Prepping for the US Team Racing Championships

Hello race fans!

Big Boat Series and the NYYC Invitational may have come to a close but that doesnt mean that the Team Racing season is over. Far from it! Team St.FYC will be attending the US Team Racing Championships for the George R. Hinman Trophy (the short name is the Hinman) which will be held at Seattle Yacht Club from September 30-October 3. If you live in the Seattle area, stop on by and watch some exciting team racing in the south end of Lake Union.

Team St.FYC for the event is:
Holt Condon with Melanie Roberts
Edward Conrad with Kristin Maberry
Harrison Turner with Jess Barhydt

Other St.FYC members sailing are (team name in parenthesis):
Avery Patton (Treasure Island Pirates)
Natasha Baker (Treasure Island Pirates)
Sally Madsen (Treasure Island Pirates)
Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (San Diego Yacht Club)
Jen Morgan Glass (Seattle Sideshow)

Information for the regatta is at:
http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USTRChampionship.htm

Check back for photos and reports!

St. Francis Team Racing

Team STFYC at NYYC Invitational US Qualifier - Day 1

Good morning! Team StFYC, on site in Newport since Saturday night, has finished three days of training with our coach Ed Adams, and is ready for day 1 of racing! Commodore & Mrs Sneary arrived last night to lead the support squad.

During the boat & fleet draw on Tuesday morning, we were assigned to the Red group, along with Indian Harbor, Eastern, Long Beach, Fishing Bay, Southern, St. Pete, Ft. Worth, Rochester, Larchmont, San Diego, and Annapolis Yacht Clubs. The other 12 teams are in the Blue Group.

For the first half of the racing day, StFYC will be racing a Sonar, then will rotate into the J-22 for the afternoon. Practice in the race boats on Tuesday was challenging, in lots of SF type breeze (but warm wind! and water, as the team laid the J-22 on it's side!)

Our team is confident & ready for this regatta - we need to place top 6 in our group in the two days of preliminary racing, to qualify for the Championship fleet for Friday & Saturday, then to place in the top three to qualify for the 2011 NYYC Invitational.

With all corinthian teams from 24 of the nations best yacht clubs, this will be a great week of racing.

Another Dark and Stormy Please....well maybe not!

Dark and Stormy!
There is some debate if it is the "Ramos Fizz" or "Mudslide" that is the signature drink for visitors at St. Francis Yacht Club races. There is little doubt that at New York Yacht Club's Harbor Court outstation, the drink of the day is the "Dark and Stormy".

It also was the order of the day for the finals of this year’s Hinman Masters Regatta as rain clouds and gusty southeast winds met the 12 teams on Sunday morning and lasted throughout. Noroton YC, from Darien, Connecticut, was the overall winner of the regatta.

An incredible regatta management group got over 80 individual 3 on 3 races off in the three day regatta with masters (skippers over 45 years of age and crew over 40) racing in a fleet of Sonars and J22's. The racing was always intense and StFYC did a bit better than last year, but still only managed to pick off one other team, the Royal Thames YC.

As it turned out, the final match for StFYC paired us against RTYC and it was Team St Francis' finest moment, as we had a frantic final leeward mark rounding that we used our "picks" "passbacks" and all the other skills learned at home from the "Team Race 101" sessions this year to finish 1, 2, 3 to win the round.

It is very exciting that StFYC is building our own fleet of J22's that we will be able to host similar team racing events and many of the teams at this year’s Hinman Masters have been hearing of it and hinting (or demanding!) to be included on the invite list!


TEAMS
Twelve yacht clubs competed this year:
• St. Francis YC
• Boston
• Eastern
• Larchmont
• Noroton
• New York
• Royal Thames
• Seawanhaka Corinthian
• Southern
• Annapolis
• Storm Trysail / Ida Lewis
• Texas Corinthian

TEAM MEMBERS (left to right in photo)

Dan Pingaro
John Siegel
Paul Manning
Theresa Brandner
Mark Adams (team captain & skipper)
Beau Vrolyk (skipper)
Peter Lane (2 days too young to be a skipper!)
Kellie Fennessy
Jennifer Dunbar
Mike Priest
Bill Dana (skipper)

Hinman Grandmasters Team Racing Regatta - Newport, RI

Not to be confused with the Hinman Masters regatta (with younger minimum age limits) the inaugural Grandmasters Team Race was sailed last weekend at NYYC’s Harbour Court in Newport with an impressive group of sailors. Veteran Americas Cup competitors, world champions and just plain old fast guys were abundant.

Targeted to offer continuing high level competition to the large number of experienced veteran team racers, the Grandmasters event saw great breezes, friendly camaraderie and intense competition. Skippers were at least 55 years old, with crew in the 45+ range.

Some stats from the weekend:

TOTAL Competitors - 60
TOTAL number of races - 51 (three round-robins and a mini championship round-robin)
TOTAL Advil consumed - 517
Average age - ageless!

