Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Thistle Nationals Day 1 Report

Full results here: Cumulative Results

Thistle Nationals Day 1
Races 1 & 2
Report by Brad Russell

The Thistle Class National Championship is underway after 2 great races in Fort Walton Beach, FL. After postponing ashore for a couple hours waiting for the sea breeze to begin, 50 Thistles headed out for a great afternoon of sailing.

The sea breeze came in as the locals said it would, but it quickly went further right than normal, making it difficult to predict what was likely to happen next.  The question was whether the breeze would continue to move right as sea breezes typically do, or if it would stop where it was and settle in. After an unsuccessful attempt to time the oscillations our boat decided we didn't have a clue.

The fleet was anxious and the first attempt to get a race off saw a massive number of boats OCS and the race was blown off. The next start with the threat of a Z flag penalty got the fleet to behave and the race went off clean.

The breeze did in fact move further right, up to 30 degrees further than we were led to expect. The shifts and puffs were unpredictable until you could see them. The scores showed it, as only 3 boats had 2 very good races. It proved especially variable as the boats worked further up the course, nearer to the heated land that made staying smart more difficult.

While some say you should always go right, both sides paid at times and the two sides worked in very different ways. Our boat felt like we could see the left advantaged breeze coming and it would last longer but the angle didn't stay as good for as long. The right, to us, was much more difficult to see what was happening until the boats showed around you showed the change.

Downwind, pressure seemed to pay. With a bigger fleet, the middle was rarely able to work. Boats that did best tended to stay towards the edges.

The top 3 boats were clearly the class of the field. Mike Ingham leads with a 1, 2 followed by John Baker with a 3, 1 and Paul Abdullah is in third with a 2, 3.

On our boat we felt a little off pace tuning up before the racing. The first race proved we weren't as fast as we hoped, and a shim change between races made a big difference. Our biggest issue and area for improvement is managing risk and consolidating as soon as possible in the variable conditions. The verbal highlight of the day was first time Thistler Liz Walters on my boat worrying about where the spinnaker halyard disappeared to when we were sailing downwind (it was holding up the spinnaker).

The social scene is great and we just had a fantastic shrimp boil put on by the EXTREMELY helpful members of FWYC. We can't wait for tomorrow and another day with our Thistling friends!

Additional Tuning Info

After looking at several boats yesterday on shore and having to make a change of my own in the water, I wanted to add a little info about what we are trying to accomplish, what to look for, and what to change.

Most of the items we tune in the boat are working mostly towards one goal: to match the bend it your mast while sailing to the curve designed into the luff of your main. All of our changes on shore are aimed at achieving that goal, so keep in mind the numbers are a means to an end, not a firm, unchangeable requirement.

We judge our mast bend by the overbend wrinkles in the main. Judging them should be when you are fully trimmed upwind and not overpowered. Look for the the wrinkles coming off the mast and extending towards the clew of the sail. The target is for the wrinkle just above the window in the main to end between 3/4 and the back of the window.

If the overbend wrinkles do not go far enough back the mast needs more bend. This is accomplished by shimming the back of the mast and/or tightening the forestay. If the wrinkles go too far back you need less bend and removing a shim from the back of the mast or loosening the forestay will help.

On my boat yesterday we felt a little off pace while tuning up before the race and it held as status quo in the first race. My overbend wrinkles weren't going as far back as I would like. I have an unusual case of needing to shim the front of my mast to prevent too much bend. I took that out between races and got more overbend wrinkles. As a result we were faster in the second race.

After working with several boats yesterday during the delay in shore, feedback was positive on all the boats and a few plan to move a little bit further in that same direction. If you would like help with your boat find me (Brad) in the parking lot and I'll be happy to help you.

In this photo we are at the less-bendy end of the acceptable range for overbend wrinkles.

Monday, June 8, 2015

2015 Bottom's Up Regatta Report - LLSC

Special thanks to David Reddaway for this report from the Bottom's Up, emergency-held at Lake Lanier this year.

