JFK's VICTURA

50 years ago this month, information that Soviet missiles were found to be in Cuba was released to the American public. Here is a pictorial history of our then President in a place that he is quoted as saying was his favorite place to be - VICTURA.

"We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came."
John F. Kennedy

Boat Make Wianno Senior

Boat LOA: 26 Feet

Boat Width: 8 Feet

Boat Weight: 3500 lb

Boat Material: Wood

Boat Builder: Crosby Yacht Yard in Osterville, MA

Boat Launched: 1932, Joseph P. Kennedy purchased it the same year as a 15th birthday present to his son John. It was President Kennedy's favorite boat.

Olympic Sailing History - A Family Affair

Out at Oak Orchard, not unlike many other places were club sailing takes place, sailboat racing is also part of family time. Sailing is a sport, or recreation that is uniquely suited to allow a wide range of people, from almost any age group to sail around the buoys, or just sail  two miles out and two miles back as some people prefer.

Olympic history holds evidence that, in fact sailing is very much a family sport with some interesting firsts. One has to go back to Count Hermann de Pourtales of Switzerland, in the 1900 Olympic games for evidence. He was the oldest sailor in the games at 53. Sailing alongside was his wife, Helene de Pourtales at 33, the oldest woman in any of the 1900 Olympic sports. Helene became the first female Olympic medalist when Lerina (pictured below) crossed the line in a corrected time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 32 seconds in Race 1 of the 1-2 Ton Class. The wife and husband sailing duo were also joined by their nephew Bernard and they added a silver medal to their collection in Race 2 after they finished behind the German boat Aschenbradel.
Resource: http://www.sailing.org/17516.php

Lerina - 1900 Olympic games

This feat would be repeated by the British couple eight years later in the 7 Meter division. The skipper was Charles James Rivett-Carnac who, at the age of 55 in 1908, remains the oldest Briton to have won an Olympic gold medal in sailing. His wife, Frances Rivett-Carnac, was one of the crew, and became the first British woman to win an Olympic gold medal at sailing.
Resource: http://propercourse.blogspot.com/2012/04/sail-over.html

7 Meter - Bluebird

Father and son Paul and Hilary Smart won a gold medal for the U.S. in 1948, sailing in the Star class. It’s a family feat not since repeated, in any sport, summer or winter.
Resource: http://startsailingnow.com/ and  http://savingsailing.com/2012/04/03/unlike-any-other-sport/

Paul and Hilary Smart

Fast forward to 2012 with brother and sister, Zach and Paige Railey from Clearwater, Fla., birthplace of the Optimist dinghy: "We were pretty much those tan little hippie babies with bleach-blond hair running around with their mom down at the beach," Paige Railey said. "It just seemed like a natural thing for us to go into a sport that was associated with the water. Our whole life was based around the water." When Zach was 8, their family dentist suggested that his mother, Ann, enroll him in a summer sailing program. Three years later, it was Paige's turn. They both fell in love with the sport and began winning regattas.
Resource: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sailing-siblings-zach-paige-railey-191026792--oly.html

Zach (Finn) and Paige Railey (Laser Radials)

Sailboat Racing - Ronstan ClearStart Watch

$60 - Ronstan ClearStart 

It's always a good idea to have more than one watch counting down on a start. In some instances the clock that we are counting on to get us to the line may obscured by the flailing arms and off-balance bodies of the frantic crew, and perhaps with an extra clock running, a bowman could let the skipper know if it's going to be close.

Finding a countdown timer that doesn't have whole bunch of useless functions that invite disaster and also comes with a reasonable price tag is a pretty narrow search. However, the Ronstan ClearStart Sailing Watch is just the ticket.

The watch is usually available at West Marine, but at the time of this post they were out of stock. A quick Google search will usually result in multiple places to purchase this $60 watch.

The size of the numbers on the dial is really nice and big for folks who don't want to wear their reading glasses during the start sequence. Also, the 5 minute, 3 minute, 1 minute and then every 10 second beeps are nice and loud. You can set the watch to count up the time after the start to find your elapsed time - all good stuff.

