Hi parents,

Here is a summary of Saturday, November 3rd meeting for the ones who were not able to attend.

-Meeting started at 9:30

-Presentation of the yearly program and ambitions for the upcoming year

                Ambitions: top three team in the nation; qualify the most sailors possible to the US National team; improve the homogeneity of the team

-Discussion around the program

                Practice: Due to safety reasons the practice schedule for 11/11,12, and 17 will be split into two groups.  Those attending Midwinters & Orange Bowl will practice from 9am to noon and all others from 1pm to 4pm.

-Discussion about midwinters and Orange bowl

*What have been agreed upon the meeting:

                *The sailors attending the Lake St Clair USODA event will be participating in the training bloc organized from the 1^st to the 20^th of July.

                *A personalized fitness program will be given to the kids (Based on the tests made last month).

                *6 spots are available for Norway, We will have free boats and I will try to organize a common camp with the collaboration of the NSF (Norwegian sailing Federation) and Stavanger sailing club.

                *The yearly program is not final and you’ll be notified with the modifications occurring to it.

                *Youssef believes in the power of communication so please come back to him for any inquiry, concerns or any matter you may find useful for the team.

                

Note: The deadline for the physical tests is Friday 16^{th (Youssef is available on demand)}

Please join us for a wonderful evening on November 15, 2018 at Chicago Yacht Club Belmont Station.  We delight in the ability to bring together all of our Junior Sailors to jointly celebrate our achievements. 

Program Schedule:

6:15pm – Dinner Service begins

7pm – Awards: Opti followed by High School

8:30pm – evening ends

Please register at Click Here to Register

Additionally, we are interested in recycling and reusing gently used gear.  Therefore, please bring your sailing items for a ‘gear swap’.  Any unclaimed items can be retrieved at the end of the evening or donated to the Sailing School Gear Library which we have created for sailors to borrow from who have either left an item at home, gotten wet and need dry gear or have yet to fully embrace sailing as a sport.

Thank you and see you at the banquet!!

Halloween Spectacular Regatta
7 Green fleet sailors 10 RWB sailors
More than 152 sailors converged on Lake Forest for the Halloween Spectacular regatta October 27-28. Day one brought calm winds out of the north ranging from 6-10 knots and light chop. Thirty-eight Optimists made their way to the windward-leeward course and began speed testing, checking the starting line and course configuration.
Racing began around 10:45 with an all-clear start and a significant right-hand wind shift making the boat-end of the starting line favored. In addition, it led to a long starboard tack upwind to the windward mark and long port jibe downwind to the leeward gate. The course was considerably short, approximately 25 mins, which made the start that much more important.

A port tack approach allows sailors to take

advantage of these holes on the starting line.

Several top sailors approach the line on port tack, against the natural flow of the fleet, in order to find an opening on the line. This maneuver is ideally performed earlier in the sequence when sailing in larger fleets and light winds. The sailor then uses sail trim, body weight and rudder to maintain a position on the line with a leeward hole to accelerate. Another skill, the double-tack, is utilized to defend against ‘sharks’ attempting to steal our place on the line.
Boat speed through the chop and starts were critical because the wind was very consistent. Sailors in the front of the fleet consistently start in the front row with clean

air and the option to tack. The best sailors play the mainsheet and use their shoulders simultaneously to work the boat over every wave, up the face and down the back.
The Race Committee lengthened the course and moved the windward mark to the right for the second race. The competition was tight and Chicago Yacht Club sailors continued to fight for every point. Six races were completed before the breeze slowly faded. CYC finished strong with 4 sailors in the top 6 to close out the day.
We learned a valuable lesson about gear selection and proper preparation in cold weather. A few of us we’re underdressed and unable to focus on the racing as a result.Remember: it’s much better to peel layers off instead of adding layers after being cold.
Windward mark
It should be our goal to find the starboard lay line near the top third of the beat. We risk being tacked on or sailing a header without having ‘a runway’ to play the shifts if we get to an edge too early. Also, it’s easier to call the lay line closer to the mark.
How do we fix this? Tack 6-8 boat lengths before the lay line and sail in a clean lane.

