IN LOVE WITH THE 29ERXX

This summer the Columbia Gorge (Oregon) has played host to a number of high profile sailing events (ICSA Collegiate Nationals, 2011 US Sailing Singlehanded Championship to name a few) and this past weekend, hosted the Zhik Skiff Regatta - the 49er and 29erXX US National Championships. It’s fast becoming reputed as the best place to sail a skiff in the US, says 29erXX class president, Kristen Lane. Especially if you like big wind.

Lane does.

SailBlast chatted to Lane this morning as she was headed north to Cork, Canada for an Olympic class regatta. Lane and tactician Charlie McKee easily prevailed in this past weekend’s 29erXX National Championship, taking nine of eleven races. Lane explains how they won, and why she likes, excuse me - LOVES - the 29erXX:

The bottom line is that it was a very windy event and we spent a lot of time practicing our boat handling in the big air - staying in the wind was a big reason we were able to get ahead and stay ahead. The Gorge is unrelenting in that little mistakes cost you big. It was surprisingly shift and Charlie did an amazing job of keeping us going in the right lane all the time. He had the confidence to sail where it was the windiest and we knew we had solid boat handling - we knew we could tack and gybe anywhere we wanted to.

Racing the XX is totally different to the standard rig 29er. This was the first US National Championship and it was the class’s opportunity to prove that the boat is able to handle really big winds and a variety of crew weight.

For example, the team that finished second place was a kiwi team - Alex and Molly - they only weighed about 260 pounds total. That’s the remarkable difference of weight range between them and us (we were in just over 310 pounds) and still be competitive in really windy conditions.

We also sailed an entire practice week over and above this past week - all of us did - at the Gorge and nobody experienced a major breakdown other than preventative maintenance. It was remarkable and a great test event for the boat. It’s quite exciting to see the XX be viewed not only as a potential Olympic class for two women but also as an adult co-ed dinghy - high performance, durable, and very moderately priced.

One thing to note that I was the only person at the regatta sailing a Melges 29erXX. Melges is now building the boat in North America and I have the first production boat and I’ve been sailing it since about May. It’s fantastic. Most boats are competitive but the construction and rigidity of the Melges boat was I think key to our success in those conditions - the stiffness of your boat is a big factor in how well it performs.

I was first led to the 29erXX because I wanted to be a better Melges 24 sailor but what I didn’t expect to happen was to become completely engrossed and addicted to the small boat, high performance format. The rewards for all my other sailing has been unimaginable. I feel like the experience on the 29erXX have not only made me a little better as a Melges 24 sailor but a lot better. Discovering a place like the Gorge and making it a point to go there every summer to get tossed around and beaten up in the big wind (LOL!) has been extremely rewarding. The Gorge is the best place in America to sail skiffs and I know the class wants to go back. I'm looking forward to that!

One of Lane's Melges 24 crew mates, Johnny Goldsberry, won the 49er Nationals this past weekend which she was totally psyched about, "It's such a big accomplishment for Johnny. He's been working for so many years and loves the sport and is super generous with his time toward other competitors."

Commenting on the light number of entries in both fleets this past weekend, Lane said she suspected it was because it was a tough year to rally because of the Olympic activity, not to mention some people are afraid of racing in the Gorge...

PETER SHOPE CROWNED LASER SLALOM 2011 CHAMPION

FINAL DAY LASER SLALOM 2011

With 25 knots registering on the committee boat the Laser Slalom 2011 fleet hit the water for the wildest ride on the Bay, the St Francis Yacht Club’s Heavy Weather Slalom event, presented by Laser Performance and Maclaren. Racing began about 1pm in a flood tide and white caps. Not quite perfect but good enough, noted Don Trask, event founder.

Of the final four, Peter Shope and Ben Richardson (both USA) went head to head, with Shope prevailing and taking the overall first place trophy after four exhausting races. “I don’t know where that came from,’ said an elated Shope. “I tried to stay in the moment and not to look forward too much. I made sure that the vang was in the right position for the run at the beginning of each reach because I didn’t have time to deal with it going into the reach. That really helped me.”

Scott Ferguson (USA) took third prevailing against Mike Matan (GBR). This year's top three in the competition are incidentally all from Laser District 7.

This regatta is all about the spills and Ferguson took first prize for a phenomenal crash in his last race that catapulted him some two boat lengths off his stern. “I needed to jibe, I got a huge puff and was just not going to make the gybe. I got pretty zapped especially after I crashed in the third race. Making the gybe is the difference between staying in the race - or not! It was a lot of fun.”

The talent-stacked fleet included international competitors from 18 years to 70-something, with anything from 40 years Laser sailing experience to six years. An elimination ladder saw yesterday’s winners advance and for those who lost two races, it was game over. With no room for error, spectacular - and frequent - crashes throughout the fleet made for tense moments on and off the course.