West Marine did a great job of showing the features of this watch in the following video:

Fifth and Final Race of Mid-Summer Series

Winds went light out of the southeast as the last race of the season saw boats drift across the finish line of a shortened course.

Thanks to all participants for a fantastic 2012 racing season. Thanks also to Bruce Franklin for this evenings "Committee Cottage" shoreline start and finish times.

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ----------2-------55:03
Emeraude ---------1-------54:04
College Tuition-----DNR-----
MoJo--------------3-----1:06:43
Blast Wave-------DNR------

Genoa Only Fleet

Sciabola---------2------1:00:27
Sea Dog---------DNR------
Mariah-----------3------TBA
Damas-------------DNR----------
Advantage-------1-------1:00:07
Col. 26-2---------DNR-----------

Many thanks to Mike Goheen, vacationing from his home state of Texas, for crewing aboard BLAST WAVE and then on board EMERAUDE.

Want to post crew pictures and thank-yous to your crew here on the racing page?
Email any and all pictures along with captions and names to: OurBoatingLife@gmail.com.We'll make them available for any and all to see...

Mike Goheen aboard EMERAUDE at end of race No. 4

Results of Race Four of Mid-Summer Season

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ----------DNR-------
Emeraude ---------1-------50:44
College Tuition-----2------53:57
MoJo--------------DNR-----
Blast Wave-------DNR------

Genoa Only Fleet

Sciabola-----------1-------54:28
Sea Dog---------3--------57:34
Mariah-----------4-------58:12
Damas-------------DNR----------
Advantage-------2--------57:22
Col. 26-2---------DNR-----------

J/24 Worlds - Rochester Yacht Club - Sep. 13-21

Over 100 J/24 are expected in Rochester in less than a month.They will be starting on a single start line. Here at Oak Orchard it is crowded if four boats converge at the pin - this will be a wild scene.

Mike Ingham, a J/24 National Champion and North Sails rep from RYC took some time to talk about the J/24 Class, how races are going to be run in Rochester, and what it's going to take to win here. For more information about the Worlds, go to www.2012j24worlds.com

Also, Mike Ingham has a YouTube channel with advice on tuning and sail trim at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/mikeinghamsailing?feature=watch


Promo music video for the race upcoming J/24 at Rochester. You can get a feel for what it would be like to
be onboard a J/24

Epic Fail of a Chain Plate

Trey Rose is taking the video while Doug Scheibner the owner, driver, and skipper handles this demasting very well. It is good to see just how well this potentially disastrous situation was handled.

Sailing Debate - Sailing Is a Sport Apart

Bomani Jones wrote an opinion piece "Sailing Is a Sport Apart" in the New York Times that has sparked a debate about Olympic Sailing and sailing itself.

Jones writes:
"...what does sailing embody that anyone loves, specifically, about the Olympics? Where is the simplicity of the event that gives the impression that anyone could participate? You need to be of a certain class with special access to sail. In an event that celebrates inclusion, it is the most exclusive"

Over 200 comments have been left on the page, so this seems to be an interesting topic.

Photo of PDRacers National Championships in Pennsylvania.
Can be built for $150 - materials at Home Depot
PDRacer history link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puddle_Duck_Racer

Spider a Beiley B-25 Sailboat out of GYC

My brother, Darren trailered his B-25 down from Genesee Yacht Club to participate in the Oak Orchard Yacht Club Invitational Regatta. I spliced together some video of him and crew during the race.




Information about the designer of the B-25:

LEIF BEILEY started sailing and surfing while in high school in southern California. As a teenager he built surfboards in his garage and sailed multihulls. After college he worked in the aerospace industry as an engineer. In 1988 Beiley founded Bboats, Inc. to build and market a production version of the B-25. This boat not only won many Grand Prix regattas, but was the first trailerable boat to be competitive in virtually all venues, winning such diverse events as the Colorado ILYA PHRF championship, Key West Race Week (twice), Trimble North Race Week and the Santa Barbara--King Harbor Race. While designing and building racing yachts occupied much of his time and energy, he continued to race.
From http://www.bravurayachts.com/company_profile.htm

Oak Orchard Yacht Club Invitational - Results

August 11th was a great day for racing.

