” mce_href=”http://www.mclubemarine.com/”>McLube</a>
<a href=”http://www.neropes.com/PleasureMarine.aspx” mce_href=”http://www.neropes.com/PleasureMarine.aspx”>New England Ropes</a>
And we’re off…
November 9th, 2011 in Travel, General.
The first leg of a couple en route to Fremantle, Australia for the Worlds starts tomorrow. We’re heading south from a cooling Washington DC to the Cayman islands for a few days of fun racing with Jackie’s TP52 team Powerplay. Then west to San Diego for some R & R and America’s Cup World Series spectating. Then we’re heading down under. Luckily, I’ve got the photographer with me so expect some awesome shots here at www.CampbellSailing.com as well as on Jackie’s blog jacquelinecampbellphotography.com/blog (she’s just finished a photo essay on Weymouth and Portland where the Olympic regatta will be held next summer). Also check out the twitter feed as well. More to come…
4th in new ISAF World Star Rankings
October 5th, 2011 in Training, General.
Psyched to have moved up in the new world rankings this week to 4th, a personal high for me and Ian. Now we have to back it up with at the Worlds in Perth in December! Click here for full ISAF Rankings
We’ve got a Physical Training Camp with just the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics members this weekend at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to kick-start our Fall training. Camp starts tomorrow.
Updates at www.CampbellSailing.com and twitter.com/@campbellsailing