LaserPerformance Ambassador and Team Maclaren skipper Anna Tunnicliffe made it through to the final six. She said she was a little nervous going into the event as it’s been a while since she’s sailed a Laser (she’s been busy campaigning the Elliot 6m for the 2012 Olympics). “The upwinds were hard because I’m a good 30 pounds lighter than the others racing but I liked the downwind.”

The Laser Slalom proves wrong beyond doubt anyone who argues that sailing’s not a sport because it’s not a workout. Watching competitors’ rapid fire maneuvering and hiking in the bigger breeze today demonstrated just how intense the job is in the Slalom to make it around the course unscathed (even the top guys - and gals - capsized). Racers cited gym workouts and aerobic exercise as a key part of their training for the event, and on the water, competitive drill sessions. “I usually finish my race training with a 20 tack/20 gybe drill,” Ferguson said.

And that’s what Laser sailors love about it. Said Tunnicliffe, “I really like the physical aspect of the boat and how you have to work really hard to make the boat do what you want to do it. I had to consider every move I had to make and I had a great time.”

That’s the end of the Laser Slalom for 2011. When it’ll next take place, no-one really knows. It worked out well to hold the event at St FYC this year because it slotted in between the Laser Youth and Master World Championships. Ideally it’s the perfect event to hold on a weekend to encourage greater spectatorship and most definitely when at a time when a howling breeze is guaranteed. Maybe it can become a stand-alone event going forward - there’s certainly no shortage of enthusiasm:

Said Ryan Nelson (USA), “It was a blast, I can’t wait to do it again, I was just so bummed to go over when I did.”

* John Bertrand was the winner of the first Laser Slalom event held in 1974.

As Promised: Day 1 Laser Slalom 2011 Brings Spills A-Plenty

Day 1 of the Laser Slalom 2011 threw contenders a relatively easy time, starting in a breeze in the high teens, a flood tide and flat water - conditions that prevailed for the first part of racing. But by late afternoon the usual San Francisco breeze was back hitting the low to mid-20s.

While over half the fleet crashed at least once, a handful made the trek around the course look like a walk in the park, including two-time Laser World Masters Champion Scott Ferguson (USA) who ripped through in just five minutes, executing smooth maneuvers that earned him two wins, easily putting him in the winners bracket where he’ll go up against Anna Tunnicliffe, Olympic gold medalist, tomorrow, who also won the one race she sailed today (she also had a bye). Tunnicliffe is the hot contender to win this event.

“It was good, I got around the course smoothly, it wasn't as difficult as I thought out there. I got the lighter air, it was fun, I could have done with more breeze though," Ferguson said.

Tunnicliffe, Laser Performance Ambassador and Team Maclaren skipper, blew spectators away with her flawless action and boat handling skills as she really demonstrated just what a work out these boats are. “I had to, I was behind,” she laughed.

No-one agrees more that the big breeze is what the event’s all about than the event’s founding fathers, Don Trask and Bill Kreysler (who also hold the distinction of being responsible for the successful construction of 11,000 Lasers in ten years, 30 Star boats and 300 J24s during their career in the business)

Trask cites the perfect conditions for the event as an ebb tide where the waves are really big and the wind is blowing hard. “The old guys are saying they hope it blows like hell because they know there’s no way these guys are going to get down the course! We were fairly good sailors back then but I’m sure these guys are way better than we were. You can’t reef these boats but you can sail them in any condition so I hope we give them a real ride for their money this event,” Trask said.

Trask’s inspiration for the event was a no-brainer. “I was watching some ski slalom races and thought, “that could be fun”, particularly in a breeze and particularly if we kept it really short.”

The rest is history. Even Warren Miller of skiing fame filmed the windiest event Trask recalls. “It was blowing a good solid 25, maybe 30. We were reefing then - we were using the beach up here west of the club and we’d come in and wrap the sail around - there was no way you could get downwind with the big sails! It was good times and the best of the best were here that time - Bertrand, Silvestri, Keefe, Van Dyne to name a few.”

Trask noted that while the Laser hasn’t changed in design or weight, a few mechanical changes such as the outhaul and boom vang have been improved greatly providing more options.

“Techniques have changed a bit and being in shape is a really important factor with a Laser,” Trask said. “Technique going downwind is the really critical part of sailing Lasers and they’ve perfected a new technique of getting downwind which has made it a whole new game. These sailors blow the old school right out of the water downwind. We would pull everything down as tight as we possibly could and that’s how we’d sail. Now they adjust all that downwind.”

