October 2014 Acapulco Race Repotr | The "Airport Race"

Racers showed up to Club de Yates Acapulco October Regatta for the traditional Airport Race on Saturday and the La Rocheta style Race on Sunday.

All the 52’s showed up and were on the start line together. I would describe Class A as a sandwich, with the big boat Peligroso as a slice of bread and Kayue & Ruahatu holding together the other end! The Farr 40s raced in Class B to “represent” their class. The Farr 40s missed French kiss whom was the only boat missing in the class lineup. Piet Hein and Knitissima were the only boats on the Class C start line.
Only a couple of the cruising boats made the start this month. Several boats were out of the race, due to repairs, but this class still shows lots of potential. We hope to see them ready to go for next month’s Zihuatanejo-Acapulco race!
The Airport Race is pre-handicapped with relative ratings determining the start times for each boat. The slowest-rated boats start first and the fastest-rated boat starts last (Peligroso). All the other boats start at different intervals after Piet Hein and ahead of Peligroso. The format is easy to determine the winner after the start; first boat back in each class is the winner!
Light southwest winds got the fleet off the yacht club start line with spinnakers as each boat started heading for El Presidente buoy. The Farr 40’s looked very tight off the start line as they jockeyed for the first jibe toward the beach with Iemanja taking the early lead to the left. On Destroyer, our spinnaker didn’t open cleanly, making me, the tactician, and Keith Magnussen, the strategist; ponder what kind of race this was going to be! Once the spinnaker was slightly lowered, allowing the spinnaker to open completely, the skipper and crew focused on accelerating the boat speed as the spinnaker went back into full hoist and trim. Seeing several boats ahead on the course, it was easy to see where the wind was strongest and where we wanted to set our jibe points down the bay.
At El Presidente, the jib went up smoothly and the spinnaker slid down the front hatch with a tackline take down, giving us good speed around the buoy. As Destroyer came up on the wind, our strategy was to minimize low speed maneuvers, keep the foot on the “gas pedal” at each turn and get the boat at about .5 knots above targets during the open legs between buoys. The boat kicked into gear thanks to Eduardo steering the boat perfectly at 23 degrees and the apparent wind in the smooth water. Looking up the race course we saw the optimum wind and tack to the ocean buoy was to the right middle side of the bottom half of the bay and then the right side at the top half of the bay passing La Roqueta. Destroyer put time on all the other TP-52’s on this leg and really opened the lead that would be hard to give up. There was simply more wind and shift with the course Destroyer took to the ocean buoy.
Spinnakers were set for the run to the airport. Piet Hein was still the lead boat with the rest of the fleet in hot pursuit. The wind built as the boats passed Puerto Marquez and raced past the beachfront at the mega hotels. I’m not sure if the best wind was against the beach or offshore, or perhaps even on each side. Destroyer was sailing easily with the code 1.5A spinnaker and spinnaker staysail hitting speeds in the 11’s & 12’s at times. The boat was sailing very efficiently and on target for the wind speed and angle down to the airport buoy. With one jibe back in toward the buoy and beach, we could see Piet Hein, Kayue, Velocity and most of the Farr 40’s start the upwind leg with perfect wind and heel. We changed to the medium jib and made a clean rounding to start our upwind leg. Destroyer tacked to port, parallel to the beach, as Vincitore and the other 52’s approached the buoy.
Our game plan for this segment of the race was simple; go fast, don’t sail in any bad wind, pass boats and don’t get passed. We sailed close to 8.7 to 9.0 knots most of the upwind legs to the 2nd rounding of the ocean buoy. When the wind was around 13 knots of true wind speed, the crew moved from hiking foreword near the mast and shrouds to 3-4 bodies back toward the stern. Some crew repositioned behind the skipper and used the rail and aft beam of the boat to balance the boat flatter and smoother motion through the waves. This is a gear change we use for upwind and downwind sailing when the wind builds higher and the motion of the boat changes to needing the crew weight aft and all the way hiked out on the high side. Destroyer reacted very well with ease of steering which made for very fast speed and pointing, the boat was sailing “on autopilot” with very little trim and steering by the crew and skipper!
Destroyer approached the ocean buoy for the starboard rounding with only one boat ahead of her. Piet Hein had led every buoy to this point, now it was Destroyer’s turn as each boat launched their spinnakers! During the spinnaker reach to the final buoy at El Presidente, Vincitore crept up on Destroyer, but right at the last moment an extra puff of wind hit Destroyer’s sails. At the last buoy, Destroyer had a comfortable 90 second lead on Vincitore and about 240 seconds on Peligroso.
The wind was definitely west in the lower part of the bay and showing even more right shift up toward the upper part of the bay. The large Mexican Flag is a great wind tell tale to show racers what the wind is doing in Acapulco Bay. It was flapping parallel down the beach. On Destroyer we took this as stay to the right and don’t let Vincitore sail the beach and inside on us. The crew trimming the sails with every puff of wind and hiking hard, kept Destroyer ahead and to the right of Vincitore. The boat steered upwind very fast and with super pointing all day like we had not seen in a long time (Answer might be take away #3, see below). We were very happy with our performance on the upwind leg(s), which kept Vincitore, Bandido 52 and the other 52’s behind us.
Destroyer crossed the finish line 1st in Class A and 1st in Fleet! What a race! The boat was easy to sail all day and went fast at or above targets (thanks to good B&G instruments) with some steady trimming and helming. The boat did great; we were more than happy with the results. With the boat put away and walking back to the apartment, our long day was not over. To our surprise, Becky Saenz planned and organized a full dinner by the pool party with tables, place settings, food and (lots of) drinks (alcohol of course) to help the Destroyer crew celebrate a big day of racing in Acapulco!
October Airport Take aways:
1. Observe other boats racing for clues to what the wind is doing. Seeing a boat heeling more upwind on the far right of the course versus the other boats sailing in the middle of the course will indicate the far right boat has potentially more wind! Also check other wind indicators like the big flag on the beach in the bay…it is a huge wind indicator telling you what direction and how much wind is blowing along the beach!
2.  If you and your crew did not practice on Friday afternoon, leave the dock 45 to 60 minutes early and practice some tacks, set the spinnaker and do some jibes finished with a racing style take down.
             i.      Getting the crew and skipper in rhythm before the first race will make speed and pointing better upwind and having the spinnaker up once will definitely make the first buoy a smoother & faster rounding. On Destroyer at the start of Sunday’s race, we had the windward spinnaker sheet trapped in the bow of the boat when we hoisted the spinnaker, major problem when we jibed moments later…if we hoisted the spinnaker once before the start, we would of discovered this mistake BEFORE the start, not at a critical time 2-3 minutes into the race!
3.   Race J70’s or J24’s in Valle to keep your helm and crewing levels fresh. There is no substitute for time at the helm, trimming, starting, mark rounding’s and tactics to keep and build your racing and sailing skills.