Place TEAM RR1 RR2 RR3 Mini RR TOTAL
1st Noroton YC 4 10 8 4 26
2nd New York YC 2 8 8 4 22
3rd American YC 4 4 6 4 18
4th Southern YC 2 4 4 0 10
5th St. Francis YC 2 2 4 8
6th St. Pete YC 1 2 0 3

Even thought the results were not what we hoped for, the team racing bug was set in motion and the desire for improvement and vindication is burning. We were so close, so often. Due to a scoring mishap we ended up fifth when a final tally should have put us in 4th and a chance to sail the final mini round robin for a possible 3rd. Lesson learned...keep track of your scores! Mark, Bill and Jennifer are returning this weekend to Newport, RI for the well known Hinman Masters regatta. Wish us good luck with the fresh experience of the Grandmasters!

The format was 3-on-3 team racing in Sonars with no spinnakers

StFYC Team Members
Mark Adams
Bill Dana
Jon Andron
Jennifer Dunbar
Tad Lacey
Paul Heineken
Rick A Wallace
Roland Van der Meer
Spencer Fulweiler

Team St Francis YC Wins Marblehead NOOD!

Team StFYC wins the Sonar Class and the overall title of the 2010 Marblehead NOOD Regatta! Russ Silvestri, Holt Condon, John Collins and Julie Papanek secured the regatta after winning the last race, enabling them to brealk a 3-way tie for first. Ethan Dolye, Jen Doyle, Peter Scott and Chris Smith finished with a strong 13th overall, which would have been much higher in the standings without an OCS.

Hopes were high in the morning, when winds were clocked up to 20 knots. However, the extreme heat of the day caused the sea breeze to fight a near by pressure system, which caused the wind to die by the time the first gun was scheduled to go off.

After waiting 2 hours in 90 degrees heat, the race committee sent off the Sonars right before the time limit elapsed. Russ and Ethan left the line with strong starts. Russ played center right during the first beat and rounded in first. The wind from a northwesterly front continued to build during the race, providing the team with excellent practice changing gears, keeping momentum on the Sonar, and calling shifts. During the last upwind beat, the wind went 30 degrees right and picked up to 12-15 knots. Russ' team rounded the last mark a few boat lengths ahead of the next competitor, quickly set and gybed onto a reach. Thanks to the excellent kite trimming by Holt Condon, the team extended its lead and secured the gun on a blast reach finish. Be sure to read the Sailing World article for which Russ was interviewed (see below).

The team's success was due to a larger group effort. We want to thank:

- The encouragement and support from everyone back at the St Francis Yacht Club!

- The Boston and Eastern Yacht Clubs for their warm hospitality

- All the families in Marblehead who housed 8 salty sailors at the end of each day

- Ed Adams for the excellent weather forecast and trimming tips (good luck in the Chicago Mac, Ed!)

- Mike Kalin for constant information on the water and for driving quickly to Logan so everyone could make their flights

We look forward to learning more about the Sonars and honing our skills before the NYYC Invitational Regatta US Qualifiers in September.

http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/marblehead/silvestri-makes-it-a-cross-country-win

Day #2 - Do you know the muffin man?

The team's success on day 2 can only be attributed to Celeste, the muffin man. If you ever are fortunate enough to come to Marblehead, be sure to visit The Muffin Shop on Washington Street. John recommends the chocolate chip muffin and Russ recommends the tripple berry.

The weather conditions thus far have not been aligned with the forecast or local knowledge. Haze and converging pressure systems decreased the chance of a normal sea breeze. This left the conditions very light early in the day (3-6 knots), which peaked around 8-10 in the afternoon.

Despite these non-San Francician conditions, the team performed well. In the first race, both StFYC boats had solid front row starts near the pin and tacked early to the right, which paid all day. After rounding the weather mark in the top third, both boats worked their way through the fleet on the subsequent legs. Russ finished in second and Ethan finished in 7th.

The second and third races were almost carbon copies of the first race, with starts at or near the committee boat followed by a quick tack onto port, as the pressure and shifts went left all day. Team Russ managed a 2-3-1 for the day and is tied for third with a clump of boats. The top 5 boats are within a few points of eachother. Team Ethan is in the top half, as they got caught up in a stack in the last start and was scored OCS.

Day three is starting off sunny and hot with a windy off-shore flow, which should make the last couple of races very exciting today. A final report will follow after the day's racing takes place.

Marblehead NOOD - Practice Day

Hello from the beautiful New England town of Marblehead! Tree-lined winding cobblestone roads and houses with white door frames and shutters welcomed the team on late on Wednesday evening.

We learned our first important piece of local knowledge quickly upon arrival -- pay attention to the details of street names. At midnight, Russ walked into 8 Mechanic Street and met Ruth, an elderly woman in her nightgown who kindly informed Russ that he had walked into the incorrect home and that his intended destination, 8 Mechanic Court, was half a block down the street. Russ wins the award for most civilized home invasion of the trip (thus far).

On Thursday, the team rigged the two Sonars from Kings Point and had a 3 hour practice in 15-20 knots. Under the guidance of Ed Adams, we improved our boat handling and understanding of the proper mast rake. Unfortunately, this might have been the best conditions of our trip since rain and light air are forecasted for the weekend.

Friday, the first day of the NOOD, included only 2 races. Significant wind shifts, light air and rain made it difficult for the race committee as well as the participants. Team #752, composed Russ Silvestri, John Collins, Holt Condon and Julie Papanek, had two excellent starts but struggled to maintain its lead. Race #1, Russ' team won the start was significantly hindered by ratnest seaweed, which was on the rudder for the entire race. Team #753, composed of Ethan Doyle, Chris Smith, Peter Scott, and Joy Doyle, had a good start and also had a frustrating first beat after missing a large left shift. In race #2 both boats changed their rigging and improved their respective positions from race #1. Unquestionably, both boats have room for improvement and expect better finishes on Saturday and Sunday.