2015 Bottom’s Up Regatta
Southeast Spring Series Event
June 6 and 7, 2015
A published 4:00 start time on Saturday allowed participants to drive same day and attend the 2015 Bottom’s Up Regatta. The event was originally scheduled to be at Lake Murray Sailing Club where it has been a 50+ year mainstay for the Southeast Spring Series. However, three weeks out, it had to be cancelled. In cooperation with resident LMSC Fleet Captain Bob Lockwood and RVP Loy Vaughn, the regatta found a temporary home at Lake Lanier Sailing Club, home of the SE Fall Series Old Goat Regatta.
With a very light air Saturday upon us, you would have thought we were on the coast. At 4:00, yes, the “lake” breeze filled in enough to run two 40 minute races in light choppy conditions. In Race 1, Brent Mckenzie and David Reddaway started at the boat and tacked immediately to port to head to calmer waters. The majority of the Fleet went left, which normally pays 8 out of 10 times. However under choppy conditions, the protection to the right made sense. David finished 1st and Brent 3rd with Scott Griffin keeping us company in 2nd. The fleet caught on in the second race and Reid Collins made, I believe, his first ever Thistle regatta bullet in race two. He out sailed David Reddaway in 2nd, Scott Griffin in 3rd, and Loy Vaughn in 4th.
The nice thing about the Southeast Series is any of the top ten or twelve at any event could place in the silver. This was proven Sunday morning when we were able to run 3 races in fleeting breeze. The Gise brothers, Mark and Scott, were on fire posting a 5, 2, and 2 improving to 3rd overall. Loy’s 1st in the 3rd race helped secure 2nd overall, while Scott Griffin didn’t seem to look back as he sailed into 1st overall, especially by winning the last race. Where’s Greg? Well having been one of the hottest Southeast sailors for many a year, Greg has been investing in the Griffin legacy. There is a new Griffin boy born to Greg and Heather and believe it or not, Heather allowed Greg to come to the regatta! Having a lot on his mind, Greg went out in Race 4 and posted a bullet, proving he has not lost his touch. In 5 races, 5 different winners, two of which finished out of the top 5 overall. Embroidered beach towels were awarded to the top 10 skippers and top 5 crew. Now they are ready for Nationals at Ft Walton!
The most difficult issue was to find a great PRO and committee on short notice. Long time Thistle owner and LLSC member, Mark Turner, stepped up. Mark has a passion for great Race Committee work. He has developed a dedicated team which operates almost flawlessly. They ran a great event and squeezed out 5 quality races in trying conditions. 

Attached are the scores. Enjoy and we’ll see you on the circuit!
David Reddaway
Name Crew Sail # Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Total  Place
Scott Griffin Gavin Mcormick 3997 2 3 3 4 1 13 1
Loy Vaughn Andrew deRussy 4007 4 4 1 6 5 20 2
Mark Gise Scott Gise 3951 6 8 5 2 2 23 3
Brent McKenzie Jack Smith 3615 3 5 2 9 4 23 4
Michael Lenkeit JD Reddaway 3980 7 7 6 3 6 29 5
David Redddaway Carol Reddaway 3883 1 2 9 5 13 30 6
Greg Griffin Mark Reddaway 3976 10 9 4 1 7 31 7
Reid Collins Mike Kirschner 3579 5 1 12 10 8 36 8
Bob McCormick Jim Roberts 1167 15 11 7 8 3 44 9
Laura Graham Andrew Phillips 1995 9 9 10 11 10 49 10
Dan Russell 3828 13 12 11 7 11 54 11
Marian Evatt Brian Anderson 3444 11 13 13 13 9 59 12
Cathrine Ryals Rick Scarborough 399 16 10 15 12 12 65 13
Will Morang Kelly 357 8 16 8 17 17 66 14
Len Wert Tucker Munday 3813 14 14 14 14 14 70 15
Adam Anker Lady Chef Peyton 841 12 15 17 17 17 78 16

Friday, May 29, 2015

Sail Trim - The Jib and Flow

by Mike Ingham

This is a reprinted article from Sailing World.  For the original article go here: http://www.sailingworld.com/how-to/boatspeed-jib-and-flow


Once, while coaching a team before the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship, someone asked me about jib trim, so I hopped on board and sat to leeward to video their jib leech while the trimmer “clicked” in the jib. It was obvious right then and there just how sensitive jib trim is.

