Top tips for leeward mark perfection

Looks like a lot of action at the leeward mark!  Here's an article about top tips for leeward mark perfection, written by UK Sailmakers Ireland, published in "Afloat".  It contains good information about technique for the leeward mark rounding that we can apply at that very busy time -- raising the jib, dousing the spinnaker, turning the boat, trimming for upwind, and managing heel angle.  Thanks to Steve Rustigian and to his father for forwarding it!  

Maiden!

"Maiden" is the adventure documentary of the 1989 Whitbread Race around the world whose entries included an all-women crew skippered by Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old brit who was a cook on charter sailboats - and had a dream.

Tracy's inspirational dream was opposed on all sides: her male competitors thought an all-women crew would not complete even the first leg, the chauvinistic yachting press took bets on their failure, and potential sponsors rejected her, fearing the crew would die at sea and generate bad publicity.     

The crew of Maiden shocked the world with their performance in the 33,000 mile Whitbread and humbled those doubting that women sailors are the equal of men!

The film is opening in limited release and will be coming to the Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks starting on August 16.  The typical film runs at this cool, independent theater usually last for less than a week.  

Who wants to attend a showing?  What days would work?  Post a comment below or contact Chris.

Upwind technique - tacks and tactics

Here is a good article from North Sails describing technique for "how to improve your tacks".  Really clear, actionable advice that can make a big difference in the upwind legs!  Note the emphasis on managing heel of the boat before and after the tack.

If you are interested in tactics, here is another good article describing "tactics as you approach the starboard tack layline".  This is a close encounter that occurs fairly frequently on the race course, and making the right decision allows you to stay ahead or get ahead.  This article is written by Bill Gladstone (who delivered the weather and routing briefing for the Queen's Cup last Friday).   

Lots of other good information in the North Sails website.  Happy browsing!

Rhumbline Regatta - 3rd in division

Mercedes and crew sailed a great race for the Rhumbline Regatta and placed 3rd out of 8 in Spinnaker I division against really tough local and out-of-town competitors!  

The course was a triangle with a long upwind/downwind leg, 3 times around, for a total of about 17 miles.  Winds were southwest at 10-16 knots, seas were 1-2 ft., and rain was threatening.  

Our boatspeed with the North 3Di #2 and the S3 and S2 spinnakers was good, but crew work made the winning difference in this race!  We observed various snafu's all around the course; a long course race like this sometimes turns into a war of attrition.  We had one memorable misadventure when the spinnaker on deck in it's bag tried to escape the boat and float free!  Dragging the spinnaker behind the boat turns out to be an effective sea anchor! 

Steve B. accepted our flag on behalf of the Mercedes crew.  Great job everyone!

Mercedes Tied for First in the Spring Series!!

We're tied for first with Wellenreiter in the Spring Series!!  Great job, we need to keep it going!!

Think sail FAST!!

Here are the results and the photo from last night's race.

Mercedes 2017 Sailing Video

Mercedes 2017 Sailing Video

In the beginning...

Great South Haven Invitational Weekend!!

Great sailing for the South Haven Invitational and Night Nav Race!!

We took first for the Night Nav Race with a 5 minute margin.  People are talking about the troublesome Mercedes crew.:-)

2nd place at the South Haven Invitational and first place in my heart!!  Mercedes' captain and crew ROCK!!

Just want to say thank you to:

• Cristo for spending a fortune to make our boat slick and fast.
• Steve B. for always making sure we have rum and mixers.  SO very appreciated.
• Dave for the best eats ever!!
• Sayer for doing such a great job of shopping.
• And everyone for showing up and working hard!!
• Thanks to Guy for jumping in and working your magic.

Here are some pics.  We missed Todd and Chelsea and Stever on Saturday.

Night Nav Race

1st place Mercedes

John making it look easy

Dave rockin the spinnaker

Chris coaching the team

Mercedes crew accepting our 2nd place flag!

 Great ride back to St. Joe.  15 knots of air from the north, we got to fly our new asymmetrical.  Thanks to Cristo for buying the asymmetrical and to Steve B. for fabricating the bowsprit.

Bullet Continued!!

First place!!! 

Big thank you to Chris for outfitting the boat with new instruments and sails, your dedication to this sport and our sailing program is beyond words.

Big thank you to everyone who worked on the boat, especially Steve B. and Chris who logged at least 100 hours in cold, finger-freezing weather.  Hats off to you both and everyone else who helped work on the boat.

Great sail last night the only thing that would've made it better is if Dave and Sayer were there.

First race a bullet!

Pretty good start to the 2019 racing season for Mercedes - a first place finish!  Congratulations to the Mercedes crew for sailing a great race!  

Sunset photo

Take a look at the colors in this photo that Molly (from Berrien RESA) took of Mercedes sailing last Thursday night, May 16!  Beautiful!  Thanks, Steve B., for sharing it.     

LMSuRF May newsletter

The May issue of the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation newsletter is available.  There is an article about the St. Joseph River Yacht Club racing program by Gordy Dill and Jim Schrager in this issue.  They discuss how successful PHRF handicap racing is, but there are some holes in their logic!  Other, more scientific rating systems are becoming much more popular because they offer better speed predictive capabilities than PHRF does.   

Congratulations, Sayer!

Congratulations to Sayer for passing the Offshore Safety at Sea Course! It truly reflects a commitment to personal and crew safety. 

When you, too, finish the course successfully, send me (Chris) your completion certificate so I can similarly embarrass you! (I earned my certificate, too, but I'm too humble to post it here :)