Bay Area Sailors Training Up for AC34

Enthusiastic sailors and boaters around the Bay Area have finally been able to get their feet - and more - wet with the America’s Cup, as a group of yacht club volunteers take on specific training that will certify them to become on-water volunteer marshals for the 2012-2013 events.

This weekend is the second training course for Cup volunteers from Bay Area yacht clubs to take a US Sailing safe power boat handling course and get recognized by the US Coast Guard and certified by NASBLA (National Association of State Boating Law Administrators), a license that volunteers maybe required to have to marshal on the water for AC34 events.

“We ultimately need to about 200 marshals we can use for 2013 - those people will help us in conjunction with groups like the Coast Guard and the Neptune Coalition,” said John Craig, Principal Race Officer for the 34th America’s Cup.

The training course has been promoted through the America’s Cup Yacht Club Alliance - a group of yacht clubs in the Bay Area located on the water around the Bay who have come together to support the America’s Cup events with the provision of volunteers and other assets such as marshal boats.

Last weekend was the first training course, held at Cal Maritime in Vallejo, and Craig expects that a few more will be held later this year to ensure he can pull together a group of 200. “We wont expect those people to be out every day during events,” Craig said, “but we need a pool because we think we need to run 60 people a day.”

As part of the weekend-long course, the Coast Guard Auxiliary makes a presentation on how communications will work from their end, to the police/authorized enforcement boats, and from there into AC marshal boats which will help maintain the race-course.

There’s also an environmental session to ensure AC adheres to best boating practices with a speaker on endangered species and how to identify those as well as discussion on best practices when fueling etc.

The final component of the course is learning how the ‘box’ is defined and the different areas the marshals will be to maintain the course, or the ‘box’, where the boats will be etc., which Craig delivers himself.

“Last weekend went great,” Craig said. “We’re excited about this and the Coast Guard’s really been supportive. A lot of the people have some really good skills already so it’ll be interesting to get feedback to see if people learned a lot or a little.”

Aaron DeZafra, a former Commodore of the Corinthian Yacht Club who attended last weekend’s course thought it was really worthwhile.

“Spending a lot of time on boats as a lot of us do, I was hoping not to be bored out of my skull and I have to say I was really, really pleased with the course. It was a lot of fun. I learned a lot of stuff that I actually didn’t know or used to know (LOL). We learned some good techniques for boat handling that I had not put to use before.”

A high point of the weekend for DeZafra was Craig’s presentation, “It was great to hear first-hand what the course was going to look like, what to expect from commercial boats, how we’re going to operate, and how we’re going to be scheduled at a high level.”

Roxanne Fairbairn, also a CYC member and on the Race Council, also attended last weekend’s course and commented that it felt like things were really beginning to happen. “We had over 40 volunteers from clubs all around the Bay so it was really fun to meet new people and a great way to start building this Cup community here.”

This coming weekend there is another course planned which is sold out with 50 participants and a waiting list of 27. Volunteers are paying their way - it’s a $50 fee for the two-day course. If they bring their own boat there’s a 50% discount - some yacht clubs have people taking the course using their respective club boats.

Craig thinks that if the volunteer training is a success, hopefully it could be used for things other than the Cup such as clubs using the training for their own race committees. Either way, the Bay Area will have a well qualified pool of on-water volunteers to draw from for all kinds of future on-water events. Not a bad thing at all.

For more info, contact Melanie Roberts: Melanie.roberts@americascup.com

LASER SLALOM HITS SAN FRANCISCO CITY FRONT

On Wednesday August 3rd, the Laser Slalom returns to San Francisco's St Francis Yacht Club for two days of action right off Crissy Field. An invitation-only fleet of 32 competitors will face off on a course close to the beach configured to force hurry-up maneuvers.

EXPECT SPILLS AND THRILLS UNDER BLUE SKIES AND BIG BREEZE!

A talent-stacked fleet includes LaserPerformance Ambassador and Team Maclaren skipper Anna Tunnicliffe, Olympic Gold Medalist and US SAILING’s 2010 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Also competing is America’s Cup defender Oracle Racing’s Scott Ferguson, the ‘09 and ’10 Laser Masters World Champion.

WHERE: Racing will be conducted right off Crissy Field adjacent to St Francis Yacht Club, event host. Be prepared for awesome beachfront viewing.

WHO: An international fleet including top racers from Australia, Italy, Germany, Canada, Dominican Republic and the US will compete. Full competitor list & photos at event website: http://www.sflaserworlds.com/page/Slalom

HOW: Two parallel rows of buoys are laid to windward of the starting area. Two sailors start one-on-one, each luffing nose-to a left side or right side bottom-most inflatable mark. It is the sailors' job to hold position as best they can until the race committee sees that both are nosed-up evenly (enough). Then a start is signaled. The challenge is to tack up through your row of buoys, cross sides at the top (no hunting allowed), gybe down through the buoys, beat back to weather, cross again, and hurry-up gybe to a finish at the bottom. It's an eliminations ladder, so winner advances.

