Amendment to the Notice of Race for the W.D. Schock Regatta

Dear Competitors:

An amendment to the Notice of Race for the W.D. Schock Regatta has been posted to the official Notice Board. This amendment deletes the competitors’ briefing and moves the first warning to 1300hrs.

The R/C and I are looking forward to a great weekend on the water and a fun fleet dinner Saturday evening. If you have any questions please contact me.

 

Sail Fast,

Jenn Lancaster

NHYC Race Director

949-723-6869

 

SCYA Mid Winters Results

Two days, eight races, three fleets, thirty-one Harbor 20s, and near perfect sailing conditions encompassed the SCYA Mid-Winter Regatta for the Harbor 20 Fleet 1 in Newport Beach this weekend.

A Fleet Winners

1st Place, A Fleet, Bill & Diane Menninger

1st Place, A Fleet, Bill & Diane Menninger

2nd Place, A Fleet, Tom & Jane Schock

2nd Place, A Fleet, Tom & Jane Schock

3rd Place, A Fleet, Kurt Weiss

3rd Place, A Fleet, Kurt Weiss

 

B Fleet Winners

1st Place, B Fleet, Len Connelly

1st Place, B Fleet, Len Connelly

2nd Place, B Fleet, Steve Woodruff

2nd Place, B Fleet, Steve Woodruff

3rd Place, B Fleet, Tom Corkett

3rd Place, B Fleet, Tom Corkett

 

C Fleet Winners

1st Place, C Fleet, Mark Hurwitz

1st Place, C Fleet, Mark Hurwitz

2nd Place, C Fleet, Steve Horton

2nd Place, C Fleet, Steve Horton

3rd Place, C Fleet, Michael Volk

3rd Place, C Fleet, Michael Volk

 

Thank you BCYC Yacht Club for doing a fantastic job hosting the event.

Thank you from the C Fleet

Contributed by Michael Volk and Ellen Reader

As a member of the new ‘C’ Fleet, we are grateful for the new mentoring program which has done so much to introduce and encourage new Harbor 20 owners.  With so many accomplished sailors in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ Fleets, it can daunting to fast track to racing. Our Mentor, Alexander Vucelic, has been a great help by accompanying us on several races, reviewing rules and tactical maneuvers, which has improved our confidence and opened up the enjoyment of racing. Hopefully other Harbor 20 owners, who may not have previously raced, will take advantage of this program and enjoy racing like we have.

 

 

Twenty-Five Lucky Ladies

by Jane Schock

February 9, 2012

Three of five Harbor 20s in close competition during the WSC Race Workshop & Melanie Patterson Memorial Regatta at the 2012 SCYC Women’s Sailing Convention

Newport Beach, CA – The 23rd Annual Women’s Sailing Convention on February 4 was attended by 200 women from all over North America. Twenty-five of these women were lucky enough to have a chance to race Harbor 20s during the afternoon Race Workshop, which was also scored for the BCYC Melanie Patterson Memorial Regatta.

There were five Harbor 20s, each with one coach and three or four students. And the class was one of the first to sell out, with women eager to try racing in the bay on a boat that would give them an exciting opportunity to practice starts and experience the thrill of one-design racing.

The Women’s Sailing Convention is a Southern California Yachting Association event and was held at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Newport Beach, California. The all-day event is open to all women interested in sailing – from novices to experts – and always takes place, rain or shine.

The classes offered during the seminar are held both in the classroom and on the water and include topics from a basic introduction to sailing terminology to really advanced cruising topics

such as how to de-escalate a pirate encounter. The women learn to tie knots, navigate, dock, rescue overboard sailors, prepare delicious meals, race, and more.

During the morning, most of the women who had signed up for the afternoon Harbor 20 Race Workshop attended courses on racing rules and tactics.

These courses were presented by Sandy Mills, a US Sailing Judge and Principal Race Officer at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. She did an excellent job of reviewing the basic elements of sailboat racing and made it sound fun and intriguing. I attended one of Sandy’s seminars and thought that most compelling bit of information she shared was a 2001 Scuttlebutt posting by US Sailing Sr. Judge Don Becker. He simplifies the rules down into nine succinct bullet items.