On a J/22, the cabin-top winch drum is small, and each click trims the jib only a fraction of an inch. As I filmed, the trimmer set the jib to her normal setting and observed the jib leech telltale flowing 100 percent of the time. She then trimmed in slowly, one click at a time, and it continued to flow until 10 clicks or so later, when it stalled. It happened instantly, as if the sound of the click itself caused the stall.

Because I typically steer I’m not used to looking at the jib leech telltale, but I do spend a lot of time looking at the mainsail leech telltale, which doesn’t behave at all in this way. The mainsail leech telltale starts to stall inconsistently, from 100 percent flying to 90 percent, then 80 percent, and so on as I trim in slowly. In contrast, this jib telltale seemed impossibly abrupt. So, with this same J/22 team we repeated the process a few times, and sure enough, it was either fully streaming or not all, nothing in-between.

Properly Trimmed - A properly trimmed jib, visualized using smokelines in the wind tunnel, shows that the jib causes the air flow to bend through the slot and remain attached to the mainsail.

 Normal Trim - The telltale streams aft, showing that wind is flowing continuously on both sides of the jib.
 Over Trimmed - When the leech telltale isn’t streaming, it’s a sure sign the jib is over trimmed, causing flow on the leeward side of the jib to separate.
In the wind tunnel, the over-trimmed jib shows how the slot is too narrow and the jib is trying to bend the flow too much. When the jib stalls, air on the leeward side is separated and disturbed, at times even flowing forward. This pulls the telltale to leeward and forward. The unsteady nature of the separation causes the telltale to jump around.
Under Trimmed - As shown in the wind tunnel, with an under-trimmed jib the slot is too open and the flow is not redirected behind the mast. Consequently, air flow becomes detached from the mainsail.






Before I move on to applying what I learned, I’ll share some language I use with my crew to describe various phases of trim.

“Max trim” is one click before the telltale stalls. I don’t like max trim because it’s too unforgiving. It’s too close to what is known as over trim, which is a disaster.

“Normal trim” is slightly eased from max trim. To find this more forgiving sheeting, we click in until it stalls (just past max), then ease again until it flows again. I find that there’s some hysteresis, meaning even though one click in makes it stall, we might ease the equivalent of six clicks before flow starts again. Then, to make it stall again it takes six clicks in and so on. In this example, normal trim would be about six clicks from stalling, but fortunately we don’t need to know that, we just need to over trim until it stalls, then ease until it flows again. Normal trim is our default setting. If it’s eased any further we’re giving up height by losing flow on the back of the main. If it’s trimmed in any further, it’s too close to stalling.

“Acceleration trim” is a bit eased from the normal trim—perhaps the same amount that normal is eased from max to normal. It’s more difficult to define because the leech telltale gives us no help in figuring it out. It will flow 100 percent at normal trim and will continue to do so as we let it out. The other problem in defining where this eased setting is that it may vary on how much we have to accelerate. If we are stopped, it will be more than if we just need to a small speed build, after a few small waves, for example. Either way, it really is not eased much. On a dinghy, the upper jib leech might be an inch further out. On a small one-design keelboat it might another 2 inches further outboard. This small amount at the upper leech often only requires a small ease of the jib sheet, so we’re careful not to have the jib out too far. Acceleration trim is more of a feel; we ease a little and feel the boat accelerate, then bring it back in slowly to normal trim as we get up to speed.

Reference points are extremely helpful, so during training and pre-race, we observe from leeward, watching the telltale and learning the range. Our trimmer and I then agree on the normal trim for the condition we’re sailing. We find a reference to recreate that trim without having to keep track of the leech telltale. Our trimmer likes a mark on the jib sheet for a very rough first pass.

The problem with a sheet mark is that a puff will open the leech and a lull will close it while the sheet doesn’t move at all. It is static while the leech is dynamic so it’s a poor fine-tune reference. Thus, for fine tune, we look for a reference close to the upper leech where we care the most. For example, on the J/22 we use the distance the jib leech overlaps the spreader. The J/24 has a genoa that sets outside the spreader tip, so we use the distance off the spreader tip.