WHAT they’re saying about the Laser Slalom…

Anna Tunnicliffe, 28, from Plantation, FL: I think its great that this event has being going on for so long. It is a side of the sport we don't often see, but a side that it is just as physical and tactical, but also fun!

Scott Ferguson, 50, Jamestown, RI: I’ll just take what I’m given, try not to capsize, and make the maneuvers as smooth as possible. You have a fairly small window within which to jibe and if you hit the waves not quite right you could get into trouble!

Ari Barshi, 49, owner Laser Training Center (www.caribwind.com), Cabarete, Domincan Republic: All Lasers are made to be fast, it’s the sailor that makes it slower. In the Slalom event we will see very clearly which sailor is most in sync with his boat!

Laura Carter, 16, Alameda, California: The Laser is the first boat that I sailed that I really enjoyed and I've been racing it since I was 12. It’s the best boat for the Slalom because it’s so physical and allows the racers to showcase their boat handling abilities.

Peter Seidenberg, 70-something, Portsmouth, RI, sailing his 28th Laser Master Worlds (he’s won 8 events) and now doing his first Laser Slalom: This couldn't be done in any other boat and be as exciting to do and to watch. It is a truly one-design boat in which racing comes down to "man against man", not boat against boat. And, this could be my last chance to do it!

Stephen Orosz: 45, El Cerrito, California: It’s a great boat for the Slalom because it is so maneuverable and makes for some exciting wipeouts. I have been trying to practice gybing in strong wind and waves, with a lot of wishful that I’ll be able to pull off eight gybes in short order in breeze and waves. . .

Andrea Cosentino, 51, Venice, Italy: All my family is here with me to attend the Slalom and Master Worlds. My daughter Laura , the 2010 Italian Female Laser Champion, is my coach here. I hope to limit my capsizing during the Slalom, otherwise she will laugh too much !

Christina Neville, 31, Oakland, California: The Laser is affordable, tons of people sail it, easy to travel with, you can race anywhere, good competition, wide age range, high performance, athletic to sail, the best of everything. Of course you can spend tons of time upside down - which is why it is good for the Slalom!

Drake Jensen, 18, El Sobrante, California, in 2010, was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma, and acquired a blood clot complication which took him off the water until just a few months ago: The Laser is perfect for the Slalom because of it's highly challenging characteristics, making for exciting action and close call maneuvers.

Luke Parker, 45, Sydney, Australia, is in it for the thrills and spills: Simple one design. Huge numbers of boats. Close, competive sailing. Money can't buy speed.

Peter Vessella, 56, Burlingame, California, even after two knee operations, one neck fusion, and several back injuries concurs: The Laser’s a physical boat that rewards fitness and purity of competition in strict one-design. For the Slalom I’ve been practicing tacks and gybes in quick succession in big breeze!

Martin White, 53, Sydney, Australia: A Laser is so damn honest! Where else do you find so much competition in so many parts of the world?

Colin Dibb, 55, Fremantle, Australia, just scored a 1970's Laser 42000ish, yellow and called Pumpkin that he plans to rig “exactly how we used to do it back then” to show the young bucks how hard it was in the old days, 3:1 vang, etc: It’s the purest form of sailing - just me and a boat.

Peter Shope: 51, Portsmouth, RI, sailing Lasers again after a 26 year hiatus (!):This is an event that I used to dream about participating in when I was a kid. Now I can cross it off my bucket list!

Rob Muru, 53, Toronto, Canada, 2011 Great Lakes Masters Laser Champion, former Canadian National Team (Star and Soling crew) and America’s Cup sailor (Canada 1, 1983): It’ll be crazy breeze and waves, good crowd at the yacht club, racing in the Pacific by the Golden Gate Bridge, the odd seal swimming by. Everything about it is cool.

Nick Burke, 49, globalized - no fixed abode: I like the athleticism required to compete. It’s a great boat for the Slalom because it is tricky to gybe.


ABOUT THE LASER: The Laser is a single-handed racing dinghy with a waterline length of 12.5 feet. The biggest attraction of the Laser dinghy is that is protected by the One Design class rules, which means that no changes are allowed to the boat unless they are specifically permitted in the rules. So in theory all Laser boats are the same whether they are new or 10 years old, making it the sailor who wins the race, not the boat. The Laser is a challenging boat that rewards athleticism, subtle steering and trimming techniques, as well as tactical excellence. It is a singlehanded Olympic class boat, also sailed at club, national and international levels. With nearly 200,000 boats in 140 countries, it is clearly the world’s most popular adult and youth racing sailboat. www.laserperformance.com

ABOUT THE ST FRANCIS YACHT CLUB: Founded in 1927, the St. Francis Yacht Club is steeped in over 80 years of yachting and racing traditions. From the beginning, the St. Francis Yacht Club’s membership roster has included many of the Bay Area’s most prominent citizens and greatest sailors. Early racers for the St. Francis included such champions as L.A. Norris, Mark Fontana, Myron Spaulding, Arthur Rousseau, Painless Parker and Lester Stone. Today, it is names such as Paul Cayard, John Kostecki, John Bertrand, Stan Honey, Morgan Larson, John Heineken, Genny Tulluch and Russ Silvestri who continue to keep the St. Francis name in the forefront of world-class sailing.

