Let's Race! the New Bern High School NJROTC Regatta is a success

Chaos?

Nope, just getting the fleet launched for our FIRST-EVER regatta. The New Bern NJROTC cadets were good hosts, doing the work of rigging & launching 6 Flying Juniors before the races could start.

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Let the racing begin! What you can't see in this photo is four other FJs almost perfectly aligned, hidden behind FJ#2 (skippered by RTP's Willing crewed by New Bern's Carlton) and FJ#3 (Albert & Bloom).

This is the first time that our NEW sets of sails have been hoisted... they look perfect!

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Bill Drechsler of New Bern supervised the actual running of the races. His team of cadets varied throughout the day (pictured here, Webster Carlton and Ciara Jones) and displayed the precisely-timed starting signals to the racers, directed the placement of buoys, and recorded the finishes.

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Here (pic at left) is New Bern cadet Mi Mon skippering FJ#3. She sits high on the side to see around crew Mike Foster's famous hat. This team should have won the award for 'Biggest Smiles' during the regatta.

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A minor administrative glitch with the boat rotation... All competitors sail a race in every boat, thus leveling the playing field, but we started with 10 teams, 6 boats to sail, and used a rotation matrix for 9 teams for the first race. Halfway thru the 2nd race, we managed to put together a close-enough rotation to get back on the level playing field (anybody who thinks this is easy, please contact Coach King for the matrix/array problem... you have until next year's regatta to find a better solution) and New Bern cadet Allyssa Cormican got all the teams back on the water in the correct boats for the rest of the races.

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Matt Fesak of Bridgeton skippers FJ#6 to a bullet (first place finish). In later races, crew Sharon changed places to skipper well enough for 3rd overall in the regatta; this team also earned the Cadet's Choice award for sportsmanship & spirit.

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Cadets Crosby & Murphy of the West Ashley NJROTC traveled all the way from Charleston SC to attend this regatta.

We hope to have a number of NJROTC sailing events in the future and look forward to sailing with these cadets again.

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Race 3- Long ago, a wise man said "Watching sailboats race is almost as exciting as watching grass grow." Too bad he isn't watching this one. FJ#6 (Albert & Bloom) puts a squeeze on FJ#4 (Parker & Parker) at the finish line buoy (yellow ball).

This is a good example of textbook racing tactics put into practice... earlier on the last upwind leg, #6 worked at pointing high and building seperation; then bore away from the wind a little for speed to make this play.

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Race 4: Here are both RTP High School team competitors in action. FJ#2 skippered by Joe David puts a "loose cover" on FJ#4 skippered by Will Willing and crewed by New Bern cadet Peter Carlton. You don't win races by using this kind of tactic, but in shifty wind conditions you can certainly LOSE races by NOT doing so!

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Who is it that makes sure the starting line is fair? And puts the windward mark squarely to windward? The chase boat & crew, of course! We also take pictures when not too busy with race duties, hopefully we will post video of some of the racing action in the near future .

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Maneuvering for the start of Race 5, FJ#2 with the father & daughter team of Sarah & Eddy Parker, FJ#1 skippered in this race by Matthew Fesak of Bridgeton, and FJ#6 with New Bern cadet Jeff Glover (crew) and Mike Foster (skipper) of New Bern.

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Last weekend saw cannons firing in the re-enactment of the Civil War Battle of New Bern, here the river is scene of a more quiet but very intense battle under sail.
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With the historic New Bern sky line in the background, skipper Doug Longhini and crew Sergio Lopez (New Bern NJROTC cadet) roll their boat thru one last quick tack at the finish line mark (yellow ball). They are so close, but FJ#3 beats them across the line in Race 6.

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The RTP High School team members Evan Renoud (skipper) and Joe Thomas (crew) won this race, and the regatta. They posted 1 more bullet (first place finish) than Team Bornarth but also sailed a bit more consistently, with no finish worse than 3rd

Evan crewed in most of the races but he obviously knows how to work that steering thing, too.

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The race course itself demands skill, to finish at all is a victory. Skipper Doug Longhini's grin shows the satisfaction of sailing a close, hard fought race.

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Father & daughter team of Dan & Katie Bornarth. Two redheads in the boat spell trouble... for the other competitors! This photo shows them preparing for the start of Race 7 which they won.

Dan & Katie earned a 2nd place in the regatta overall. They beat the winning team of RTP high-schoolers Joe David & Evan Renoud twice during the regatta.

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Guest team of Albert & Bloom sail out to the starting line in Race 7.

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Blackbeard Sailing Club member Mark Brennesholtz skippers FJ#3 preparing for Race 8, with New Bern cadet Colton Craig as crew.

All ten races were completed in light shifty winds; but as you can see the FJs were moving pretty well (look at the bow wave here) and the races were won more by sharp sailing & tactics than by the dreaded summer 'drifting matches.'