Much thanks to John Brown, OOYC Fleet Captain for being in charge of the Invitational, Bob Elliot of GYC for heading the Race Committee, Bob Frost, RC member and his boat Frostiana, and Bruce Franklin, RC.
A special thanks to the two mark-set boats with Bob and Kayleen Muscarella, and Dan and Marietta Schueth - that looked very tiring with shifting winds and multiple mark changes...

Video of mostly preliminary start activities along with some racing scenes. Video taken onboard EMERAUDE - Cal 2-27.

RCR Yacht Sailor's News on Olimpic Sailing

Don Finkle, in RCR Yacht Sailors News, comments on the state of Olympic sailing.

Sailing in the Olympics: Anyone from the US and Canada who has been following the sailing action is likely disappointed that North America got shut out of the medal stand completely. The last time this happened for the US was in 1936. Clearly the rest of the sailing world has gotten better and more countries are working hard to achieve Olympic success. But there is no way around the fact that this is a shock to NA sailing. I was exchanging notes yesterday with my good friend Jack Mathias, who sailed in the Olympics in 1976 for the US. Jack crewed for Norm Freeman in the Flying Dutchman class and went into the last day with a shot at a medal. He is obviously very interested in what went wrong and we’ll no doubt be hearing and reading much more in the coming months as the current program is dissected.

RCR Yachts
Youngstown, NY
http://www.rcryachts.com/

Nicholas Hayes - Olympians Need You to Go Sailing

Nick Hayes, author of Saving Sailing,  states that, "Olympic sailing success depends on a robust inter-generational recreational sailing population. Period. These data confirm it."

"If you compare the number of recreational sailors in the US to the number of medals earned per recreational sailor, you learn that one short generation (15-25 years) after sailing was at its peak popularity in the US, the US was fielding its most talented Olympic sailing teams. Soon after sailing began to fall in popularity, we began to perform more inconsistently, and eventually, we struggled to represent in international competition."

Read Nick's article and more at:  http://savingsailing.com/

Results of Race 3 of Mid-Summer Series

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ----------3-------44:37
Emeraude ---------4-------45:39
College Tuition-----1-------38:27
MoJo--------------2-------41:27
Blast Wave-------DNR------

Genoa  Fleet

Sciabola-----------2-------43:11
Sea Dog-------------------DNF
Mariah---------------------DNF
Damas-----------DNR----------
Advantage---------1-------41:24
Col. 26-2--------DNR-----------

Exciting evening of sailing. The winds and waves were equally strong, but the water was beautiful for swimming as I, the editor of this page found out on the second leg. EMERAUDE was running downwind nicely with sails to port. We dipped down into a troth of a pretty big wave and we were healing pretty good. EMERAUDE righted herself with enough force to throw me into the port lifeline. I was sitting just forward of the winch tending the jib sheet so it would not shake the rigging so hard when the jib flagged then filled from running down a wave. The righting action of the boat along with the filling of the jib combined to launch me into the upper lifeline which broke and sent me into the water. My dad, Ray spun EMERAUDE around and the crew snagged me out of the water. We continued on to 4th place. Needless to say, I will be wearing a PDF from now on. Falling off a boat is not just for the clumsy.

O.O. Represented at Seabreeze

Apparently there is a small boat out of Oak Orchard that escaped and ended up as part of a kiddie ride at Seabreeze. WAKE MAKER exceeding the 5 mph limit now causes yells of joy not anguish.

This picture was sent in by Darren Leonard.

Results of Race Two of Mid Summer Series

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ----------1-------53:39
Emeraude ---------2-------54:24
College Tuition-----DNR-----
MoJo--------------3-------1:12:12
Blast Wave-------DNR------

Genoa Only Fleet

Sciabola-----------1-------57:35
Sea Dog---------2------1:02:34
Mariah---------------------DNF
Damas-------------DNR----------
Advantage-------3-------1:02:57
Col. 26-2---------DNR-----------

Our fantastic Race Committee: 
Bob Frost on his FROSTYANA with crew of Bruce Franklin, 
Bill and Marlee Diehl, and Joe and Judy Rizzo

The winds went light at the end of the race...