We look forward to reporting more this weekend...

Boston YC

Julie, Chris and Ed discuss how to launch the boats.

Team meeting post practice

Breeze at the Eastern YC

Pictures from the Sonar Long Island Sound Championships

Pictures from the Sonar Long Island Sound Championships at Noroton Yacht Club:

St. Francis burgee hanging in the clubhouse.

Team St.FYC: (left to right) John Collins, Cathy Hoyt, Holt Condon, Harrison Turner, Matt Gregory, Russ Silvestri, Peter Scott, Chris Smith

Hectic finish to Race 1. About 10 boats overlapped at the finish

Russ and his boat training in light air on Friday

Boat prep on Friday


More pictures are available HERE

Results are available HERE

St. Francis Team Racing

Sonar Long Island Sound Champs, Day 2 Recap

Day two of the Sonar Long Island Championships started out with more typical Long Island Sound conditions (read: no wind). The race committee at Noroton Yacht Club decided it was best to postpone the fleet on shore for half an hour. Once the AP went down we headed out to the sound only to find drifter conditions and another postponement. As we sat around, telling jokes, complaining that the coach didn’t have a wakeboard, and other tomfoolery the breeze started to fill in from the south.

The start line for race 3 of the regatta, race one of the day, was slightly skewed towards the boat end side. Russ and Harrison both started down at this end with Harrison being called over early. Harrison and the boats around him being over the line helped Russ to get a great lane out to the right side of the course as Harrison restarted and also headed out right. Russ rounded the mark in 3^rd place with Harrison in the middle of the 28 boat fleet. On the downwind leg, Russ and Harrison passed boats, Russ passing one to move into second and Harrison passing 4 or 5 boats to get into the top half of the fleet. On the second upwind, Russ extended on the fleet and Harrison made a big charge back into the top 10 of the fleet. On the last downwind, the boat in 1^st place jibed away at the top mark which allowed Russ to sail right past him into the lead. Russ finished the race strong and took the bullet. Great job Russ. Harrison found a nice lane of pressure on the downwind and moved into 7^th place for the race.

After the first race the race committee announced that they were getting set to do another race but because it was getting later into the day, Team St.FYC decided it was time to head in and de-rig the boats. Russ was sitting in 1^st place overall when we left the course and Harrison was around 6^th or 7^th overall. It was a good thing that we decided to call it early as we heard there was a large shift on the last race and a nice squall to greet the sailors as we pulled out of the parking lot and they pulled into the dock.

It was a great event despite the lack of breeze and we hope to do more in the future. Thanks to St.FYC for allowing us to do the event. Big thanks go out to John Craig for setting up our coaching and setting up the charter of the boats. And also a big thanks to the Lotz’s from NYYC for letting us stay at their great house in New Canaan.

Sailing for Team St.FYC on Sonar 753 was Russ Silvestri with crew John Collins, Holt Condon, and local sailor Cathy Hoyt. Sailing on Sonar 752 was Harrison Turner with crew Matt Gregory, Chris Smith, and Peter Scott.

Stay tuned for photos from the event!

St. Francis Team Racing

Long Island Sound Champs, Day 1

Hello race fans! Team St.FYC is coming to you from Darien, CT for the 2010 Sonar Long Island Sound Championships. The team is using the event as a training event for the 2010 NYYC Invitational Cup qualifiers which is later this summer in Sonars. Sailing for Team St.FYC is Russ Silvestri with a crew of John Collins, Holt Condon, and local star Cathy Hoyt. On the second boat is Harrison Turner with crew Matt Gregory, Peter Scott and Chis Smith.

After some boat maintenance including a thorough sanding job on the bottom of the boats, the team went out for a quick training session on Friday. The wind was out of the southwest at 3 knots (and that is being generous). We learned a lot about how much little movements in the boat and on the sail plan affect the boat speed. Coach Ed Adams set a mark and we did some simple mark roundings before the wind finally had enough and totally quit on us.

We arrived to the boat park on Saturday morning to a "typical" Long Island Sound setting... no wind and perfect water skiing conditions. The race committee posponed the racing on shore for about 2 hours before the seabreeze started to fill. The first race was run in an easterly breeze at about 5 knots. Russ and his his team started towards the boat and went out right on the first beat while Harrison won the pin end and headed out left. Russ and his team found themselves in 3rd at the first mark while Harrison did not get to the pressure at the top right of the course and found himself around 11th at the first mark. On the run Russ and another boat extended from the pack while Harrison ground down the leaders. At the leeward mark, Harrison found a great hole and snaked the inside on the mark, passing 5 boats in the process and escaping to the right side. At the 2nd weather mark, Russ was comfortably in second and Harrison was in 4th. Harrison passed another boat on the last downwind and finished 3rd while Russ held on to 2nd place.