A big THANK YOU to Ken Gurganus of Blackbeard Sailing Club for all photos

posted by Assistant Coach Doug King

8th session, 2 much 2 sail

OK another day when there was TOO MUCH wind. But we had a constructive session at Bridgeton Harbor; getting some solid details in place and getting a few qualifications signed off.

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For example, we have worked a bit on the skill of bringing a sailboat with no brakes up to a dock without breakage. However, sometimes it is also challenging to sail away from a dock. Here's the theory...

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And here's the real world!

This is a great sequence to learn from. First, if you're learning to sail, you can see how sailboats don't always do what you want, or what you expect. You can see how that as the boat is cast off, it begins to move forward, then refuses to turn further and begins backing up. Look for the brief interval where the boat is sliding sideways, the centerboard has no effectiveness.



Head Coach Rezab quickly and decisively applies corrective action (steering in reverse) which also teaches us something about leadership.

Normally, we'd rather have still photos (much quicker to display) but as of right now, all we have is video.

So here is the main portion of Coach Rezab's sail. He & crew Coach Hittner perform a tack close to the camera; this is done from a reach (point of sail) to a reach because of constraints on space... not hitting the dock at 20 knots is a goal... but later they show some good tacks going close-hauled upwind between the docks. Here, it is very important to have good helm control, tacking from a close-hauled course to a close-hauled course. Turning the boat too far will give away distance already gained towards the goal upwind, turning the boat too little will leave the sails luffing & the boat will stall & slide sideways, or even stop & make sternway (again).


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Last, we have a video of Head Coach Rezab docking the boat under challenging circumstance. Notice how the boat makes leeway as it slows, looks almost like it is skidding sideways as the centerboard loses effectiveness.


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We have 2 sailing sessions left for the spring. With any luck, we'll have a good breeze & get a chance to practice some of what we've learned; then after that comes our regatta on Saturday May 15; then after that comes the summer sailing sessions (July). A lot to look forward to!

posted by Assistant Coach Doug King

Thanks to Coach Brian O'Flanagan for the video

6th session revisited... more capsize drill, pics + video

Our capsize drill session on Monday was probably the most-taped and most-photographed event outside of Hollywood. There have been 3 batches of photos handed over, and we have video of every cadet team capsizing & recovering the boat. We don't have room for all this on the web site! But we will put up a few more, along with some instructive discussion (you can't get away from it).

Cadets C_ H_ (crew) and C_ T_ (skipper) find out how far you really have heel an FJ before it will capsize (right). These boats "feel" tippy, and they heel to 20 or 30 degrees (the boat at right is heeling to about 25) quickly & easily. But it takes much more than that to pull them all the way over! And this boat has taken on water, it's stability is suffering from the free surface effect.



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Here's another pic showing the FJ heeling even further. We're looking at it somewhat from the side, but it still appears to have tipped beyond 45 degrees... you can see the splashes where the skipper & crew fell out of the cockpit, no doubt convinced it was OVER. But the boat pulled itself upright immediately after this pic was taken.

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On second glance, it also looks like these guys are about to lose their paddle!
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The above video features cadets N_ & W_, view is from the deck side. They (like so many others) underestimate what it takes to capsize the boat... it dumps them out & rocks back upright... but they go on to perform quite well on all other counts. We get a good close-up of crew Cadet N_ making a good throw-able coil out of the righting line, and accurately lobbing it over the up-side gunwhale. We can't see skipper Cadet C_ but he is very prompt in getting into action with the centerboard & righting line, you can see the line go taut & the boat start rotating upright.

Here's an important point- several teams did not work together on doing the 'scoop' to get the crew aboard. Most did not communicate (difficult in the noisy pool environment, it's true... but won't exactly be quiet in a storm out on the river), and this led to bad timing and worse technique. Some crews were a detriment to the skipper's efforts, pulling back against the boat to hold it capsized. Others scooped into the boat causing no difficulty.


Photo (right) of Head Coach Rezab showing how it's done... correctly, that is... pressure still on the centerboard, holding tension on the righting line. Cadet Fouts has done a good job getting in towards the center of the boat & staying low.

Another important point along the same lines... the purpose of the 'scoop' is to have a person aboard to take control of the boat! Remember, you just capsized... persumably, conditions are difficult, windy or choppy... and the boat will require active measures to tame it.

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Now that we've beaten the subject of CAPSIZING totally to death & beyond, how about one more video...


This last video shows Cadets C_ & C_. They make one very serious... potentially deadly, in fact... mistake at the beginning, and then perform efficiently and flawlessly from then on. We are viewing from the hull/centerboard side, so the video does not show C_ as crew, but you can see the results: righting line comes hurtling over the gunwhale; as the boat comes upright he is low & to the middle of the boat having done a perfect 'scoop' and he then both helps the skipper and moves to take control of the boat.