Spinnakers at Oak Orchard - the jibe

Photo by Kara Muscarella aboard Sciabola

Spinnaker flying can be a lot of fun at times, but it takes a skilled crew to make it look effortless. When the spinnaker is flying well it's a joy to behold, but sudden confusion at any moment may require liberal doses of adult language, skill, and luck to bring the beast back under control - or not.

Thinking about spinnaker jibes brought back to memories of the 2010 Oak Orchard Yacht Club Invitational Regatta. The green boat is OOYC's EMERAUDE that I had the pleasure to be aboard that day. Seen here, we are sailing into a mass of spinnakers at the mark that my father, EMEARAUD's ownwer, had advised me to stay clear of. After just coming back from a twenty-year hiatus from sailing, I felt confident that we had room to maneuver. This was a slow-motion train wreck that ended well. If interested, the link to the rest of the photos is at: http://www.flickr.com//photos/46651213@N03/sets/72157624736510918/show/

I was searching tactics for jibing a spinnaker and found a bit of a different situation for the sailboat EXPEDITIOUS as she broaches with her spinnaker after attempting a jibe. In researching sailing tactics for the spinnakers, I watched this epic unfolding of events and wondered what could have made this situation better. I usually don't read comments for videos because they seem written by teenage boys who excel in the art of bad words and bad spelling, but this one had some interesting thoughts.

The video ends with the eventual grounding of EXPEDITIOUS.

 

How to Follow US Olympic Sailing

How to Follow US Olympic Sailing
From http://sailingteams.ussailing.org: 

• The primary portal for all Team activity and news is the website http://Olympics.USSailing.org where the day’s news and results will be posted following competition, along with a photo gallery, video and audio interviews and Team Leader Dean Brenner’s special behind-the-scenes “At the Helm” blog. Video interviews with the Team will be posted to the website or subscribe to the Team’s YouTube channelhttp://www.YouTube.com/USSailingTeam.
• For more news throughout the day or to post a message to the Team or an individual athlete, follow the US Sailing Team on Facebook athttp://www.Facebook.com/USSailingTeam or on Twitter http://www.Twitter.com/USSailingTeam. 
• NBCOlympics.com has announced that it will broadcast the sailing competition live each day. The site has archived video and reports from the 2008 Games, including the video footage of Anna Tunnicliffe’s gold-medal winning medal race in the Laser Radial, and interviews with each member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team http://www.nbcolympics.com/sailing/index.html.
• To subscribe to the Teams daily reports through the Medalist newsletter, go to http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/News/The_Medalist.htm

U.S. Olympic Sailing Team Bios at: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Teams/Bios.htm

Live Streaming - Sailing London Olympics

For a schedule of racing at the London Olympics the BBC has posted them at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/schedule-results/list/sailing

NBC has rights to stream live video of sailing events. To view the streaming live on your computer it seems like you will have to do the following:

Go to Live Extra NBC:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/help/index.html

Follow the steps to signify the service provider you use for your TV. You will be allowed to view the videos on up to four devices.

Frequently ask questions about this service:

Q: What is NBC Olympics Live Extra?
A: A video experience featuring live streams of select U.S. Olympic Trials (June 23-July 2) and every sport on the London Olympic program, including Swimming, Gymnastics, Track & Field, Basketball and more. It’s available exclusively online at NBCOlympics.com and via the NBC Olympics “Live Extra” mobile/tablet App (available early July).

Q: What is required for accessing Live Extra content?
A: You will need to verify that you subscribe to a cable, satellite or telco video tier that includes CNBC and MSNBC. There is no additional charge.

Photo credit: http://www.thestar.com/

First Race of Mid-Summer Series

A beautiful evening for sailing. It looked a bit daunting at first with storm clouds looming over the west. But, as the race was underway it brightened and winds remained pretty steady out of the south-west.