After the first race, the breeze quickly shifted from an easterly to the natural sea breeze direction of south. The breeze also came up a bit to 7 knots for the start. Unfortunately, the current was coming down the line which forced the fleet over for 5 or 6 general recalls. The committee became impatient and threw up the black flag. This is what was required as the first black flag start was all clear and we were off racing. Russ and Harrison were at the middle of the line, towards the pin end. Russ got away clean while Harrison had to do a clearing tack. Both boats then headed for the right side. Because Harrison had to duck so many boats while Russ crossed them, Russ was in a far better position. This was also complicated for Harrison as he felt he was tacked on by everyone on the starboard tack layline. Russ rounded the first weather mark in 3rd and Harrison rounded near the back of the fleet after a tough windward leg. On the run, Russ extended while Harrison passed a few boats. Things did not change much during the race except for the breeze dying. Russ finished 3rd in the race and Harrison caught up a few boats and finished in 17th.

After the first day, Russ is sitting in 2nd overall with a 2-3 and Harrison is in 8th with a 3-17. As I type we are sitting on the shore here at the Noroton Yacht Club waiting for wind again. Hopefully we can head out racing before the front passes through and we miss our flight home.

Until next time,

St. Francis Team Racing

More Information about the Wilson Trophy

Here are some links to information about the Wilson Trophy, recently won by Team Extreme with Race Coordinator Melanie Roberts as a member of the team.

West Kirby Sailing Club Website (this place is awesome, I highly reccommend sailing there):
http://www.wksc.net

Wilson Trophy microsite:
http://www.wksc.net/wilsontrophy/

Regatta Report from Team Roberts/Martin (Melanie's brother's Olympic Campaign):
http://www.teamrobertsmartin.com/blog/post/show/id/25-Wilson-Trophy
Photos from Sailing Scuttlebutt:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0510/

St. Francis Team Racing

St.FYC Race Coordinator Melanie Roberts wins the Wilson Trophy!

Team Racing fans,

One of our very own, St. Francis Race Coordinator Melanie Roberts was invited to sail in the Wilson Trophy at West Kirby Sailing Club just outside of Liverpool, UK. The Wilson Trophy is the British Open Team Racing Championship and is considered one of the 3 biggest team races in all of the world (the others being The US Team Racing Championships or Hinman and The Team Race Worlds). Winning this event is an amazing accomplishment!

Here is a write-up she submitted to the blog:

"May 7‐9, 2010 was the 61st Wilson Trophy at the West Kirby Sailing Club (WKSC). Thirty two teams were accepted to this event from England, Ireland and the United States. Hands down this was the most impressive event I have ever experienced, with over 350 races run in three days. I sailed on Team Extreme, crewing for Adam Roberts, teaming up with Stu McNay, Abby Coplin, Zach Brown and Emmett Smith.

The first race started at 1pm on Friday, and we were allotted an hour of practice in the morning. We raced six races that afternoon and had won them all, at least we thought. When we arrived back at our host family's house, we were called back to WKSC. One of the teams we had raced against, the West Kirby Hawks, had filed for redress claiming gear failure, which resulted in us needing to re‐sail the race first thing the next day.

Saturday’s re‐sail against the Hawks did not go well, but right after we had another race that went much better for us. I looked at my watch at 8:30am and thought it was amazing that we had already sailed two races, which was something I definitely have not done before! The rest of the day went well; we won most of our races but did have three rough ones. The format worked in a way to naturally seed the teams, so the better record you had, the harder the teams you would have to face. This made all of the races extremely challenging as there were several really good teams. We ended the day at the top of the leader board with a 13‐3 record, but the standings were super close with the next team 12‐4 and then the next four teams 11‐5.

We were the first race again on Sunday, scheduled to start at 8am. It took a while for the breeze to fill in, so we didn't end up starting until 9:30am. We continued racing in the Swiss League completing five races, and then began the quarter finals. The quarter finals were a best of three knock out series between the top eight teams. We first raced Wessex Exempt, who we had lost a race to earlier in the day. They beat us the first race, but we managed to win the next two which advanced us to the semi finals. In the semis we faced the NYYC team and beat them twice to qualify for the finals against the home team, the West Kirby Hawks. The finals were a best of five series, and the winner was the first team to take three races. After recovering from some very challenging pre‐start and first beat situations, we managed to sail into solid winning combinations by the finish of each race. It was very exciting to win such an outstanding event!

This regatta was an organizational masterpiece; I was truly amazed all weekend. Races and rotations happened quickly and efficiently, with six sets of equally matched and color coded Firefly dinghies, allowing 12 teams to be on the water at any given point. The folks at West Kirby Sailing Club worked very hard to make everything run smoothly, and it really showed.

It was incredible to see the entire town so lit up about this regatta; it was truly a spectacle. The lake the sailing was held was the perfect amphitheater for this type event. The course was set as close as possible to shore and thousands of people came out view the racing. Grandstand seating was set up and a live expert commentator kept the crowd up to speed on what was happening in the races. I couldn’t believe the amount of people along the waterfront cheering (or booing at us), it certainly had the feel of a popular sporting event! I was extremely impressed by the whole thing and hope to see team racing championships get to this level in the US.

WKSC also did a fabulous job with the off‐the‐water activities. There was a band and dinner on Friday night, and a formal banquet on Saturday, with a band playing after as well. They also provided accommodations for over one hundred people between all the teams and umpires. Our host family was extremely generous to us and it was neat to see them so excited to watch the event."

Thank you Melanie for a great write up and CONGRATULATIONS!