[The racing rules] quite simply:

• Port keeps clear of starboard.

• Windward keeps clear of leeward.

• The boat astern keeps clear of the boat ahead.

• A boat tacking keeps clear of one that is not.

• Avoid collisions.

• If you gain right of way or change course, give the other boat time to keep clear.

• The inside boat(s) at [three] boat lengths from the mark is entitled to room to round the mark.

• A boat that is backing up or not racing keeps clear.

• If you have violated one, take a penalty.

This covers 95% of the situations out there.

With regard to the starting system, I have noticed that when the first signal goes up you do need to be ready to race.

Don Becker, U S Sailing Sr. Judge

While the students were busy learning rules and tactics, the Race Workshop coaches met with Tom Schock for a dockside chat aboard one of the Harbor 20s.

Although each of the coaches is an expert sailor in her own right, most of them have had few opportunities to race a Harbor 20, so Tom shared seven Harbor 20 go-fast techniques.

1. In a Harbor 20, it is really important not to let your crew weight get too far forward. The boat has a narrow bow and a buoyant stern section, and the sail control console just aft of the mast seems to draw the crew toward the front of the cockpit.

The driver should sit at the forward end of the tiller, with the crew right next to her. Since we would be sailing with one coach and four

Tom Schock and coaches Mary Bacon, Jane Hoffner Horst, Patsee Ober, & Helene Webb during a dockside chat.

students, Tom suggested that the coaches sit aft of the helmsman. Conditions looked light to medium, so it seemed we could probably also have one person sit to leeward.

2. Nearly all sailboats are fastest when sailed relatively flat. The Harbor 20 is no exception. To keep her sailing fast upwind in heavier wind, it is really important to play the main – easing it in the puffs and bringing it back in during the lulls. With a crew of four, it was decided that one would steer, another would trim the main, and two could trim the jib.

3. There are three basic settings for the jib: “Loose” for power sailing in light air, “normal” for medium wind conditions, and “tight” for windy weather (and for situations where pinching to weather is of strategic value). In the “normal” position, the jib sheet runs up, about perpendicular to the deck. Adjustments from this point are miniscule.

In moderate conditions, the jib should be trimmed with the jib sheet at right angles to the deck.

4. As to rig tension, Harbor 20 racers have found it unnecessary to adjust the traveler off of center; and in light air there is very little backstay tension. When you find you are easing the main to keep the boat flat in puffs, it is time to start adding tension to the backstay.

5. When ducking another Harbor 20, there is a lot of boat behind the helmsman. Tom pointed out that it is important, especially when windy, to let off the main to relieve helm pressure BUT you need to be sure NOT to let out the jib. Keeping the jib in tight helps to keep the bow down, while letting the jib out would make the boat want to head into the wind – right toward the boat you are trying to duck.

Patsee’s team has the mainsheet nicely centered and the backstay just right for light air.

6. When rounding the weather mark, Tom recommended that we keep the jib in tight to keep the bow down, then ease the jib, ease the Cunningham, and loosen the vang. He cautioned us not to be in a hurry to wing the jib but to wait until we are sure it will fly. When the time is right to wing the jib, the crew should grab both jib sheets and throw the jib boom to weather. Once it is on its way, tighten the winger line on the console. And then tighten the jib outhaul to maximize the sail area that will be exposed to the wind.

7. The Harbor 20 weighs 1,800 pounds, so it accelerates relatively slowly and carries longer. At the start, be sure the boat is moving when the gun goes off – no luffing on the line! When going upwind in light air, keep the number of tacks to a minimum. And when preparing to dock the boat at the end of the day, be sure to leave plenty of time for the boat to coast to a stop.

At the conclusion of Tom’s dockside chat, the coaches gathered their teams, finished rigging their boats, and set sail.

Harbor 20 racers getting ready to head for the racecourse.

The racecourse was about 20 minutes from the yacht club, so everyone had plenty of time to get adjusted to the boats and to experiment with the various crew positions.

We reached to the starting area and then practiced sailing upwind and downwind, practicing tacks, jibes, and sail trim.