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ---------DNR-------
Emeraude ---------1-------50:19
College Tuition-----DNR-----
MoJo--------------DNR-----
Blast Wave-------DNR------

Genoa Only Fleet

Sciabola-----------1-------52:58
Sea Dog-----------4------57:48
Mariah-----------2--------54:47
Damas-------------DNR----------
Advantage-------3--------55:21
Col. 26-2---------DNR-----------

Bob Elliot of GYC crewing aboard EMERAUDE on this first race of the second series.

Point Breeze Yacht Club - Racing History

I'm not sure of the circumstances that lead to the creation of yacht racing at PBYC, but I do remember the wonderful time I had almost twenty years ago racing with the club. I raced my wooden 1958 Knarr sailboat, Arbor Love. At the same time, sailboat racing at Oak Orchard Yacht Club was going strong, and some folks belonged to both clubs and would sail in both races. Back in 1993, I was able to join PBYC for $50, the same price my grandfather paid to join OOYC in the 1950s. This may have been an influential part of the decision to race at PBYC for sailboat owners that were interested in mainly racing over other club activities and amenities.

Someone might be able to help fill in the gaps of the history of PBYC racing. I do have all the race times and finishes for the 1993 season, but I'm not sure that there was ever another season of racing.

Here are the overall standings for the 1993 Yacht Racing Series at Point Breeze Yacht Club:

Race 5 Photos

Photos courtesy of Bob and Irene Frost:

Results: Race 5 of Spring Series

Last race of the Spring Series with gust 15 to 20 knots out of ENE.

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ---------DNF-------

Emeraude ---------2-------41:30

College Tuition-----1-------38:39

MoJo--------------3------46:45

Blast Wave-------DNR------

Genoa Only Fleet

Sciabola-----------DNR-------

Sea Dog------------DNF-------

Mariah-----------2------47:12

Damas-------------DNR----------

Advantage-------1--------46:06

Col. 26-2---------DNR-----------

Testing Your Knowledge of Racing Rules

The racing rules are revised and published every four years by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the international authority for the sport. The current edition is for 2009-12 and is available in pdf version at:
http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/RRS2009-2012-%5B5950%5D.pdf

It is a pretty dry read for most people, but an online video quiz can help the average sailor examine and practice the rules in a more real-world way.

Video Quiz:
Check out http://game.finckh.net/indexe.htm by Uli and Wolfi Finckh. Click on Easy, Medium, or Hard based on what kind of rules quiz you would like to try.

An example of situations will be like the one below. The red boat calls for room to tack and then dips below the green boat after blue tacks away.

After you decide the correct response you are scored and given the rule that covers the situation:

Just great sailing TV:

4th Race of Spring Series

Another beautiful evening of sailing. Wind was out of the east and steady at 6 to 8 knots.

BLAST WAVE an Evelyn 32 out of Oak Orchard

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ---------5-------57:06

Emeraude ---------1-------50:22

College Tuition-----4-----57:00

MoJo--------------3-----56:15

Blast Wave---------2-----55:36

Genoa Only Fleet

Sciabola---------1---------58:01

Sea Dog---------2-------1:07:06

Mariah-----------3------1:10:39

Damas-------------DNR----------

Advantage-------4------1:12:46

Col. 26-2---------DNR-----------

SailX - racing simulator

Okay, SailX Simulator is very cool...

Over the winter I tried SailX out several times, but I must admit my nerves were shot after a few minutes of racing against (better) sailors online. I spent most of my time sailing on courses that were not active so I could just see if I could make it around the buoys without tragic errors. Then, every once in a while, I would get up the nerve to jump on an active course and try to make some tactical moves as the 10 min. gun started me off on another palm-sweating race.

If you want to practice sailboat racing when not on the water - this is the place to do it. It will take some practice for sure, but once you get a handle on the key-strokes you need to tack and set and dowse the spinnaker you will be having fun... In two-dimensional views or three-dimensional, with zoom-in and zoom-out, there is a lot to do to keep you glued to the screen. The mark roundings will really keep you on your toes while you get to use real race rules in a virtual world - very much like real racing.

