junior sailing program

I just found out about this: Portage Yacht Club is offering a learn-to-sail day camp for juniors at Portage Lake, near Pinckney, Michigan.  the club is offering “beginner” and “intermediate” sessions, both to be sailed in a Laser Pico, built by Laser Performance (maker of both the Sunfish and Laser).

The Laser Pico is a fun, durable, confidence-inspiring, rotomolded boat that can be sailed by everyone. It’s ideal for entry-level sailors and is equipped with a removable jib and reefing main sail for easy rigging.

Laser Pico (photo by Laser Performance)

discounts are available if you bring your own boat, if it’s appropriate for the class.  classes run Monday through Friday, 1:00pm to 5:30pm, on various weeks throughout the summer – but the last beginner level week is going on right now, and the last intermediate week is next week (July 18-22).  the courses are based on US Sailing course materials, and will be taught by a certified instructor.

see the Portage Yacht Club site for more details, prices, etc. (and sorry for the late notice!).

sailboat ballet [video]

this is a pretty sweet video of a high school regatta at Community Boating in Boston.

A single photograph was captured every three seconds during the regatta. In the video the frames are played back at a rate of 24 per second. The result is that two hours of sailing can be seen just over a minute and half, which means that time seemingly has been sped up by a factor of 72.

I visited a community sailing center in Traverse City this summer (TACS) and was very impressed with the facility and organization.  community sailing seems like such a win-win system for a community on/near the water, especially with all of the free or low-cost programs that they offer to teach younger children to learn to sail.

HT: tillerman over at Proper Course

traverse area community sailing

while on vacation back in August, my wife and I spent a few days together in Traverse City, Michigan.  during our stay, we stopped by the Traverse Area Community Sailing (TACS) to look around.

(picture from the TACS website)

the boathouse – the Cornwell Sailing Center – is a recent addition, just recently completed in 2008. the boathouse is amazing, and a vast improvement over the old bus they used to operate out of!

(picture from the TACS website)

the boathouse was open when we stopped by, so we strolled through to look at the boats, sails, and other sailing gear.  here are some racks loaded with Sunfish and Lasers.

and here is the fleet list for the TACS: eighty-eight (88) boats!  including (10) Lasers, (13) Sunfish, and (28) Optimist Prams.there were also several boats on lifts at the docks along the front of the boathouse.

while we were walking around, there were (3) Lasers out sailing on Boardman Lake – maybe a they were doing a bit of informal racing?

~~~~~

the TACS is a non-profit organization developed back in 1994 as an opportunity to provide a public training option for young local kids to learn about sailing.  in 1995, the club built (20) of the Optimists to start teaching kids to sail.  over the next 5 years, the club received many other donated boats, and enrollment in the sailing classes continued to climb.  the City was meanwhile developing Hull Park as a city park on Boardman Lake.  TACS has continued to grow, and now employs (5) instructors, a director, and a racing coach.  all the employees are certified by US Sailing, and the TACS has won several awards from US Sailing, including Outstanding Seasonal Program (2000), Excellence in Instruction (2007), and Outstanding Leadership Award (2008).

TACS currently offers several learn to sail programs: a youth sailing program, for ages 8 to 17, that starts the youth sailing the stable Optimist sailboats.  the programs last 1 or 2 weeks, and can be taken as 1/2 day or full day schedules.

after that, they can move on to the Advanced Sailing Sessions:

These Sessions will focus on further refining racing skills such as tactics, boat handling, sail trim & knowledge of the racing rules using singlehanded boats (lasers), 2 person boats (JY 15′s & Club 420′s) and crewed 3 person boats (Interlakes).

the TACS also offers classes for adults to learn to sail, Laser and Interlake racing on weeknights, and drop-in sailing for qualified sailors.  once you have completed training at the TACS, or demonstrated appropriate skills, season passes are very afforable ($135 for a family!), and allow you to participate in weeknight sailing.

~~~~~

overall, I’m pretty impressed with their facilities and program – and I’ll admit a bit jealous, too!  there are various public or university-affiliated sailing programs in my area, but none seem to have quite the fleet, or the depth of programs, especially those geared towards youth sailing, that the TACS does.  and I don’t think any come close to being as affordable.

judith at Center of Effort had this to say about community sailing centers (CSC’s):

Why community sailing centers (CSC’s) are important:

1. CSC’s provide an affordable option for those who want to learning to sail but can’t afford to own a boat and they open access to the waterfront for everyone to enjoy equally.
2. CSC’s promote multi-generational participation and a strong sense of community. Children can teach adults and vice versa.
3. CSC’s create an environment that encourage people to get out and interact with nature while learning a life-long skill. In this world of electronic media and multi-tasking, sports like sailing get people outdoors and require them to focus on the task at hand. As I like to say “there’s no texting when sailing”.