THINGS WE LEARNED-

... FJs are not as tippy as many think (however, you should not stand on, or try to walk across, the foredeck of one)

... Centerboards have several purposes

... Even without the mainsail attached, the boom is something to watch out for

... We can handle a capsize -IF- we keep the drill procedure in mind & work together

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(photo at right) Cadet F_ as crew, assisting Sailing Squad XO C_ (as skipper) climbing aboard over the transom after successfully demonstrating an alternate righting procedure for a capsized FJ.


Coach King Says- any cadet who wants the entire video of 12 Apr 2010's capsize drill may have it for the asking. It contains at least some footage of every capsize done by every cadet present. It's about 40 minutes, unedited.

Thanks again to Coach Brian O'Flanagan for shooting the video
Thanks also to Mr. Herm Schiller for some of the still photos

posted by Assistant Coach Doug King

6th session... Capsize Drill in the YMCA Pool

Well, almost all the Sailing Squad passed the capsize drill. There were a few cadets absent, but they will get a chance to prove their skill on capsizing... or rather, dealing with a capsize and righting the boat... later on.

This is a big step forward which will enable us to sail in stronger winds, and since we've had one sailing session cancelled due because of this, we will be able to SAIL MORE!

This session started out with Head Coach Jerry Rezab demonstrating a few do's and don'ts with a capsized FJ, and Cadet K_ F_ as crew. Cadet F_ is a freshman but a returning sailor from last fall semester and one of the more experienced in the NJROTC Sailing Squad. Cadet F_ got the most practice, completing 3 capsize drills including 1 as skipper.

This photo (left) shows Head Coach Rezab why it's normally a bad idea to stand up in an FJ.


Now for some video. Unfortunately, due to the terrible acoustics of the pool dome and high background noise, we can't hear any of the discussion... or shrieking... during the capsize drills even though ALL were captured on tape.

In the next video (below), we see another returning sailor M_ M_ teamed with E_ M_. A little nervous, maybe? They couldn't wait for the mast to hit the water before jumping ship! This is why we drill under the most controlled & benign circumstances possible, to reinforce good practice... stay with the boat! During this session, we demonstrated just how far over an FJ (and most other sailboats behave similarly) will heel before capsizing, so hitting the 'EJECT' button prematurely is not a good idea.

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Another thing we learned is that it's not as easy as it sounds to untangle ropes in the bottom of a turned-over FJ, and rig the correct one as a righting line, coil it & toss it over the up-side gunwhale to the skipper ... who is waiting patiently, holding the centerboard.
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Now in the next video (below) we see the capsize drill from the skipper's side. This team showed that improvising to solve problems is one of the best skills to have. The video also shows why the skipper has to be patient. Sometimes it seems like the boat is NEVER going to come back right-side up, but if you keep hanging on, it does.


Final Observation... if your skipper is Cadet G_, don't even bother trying to help him aboard because he's the fastest out of the water we've ever seen.
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Here's a pic (right) of Cadets K_ F_ (skipper) and J_ P_ (crew) after Coach King demonstrated why you don't stand on the foredeck of an FJ.

No skipper/crew team performed the capsize drill flawlessly. In general, there was too much prompting needed. Remember, you will need to be able to handle a capsized sailboat on your own, in rough weather; maybe improvising your way thru unforseen difficulties and possible gear breakage. This session was a good first step though, and everybody did many things right... nobody panicked, nobody tried to climb the cockpit, no skippers bounced on the centerboard, nobody broke anything. Everybody saw some of the difficulties, and handled it.

More videos to be posted later!

posted by Assistant Coach Doug King

Thanks to Coach Brian O'Flanagan for the video

Spring Break 2010 ... notable weather

While we're on the subject of weather, here's something that happened on Saturday Apr 3.



Fog is relatively common in the spring & autumn. It's not very common to see dense fog hiding the town on a sunny morning with a steady breeze.








The railroad bridge just disappears into a cloud!


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more 2nd Session photos & debriefing