SailX Home Page

The Newbie page - A MUST READ :) 

Sample video of how a race looks while you are in it:

Results of 3rd Race of Spring Series

Another beautiful evening of sailing under sunny skies and winds out of the southwest.

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ---------DNR----------

Emeraude ---------1------36:58

College Tuition-----2-------38:49

MoJo--------------3-----44:28

Blast Wave---------4-----47:34

Genoa Only Fleet

Sciabola-----------2-------43:01

Sea Dog------------DNR----------

Mariah-------------DNR-----------

Damas-------------DNR-----------

Advantage---------1--------42:21

Col. 26-2---------DNR-----------

Race Two of Spring Series

Sunny skies with 82 degree wind out of southwest. Lake temp. 67 degrees. Wind at 18 to 20 variable.

Name--------Place.-----Corr. Time

Spinnaker Fleet

Red Line ---------DNR----------

Emeraude -----------2------39:20

College Tuition-----1-------34:53

MoJo-----------------4-------44:55

Blast Wave-----------3-------40:45

Genoa Only Fleet

Sciabola------------1--------36:52

Sea Dog------------3--------44:25

Mariah------------DNR-----------

Damas-------------DNR-----------

Advantage---------2--------43:28

Col. 26-2----------DNR-----------

Results of 1st Race of Spring Series

Beautiful evening of sailing at Oak Orchard and Point Breeze! Easterly breeze - 10 knots true in full sun...

Name------Place.-----Corr. Time

Advantage-------4----------50:52

Coll. Tuition------1--------44.04

Emeraude--------2--------46:14

Mariah---------DNR-------------

Sciabola---------4----------50:52

Sea Dog---------6----------54:22

Second Wind----DNR-----------

The Machine-----3---------48:00

Red Line---------DNR----------

J-80------------7--------------58:40

Due to tie - no 5th place finish.

Book: Rochester Sailing Legend Ernie Coleman

Ernie Coleman, the sailing master of Genesee Yacht Club has racked up an amazing win ratio of over 90% wins at the GYC for as far back as the club records would go. Now, local Rochester writer, Jeff Spevak has recorded Ernie's memories and reflections in a book Chasing the Wind.

From Spevak's web page:
Ernie Coleman was 93 years old when, virtually every Monday morning through the summer of 2010, he sat down with me  to tell the story of his nearly century-long life. A child of The Great Depression. A graduate of The Greatest Generation, as we call it now. A carpenter, Ernie has built things, and rebuilt his life repeatedly, struggling through divorce and the death of two wives. With four marriages came one adopted child and seven stepchildren. He has adapted to change. He is a survivor. Ernie is also a sailor, and one who loved to dance. On Lake Ontario, he was winning races well into his 90s. His boats weren’t always the naturally swiftest. Ernie, however, knew all of the tricks that could ease his craft over the finish line first, especially on days when the wind was elusive. But in the South Pacific, Ernie left behind a story that he couldn’t bring himself to tell, even more than 60 years later. The 20-minute Battle of Savo Island, in the midst of the Guadalcanal Campaign, was the worst open-sea defeat in the history of the United States Navy. Three American cruisers were sent to Iron Bottom Sound that night, including Ernie’s ship, USS Vincennes. It’s a part of his story, as are all of the life experiences that enabled him to survive that night. Ernie lives in Rochester, NY, with a view of Lake Ontario from his living-room window. He is still sailing, and still winning races.

About the author:
Jeff Spevak is an award-winning music writer who lives in Rochester, NY. He writes both fiction and non-fiction.

Book signings:

Sent to GYC members:
We will be having a book signing event for Ernie's book this Friday 5/4 from 7-9 PM at GYC.
We also have one set for Sat 9-12 noon at RYC and one at Java Joes Coffee House at old public market Union St. Sunday from 3-6 PM.

Chasing the Wind available for $14.95 at: Amazon Link

OOYC Invitational Regatta - Trailer

The date has been set... The Oak Orchard Yacht Club Annual Invitational Regatta will take place on August 11, 2012. The race is open to all PHRF sailboats and will have three divisions - Genoa, Spinnaker, and Multihull.