As soon as all five boats were within shouting distance, the committee set the Come Within Hail flag, and the racing began.

The committee gave us two practice starts and then ran three windward / leeward races. Wind conditions were perfect, and the air temperature was 70 degrees with clear skies and excellent visibility.

Jane Horst and her team

strategizing before the start.

My team members usually sail on much larger boats, so they were thrilled at the Harbor 20’s light helm and amazing maneuverability. Our drivers quickly learned not to push the tiller too far to leeward in a tack – pushing the tip of the tiller to the edge of the cockpit seat is plenty in most situations (anything more than a 12 1/2 degrees of rudder angle turns the rudder into a brake anyway, so avoid going there if you can).

Being accustomed to much heavier helms on the bigger boats, our team skippers found themselves grabbing the tiller and hanging on as if our lives depended on it. A little coaching turned their death grips into a much more relaxed fingertip style of tiller steering. And it instantly became obvious that, if given a chance, the Harbor 20 will respond automatically to wind shifts and increases in velocity. One of our crew said, “Wow. If you just give her a little reign, she’ll drive herself!”

Laura Acocella smiling big after a first place finish at the helm of H20 #277.

Cracking off for a perfect weather mark rounding.

Jib trim upwind was another thrill that took some time to get used to. It was really hard to remember not to let off the jib during each tack and haul it around to the other side. Aren’t self-tacking jibs amazing! And when making adjustments in jib tension, it took a few minutes to realize that “Let out the jib” meant 1/4” at most, not a foot.

Our team got excellent starts, really close to the line and moving nicely. We got two firsts and a second. (But who is counting? After all, it was just for practice.)

On the way back to the club, everyone marveled at how relaxed they were. They loved racing Harbor 20s. No bruises. No tension. No hassle.

Lisa Falk, current Vice Commodore of King Harbor Yacht Club, summed it up:

“Having only raced & crewed on ‘bigger boats’ – it was amazing how fun and easy racing the Harbor 20 turned out to be! No winches, no lines running all over, just trim the sails and go for tactics and speed. What a great day on a super boat!

Thank you Convention Director Gail Hine, race coordinator Kathie Ohmer, Southern California Yachting Association (SCYA), and Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club (BCYC for making this event possible.

The Winners: Lisa Falk, Jane Schock, Laura Acocella, Robbie Skidmore, and Judy Alfter

We will be watching the website – www.scya.org – for details regarding next year’s convention.


Do you want to participate in the EAST/WEST Challenge?

This year the EAST/WEST Challenge returns to the West Coast. The 2012 event will be hosted by NHYC the weekend of October 6-7. The event has expanded over previous years with the addition of new fleets to the H20 Class. This year the EAST team will be composed of 8 boats, with four boats handled by sailors from Fleet 3, Hilton Head, SC and four boats handled by sailors from Fleet 5, Annapolis MD. The WEST team will be composed of 8 boats, with four boats handled by sailors from Fleet 1, Newport Beach, CA and four boats handled by sailors from Fleet 4, Santa Barbara, CA.

Selection of the sailors who will represent Fleet 1 will be determined by the High Point standings as of Sunday, July 15. There are nine High Point races days between now and July 14, so if you want to participate in the EAST/WEST Challenge, you need to actively participate in the Fleet 1 High Point series. The top four skippers in A Fleet as July 15 will have the priviledge of representing Fleet 1 as skippers, and the top four skippers in the B Fleet will  have the priviledge of representing Fleet 1 as crews.

The 2012 EAST/WEST Challenge is shaping up to be a premier event bringing H20 sailors together from around the country for a weekend of racing and social activities. If you do not end up on the Fleet 1 sailing team, there will be lots of other ways to participate, so stay tuned for details. We hope to see you there!

Race Education Begins for 2012

Race education for the 2012 season started off with a bang with the “Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing” seminar on Sunday, January 29, at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. Thirty five people attended, from as far away as Los Angeles, Redlands, and Santa Barbara. A number of C-Fleet folks were in attendance as well as several new Harbor 20 owners. And, about a third of the attendees were from other fleets, primarily PHRF, now that folks are starting to look to the Harbor 20 Fleet as the place to learn about sailboat racing. As this experience can be a bit like “drinking from a fire hose”, there were also many repeat attendees, some who have been up to six times.

