Breaking Down The Summer Calendar

It's that time of year again; the calendar for the summer is all set, and the mad scramble ensures to lock in hotels, flights, and other logistical details to ensure a fun, productive, stress free summer.  This summer we have major events in three corners of the country with a World Championship overseas, so if you're still trying to figure out exactly what your schedule looks like this summer, I'm going to break it down for you here.  Here are the three tracks for the summer as I see it:

1. International Competitors
If this is you, you already know it, and you probably already know the drill; ODP camps, travel regattas in Newport, the Gorge, Medemblick, and San Diego, and not much rest in between! If this is you, the name of the game is time on the water with the best sailors and the best coaches, and that means traveling.  To ease the pain, the class and the US Sailing ODP have been working on simplifying some of the logistics, but be sure to either get your boat on the trailer to ensure that it makes it to each spot, or book a charter with Zim.  If you're not well on your way to locking down all of the logistics, you're going to want to get on that ASAP, because trailer reservations go fast if they're not already gone, as do charters.

2. National Circuit
If you're not yet ready to make the European commitment, you can still sail against the best teams in the country all summer by hitting the Nationals in Rhode Island, the Gorge Regatta in Oregon, and the Youth Champs in Dan Diego.  Think of it as a big, fun triangle of road-tripping.  By committing to the full schedule, you'll not only learn a ton on the water and get to join in a lot of the ODP camps with the top coaches, but you'll also get to learn how to really campaign, and log some valuable skills for the future.  When you decide to take your show overseas you'll need to know how to transport your gear long distances, or setup a charter boat from scratch, so master those skills before you have to go do it in a place where they don't speak English!

3. Regional Groups
The 29er BootCamp clinic series will be back this summer to support the regional SoCal group, and similar groups are popping up all over the country.  If this is your first or second full summer in the boat, and you're still looking to develop your skills without diving into the travel events, you'll get the most bang for your buck by logging those hours on the water with a training team and an experienced 29er coach, so check out the BootCamp details here. If you need help finding a training group in your state or region, shoot me a message here.

The Seattle Times Features Helena In Olympic Lead Up

Check out the May 27 Edition of The Seattle Times or get it here: https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/olympics/how-kirkland-native-helena-scutt-chased-her-dream-of-sailing-in-the-2016-olympics/

If You're Unsure About Conditions, Minimize Decision Points

When you're not sure exactly what the wind is doing, here's a strategy to try.  Excerpt from the upcoming McBride Racing Tactical Playbook.  Subscribe to our newsletter to get notified of the book launch.

If you’re not sure whether to choose the inside track or the outside track, it probably means that your confidence is low in any specific prediction about the wind, and no pattern is immediately evident in the wind shifts; this is totally fine!  When you are unsure about what the breeze is going to do, the best thing you can do is acknowledge that fact, and choose a high percentage upwind strategy, which allows you to postpone any critical decisions until the race has had a chance to develop a little bit.  A simple strategy to accomplish this starts with a mid-line start on starboard.  Drag race with the fleet until boats begin tacking back from the left corner (probably about half way up the beat), and then ask the question, “Who is winning, and why?”  If the left has gained and you have gotten headed, you’ll have an opportunity to lead back the lead pack.  If the left has gained and you have not seen a left shift, then continue as close to the left corner as you dare – chances are, it will continue to pay for whatever reason it paid in the first place.  If the right has paid, was it associated with a right shift? If so, chances are good that you’ll want to keep going left and wait for your shift to go back on.  If not, it’s time to abandon the left and start digging into the outside track on the right. 

The biggest risk in this strategy, is the risk of a slow persistent shift tricking you into digging for more, when you should be abandoning a losing proposition.  To have the best chance of avoiding this pitfall, keep your eyes peeled for:

• Changing weather that might cause a persistent shift (clouds, a change in temperature, a shift in current direction, etc.)
• Wind shifts outside of the range that you saw in your pre-race research
• Observations that corroborate an earlier forecast, predicting a persistent trend in the wind

This strategy works well because it simplifies the decision making process by minimizing the number of choices that you are making on the beat.