Three races in each division are usually run consecutively with a countdown to the next start after the last boat finishes. Skipper's meeting, along with an awards presentation will take place at the Oak Orchard Yacht Club.

Visit the Club site at: http://ooyc.org/

OOYC Invitational Regatta 2012 - summer event

It's On!

The 2012 Oak Orchard Yacht Club Regatta
 is set to be held this summer on August 11, 2012. 

Divisions are: (1) Spinnaker  (2) Non-Spinnaker A (3) One Design  (4) Multi Hull 

Download the application at: Application Page

Fee: $40 per boat
 
______________________________________________________

Applications can be mailed to: 

John Brown - OOYC Fleet Captain
4588 Conway Rd.
E. Bethany, NY 14054

Questions? Email - johnbrown2@rochester.rr.com

• Entry fee will be returned if you are unable to attend.

• Dock fees waived for registered race boats.

Tracker: Volvo Ocean Race

Click on screen shot for live link:

Today - coffee break off Cape Horn

A thousand miles from Cape Horn...



Amazing waves wash over the deck as crew fixes broken engine mount:



Puma racing team embraces surfing legend...

Puma's skipper (left) is 50 year-old Ken Read, an American yachtsman who is considered one of the world’s most accomplished and celebrated sailors. He was named “United States Rolex Yachtsman of the Year” twice and has over 40 World, North American, and National Championships to his credit in a variety of classes including the J/24 and Etchells 22. - From Wikipedia

The honorary twelfth crew member (right) is American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model Laird Hamilton. The crew will track wave patterns while sailing through the remotest reaches of the world's oceans. As monster waves are found, Laird will fly in, prepared to surf.

“It’s been a life-long goal to push boundaries and find rogue waves at sea to ride,” says Laird. “When PUMA Ocean Racing approached me with ideas for how we might collectively make this happen during the Volvo Ocean Race, I was thrilled.”

Follow all at: http://www.puma.com/sailing

Robbie Brown - fast in and on the water

Robbie standing on deck of his soling
COLLEGE TUITION 

OOYR's own Robbie Brown had a great night in Bath, New York at the Section 5 Class C Swimming and Diving Championship:

Brown set two new Class C records en route to garnering Swimmer of the Meet honors.
He won the 50-yard freestyle in 21.39 seconds, also establishing a new pool mark in that event, and touched first in the 100-yard freestyle in a state-qualifying time of 47.20 seconds.

“Robbie had an amazing performance tonight,” Alexander coach Beth Shea said. “Even the officials were talking about his swim in the 50; he had a great start off the blocks.”  By Cathy Fancher and Bill Bruton Jr.
http://thedailynewsonline.com

Robbie is a junior at Alexander High School, and it is amazing to think that with his fantastic speed he will have another year to compete. During the summer he is out at Point Breeze running Oak Orchard Yacht Club's youth sailing program and racing COLLEGE TUITION on Thursday nights. He will also be taking on an assistant role to his father, John Brown's position as Fleet Captain. Congratulations to Robbie, who at this time is ranked fourth fastest 50 Free swimmer in New York State.

Bio: Future plans: Undecided. Considering majoring in engineering in college. About me: Lists his dad as the person who has had the biggest influence in his life. Favorite athlete is Michael Phelps. Also competes in outdoor track and field.

Luna Rossa - stepping the sail

Luna Rossa is back in Auckland and ready for a year of testing and training alongside Emirates Team New Zealand. The knowledge-sharing partnership between the Prada-backed Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand was announced back in November. The two teams will pool resources ahead of next year's America's Cup in San Francisco.

Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand will train and race each other on AC45 catamarans.

Beautiful Winter Day at O.O.

It has been an incredible winter. Here is a quick shot from an iPhone looking back at the harbor from the Oak Orchard shore. Just a bit of ice on the rocks betrays the season. Two and a half months before boats start going back in. Time to think about the wetted surface prep.