**RESULTS**

Saturday Airport Race

Farr 40 Airport Race Report





By Pablo Fernandez
As the Farr 40 class continues to grow in Acapulco the last two days of racing were great.
The Iemanja Farr 40 crew is improving a lot and now is another boat to look for at the front of the fleet.
Racing during the airport race had the fleet compressed together most of the way, led by Iemanja Farr 40 and closely followed by Flojito y Cooperando.
Nitemare was closing in until it had the topping lift on the spin pole break. Quick repairs were made while on the go allowing Velasquez’s Nitemare stay in a competitive position while only loosing a little time to the lead boats.
On the last stretch of the race FyC made its move and passed Iemanja Farr 40 to win the Saturday race.

Gracias por VELEAR con Ullman Sails,

Tomas Span - Mexico U/S Dealer, Erik Brockmann - Mexico U/S Dealer, Bruce Cooper
Contact U/S for info on the Worlds fastest growing one design J70 and scheduling Friday afternoon crew practices!

Photo Credit to: Bruce Cooper / CYA / Keith Magnussen

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Harvest Moon Regatta | J-120 "Aeolus"

The 2014 Harvest Moon Regatta was another success.  The annual regatta is one of our favorites so check out Keith Magnussen's report from the race on board James Liston's J-120 Aeolus.

The annual Harvest Moon Regatta (HMR) is also my annual trek to the great big state of Texas.  In the past this race has throen some very challenging and interesting weather my way and this year was no exception.

If you are unfamiliar with the HMR then let's get you informed.  If you know about the HMR skip to the next paragraph.  The HMR is a 150 mile race from Galveston to Port Aransas Texas.  The coastline is littered with oil rigs, unlight platforms, oyster beds, shrimpers and a whole bunch of other stuff.  Galveston is a beach community close to Houston and Port Aransas is a spring break town close to Corpus Christie.