On our Thistle we tape a zip tie on the middle spreader so the end is 10.5 inches from the mast. The trimmer can see this easily through a trim window in the main and trim by pulling the jib in to a repeatable distance from the end of the zip tie.

Marked measurement references are also useful. For example, on our J/24, we have pieces of tape at intervals of 2, 4, and 6 inches inboard from the spreader tip. Similar tape reference marks on the J/22 or Etchells spreader can directly be lined up with the leech of the jib since the leech is immediately in front and overlapping the spreader. For whatever boat we sail, we find and mark something near the upper leech that our eye can immediately and accurately repeat.

Every condition that varies from ideal usually requires an ease of the mainsheet, and therefore also requires a corresponding ease of the jib sheet. For example, when we are overpowered, we ease the main or drop the traveler to depower. In the opposite condition, light air, we ease the mainsheet and raise the traveler to open the leech of the main. If it’s wavy, we have to put the bow down to twist open the top of the main.

No matter what the reason, as soon as the mainsail starts to ease, the jib needs to match that ease to maintain flow. In each case, the same rules of thumb apply and we still do the same thing we do in ideal conditions; over trim the jib and then ease until the telltale flows. It will be more eased than flat water, but we still call this sweet spot normal trim for that condition.

I prefer to play the main more so than the jib, but I play them together whenever possible. For example, if our bow person says “bad wave,” I will ease the main and our jib trimmer will do the same. Then, as we get up to speed, we both slowly trim back to normal our trim. When overpowered, our bow will call “puff in 3-2-1, puff on” and we’ll both ease and then trim in when we feel under control again.

Tip: Leech Telltale Location
The leech telltale must be in the proper position in order to illustrate airflow across the sail. The sail will usually come with one, often attached at the end of the top batten. This sweet spot should be about three-quarters of the way up the jib, where, when we trim, the leech makes the most movement. Just above this telltale, the jib gets significantly smaller and the slot (the distance between mainsail and jib) narrows.

If it’s choppy and/or puffy I may have to play the main constantly, and it’s hard for the jib trimmer to keep up, so we keep the jib a little further out. The trimmer will set it more for trends than for every little change. In these conditions, it’s hard to communicate every change I make, so our trimmer listens to what I’m doing. For example, if he hears me uncleat, he knows I’m likely to be easing so he’s ready. When he hears my ratchet come in, he trims, too.

In breeze, he looks at the main backwind. Too much backwind or even worse, the main flogs a bit, he immediately eases. Too little backwind, he trims in to induce it. No matter the conditions, the more the main and jib are adjusted together to keep the best flow over both sails, the faster we will go.

When it’s very light, the jib sheet and clew patch weigh down the jib, so our trimmer sits to leeward and holds the clew up by hand while looking up at the leech.

The leech telltale doesn’t work equally well on all boats. It works best with a jib that has an upper batten and doesn’t overlap the spreader. We tried leech telltales on our J/24, which has a genoa, and they seem to behave differently than those on jibs. We seem to be able to trim beyond the point that the top telltale stalls and still be fast. The lesson here is that although trimming to the jib leech telltale is fundamentally sound and usually quite practical, we always speed test to confirm because there are exceptions.

Unless it’s light enough for the trimmer to sit to leeward, the jib telltale is hard to see. So we do our homework and experiment with different trims while training. Once we feel comfortable with the range of trim, we find solid, repeatable references for the over, max, normal, and acceleration trim settings in various conditions.

Don’t just blindly trim the jib and leave it though, we are proactive to match the mainsail when necessary and ensure flow across both sails. Speed testing is the only way to know for sure, but we find using the jib-leech telltale is an excellent and consistent indicator of good jib trim.
Basic Trim Modes in Brief

“Over trim”
When the leech telltale stalls (always slow, we never trim this hard).

“Max trim”
Just before the telltale stalls (it’s fast, but unforgiving, we rarely trim this hard).

“Normal trim”
Over trim until the telltale stalls, then ease until it flows again (that’s our sweet spot).

