Welcome to the Regatta Promotions Sailing Marketing Blog

We have to weigh in for the Worlds and the crew weight is not to exceed 628 lbs. We are sailing with four crew on our boat, while most other boats have three big crew members. For this regatta, there will be a weigh in Sunday between 7am and 10am and another on Friday. I have never heard of an event that has a mandatory weigh in TWICE during the event. For those who are close to the mark, the week in Chicago will be spent counting calories, in order not to gain weight for the second weigh in. Often sailors have put on a crash diet to make weight for a regatta; however, after that scale tips the goal weight, a large feast is in fast order. We have been working hard to give ourselves a 5-10 lb cusion under the max weight, so the 2nd weigh in won’t be an issue for us. Hopefully it won’t be an issue.  Stay tuned to see if we make it at the end of the week.

We are now carrying the Regatta Pro Starting System for Race Committee Supplies in our online store. The system takes away all of the human error that can occur when people are trying to get sound blasts off during a starting sequence. While serving Race Committee duties, I have wrestled with a shotgun and not been able to get the blasts off at the right time, at which point you abandon the sequence and start again. This is embarrassing, not to mention a waste of the racers time. We will have them in stock next week and will be writing a review on the product once we test it out. This summer, the Portland Yacht Club will be using the system for their events, thanks to a donation from the local J-24 Fleet 43. If you have ever raced in an event that uses this system, let us know how you liked it from the racing perspective. If you would like to know where to get your own Regatta Pro Start System, follow this link Regatta Pro Start.

There was a lot of buzz regarding the latest poll that we had up on the site that had to do with the change to the 2 boatlength circle rule 18. The unanimous winner was that NO, the rule should not change, 3 boatlengths is just too hard to judge. We had some great comments on this blog, if you want to read what others had to say about it. I tend to agree with many that say 3 boatlengths will be very subjective and that it will create more problems than solutions. It sounds like this will be a new prescription change to the rules, so while out sailing this summer, start thinking in that direction to get geared up for 2009.

Yale Cordage is back at it again! They have recently re-dedicated themselves to the marine market, developing some new and interesting lines. We recently got our hands on some of this new experimental product which we used at the BVI Spring Regatta on the IC 24 we were sailing. The product was built with a spectra/dynema core with a new Maxi-Jacket HP coating with their new “Wave” cover. The real development here is the “Wave” cover with a strong core. The cover is built to have a very soft hand that matches well with the core which makes a line that performs well in every condition.

We found the line to be very stiff and kinky when we first received it and were a bit sceptical about how it would perform. However, we soaked the line and roughed it up a bit by working four foot sections of the line through a ratchet block. After this initial break-in the line was perfect – soft and flowing but strong enough to handle high loads.

We used the line for the main, spinnaker and jib sheets. The conditions over three days were 35 to 20 knots and big waves. With only a four to one on the main sheet the line was under constant stress and work. The mainsheet trimmer was very pleased with the line as well as the driver. The line doesn’t absorb too much water and stays light.

We will continue to use this line which should hit stores this fall. We will keep you posted on an acutal release date and how it will wear over the summer. Stay tuned!

Day one is down at the BVI spring regatta. Racing started with a solid 25+ knots of wind and two to four foot waves. A ton of fun when you are sailing modified J24s called IC24s. These 24 foot boats have the hull of a J24 matched with a deck of a Melges 24 making the boat more comfortable to sail. No spinnakers were used on Friday as the winds stayed up and with the very short courses there wasn’t enough time to even get them set. Often we were planing downwind the whole way from the windward mark to the leeward mark. FUN but also very wet! We sit in 6th place out of about 12 boats and only 7 points out of 2nd. We are sailing for the Rob Swain Sailing School and our boat is name that as well. They may post results online if you want to check them out go here: results on line.

We had one really bad race, which they noted as our first race but it really was our second race. We were fouled at the windward mark by a port tacker and the umpires said it was our fault. By the time we got straightened away with doing our circles and sailing the course we realized we loss our only winch handle. Fortunately on the next windward leg we found the handle and decided to ditch the race and recover it which took a bunch of effort and a few faces of water to retrieve.

We ended the day with a third our best finish and hope to continue to place top threes to move up in the standings.

More details about the racing and the regatta to come. Cheers from Nanny Cay marina and resort in Tortola, BVI.

Today is the first day of spring and for boaters in the North that means one thing. Preparation! Time to get the boat ready for another season. As the saying goes winning is 90% preparation 10% execution. Stay tuned over the next four weeks or so for the best tips for preparing your boat for battle. Our tips will include helpful information for both sailors and race officers that want to improve their performance.