Another set of photos of the 2nd session (Monday 10 Mar 2010) has come. These are some good close-up of the action and show some of our individual cadets.
(thanks to Assistant Coach Brett M.)
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On the dock, getting ready (at right & below)...
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Centerboard down, check. Mainsail hoisted, check. Halyard tensioned up? Did you remember to loosen the boom vang before hoisting the mainsail?
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Rigging these boats is not really all that complicated (compared to say, assembling a diesel engine) but there a lot of things to remember!
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Now here is the reward!
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Boat #6 being well sailed. The skipper is sitting on the windward side, far enough forward to keep the stern from dragging, steering with the hiking stick, the boat is balanced (crew in position), sails are trimmed for the point of sail... well, the mainsail could be pulled in -just- a little tighter.
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The basic (first) Baby Duck drill (below). It's obviously called that because the students all follow the coach boat. It also gives a good & easy reference to steer to, good practice for beginning skippers, and keeps control over the point of sail & the turns. Until most of the skippers can make good tacks, there is no point in trying to work on gybes. We will however do the "Baby Duck" on all the different points of sail, and on tacking for the begining skippers.
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Let's give some credit to the poor crew. The crew has many key jobs, including reminding the skipper what he's supposed to be doing. You can rest assured that us coaches will have our eyes on you too. And woe unto the crew who fails in his job of lookout, and lets the skipper run into something like one of the unmarked pilings in our sailing area, or the fish net which was set near our sailing area last Monday (all you crew -did- see that, right?).
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We have a number of already-qualified skippers in the group, and if we can get coordinated & rigged & sailing in good time, these skippers may be able to try an advanced drill or two. The beginning sailors will also have a chance to prove their skills. So we all have something to look forward to on this coming Monday (15 Mar 2010). The weather is predicted to be almost as favorable as this past Monday. Remember we only have ten sessions this spring and so we have to come away from each one with a definite gain!

Assistant Coach Doug King

2nd Session- the Bears Fleet gets underway

There's an old Navy phrase, "haze gray and underway." This is usually a grudging compliment for a vessel that is often steaming out to a deployment. Well, the New Bern NJROTC boats are certainly not 'haze gray' but they were underway this afternoon, and most of our Sailing Squad cadets got a chance to take the helm.
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(at left) Getting the FJs rigged up & ready, the New Bern cadets are joined by several guests from the Pamlico High School NJROTC unit.
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Cadet boat team captains and their crews working to get ready for some real sailing... yes the wind is light, but the FJs get moving pretty well once we get out on the open Neuse River.
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Coach George Meyer (at right, standing in red shirt & white/blue cap) was generous in applying his sailmaking skills for the NBHS-NJROTC's Flying Juniors... now he finally gets to see his craftmanship in action!
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Video (thanks to cameraman LCDR Tyson) of the fleet setting sail!.
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Sailing in sunlight!
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The "Baby Duck" drill calls for everyone to be in line, need to work on that a little.
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Boat 1 is skippered by Cadet Commander Tommy Powers. Sails are set properly for a beam reach (unlike Boat 4, who is letting their jib luff) but the skippers need to remember to sit further forward in the FJs!
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Maybe at some point in the future, we will have sail numbers that match the hull numbers, too.
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Here's one time "Bailing Out" is a good thing!
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So... the coaches have spent all winter getting more boats, and the fleet is MUCH improved. Unfortunately we still have so many in the program that many have to wait on the dock for their turn. Fortunately, it looks like they're having a good time!
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These "Baby Ducks" are scattered all over the river! However, this is a great view of part of the fleet in action, with our host Bridgeton Marina in the background.
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So far, the old railroad bridge (far left) has not lured any of our boats too close. It is a boat-trap we hope none of our boats & cadets will ever get snared.
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Now these "Baby Ducks" are finally in line! It takes more skill than one might think to be able to do this, and there are more advanced drills to perform once we can do this easily.
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With so many students in the Sailing Squad, each only gets a short turn to practice their skills, and we try to make the most of it.
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The historic New Bern skyline gives a nice backdrop, harking back to days when fleets of sailing vessels were the town's bread & butter.
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Some of the skippers had a chance to show their skill in docking under sail. There were no crashes but we will definitely work on approaches... sailboats don't have brakes.
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Time's up!
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Putting the boats away properly is hard work, but it is necessary so they'll be secure through the week and be ready to sail again.
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This might look like lassoing as stray calf, but they are just towing the last FJ back to the base. Boat 2 crew, were you really the slowest ones getting unrigged? Good thing for you all that flogging is outlawed... do better next week, 'K?
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Just kidding!
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Head Coach Rezab says that today's sailing exercises were a big success. The "Baby Ducks" spent more time straying than following the Mama Duck, but considering it was the first time sailing for most of the skippers, the drill did not look too bad. The skippers and crews did a good job handling the boats around the dock, and showed that they could at least keep the FJs moving in -mostly- the right direction. Only a few got stuck "in irons" and then only for a short while. The boats got unrigged & secured in good time and with only slight confusion & bedlam... remember the quicker we can get organized & rigged, the quicker we can get sailing... and the quicker we can get unrigged & secured, the more time we can spend out on the water!
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On the whole, the Sailing Squad earned a hearty "Well Done" for their 2nd day of 2010 sailing.
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Everyone should review the points of sail and the basic maneuvers. Next time we will do more "Baby Duck" only with some added complications: those who have shown they can tack acceptably will try gybing; and all will go on varying points of sail instead of just beam-reaching back & forth.
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posted by Assistant Coach Doug King
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PS- more video to come.