“Acceleration trim”
Eased the sails for temporary speed build (the leech telltale will be fully streaming.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

2015 Dixie Report




The 2015 Dixie Regatta in Acworth, GA had 66 Thistles over Memorial Day weekend for what turned out to be a great weekend of sailing on Lake Allatoona. 5 races for the Purple Fleet (50 boats) and Green Fleet (16 boats) were run in 5 to 15 knots through shifts of more than 50 degrees and a little bit of holiday weekend motorboat chop.


Two races Saturday saw little predictability and each leg favored one side strongly over the other, with the middle rarely working. Douglas Toney, my great friend and regular crew, sailed with me and did a fantastic job all weekend managing the course, the fleet, and me. We focused very hard on trying to stay consistent. Throughout the weekend we tried to make tough decisions, knowing we would throw away an opportunity to pass 2 or 3 boats to protect ourselves against a group of 10 or more. I believe that paid big dividends over the course of 5 races, as we were able to avoid the one or two bad races that almost everyone else experienced.


We didn’t always pick the correct side of the first beat and I didn’t always get the boat off the line in a great spot. But we were able to get clear air within a minute, go fast on our side of the course, and use any chance to consolidate our position and risk on the fleet. Our boat had great speed all weekend and even when we went the wrong way we were able to get to the top mark in the top ten each race. It was often hard to make the decision to tack back to the middle of the course without a shift and when you thought there was a puff and a header a little further out, but our plan was to keep risk as low as possible and it paid over the long haul.

Bryce Dryden led the regatta Saturday night after a 1, 2 day, followed by fellow past-national champion Chris Klotz and long time Thistler Jack Finefrock. We were happily in 4th with a 6, 8. The scores clearly indicated how easy it was for great sailors to put up a big number.


Sunday came with a bit more breeze and slightly less unpredictability (but still nowhere close to predictable). I was able to start the boat well and we were picking the correct end of the line, so we were in a good position early in all 3 races. The shakeups in scoring continued and we led the regatta after one race with a third and some bigger numbers by the boats around us.

We continued sailing for consistency and minimizing risk, but on the downwinds especially you had to go wherever you thought the next puff was coming from. Otherwise, it was easy to lose 15-20 boats on a leg. We got a bit fortunate downwind in the 4th race and took the lead and were able to hold it for the rest of the race while also keeping our risk very low.



Going into the last race, the regatta was still up for grabs between us, Bryce Dryden, Geoff Becker, and Scott Griffin. Lucky for us, we had a great start in the last race and all our competition found trouble early on the first beat. We were able to back off and play extra conservative for the remainder of that race to win the regatta.

By far, consistency was what won us the regatta. It was our ability to not put up a high score (our worst race was an 8th), and not an ability to win races, that won the event. The biggest key to being able to make those safe decisions was our boat speed.

Sailing 2-up, we were grossly overpowered for a lot of the weekend. To stay upright we had to aggressively depower the boat, often having maximum outhaul, cunningham, and vang. The difference I noticed in our boat and many others was how often and aggressively we played the mainsheet. I was easing the main as far and fast as it took to keep the boat standing upright and not heeling. My main was often out much further than I’m accustomed to seeing, but that’s what it took and gauging on nearby boats told us it was working.

With finishes of 6, 8, 3, 1, and 4 we were able to end the weekend at 22 points, ahead of first time Thistle skipper Geoff Becker with 37, Chris Klotz with 39, Scott Griffin with 41, and Bryce Dryden with 43. Larry Wagner won the Green Fleet, followed by Jack Mahaney and Len Wert. Thanks to my crew Doug and everyone at Fleet 48 for putting on a great event.

I use a Fisher main and a Proctor jib with the 0.5 oz Full Radial spinnaker. My diamonds are 4-9-4 on the black pro gauge. Rake is 27’ 0”, forestay is 24, and prebend is just over 1 inch. I use a shim under the front of my mast butt, as my mast is more bendy than most. The shim along with the lower forestay tension (normal is 26.5) is required to get my overbend wrinkles correct, which is halfway back the window in the main when full trimmed and not overpowered.

If you have any questions about tuning, trimming, or sailing your boat please email me at bradarussell@gmail.com or call me at 704-779-9377.

Purple Fleet Results


Green Fleet Results

Monday, April 27, 2015

Carolinas Districts Report 2015

We had 16 boats at our 2015 Thistle Carolina Districts Regatta April 24-25, 2015 near Raleigh, NC, our best turnout yet!