Results at http://www.sflaserworlds.com/page/Slalom

Pic 1. Anna & St FYC PRO Robbie Dean wait for wind

Pic 2. Event founding fathers Don Trask & Bill Krysler

Pic 3. Crashes a-plenty

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

AMERICA’S CUP DESIGNER PREPS FOR ACTION-PACKED LASER SLALOM

The Laser Slalom returns to the St FYC for two days of action right off San Francisco's Crissy Field on Wednesday August 3rd, turning up the heat between the Laser 4.7 World Championship and the Laser Masters World Championship.

An invitation-only fleet of 32 competitors will face off on a course close to the beach designed to force quick decisions.... as the event touts, “good people go bad in conditions that would never otherwise trip them up.”

The fleet is stacked with talent including LaserPerformance Ambassador and Team Maclaren skipper Anna Tunnicliffe, Olympic Gold Medalist and US SAILING’s 2010 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year.

Also competing is Oracle Racing’s Scott Ferguson, winner of the ‘09 and ’10 Laser Masters World Championship. SailBlast caught up with Ferguson as he was getting ready to hit the water on Saturday afternoon at St FYC to spar with fellow Oracle design team member Dimitri Despierres.

Ferguson, from Jamestown, RI, has just this month moved to the Bay Area with his wife Kim to be closer to the Team’s HQ. He’s been involved in Cup campaigns since first working with Dennis Conner in 1995, as well as Italian teams Luna Rossa and Prada. He managed the mast and wing design on USA-17, followed by the AC45 wing, and is now working on Oracle’s AC72 wing program. Ferguson's also worked on numerous other big boat programs including TP52s and the Volvo Ocean Race.

But this week he has his sights set on the Laser 4.7 and getting around the slalom course without crashing...

SB: Why the Laser Slalom?

Ferguson: The Slalom is something I’ve heard about forever - 30 years ago I remember hearing about San Francisco and this event that goes on out here, it being really windy and people used to wrap their sails twice around the main spar to reduce sail area and stuff like that (LOL) and so it’s always had this lure. I heard about it, timing is good because I’m now here so so I have to do it just because it’s such a unique regatta. I like the boat handling - a lot of tacks, a lot of jibes - I hope I’m pretty good at that (LOL).

SB: What are your expectations?

Ferguson: As far as the event itself goes, I don’t really know what to expect. I know the format - that we’ll be right up alongside the beach here. I guess I’ll just take what I’m given, try not to capsize, and make the maneuvers as smooth as possible. The scary part is that you normally get to pick your points to jibe but with the slalom you’re kind of forced at times - you have a fairly small window within which to jibe and if you hit the waves not quite right you could get into trouble!

SB: You’re okay with lots of crashes?

Ferguson: LOL! It’s all good! I am surprised at how cold the water is here but you get the right gear and it’s fine. It’s kind of refreshing.

SB: How long have you been sailing Lasers?

Ferguson: I sailed Lasers a lot when I was in my late teens early 20s, then got out of it for 25 years or so, sailed J24s and big boats but mainly just for work. Then got back into it in 2003 with my old boat, my 1983 old white squishy deck water logged boat and got into some larger events on the east coast and realized I needed to get a new boat. I bought the new boat in 2004 and steadily ramped up. I’ve done five Master Worlds since, winning the past two years (England 2010, and Nova Scotia 2009).

SB: You can’t be too shabby at this then?

Ferguson: I’m alright…just a little creaky!

SB: What do you like about the Laser?

Ferguson: I love the Laser, it’s just good exercise for me, I love going out on the boat, it’s like going for a bike ride. The events themselves force me to stay healthy and lose weight so I really like it from that perspective. It’s also a very challenging boat tactically and it’s athletic so it’s fun to sail. It’s a great boat to learn on, plus it’s great to have the ability to be able to get on a boat alone and not be dependent upon anybody else. And - they’re doing this with the 4.7s - you put a smaller rig on the same boat and it’s a great one design, as long as you have a lot of other boats to sail against. It’s fun and hopefully gets more kids involved in sailing.

SB: How often do you get in the boat?

Ferguson: Leading up to the events I try to get out every other day but with work - I’m pretty busy with what I’m doing - so I’ve been getting out perhaps twice a week or so, and more and more as this event gets closer (he’s rearranged a few meetings to be able to race this week…).

I’ve been sailing out of here (St FYC), I’ve been trying to get used to the area. Obviously the venue is here (for the America’s Cup 34), so I want to get used to the waters right off here…

SB: Double duty?

Ferguson: It is double duty! It’s interesting because it’s such a unique place to sail. I thought it was going to be a lot more of being really windy the whole time and straightforward but it’s very puffy and the current is very different all the way across from here to the other side. It’s a challenging area to sail I think.

Scott Ferguson's website: http://www.scottfergusonllc.com

ABOUT THE LASER SLALOM:
Bill Kreysler, PRO for the event explains: “The Slalom works this way. 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.”

More info and competitor list at: http://www.sflaserworlds.com/page/Slalom