I was very impressed with the TACS, and hope that someday I can be a part of a similar program in my area (or maybe just move to Traverse City?!).

my2fish blog 1st birthday

today (july 17th) is the 1-year birthday of the blog “my2fish”!

sometime during last spring/early summer, I had been trying to figure out a way to keep track of the days that I went sailing, as well as to keep track of the repairs that I had planned, and the repairs that I figured would be coming as I spent more time investigating my 40+ year old sailboats – the Sunfish and the Super Porpoise.  as I toyed with the best way to keep a “log” of those kind of things, I decided to try my hand at writing a blog.  a few family members and friends had already been blogging before me (Hooray & Wrinkled Page – check them out), and I had been reading blogs for some time, but this would be my 1st attempt at it myself.

so 1 year ago it was a late Friday night, I had put my 3 boys to bed for the night, and my wife was at a Kid Rock concert with some friends from work!  I briefly looked at Blogger and WordPress, decided to give WordPress a try – and then just jumped right into it, and blogged my 1st post.

t2 & me sailing in towards shore

after 1 year, my2fish is closing in on 20,000 page views (should be there in 2 or 3 days).  the first few months were slower, averaging about 1,000 page views a month, but this spring and now summer have brought a big upswing in blog traffic, with each month breaking the previous month’s record – with June posting about 4,500 page views for the month. (note: WordPress stats are based on page views… I later on set up Sitemeter, which I think tells me I average just about 1.5 page views per visitor.)  I find it is getting easier to find things to write about as well – I’m a bit behind as it is right now, as I currently have a to-do list of 20 posts that need to be written (some boat repairs, some sailing and camping trips, and some reviews of Sunfish parts suppliers).

I’ve spent a lot of time reading forums, blogs and books – trying to find tips about learning to sail.  my goal was to absorb as much information as I could, to do my best to get the means and methods down pat in my mind, as well as pass along good information when I find it.  I think my post “learn to sail in 3 days” has probably been my busiest post ever with about 1,500 page views.

last fall, I went and watched my first ever Sunfish race – it was a fantastic time, and I was able to get some great pictures.

I’ve followed with great interest the Sunfish Worlds events, both in 2009 and 2010.

I just recently joined the Sunfish Class – and have my own sail number now (it’s #80872).

I haven’t sailed quite as frequently as I’d like, but I have had a couple really great sailing trips, including the sail with my son, T2, on Lake Michigan (see the picture above). and I know that as my 3 young boys get older, I’ll get to spend more time sailing with each of them.

I’ve met some great friends with sailing or water-related blogs – stop by some of the blogs in my blogroll over at the right side, as most of them are much more interesting than mine! overall, it’s been a great 1st year, and I’m looking forward to many more to come!

laser sailing clinic – july 17th

this is for any Laser sailors out there:

this Saturday, July 17th, there will be a Laser Sailing and Racing Clinic (link to announcement) at the Pontiac Yacht Club in West Bloomfield, Michigan. the clinic is being led by EJ O’Mara, an 18-yr old sailor from Burton, Michigan, who is campaigning to compete in the 2016 Olympics Games in the Laser sailboat.  a clip from the announcement:

He [EJ] has offered to come to PYC for the afternoon to give some advice on setting up the boats for competitive sailing.

The afternoon will start with rigging and boat setup, then some drills on the water, and some practice races with feedback to help us improve (or in my case, not capsize), then finally pop & pizza and further discussion.

the event has a suggested donation amount of $30, with proceeds going to support the Olympic efforts of EJ.

northern warmups: results

the Northern Warmups, the 1st race of the Midwest 2010 schedule, was held on Saturday, May 22nd, at Wolf Lake Yacht Club near Jackson, Michigan.  Derrick Fries scored a bullet (1st place) in all 4 races to take home the 1st place trophy. Derrick Fries is also the author of the book “Start Sailing Right” (I borrowed it from the library and read it, but didn’t get around to posting a book review).  you can check out his website http://www.sailingexpert.com/ for more information on Derrick.

northern warmups 2010

more pictures from the race can be found online here:

http://gallery.me.com/jffenton/100168

the official results can be found here (.pdf file).

sunfish demo video

this is a new demo video put together by Eduardo Cordero and Paul-Jon Patin, who together run a sailing coaching company called Starboard Passage.