Stay tuned,

St. Francis Team Racing

Opening Day Team/Match Racing

Opening Day Team Racing & Match Racing Demo A Success

A group of 30 sailors came together to hold a team racing and match racing demonstration for the crowd attending opening day. Dressed in snow-white pinnies and hats, Team St. Francis battled for bragging rights. Dressed in bright red pinnies and hats, Team Ronstan was ready to test the resolve of the team in an afternoon of sailing that included two match races, and five team races.

Starting off spectators were treated to a match race sailed by members Shawn Bennett, representing Team STFYC, and Russ Silvestri sailing for Team Ronstan. Out of the gate there was action with the boats charging to within inches of each other and umpires initiating a penalty against Shawn Bennett and his team of Dana Riley and Peter Lane. With a penalty on his competitor, Russ Silvestri and his team of Kristin Maberry and JB Cianciarculo were sitting in a comfortable lead when Bennett’s team executed a perfect spinnaker take down at the leeward mark, passing Team Ronstan. From there Team St. Francis opened up a large enough lead to complete their penalty turn before Ronstan could catch up, giving them the win for the match.

The umpires were very busy giving penalties in the second match. Team St. Francis took it on the chin and was levied two penalties before the starting gun even went off. Russ Silvestri and his team were able to take the win in the match leaving the series tied at 1 win each, to be settled later in the grill room.

On to team racing and the true spectator delight. A six-boat fleet comprised of two teams of three charged up the city front sailing their J/22s within inches of the rocks and the grill room crowd that was cheering them on. The course was a “Z” pattern that put the leeward mark within sight of the crowd assembled on the race deck and what a show it was. Often times the teams were so heavily involved with setting “mark traps” and attempting to get a foul on their competitors that it took several minutes before any boat decided to actually round the mark. The boat handling demonstrated by the sailors was fantastic and many spectators commented that it was the most thrilling sailing they had ever witnessed. The crowd was kept current on what as happening on the water thanks to the superb commentary from our own John Callahan.

For many members, watching the match racing and team racing was the first tangible proof the club has enthusiastically moved forward with the purchase of J/22s for our own club boats program. While the boats sailed on opening day were borrowed from Cal Maritime, our own J/22s will look very similar and will begin arriving from the builder in June. The club has purchased seven boats and is currently looking to fund two additional boats with member donations.

Get Involved
You can learn how to match race and team race by attending the clinics being offered at St. Francis in 2010. Each clinic consists of 3 Saturday on-the water sessions along with evening classrooms the night before. Sign up online at the links below and the cost is $125 per person.

Excitement Builds
Judging by the crowd’s excitement, it’s clear that team racing and match racing are going to be a big hit with spectators and sailors alike. Don’t miss this chance to participate in or watch exciting sailing.

Links to online entry in the team racing and match racing clinics:
https://event-manager.compete-at.com/stfrancisyc/TR101

https://event-manager.compete-at.com/stfrancisyc/MR101

Link to photos of the event provided by Kristen Lane:
http://gallery.me.com/brickhouse539#100051

Stay tuned for more reports!

St. Francis Team Racing

Jackson Cup Information/Photos

Check out the Boston Yacht Club website for photos and information from the regatta.

http://www.bostonyachtclub.net/Racing/JacksonCup.htm

There are some great shots from the racing and the banquet.

St. Francis Team Racing

Jackson Cup, Day 2 Wrapup

Apologies for the delay in posting updates and results from Jackson Cup. The quick rotation format did not allow for frequent blog posts.

After the last blog posting on Day 1, St. Francis sailed two more races against Royal Thames YC and Corinthian YC. Both races were very hotly contested but unfortunately, both ended up with losses for St. Francis. St. Francis ended up the day still in a tie for 4th place with Eastern Yacht Club and Southern Yacht Club. What a battle of a regatta!

Saturday night was the traditional banquet for competitors with a great spread of food and festivities. After a great meal, the traditional introduction of teams and joke telling began. Mark Adams introduced Team St. Francis and told everyone how excited we were about getting our own fleet of boats and having events like this in the bay area which was received with a large round of applause by all teams in attendance.

Sunday of the regatta began with an 830 harbor start with the first warning shortly afterwards. It was an early start but it was perfect because the conditions were great. St. Francis had 3 races to go in the second round robin against Eastern Yacht Club, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, and Southern Yacht Club. If we won all 3, we were in the final four. If we lost one we still had a chance but needed some help. As it turned out, we ended up losing the first two races to Eastern and Seawanhaka in very close and exciting action so we were eliminated from the Final Four along with Southern Yacht Club. Our final race against Southern was another barn burner with us squeaking out a great victory. After the race we knew that there might be a hearing on the race as one of the Southern boats had a breakdown during the race. They won the breakdown hearing and were granted a resail. In another hot race Southern Yacht Club had a great start and previaled in the race.

The format called for a knockout series of the top 4 teams followed by a potential knockout for the bottom 4 teams. Unfortunatley the event ran out of time so only the top 4 knockout series happened and the event for St. Francis was over. In the first semi-final, Royal Thames Yacht Club eliminated New York Yacht Club and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club eliminated Eastern Yacht Club in the other. In the petit-finals, New York got the better of Eastern for 3rd place. In the finals, Royal Thames accomplished the seemingly impossible and handed Seawanhaka their only losses of the regatta and took the title.