Today’s tip is for Race Officers. Check you inventory now before its too late and your using a bed sheet to make an “S” flag. Our Race Committee Supplies page has a great check list to make sure you have everything you need to run a race. Obviously check the big items. Do you have all the code flags. Inflate your marks and check for leaks. Organize your anchors and tackle with each mark. Horns, VHF, GPS, extra batteries etc… are all items you can check now and reduce the amount of running around with a week to go before your big event.

Race Officers, need some missing equipment? Want to upgrade your flags and marks? Check out our race committee supplies page where you will find links to an on-line store with all the flags and marks you might need. You can order right on-line or give us a call and help you pick just the right product.

Hint: Purchase the larger tetrahedron marks with a clear pouch on each side to put an image of your club burgee or your title sponsor. This will help recruit sponsors and make your event look more professional.

The one thing that volunteer race officers and many sailors overlook is the helpfulness of using a wind log sheet. Not sure what one is? We have one for free download in our Race Committee Supplies section of our web site. Download any of our forms here.

What is a wind log sheet?
The wind log sheet provides for a way to organize the wind direction data over time to see patterns that may affect the race. Our wind log sheet is perfect for PROs and volunteers that are on a stable boat with space to keep records but what if you are on a smaller sailboat in the race. Try drawing a grid on the bulkhead or in any easy place you can write with a pencil. Pencil is great on gelcoat it will wipe off with a little water and elbow grease.
How does it work?
The left most column is for the time. I suggest reading the wind every five minutes as soon as you reach the race course. For each five minute interval write the wind speed in the next column and then use the next 8 columns for the wind direction. For the first wind direction entry put the compass direction into one of the middle columns, this is for visual reasons. At the next five minute interval write the data in the next row down but when entering the wind direction make sure that if it has changed to change the box you write the bearing. For example if the wind direction moved 5 degrees to the right use the box that is one right of the box you used to write it last time(but obviously in the row below the first entry). If you have a persistent wind shift you will see a diagonal line on the page. If you have an oscillating wind shift you will see a zig zag line down the page. And if you have consistent breeze you will see a straight line down the page.

What are the benefits?
For a PRO (principle race officer) this data and how it is organized can help him or her quickly recognize what the wind is doing and provide the guidance for setting the course, line and time of start.
For a racer this data will help him or her make quick and informed decision on what end of the line to start, which side of the course to sail towards, when to tack or jibe and many more decisions that make for a much longer blog entry.

Why don’t many of us use this technique?
Simple, we are lazy and undisciplined. We think we can check the wind every once in a while and understand what it is doing and keep track of it in our head. However, it is my experience whether racing or running the race, the many distractions that we encounter on the race course create a situation where we forget or don’t actually know exactly what is happening with the wind. We then make a decision on what we think is happening and not based on what is ACTUALLY happening. As a PRO or a skipper you have many decisions to make, what type of beer to bring, when the crew can eat lunch, should you use the green marks or the orange, etc.., etc…Therefore delegate! Ask one of your crew or volunteers to keep the wind records. This person’s task is to take the wind readings on the exact time you two agree. If this means asking you to stop the boat and interrupt your plan for a minute or so then so be it.
Do you use this technique/tool? Have a better idea for the same application. Let us know about it.

This might sound like a no brainer, but we just made this mistake and I will be sure that it won’t happen again. This past weekend, we lost our headstay during a race. At first glance, it looked like it had broken. Upon closer look, the pin had worked its way out and landed square on the deck. This could have been avoided by making sure that the pin and ring ding were taped, to prevent them from working themselves loose. Electrical tape works well and should be a staple aboard all boats for this purpose. Taping the pins will also help to reduce the risk of tearing any sails. So check yourself, not once, but each time you go out and be sure that all pins and ring dings aboard are covered in tape!

Announcing Tip day Thursday! No we are NOT sitting here with our hand out! Tip day means every Thursday we will be bringing you a tip from either our team at Regatta Promotions or from a guest expert. The tips will cover specifically race management, event management, regatta promotion or sailboat racing techniques and tactics. Our experts include National Champions, Inter-collegiate All-Americans, Certified Race Officers, professional sailors, sailmakers, local heros and local zeros. We all have something to learn from anyone and everyone. Hopefully, we will bring you some of the best tips that will make your sailboat racing more fun and more successful. Check back every Thursday and don’t forget the weekly poll updated every Monday.

This week’s tip is a very simple one that we should all know but often don’t follow. Next week we will be talking about wind and how to organize the patterns for both race committees and racers alike.