“As a B sailor rules have always been hard for me. The visual approach really helped” -Kathy Sangster

“The best rules seminar I have ever been involved with”. -Sandy Mills

“A must for anyone racing sailboats. Peter makes a complex and arcane set of codified rules understandable and interesting. This fast paced one-day class is supported with excellent reference materials”. -Bob King

“The animations bring the rules to life. This course provides a chance to experience the rules with examples that allow the student to connect the actual rules to the practical application of getting through the race. Should be required course work for all participating in large fleet racing”. – Mike Psomas

“Having never had andy formal sailing training, I am very happy to have attended this seminar which helped me begin to understand how important the rules are to making the race fun, safe, and fair”. -Donna Vordale 

“I can clearly see why the crew needs to come too”. -Ted Reed

If you missed this event, the Rules seminar will be repeated on September 9, three weeks before the Championship.

The next seminar will be “Boat Handling & Sail Trim” on March 11. We hope to see you there!

Last Chance to be included in the 2012 Harbor 20 Roster

January 31 has passed, and we’re closing out the 2012 Harbor 20 Roster.

If you are a racing member, I urge you to take care of this in the next two days, PLEASE! You’re going to have to pay anyway, why not now. Any racing after January and you will not be “legal” without paying dues! I want to include you in the 2012 Roster, it will be a sellout blockbuster!

I’d rather include everyone, especially those procrastinators who put things off, the eventually pay, and then say, “I wish I had…”

IF YOU PLAN ON BEING INCLUDED:

 

1. SEND ME AN EMAIL AND TELL ME “I’M IN,” OR “I’M OUT.” THE “I’M INs” will be in the Roster, and we’ll trust you to send a check. The “I’M OUTs,” well, thanks for your participation in the past and “Good Sailing.”

 

2. FOR THE “I’M INs,” WRITE A CHECK, CHECK OVER YOUR ROSTER DATA, AND MAIL YOUR DUES TODAY. YOUR ROSTER DATA WILL BE THE SAME AS LAST YEAR UNLESS YOU SEND IN CHANGES BY MAIL OR EMAIL IN THE NEXT TWO DAYS.*

Pretty simple. Please make my/our life easy and take care of this so WE don’t make a mistake regarding your intent at participation in 2012.

Many thanks,

Jim Kerrigan

Roster Maven

 

* If you’ve “lost it,” go to harbor20.org, second tab from the left, “About the Class,” and below, click on “Join.” The information and the link to the roster form are linked to this. At least markup and highlight data that’s new, the mailing address is there, and then you’re done.

 

Fleet 3 Hosts South Atlantic Inter-Club Regatta January 29th

The South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association, the regional organization for yacht clubs and sailors in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, held its annual convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina on January 28 and 29.  To wrap up the annual meeting, Harbor 20 Fleet 3 and South Carolina Yacht Club invited nine member clubs of SAYRA to compete in an Inter-Club Challenge regatta in Harbor 20s on Sunday, January 29.  Members of South Carolina Yacht Club loaned their boats for the event and an owner representative sailed on each boat with a skipper and crew from the entering club.

The SCYC Race Committee, with Kevin Keogh as principal race officer, ran three races, each about 45 minutes long, in a northerly breeze with oscillating shifts that kept the competitors and the race committee on their toes and produced three different race winners.  Despite the shifty breeze, it was a beautiful January day for racing on Calibogue Sound.  In the end, consistency won the day.  The winning team’s record was a third and two seconds in a fleet of nine boats.

Handsome wood carving boards were the prizes presented after racing to Atlanta Yacht Club skipper Brice Dryden in first place, South Carolina Yacht Club Gary Gleason in second place and Charleston Ocean Racing Association skipper Rob Bowden in third place.  The other competitors in order of final placing were Columbia Sailing Club, Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club, Savannah Yacht Club, Keowee Sailing Club, Carolina Yacht Club of North Carolina and Charleston Yacht Club.

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