Final Results:
1st: Royal Thames Yacht Club (London, UK)
2nd: Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, NY)
3rd: New York Yacht Club (New York, NY)
4th: Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA)
5th: Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, LA)
6th: St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco, CA)
7th: Corinthian Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA)
8th: Boston Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA)

The Jackson Cup is a 3 on 3 team race in Sonars at Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. Sailing for Team St. Francis is Mark Adams with crew Julie Papanek and Rolf Kaiser, Holt Condon with Bill Dana and Ethan Doyle and Harrison Turner with crew Alexis Zebrowski, Jennifer Dunbar, and Cindy Keppel.

St. Francis Team Racing

Jackson Cup Day 1 Mid-Day Report

Hello team racing fans! This is Team St. Francis Yacht Club coming to you from Marblehead, MA for the 2010 Jackson Cup at Boston Yacht Club.

After a brief skippers meeting, the racing got underway around 9:30 am in a great 8 knot Northwesterly breeze. St. Francis started out strong with wins against hometown Boston Yacht Club and New York Yacht Club (after they sailed through the restricted starting line). After that, we sailed against Royal Thames Yacht Club from London, UK and lost a heartbreaker to the gents from across the pond. Our next race we handily beat another hometown club Corinthian Yacht Club. We concluded the round robin with losses to Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA), Seahawankea Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, NY) and Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, LA). After the first round robin, we are currently 3-4 but in a 3 way tie for 4th place.

Around 1 PM we rolled immediately into round robin 2 where we repeated the same schedule but switched boats. We started with solid wins against Boston YC and New York YC and currently sit 5-4.

The Jackson Cup is a 3 on 3 team race in Sonars at Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. Sailing for Team St. Francis is Mark Adams with crew Julie Papanek and Rolf Kaiser, Holt Condon with Bill Dana and Ethan Doyle and Harrison Turner with crew Alexis Zebrowski, Jennifer Dunbar, and Cindy Keppel.

Stay tuned for photos and more updates from the water!

St. Francis Team Racing

Preparing for Jackson Cup

After a weekend off, the St. Francis Yacht Club Team Racers are preparing for Jackson Cup. Jackson Cup is a 3 on 3 team race in sonars (without spinnakers) held at Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. The event has drawn international participation as the Royal Thames Yacht Club (London, UK) will be there along with New York Yacht Club, Corinthian Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA), Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA), defending champions Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, NY), and our good friends Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, LA). The St. Francis team for the event is: Mark Adams, Jennifer Dunbar, Bill Dana, Holt Condon, Rolf Kaiser, Ethan Doyle, Harrison Turner, Cindy Keppel, Alexis Zebrowski, Julie Papanek and Shannon Bonds. Most of us will be flying out Thursday night on the redeye and practice on Friday. Racing begins on Saturday, April 24th and will run through Sunday.

Check out the Boston Yacht Club website for updates as well as this blog.

St. Francis Team Racing

2010 Baldwin Cup Photos

Here are some photos from the 2010 Baldwin Cup, Saturday and Sunday

Racing action from Saturday

A steel drum band provided some background music while we raced.

The boat for the weekend, a Harbor 20

Team St. Francis Yacht Club: (back row, left to right) Harrison Turner Scott Sellers, John Collins, Edward Conrad, Shawn Bennett. (front row, left to right) Geoff McDonald, Avery Patton, Kristin Maberry.

More photos are available at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/107669657077078882316/2010BaldwinCup?authkey=Gv1sRgCKDNh7LRvLP1yQE&feat=directlink

St. Francis Team Racing

Baldwin Cup, Final Day Recap

The final day of the 2010 Baldwin Cup at Newport Harbor Yacht Club greeted the sailors with grey skies and a great 8-10 knot breeze. Racing got started on time at 10am and the racing was intense. Every team has grown over the course of the regatta to a point where there were no easy races. Top to bottom, the competition was fierce.

St. Francis started the day tied for 4th with 10 points and had 4 races left (worth 2 points each). In order to secure a spot in the Semi-Finals, we either had to win all 4 of our races or win 3 of the 4 races and hope for a little bit of help from other teams.

Our first race of the day was against Rochester Yacht Club. This team started the regatta off a bit slow but quickly caught up by pulling off surprise victories against New York Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club. Unfortunately, they got the jump on us too as we ended up losing the race to them. This put us in a very tough spot to make the Semi-Finals but there was still some hope.

Our second race of the day was against Boston Yacht Club. Where we had a relatively easy time against them in the first round robin, Boston came out guns blazing in this race. It was a very tight race that we ended up pulling out just at the finish line.

The third race of the day promised to be a barn burner against our friends from across the bay, San Francisco Yacht Club. Not only was this race for bragging rights, it was for at least 5th place overall in the standings. The losing team in this race was eliminated from a potential spot in the Semi-Finals. The race was intense with the lead changing multiple times. We got one of the San Francisco boats to foul at the last mark and were able to isolate another boat to finish the race with a winning 3,4,5,6 combination to San Francisco's 1,2,7,8. The tiebreaker for the even scores is the team with the 1st place loses the race.

In between the San Francisco race and our final race of Round Robin 2 was a small break in our schedule which enabled us to watch the action and root for some teams that would help us get into the Semi-Finals. Unfortunately, we did not get the help we needed and were eliminated from the Semi-Finals just before our last race of Round Robin 2.

