rbgarr
03-15-2007, 05:14 AM
might be reflected in this report about a Star sailor's regatta blog:
"A MID-FLEET PERSPECTIVE
If you were not interested in last week’s reports on the Star class Bacardi
Cup in Miami, perhaps it’s because you’re not a fan of Olympic sailing, or
22-foot keelboats that were designed nearly a hundred years ago and cost
about $65k. However, the class must be doing something right, as it still
attracts elite sailors and huge fleets. As so often is the case, the event
reports from last week did not tell the whole story. Beyond the glory of the
top ten was the rest of the fleet, a group I affectionately call the “entry
fees.” Without this group, there would be little glory, and it would be hard
to budget any of the event perks. One such team was Canadians William
Hendershot and Alain Vranderick, who competed against the other “entry fees”
in route to their 47th place finish. They have posted some great reports on
the ‘Montreal Sailing’ blog, from where I have culled some of their Lessons
of the Day:
* When trading tacks at the windward mark, in a fleet of 75 boats, if you
drop your cigarette in the bottom of the boat, let it be. The water will
extinguish it. It’s a lot more prudent to keep your head out of the boat
than to reach for that last half of Marlboro.
* Luck is your friend. Embrace her. Nurture her. You never know when you
might need her.
* If you going to try to intimidate me on the starting line, better bring a
bat, a gun, or a drill. I’m sorry but screaming will not do it. We’ve been
through this too many times, and are not impressed by it anymore. Oh, and by
the way, all that screaming only led you to an OCS. So there, don’t mess
with Karma, she’s a bitch!
* Repeat after me EXECUTION IS KEY. To explain my point, here’s a little
synopsis of what we went through. You plan this 6 months ahead of time, you
make the condo reservations, you drive 30 hours to get there, you make it
out to the race course an hour in advance to figure out the wind, you figure
out a great strategy, and once the gun goes off you forget everything and
get sucked into riding the clean air train. Come on guys, get with the
program.
* The great thing about the Star is that it’s tweakable in every which way
you can imagine. The bad thing about the Star is that it’s tweakable in
every which way you can imagine. This ability to tune the boat can sometimes
mess with your mind. You rationalize it by thinking, ‘It must be the boat.
It can’t be us sailing poorly, we’re the f-ing fleet champions.’ But never
underestimate your own capacity to sail badly. So, Willy, LEAVE THE GOD DAMN
BOAT ALONE ALREADY!!! It’s not the boat; it’s the dummies in the hiking
straps. There, I said it. I feel better now."
-- Scuttleblog, for all their Bacardi Cup reports:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/03/mid-fleet-perspective.html
"A MID-FLEET PERSPECTIVE
If you were not interested in last week’s reports on the Star class Bacardi
Cup in Miami, perhaps it’s because you’re not a fan of Olympic sailing, or
22-foot keelboats that were designed nearly a hundred years ago and cost
about $65k. However, the class must be doing something right, as it still
attracts elite sailors and huge fleets. As so often is the case, the event
reports from last week did not tell the whole story. Beyond the glory of the
top ten was the rest of the fleet, a group I affectionately call the “entry
fees.” Without this group, there would be little glory, and it would be hard
to budget any of the event perks. One such team was Canadians William
Hendershot and Alain Vranderick, who competed against the other “entry fees”
in route to their 47th place finish. They have posted some great reports on
the ‘Montreal Sailing’ blog, from where I have culled some of their Lessons
of the Day:
* When trading tacks at the windward mark, in a fleet of 75 boats, if you
drop your cigarette in the bottom of the boat, let it be. The water will
extinguish it. It’s a lot more prudent to keep your head out of the boat
than to reach for that last half of Marlboro.
* Luck is your friend. Embrace her. Nurture her. You never know when you
might need her.
* If you going to try to intimidate me on the starting line, better bring a
bat, a gun, or a drill. I’m sorry but screaming will not do it. We’ve been
through this too many times, and are not impressed by it anymore. Oh, and by
the way, all that screaming only led you to an OCS. So there, don’t mess
with Karma, she’s a bitch!
* Repeat after me EXECUTION IS KEY. To explain my point, here’s a little
synopsis of what we went through. You plan this 6 months ahead of time, you
make the condo reservations, you drive 30 hours to get there, you make it
out to the race course an hour in advance to figure out the wind, you figure
out a great strategy, and once the gun goes off you forget everything and
get sucked into riding the clean air train. Come on guys, get with the
program.
* The great thing about the Star is that it’s tweakable in every which way
you can imagine. The bad thing about the Star is that it’s tweakable in
every which way you can imagine. This ability to tune the boat can sometimes
mess with your mind. You rationalize it by thinking, ‘It must be the boat.
It can’t be us sailing poorly, we’re the f-ing fleet champions.’ But never
underestimate your own capacity to sail badly. So, Willy, LEAVE THE GOD DAMN
BOAT ALONE ALREADY!!! It’s not the boat; it’s the dummies in the hiking
straps. There, I said it. I feel better now."
-- Scuttleblog, for all their Bacardi Cup reports:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/03/mid-fleet-perspective.html