The annual regatta schedule at the St. Francis is one of the most active regatta calendars in the world. Part of the attraction of racing at St. Francis Yacht Club is the excellent and challenging racing conditions unique to San Francisco Bay. Both physically beautiful and naturally demanding, the Bay provides a racer with the ultimate in wind, current and weather conditions for truly competitive, exciting sailing. The St. Francis Yacht Club prides itself on being able to provide members and guests to the Club with every comfort and amenity while dazzling them with its surroundings. www.stfyc.com

Pic 1: Anna Tunnicliffe

Pic 2: Scott Ferguson

Pic 3: Laser Youth Worlds concludes Tues, St FYC

Great Ports Make Great Cities

As I’ve alluded to more than once, the City of San Francisco is not losing time in checking off the boxes when it comes to the infrastructure work that’s required to put on an America’s Cup event in 2013. It’s well recorded by former AC cities (Perth, Auckland, Valencia) that the Cup leaves behind a legacy that continues to be enjoyed - and continues to provide financial benefit - for everyone. The City is proving to be the rock amongst the ever changing tides of Cup chaos (who really knows how many teams will show come Judgment Day?) but then it’s really never been any different. And, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that there’s still two years to go…

At the Port of San Francisco, Jonathan Stern, Asst. Deputy Director, Waterfront Development
, filled SailBlast in on what's happening in his domain. Most of that which he and his team are focusing on right now is related to the entitlement process (the People Plan is the public part of that) and working on drafting the EIR to get the environmental clearance. Stern says there’s a lot of technical analysis that has to be done about the event and understanding better what the event is. He’s also working with the America’s Cup Environmental Coalition - a local stakeholder group which has been following the Cup and generally has a stake in the waterfront, being concerned with waterfront development and other related issues.

Stern says that the Port continues to communicate with tenants so that they know as much as the Port does about plans for the Cup and when things will happen etc. According to Stern, some tenants remain concerned about how they are going to fit into the City or the waterfront in the long term. “We’re doing as much as we can to communicate with those people, let them know what our plans are,” Stern said. “Anyone who is interested in proactively looking for a new space, we’re working with them. It’s going pretty well, I can’t say everyone is perfectly happy to move their businesses because they’ve been there for a long time but I think everyone recognizes it’s kind of an evolution along the waterfront.”

The Port is working with America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) to understand what their plans are vis a vis using the facilities. “We have an obligation to work with them to understand how they’re going to use the airspace, the waterways - we’re working with the FAA and the Coast Guard - most of these administrative things that are happening are things that have to happen to get an event like this organized. It’s not new territory - it’s amazing how much precedence there is for this actually - like maritime events of national significance like Fleet Week - there’s a structure already in place with the “rules” covered and most of the challenges we’re finding fall under those rules. I’ve been very pleased with the way we’ve been able to work through these issues.”

The new cruise ship terminal plans are well underway, with the Port currently finishing up the schematic design; the next phase is design development. For the Port, the cruise ship terminal project is probably the most complicated part related to the America’s Cup development as it’s the only building they’re responsible for constructing for the Cup. The other two big public works projects that are associated with the Cup that require facilities for the event are the Brannan Street Wharf which is a project the Port’s already working on, and Piers 30-32 on which ACEA is require do some structural repair.

Much has to happen on the cruise ship site other than the entitlement process. The new terminal is being built in the footprint of one of the cruise terminals right now - the Pier 27 shed, which is about 220, 000 square feet. “It’s very big - the first thing that has to happen is that shed has to be demolished which is particularly challenging because it’s physically connected to Pier 29 shed which is a historic shed. So, to do the demolition you have to have plans in place for the improvements you’re going to make to Pier 29, that’s complicated. It’s an old building so there are normal concerns about the paint and asbestos etc.,” Stern described.

The demolition of Pier 27 shed is an obligation of ACEA, who then hand over that cleared site to a city team led by the Port and the Dept. Public Works to start construction of the Cruise Terminal. Stern said that should all happen in early 2012. “We then have an obligation to hand it back to ACEA in early 2013. It will be a constructed building, what we call “core and shell” - it won’t yet be a cruise terminal, it won’t have the maritime structure like bumpers, gangways etc. which is good because the initial thing that’s going to happen there is preparation for the America’s Cup.”

But first things first - look forward to a public draft EIR on the street this summer.

* Check out the Port's website http://www.sfport.com/ - lots of good Cup info that's regularly updated.