Saturday started off with some breeze and we got off one race with winds at around 5-8 knots but dropped for the second one to a light air race where finding the next puff was most important. Scott Griffin won the first race while Brad Russell tallied an OCS, followed by Mark Gise and John Norton.


Racing was particularly tricky Saturday due to the combination of light air and rain.  The tell tales were stuck and the shifts were large.  Often we had to hunt for the right angle to the breeze with a pure guess and go by feel when it was working or not.  It made steering well a crazy challenge.


The second race saw a massive split with a couple boats going hard left and the majority going hard right.  Left paid and the breeze died.  Brad Russell was followed by John Gilmour and Scott Griffin asthe lake went completely dead.


After day 1, top 5 were Scott Griffin, Mark Gise, John Norton, John Gilmour, and Sara Paisner.


Saturday night the social was held at Sara Paisner and Howard Mendlovitz's house with support from the entire local Thistle Fleet. From what was heard during the party, a fun time was had by all.


Sunday dawned breezy and some teams debated heading out due to the big breeze. Three races were sailed in great conditions. Breeze was 10-20 with big gusts and shifts.  As long as you stayed in phase with the shifts it became a boat speed day.  Everyone was way overpowered and it was technique that seemed to pay the biggest dividends.


With my dad, Andy Russell, crewing for me we focused on staying on the long tack to the mark, getting the next puff we could see and read, and working really hard on straight line speed.  We were fortunate to be very fast in those conditions and the feedback from Andy was that we were playing the mainsheet more often and more aggressively than the other boats around us.


When you’re that overpowered you don’t need any more drive forward, so you’re trying to keep the boat upright to minimize slipping to leeward. We were having to ease the mainsheet out several feet to keep the boat upright.  But we were also very quick to pull it back in as soon as the puff passed.  The technique requires near-constant trimming and easing, but it seems to pay.  


Brad and Andy Russell won all 3 races Sunday.  Racing was very tight and mixed after that with boats 2 through 8 on the day being very tightly bunched.  


After 3 more races top 5 finishers were
1. Scott and Nerissa Griffin and Harry Mendlovitz (age 8)
2.  Mark and Scott Gise
3. Brad and Andy Russell
4. Dan and Tom Russell
5. Sara Paisner, Meg Wannamaker, and Bobby Williams (High School Sailor)


We had lots of family boats and some youth sailors which was great for the fleet. The Carolina Districts is growing as more smart sailors realize just how incredible the Carolinas are!

A great weekend of sailing and camaraderie.


Race #1Race #2Race #3Race #4Race #5
PlaceSkipperSail #FinishFinishFinishFinishFinishTotal
1Scott Griffin39971352415
2Mark Gise39512423617
3Brad Russell3841OCS (17)111121
4Dan Russell382810538228
5Sara Paisner39855894329
6John Norton37253985530
7John Howell384941566839
9Scott Buehler3687131447745
8John Gilmour31411121211945
11Adam Coker39058121091150
10Lincoln Baxter37459613121050
12Steve Cardoze3739611710OCS (17)51
13Clayton Gray1492710DNC (17)DNC (17)DNC (17)68
14Kirk Kitchin3740141314141368
15John Pelosi3602127DNC (17)DNC (17)DNC (17)70
16David Morris153DNC (17)DNC (17)11131270

Monday, March 30, 2015

Main Trim in Light Air


by Mike Ingham

For the 2015 (40th) Orange Peel in Jacksonville we held a well attended clinic on Friday and PRO Hal Gilreath ran 3 good races on Saturday. But the speed story for both the clinic and racing was trim in light air. Coaching from a motor boat on Friday, I had a good perspective to see how most boats handled the light air, and almost without exception, teams overt-rimmed.