I’ve had these guys in my links for quite a while – they have a great series of pictures of Sunfish rigging on their website that are a great help for rigging the Sunfish sail and figuring out all of the various lines (I posted more about Sunfish rigging here), and Eduardo has some of his personal tips for rigging that I didn’t post before.

thanks Sunfish Sailor for pointing this video out to me!

sunfish rigging guide(s)

I thought I’d share some of the many versions of rigging & tuning guides that are available for the Sunfish.  most of them contain the same basic information, but occasionally new bits of information are added in, depending on the user’s personal preference and experience.

• Sunfish Rigging Manual (.pdf file) – this is the current version from Laser Performance. it has good pictures and shows how to set up the sailboat for both the recreational and race-style Sunfish.
• Sunfish Tuning Guide for Racers (.pdf file) – by Scott Kyle. this guide is geared towards racers, it is very thorough, and will help even the recreational sailor begin to understand how adjusting how the sail is rigged will effect how the Sunfish handles out on the water.  as you gain more experience, you can start to experiment with some of his other suggestions to fine-tune your sailing skills
• Sunfish Racing Sail Bending on and Tuning Guide – by Daniel Feldman/Wind Line Sails (this one is also more specific to the race-style sail) the “how-to” section on Wind Line Sails is also a great place to look for tips on inspection ports, fixing loose foam blocks, etc.
• Sunfish Rigging Photos – a collection of great photos from Starboard Passage, put together by Eduardo Cordero & Paul-Jon Patin. there are several photos highlighting some of the ways to rig the sailboat more for racing (outhaul & cunningham adjustment, boom vang, etc.), but don’t be discouraged by all those extra lines if you only want to sail for recreation – it really is quite easy to rig up a Sunfish and get it out on the water!
• if you’re not a member yet, head over to the Yahoo Group – Sunfish Sailor and join the group today.  the file database there is loaded with even more rigging information, including historic rigging manuals, tips for rigging older Sunfish, book & video suggestions for learning to sail, and a whole wealth of additional information related to Sunfish and other Sunfish-style sailboats (“clones”).

if we ignore some of the additional ways to adjust a race-rigged sail, there are two key adjustment points available for the lateen-style Sunfish sail: the position of the gooseneck and the location of the halyard knot on the upper boom.

a common suggestion is the tie the halyard between the 9th and 10th sail clips (start counting up from the tack of the sail, where the two booms connect together), but this is really just a starting point, that should be adjusted as you become familiar with how your Sunfish sails. over time you will learn to adjust the location depending on the weather and the strength of the wind.  the Sunfish Tuning Guide for Racers has specific suggestions for various wind conditions.

it is also highly recommended that you should buy a quick-adjust bolt to use for the gooseneck. Intensity Sails currently has one on sale for about $9, or you can buy one from a Sunfish dealer for about $22.

the quick-adjust bolt will allow you to easily and quickly adjust the gooseneck position for various weather conditions.  again, the Sunfish Tuning Guide for Racers has a nice table with specific suggestions for various wind conditions.  see the link above for specific details, but here is a clip from that article as well that helps explain the importance of having this adjust-ability:

The gooseneck should be moved fore and aft as the wind changes velocity in order to neutralize the helm and place the center of effort of the sail over the daggerboard. With a permanent black pen, mark a range from 17 to 23 inches at one-inch intervals along the boom, measuring from the apex of the spars. These lines represent your seven-inch range within which you will set your gooseneck.

this diagram below from the Sunfish Class highlights some of the rigging and where it is all located, including some of the racing upgrades (the outhaul & cunningham).  if you haven’t added the mast (horn) cleat (~$15) on the mast, it is highly suggested to do so – as this will reduce the large upward load that would be applied to the deck fairlead from the halyard.  just be sure to still run the halyard through the fairlead and tie off to the halyard cleat on the deck, as this will prevent the mast and sail from sliding out of the mast step and away from the boat in case you tip over completely and “turtle” the boat.  the extra cleats on the lower boom are only necessary if you are upgrading to the racing setup and adding the outhaul and cunningham lines.