Words From The Champ: Quinn Wilson

In March of 2011 I received this e mail from Craig Wilson:

Quinn really wants to sail on Sunday if that’s still a possibility… Whatever is best for Newt and Dane. Quinn’s time will come.

cw

That weekend, Quinn got his first taste of 29er sailing in a strange easterly breeze, tacking up the coast towards Summerland in a thick bank of fog.  After about an hour of beating upwind, Quinn had a big grin on his face, as he marveled at how fast we had gotten down the coast, and how he had never been so far from the harbor before…  Just over 3 years later, Quinn returned home from the ISAF Youth World Championships in Tavira, Portugal with his crew Riley Gibbs, bouquets in hand, and silver medals hanging around their necks.  After spending this past year transitioning into a crewing position for his fourth and final ISAF Youth Worlds, there is very little that Quinn hasn't done in this class.

As he sets his sights on a new chapter of adventure (check out @saltybrotherfilms), here are a few insights from the champ, to help the next generation dream big.

What do you remember most about your first ISAF Youth World Qualifier?
For me it was definitely the most important and most exciting qualifier of the four I sailed. The first time was a lot bigger deal for me than the other times because we hadn't been sailing the boats for very long, and we were hungry to get to the top. It was the best lead up to an event I think I have ever had. Dane and I practiced in an old Youth Foundation boat with sails that were about 50% duct tape. We were on the water almost every day in SB for a few months straight; we even practiced a few hours on Christmas Day! We were very excited about the qualifiers and for me I was still excited just to be sailing a 29er.

We had no pressure and nothing to prove so it was a lot less stressful than some of the other years. We had only sailed one other regatta together before the qualifier, so nobody really expected much. It was also very cool for me being as young and small (80 lb.) as I was to be competing against the older, more experienced kids. The qualifier was definitely an emotional roller coaster.  We went from winning by a lot, to losing going into the last race, and just managed to pass the boat we needed to beat at the end of that final race. I remember sailing in afterwards - I don’t think I have ever had that same feeling of accomplishment from sailing since.

What was it like this last time?
It was totally different this last time. I think I put a lot less pressure on myself than the years before, so I enjoyed the lead up more, but I don't think it helped our performance. I think we were the most prepared and at the same time the least prepared that I have ever been. Most prepared meaning that we were very polished and felt very good and had a ton of experience between the two of us on the boat. But I felt less prepared because we still had room for improvement and could have still been a lot better. It was difficult to get enough practice hours in living 6 hours away from each other.

What did you learn in the 4 years of sailing the 29er?
That’s a big question.

I think the number one thing that I learned was to not copy the best guys - to invent your own way of sailing. I think the biggest mistake young sailors have is that they start sailing a new boat and they try to be like the guys that are at the top. That could be the right thing to do for a while, but when you are in awe of the best or want to be like the best, there is no way you will ever beat the best. If a coach tells you something, assume that coach told everybody that same thing.

What would your advice be for a current opti sailor or beginning 29er team with their sights set on the ISAF Youth Worlds podium?
Practice a lot!  Really - Practice a lot! Sail by yourself more then with other people. Get your boat handling down before worrying about racing. The only way you will win is if you practice more and become better at sailing the boat then everybody in the world, which is not an easy task. You need to do something different. Think outside the box. Sail differently than the next guy and don't think that because one person has been winning a lot or is the best in the world, that they can't be beaten. Anybody can win at any time.

What is your next focus?
Definitely ready for a break from sailing for a bit. These last 4 years have been an amazing learning experience that will stay with me forever. Right now I’m going to work mostly on school, film making with #Saltybrotherfilms, and maybe get my kite board racing career started finally! You can bet that I'll be thinking outside the box in all of those arenas too!

Be sure to check out Quinn and Dane's latest project @saltybrotherfilms on Instagram