I think the problem is the main needs to be more twisted in light air than people think. For example, in 6kts, the top batten can hook in a few degrees tighter than the boom, in 3kts it needs to be parallel to the boom. There are several reasons:

  • The mast is stiff up top: When we ease the main sheet, the mast straightens and makes the top full and hooked. So we need to ease even more to get any twist.
  • Wind shear: At the top of the sail, the the apparent wind is further aft in light air than in heavy. That is because there is a bigger % difference in wind speed up top. Therefore there is a bigger component of the apparent wind due to the wind speed than boat speed, moving the wind aft. To compensate, we need to twist more.
  • Wind attachment. The wind has trouble staying attached to a sail in light air. If the main is hooked in, the wind can get around it and stay attached well in 6kts and up, but down around 3kts it cant make it around.
  • Pressure: to add to the problem, the leach does not blow open with wind pressure, so it naturally wants to hook in.
Note how much more eased the main is from 'normal' trim when there is more breeze


So, the question is “How much sheet is right?”

The short answer is that in light air I trim so the top telltale is just flowing 10% of the time. I find to get it flowing even 50% of the time, it is too twisted.

When it is really light, I look at both the leach telltale and the top luff of the main above where the jib overlaps. If to get the telltale flowing at all, I need to ease so that the top leading edge starts to bubble (luff), it is too eased and I pull it in until it the bubble goes away. When it is very light, the top tale may stall 100%. But I am very careful to pull it in only until the bubble goes away.

I find with the Proctor cut, I can trim a little harder because the top is a little flatter than the Fisher cut. With the Fisher cut, I have to pay extra attention so I don’t over trim.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Orange Peel Regatta Report

Original Report from North Sails One Design located here

The Orange Peel Regatta just wrapped up over March 19-21 in Jacksonville, FL at The Florida Yacht Club. About 20 boats participated in a Friday clinic partially led by Mike Ingham with an emphasis on properly setting up your boat, trimming in lighter conditions, and lots of short course starting and race practice. 



The Orange Peel is renowned for being an incredible all-round regatta experience and this year was no different. The food is always incredible and Friday’s welcome dinner had a variety of seafood that brought rave reviews. One of the best parts of the Orange Peel is that housing is readily available and most teams took advantage of this to decrease the cost of the event and meet some new locals. If you haven’t been to this regatta you should add it to your list.

Saturday came with no breeze to show and an expected wait for breeze later in the afternoon. Left to their own devices, Thistlers came up with many ways to pass the time from rules discussions (some would even say arguments) in the parking lot, to yoga on the front lawn, to a Big Splash contest in the pool setup with an NCAA Tournament style bracket. Tim Fitzgerald and Pete Gregory squared off in the finals with Pete using technique to overcome his lack of size to win the event.



Eventually the breeze came and the fleet was sent out on the St. Johns River. The current was starting to ebb with pretty good pace and there were unpredictable puffs and shifts across the course, making sailing extremely difficult. The conditions were difficult enough that all but 3 or 4 boats found themselves rounding marks in the 30s once or more.

Mike Ingham was confident in a speed advantage he’s enjoyed over the past two events and planned to sail conservatively early each race. Using a North Sails Fisher main and Proctor jib, he focused on starting well and going fast up the middle until he could tell which side of the course was winning. He would then work to that side and aim for a conservative top-5 windward mark rounding with little risk of being deep in the fleet.



His tactic worked very well as he ended the day with 9 points in 3 races and leading a tie breaker with Stu Grulke for the regatta lead. Other North Sails customers with great days included Tom Hubbell and Chris Klotz. The forecast was poor at best for Sunday, so hats off to the RC for getting 3 fair races in.

Saturday dinner was again a feast, although it started close to 9 PM due to the late start and late racing based on the Sunday forecast. Mike Ingham kept up his winning ways in the dinnertime raffle, winning a new spinnaker pole from Selden Spars. He later gifted the pole to the boat deemed most worthy of a new spinnaker pole, which was Laura Graham of Birmingham, AL.

Sunday’s forecast was correct and glassy conditions led to leisurely packing. Mike Ingham took the regatta win with Tom Hubbell in 4th and Chris Klotz in 6th. Full results are here: http://www.orangepeelregatta.com/results/

The Orange Peel completed the Thistle Southern Circuit, which includes Midwinters East. North Sails reps Mike Ingham and Brad Russell took 1st and 4th in the circuit. Kevin Bradley placed 5th and Tom Hubbell 6th, earning North Sails 4 of the top 6 positions.