Sailors reaching the starboard-tack lay line too early increase the

risk of sailing in dirty air or on a header, and over laying the mark.

Day two brought much different conditions: scattered showers and 10-20 knots out of the west. Sailors enjoyed a costume contest in which our own Annie Samis and Nissana Berman participated as a Chicago style hot dog and Ruth Bader Ginsburg respectively.

During our briefing, we discussed the wind forecast and characteristics of an offshore or ‘geographical’ breeze. We could expect relatively flat water and very shifty, puffy conditions. We talked about how to super vang, de-powering the sail and how it’s easier to do on land rather than on the water. However, we still had a number of sailors launch with very little boom vang or outhaul tension applied.
Super Vang:

1. Ease the sprit tension and remove twists out of the boom preventer.
2. Raise the daggerboard halfway (if on the water) and over trim the mainsheet (boom
   to deck).
3. Remove slack from the boom vang and then ease the mainsheet.
4. Tighten sprit to the proper tension and lower the daggerboard.

Racing was action packed with unpredictable puffs and shifts coming from both sides of the course. Mere seconds separated the top pack making mark roundings very thrilling. We discussed the importance of playing the shifts and ‘connecting the dots’ on the upwinds while committing to one side on the downwind.
Above: Annie Samis, Deana Fedulova, and Christian Prendergrast fight for the inside at the leeward gate.
Connecting the Dots:
This is a common phrase used to describe upwind sailing strategy in puffy conditions. Similar to playing a game of chess, our sailors must think several moves ahead and identify the next puff before other players. Sailing fast while looking upwind and ‘keeping our head out of the boat’ is a skill we can always improve.
One takeaway from the day was fleet management and to always cross the course with pressure. Sail on the lifted tack (pointing closest to the next mark) to the side with a majority of the fleet until you reach the next puff or shift. Use that puff to consolidate back towards the middle of the course. It’s important we remain patient while sailing towards the next line of pressure and refrain from tacking before we reach the new breeze.
The decision to stay with a majority of the fleet minimizes risk if pressure fills from the other side or the shift is not in our favor. Is it impossible to cover the entire course so we must commit to a side and play the odds. If the other side does pay, we will have only lost a a few boats rather than several. This is an important lesson while in the front of the pack. Try splitting from the fleet or playing the opposite side if you find yourself trailing in a race.

Above is a screen capture of a video with :18 remaining until the start. The group at the starboard-end appears to be closest to the line while a significant sag develops in the middle and towards the pin-end.
This is another screen capture of the same video at the START. Most of the boats at the starboard-end nail the start while a majority of the fleet in the middle and at the pin-end are 5-10 boat lengths below the starting line. We must look over our front shoulder at the starboard-end of the line in addition to looking at the pin-end. This will give us a better idea of where the starting line exists.
Three races were completed on Sunday with intermittent rain and and winds gusting in the high teens. I’m proud of our team for managing the conditions with ease and putting forth 100% effort. We were treated to warm chili and pumpkin carving on land before the award ceremony.

Congratulations to Christian Prendergrast on taking top honors. Best of luck to Christian as he travels to Myanmar for the IODA Asian and Oceanic Championship November 10-17. I look forward to seeing everyone else next weekend!

Schedule until Midwinters:

*NOVEMBER 02^nd -04^th  RBW  Youssef/Mitch   

                            03^rd Lime practice Amy

                            09^th   RBW Last day of practice /Wrap up

                            10^TH – 11^TH Exclusive practice for Midwinters / Orange bowl competitors

                            17^th Practice and loading boats

                            18^th Off to New Orleans

                            20^th Practice at New Orleans

                            21^st -24^th Opti Midwinters

Parent Meeting on November 03^rd at 9:30am in the Members Barge. Plan on 30 minutes.

*AGENDA: 

• Introductions
• Review Schedule for November
• Finalize Midwinters participants
• Review Schedule for December
• Spring Schedule