With nothing to lose, we went into our final race against Southern Yacht Club. The race was another tight one (as they all were, across the board). We held a dominant 2,3,4,7 around the leeward mark and did a great job of zone coverage up the final beat to take out Southern Yacht Club.

Our regatta over, we then took to the spectator seats on the dock to watch the Semi-Finals and Finals. In the first semi, Southern Yacht Club was defeated by New York Yacht Club 2 wins to 0. In the second semi, top seed Newport Harbor defeated Seattle Yacht Club 2-0. This set up a thrilling final between NHYC and NYYC. New York ended up winning the finals 3 races to 1 to repeat as Baldwin Cup Champions. Congratulations to New York Yacht Club!

Final Standings:
1) New York Yacht Club
2) Newport Harbor Yacht Club
3) Southern Yacht Club
4) Seattle Yacht Club
5) St. Francis Yacht Club
(I did not get the full final standings but will get them soon)

St. Francis Yacht Club Team Racing had a good event and grew immensely during the racing. We know that we had the talent to compete for the overall win but just had one too many stumbles during the round robins to keep us out of the Semi-Finals. We would like to thank Newport Harbor Yacht Club for putting on a fantastic event and Phil and Peggy Koen for hosting some of our sailors. The next event for St. Francis is the Jackson Cup in 2 weeks (April 24-25) at Boston Yacht Club.

Stay tuned for photos from the event!

St. Francis Team Racing

The 2010 Baldwin Cup is a 4 on 4 team racing event at Newport Harbor Yacht Club sailed in Harbor 20s. Sailing for St. Francis were: Scott Sellers/Geoff McDonald, Shawn Bennet/John Collins, Edward Conrad/Avery Patton, and Harrison Turner/Kristin Maberry.

Baldwin Cup, Banquet Recap

On Saturday night, the Newport Harbor Yacht Club held the traditional regatta banquet. Dress was "Yachting Formal" (blazers and ties) and the spread put on by NHYC was impressive. Each team had a table (some had two tables) spread across the ballroom at NHYC. The food at the dinner was amazing but the atmosphere was the highlight of the night. The fine folks at Southern Yacht Club started off the evening with a toast to the rest of the competitors, the umpires, the host club, and everyone else involved with the regatta. The night then went into the infamous joke telling that is always a hit at these regattas. After Southern told a hilarious joke, we were interrupted by Captain Jack Sparrow from the Disney movie series The Pirates of the Caribbean. Captain Jack went around the room, toasting each team and fostering a festive environment. The event was a lot of fun and definitely a highlight of the regatta. Pictures (hopefully) to come.

Stay tuned for the final day recap!

St. Francis Team Racing

Baldwin Cup, Day 2 Recap

What a great day of racing in Newport Harbor. The morning clouds over the harbor quickly gave way to sunny skies and a great 7 knot breeze that stayed with us all day. Newport Harbor went all out for this event with commentary from fellow team racers and a steel drum band providing a festive atmosphere that you could really feel out on the course.

For the St. Francis team, we started out with a race against our neighbors on the bay, San Francisco Yacht Club. This races was very hotly contested (they all seem to be) with San Francisco pulling out a victory right in the last 10 feet of the course. A tough race for St. Francis but a great showing by SFYC.

Our second race of the day saw us against Southern Yacht Club. This one was over as it started as the St. Francis team struggled to get off of the starting line and Southern sailed away with a comfortable win. After this race, our first round robin was complete and we found ourselves 4-5 for 4 points and tied for 5th.

This is where things get interesting. The races in the second round robin are worth 2 points so just about every team is still in the regatta. St. Francis caught fire early and started out with 3 solid wins over San Diego Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club, and Balboa Yacht Club. Our last two races of the day were barn burners with Seattle Yacht Club and the hosts, Newport Beach Yacht Club. As we stepped off of the boats after the last two races, we were told by the commentators that those were the best two races of the day. Unfortunately both were losses for St. Francis but exciting races none the less!

So as of now, St. Francis sits with 10 points and is tied for 4th. Tomorrow we will complete the round robin and move into Semi-Finals and Finals if time permits. Stay tuned!

St. Francis Team Racing

Photos from Baldwin Cup, Day 1

Photos from Day 1 of the 2010 Baldwin Cup:

Baldwin Cup Day 1 Recap

The St. Francis Yacht Club Team Racers finished day 1 of the Baldwin Cup at 4-3. The racing was very exciting and often came down to the last 100 yards of the race. This along with the finish line 50 feet off of the rotation dock provided some great spectating.

Race 7:
Our final race of the day was against Boston Yacht Club. Boston came out of blocks determined to get our boats in bad positions but after some great boathandling in the Harbor 20s and some nifty positioning we ended up rounding the mark in a winning combination. Around the leeward mark Boston got the jump on one of our boats and were in a winning combination for a bit but some great team racing and communication allowed our team to claw back and end up winning with a solid combination.

We then waited on the dock as we were out for a few rotations. Hors d' oeuvres and Arnold Palmers (iced tea and lemonades) were served as we waited for the next rotation. At 530, the racing was called for the day as the social atmosphere began to heat up. We partook in the festivities including an awesome Burger Bash with the membership of Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

Tomorrow we hope to complete the first round robin (two races left) and then another full round robin. Our team is very happy with our positioning as our goal is to be in the top 4 to make it to the Semi-Finals. It should be an exciting day of racing provided the wind cooperates as it did today.