I hope that covers most of the basics, let me know if you have any comments, questions or suggestions!

jy15 midwest district championship

the University of Michigan Sailing Club (UMSC) is hosting the JY15 Midwest District Championship this weekend, April 24th & 25th, 2010, on Baseline Lake, just northwest of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  the official notice of race can be found here (.pdf file).  the district race is being combined with the sailing club’s annual “Spring Fling Regatta”.

JY-15 sailboat (picture by Hunter Marine)

Baseline Lake is about 250 acres, part of the Huron River lake chain, and is basically a private lake, as there are no public access ramps (more info here). the UMSC, now in it’s 72nd year, is a student organization but open to the public as well. the club has a fleet of 10 JY-15 sailboats (2-person) and 6 Laser sailboats (1-person) as well as several various other sailing & watercraft options (Vanguard 15, Hobie 16, Hobie Wave, sailboards, canoes, kayaks, etc.). here is a quote from the UMSC website:

We offer a unique and affordable opportunity to learn and practice the art of sailing. We were originally founded in 1938 to provide sailing facilities for a small group of naval architecture students; our primary mission now is to develop our members’ skills in all aspects of sailing.

Baseline Lake is also home to the University of Michigan Sailing Team (a club sport).  here is a map showing the location of Baseline Lake in relation to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I’m not a UMSC member and have never sailed a JY-15, but since the race is going to be held only about 45 minutes or so away, I’ve been contemplating stopping by to see the racing, as well as the facilities at UMSC.  I’m a little disappointed to hear that Baseline Lake doesn’t have any public access ramps, though, as I would’ve liked to take my Sunfish for a spin there sometime.  I’m hoping to find a public beach or something similar, though, where I might be able to just carry the Sunfish down to the lake, or maybe use a beach dolly, once I get around to building one.

Lake Lansing, Michigan

located a few miles east/northeast of Lansing, Michigan is a 485-acre lake named Lake Lansing (strangely enough!).  the lake is home to 2 sailing clubs and a collegiate sailing team:

Lansing Sailing Club (website here) – a couple quotes pulled from their “about” page:

The Lansing Sailing Club is the club for you – regardless if you are an old salt or have never sailed before. It’s the club for you if you own your own boat, are trying to decide what boat to buy or just want to go sailing….

If you don’t sail yet, we will teach you how. If you have kids, they can learn to sail in our Junior Sailing program offered every summer….

LSC’s current club boat fleet includes Sunfish, Lightnings and Lasers.

the Lansing Sailing Club will be hosting the “Lake Lansing Regatta” on June 19, 2010.  the race is open to Sunfish racing, but does not count as a qualifying race for the Sunfish Worlds.

Michigan State University Sailing Center (website here and also here) – the sailing center is part of the intramural sports program at Michigan State University, open to all students, and also open to the public.

The Sailing Center has taught more than 1,500 people how to sail to date through the “learn to sail” classes, about half of which have been MSU students…

The Sailing Center has a wide variety of sailboats, approximately thirty-five, ranging from family day-sailboats to high performance racing sailboats. Student staff learn to repair, refurbish and maintain the boats throughout the entire year. Many of the center’s sailboats were donated.

The Sailing Center offers “learn to sail” classes for adults and youth, the center also offers a variety of affordable memberships that include use of the center’s sailboats.

Michigan State University Sailing Team (website here) – a couple quotes pulled from their “about” page:

The MSU Sailing Club is a group of students engaged in both recreational and competitive sailing. We compete in the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association (MCSA) which is a district within the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). Each weekend the sailing club competes against other universities in regattas held throughout the midwest and occasionally regattas on the east coast and the southern United States. Membership to the team is open to all Michigan State students with an interest in Sailing.

Don’t know how to sail? No problem, we can teach you! Many of our members have coached junior sailing, so we can provide excellent instruction in learning to sail as well as racing techniques and rules.

the Lansing Sailing Club has put together a custom map using Google Maps, and I have to say it is fantastic!  graphically display showing shallow areas of the lake, the location of the public boat ramp (6271 East Lake Drive, Haslett, MI) and prevailing wind information are all very valuable to someone who is new to the lake.

View Larger Map

the Michigan DNR map can be found here (.pdf file).  it is pretty old (as usual), but will give you a general idea of the water depths you’ll encounter while sailing there.  I haven’t tried sailing on Lake Lansing yet, but it’s rapidly climbing up the list of lakes I’d like to check out this summer.