Stay tuned to the blog for updates and photos.

St. Francis Team Racing

Day 1 Baldwin Cup, Mid-Day Report

Hello race fans! St. Francis Yacht Club is off and running in the 2010 Baldwin Cup at Newport Harbor Yacht Club. So far we have completed 6 races and currently stand with a 3-3 record. Below is a quick description of our races.

Race 1:
Our first race of the day had us paired against San Diego Yacht Club. Off the starting line, things were looking good for us as we sailed towards the windward mark. Half way up the first beat, there was a foul on San Diego which resulted in their boat becoming disabled. We sailed on and finished with a 1,2,3,6 for the win but were not scored with the win due to the breakdown. After a jury hearing, it was determined that the San Diego boat's breakdown was due to their own actions so our win stands! 1-0

Race 2:
Our second race pitted us against the very good team from our friends at New York Yacht Club. New York had a great start and was able to control the action for much of the race. Some good moves got us back into the action but ultimately we lost the race. 1-1

Race 3:
The third race was against another local team in Balboa Yacht Club. They were fast in the Harbor 20s but some good positioning and good speed from our team enabled us to sail to a solid victory. 2-1

Race 4:
So far, this race has been the highlight of the regatta. It was against Seattle Yacht Club. The combinations changed so much during the course of the race that it was hard for us to keep track of who was ahead and who was behind. The race came down to the last 10 feet of the course where two boats finished within a second of each other. When we got to the dock we saw that it was Seattle that got the better of us but both teams had no idea who won the race. 2-2

Race 5:
Race 5 was against the very impressive team from Newport Harbor Yacht Club. We knew this was going to be a tough race and it did not disappoint. Somehow we were able to neutralize their speed advantage and make it a tight race but we ended up losing to the undefeated NHYC team. 2-3

Race 6:
Race 6 was exciting at the start, as multiple boats were over early but it quickly became a solid combination for St. Francis with some great downwind positioning. Add some good zone coverage on the last beat and we finished with a 1,2,3,4 against Rochester Yacht Club. 3-3

Stay tuned for more updates!

St. Francis Team Racing

Boggity Boggity Boogity... Let go racing boys!

That quote is one that Darrell Waltrip utters as 43 cars take the green flag at a NASCAR race.

Sticking with the NASCAR theme of the weekend, the boats are leaving "pit row" and heading out to the race course for the first flight of races. The breeze is 8 knots out of the SSE and looks to be holding. St. Francis Yacht Club will have its first race in flight 3 against San Diego Yacht Club. Looks to be an exciting day on the water.

Check for updates throughout the day!

St. Francis Team Racing

Baldwin Cup Practice

The St. Francis Yacht Club Team Racers arrived at Newport Harbor yacht club to a festive environment and some teams out on the water sailing. See the photo below of the NASCAR themed banner hanging at the club.

After assembling the team from various airports and cars, we went out on the water for practice. We had a great practice where we familaized ourselves with the boats and then did some simple team racing drills. After about an hour the wind died down so we headed back to the dock for a quick debrief. We are very excited to start the regatta tomorrow morning. Stay tuned to the blog for updates and photos!

St. Fracnis Yacht Club Team Racing

Here are some photos from practice:

Getting Ready for Baldwin Cup

The St. Francis Team Racers are getting ready to head to Newport Beach, CA for the 2010 Baldwin Cup April 9-11. The event is a 4 on 4 team race in Harbor 20s with a crew of 2. Sailing for St. Francis Yacht Club are Scott Sellers, Geoff McDonald, Shawn Bennett, John Collins, Harrison Turner, Kristin Maberry, Edward Conrad, and Avery Patton.

The competition at the event will be fierce with teams representing New York Yacht Club, Balboa Yacht Club, San Diego Yacht Club, Seattle Yacht Club, Southern Yacht Club, San Francisco Yacht Club, and hosts Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

The team will travel down to Newport Beach to practice on Thursday before the racing which will take place Friday through Sunday. Check the blog for updates from the water and post racing debriefs!

St. Francis Team Racing

Southern Soiland Cup Wrap-up

On November 7-8, 2009, the St. Francis Yacht Club Team Racing Team traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana and the Southern Yacht Club for the 2009 Southern Soiland Cup. The annual event is a 3 on 3 team race in Flying Scots sailed right out in front of the Southern Yacht Club on Lake Ponchartrain. Sailing for St. Francis Yacht Club were Holt Condon, Logan Jager, Natasha Baker, Edward Conrad, Rolf Kaiser, Avery Patton, Harrison Turner, Matt Gregory, and Cindy Keppel.

St. Francis Yacht Club finished in 5th place and won the Silver division in this highly competitive event. Unfortunately, the regatta ran out of time before St. Francis could advance to the Final Four. The event was won by the host, Southern Yacht Club.
Results and information can be found here.

Check out the write up from the Southern Soiland Cup at Southern Yacht Club written by St. Francis Yacht Club member Kimball Livingston.

A special thanks to the Conrad family for hosting some of our sailors and to the Southern Yacht Club for putting on a fantastic event in a beautiful new clubhouse.

Until next regatta,

St. Francis Team Racing