After meeting up with my fellow crew members at Houston Yacht Club we headed down to James Liston's J-120 Aeolus.  James has been a great customer and friend and I always enjoy sailing on his boat.  This year we were sporting a brand new Code-0, Carbon GPL Genoa and an AIRX Code 1A spinnaker.  We felt we had a pretty good arsenal to compliment the 3A, Max class running spinnaker and spinnaker stay-sail.  Mark Michelson from Dry-UV not only supplied some fantastic crew shirts he also supplied us with a weather routing synopsis.  Not sure it would benefit my good friends on the Viper 640, they were looking at a wet ride!

Viper 830

HMR starts of the Galveston pier and our class was due to start at 3pm.  We handily won the start as we jumped out to an early lead.  The Santa Cruz 50 quickly passed us on the tight jib reach which she is essentially made for.  We held off the J-122 for a bit as we traded off lanes looking for clear air.  We ended up with the low road and Rebecca (the other J-120) took the high.  Low road was not the way to go as we ended up fighting for clear air with the smaller boats we were all passing.  Our speed was great as we pushed 10kts of boat speed right on rhumb line.

The low road was truly not stellar as I "think" there was a bit more pressure above.  As we made the correction and neared the Freeport buoy it became clear that we would be just behind the J-122 and J-120.  We really wanted to get the Code-0 up and we eventually did just that as the wind clocked to around 135 and gave us the angle we needed.  As soon as we got it up we started to move on the boats above us.  Only downside was the wind did not cooperate and we had to switch to the jib top.

Unfortunately for us we had some issues on our headsail changes and ended up losing a lot of time.  Won't go into details but having the right set up for the bowman to work at night is crucial to success on overnight races.  Eventually we had to switch to the number 3 as the wind went more forward and strengthened.

Back to the race!  I forgot to mention the beautiful sunset.  Sunset's on the water are exceptional.  The colors, anticipation of night sailing and promise for some adventure make this time of day very special.

We were plugging along in around 15kts of wind (I think as our TWS was way off most of the time).  The wind was steady and some of the crew (no names) were getting a little sea sick.  One in particular had an unfortunate incident and slipped down below hurting his shoulder and rendering him incapacitated.  Sort of dropping like flies which put more pressure on the guys on deck.

Around 2am (I think) the fun really started.  In come two squalls for some excitement.  The first one was relatively tame with rain and wind in the 20's.  The second one... well thats the one to talk about.  Full on downpur, rain going sideways, 30+kts of wind, visibility 5 yards, rain hurting your face means it is about time to reef the main.  Job well done on this one!

After the squalls passed the real breeze settled back in.  It must have been over 25 at times because we had to flog the main, which was reffed, and only had a #3 headsail up.  If you sail J-120's then you know how much breeze it takes to do this.

Morning arrived and we zeroed in on the Port Aransas turning buoy.  It always seems to blow hard here and this was no exception.  Big swells and big wind, fun times.  Plan was to turn the buoy, pop the 3A, shake the reef and have the best sailing of the race (for the last 2 miles).  It was pretty clear that no one in front of us was putting spinnakers up as we could hear the delta between rounding and finishing.  The 3A was a good call because the channel is really narrow and a tanker was coming out.  The 3A is a great sail in 25kts as it does not hide behind the main and allows us to maneuver relativley east.  Our thoughts were that this is a chance to make some time back and have a bunch of fun!

Fun it was!  16kt top speed with an average of around 13 made this the best sailing of the race!

We finished the race, put the boat away, rented a golf cart (seems to be cool thing) and checked the Texas waves for a surf session.  All in all it was another amazing experience and even though we did not finish where we like (full results) it was a learning and bonding experience.

See you next year Texas!

Dolphins surfing the legendary tanker waves Texas are known for

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San Diego To Ensenada Race | Report From The J-125 Timeshaver

By Keith Magnussen | Ullman Sails Newport Beach
Little Ensenada is always one of my favorite races of the year.  You get the chance to sail along the northern Baja coast during the day (something you do not get to do during the N2E) and experience the joy of coming into Ensenada Bay at a relatively decent hour.

Viggo Torbensen's J-125 Timeshaver was my ride for this one and I was looking forward to getting out and stretching the boats legs.  Unfortunately the turnout showed us that people were not as keen this year as they have been in the past.  Not sure what is causing the huge decrease in people wanting to go south of the border.  Ensenada is really a beautiful place, safe and has a lot to offer.


The forecast was light for the 30 boats that chose to partake.  We started under Code 0 and were looking to get some leverage on the fleet.  The ghost like conditions were favorable to the grand Mighty Merloe as she passed us with ease.

Our game-plan was looking good as we stitched to our trusty 3A spinnaker. Eventually we drifted a little further outside rumb line than I liked and we were forced to try and soak a little with our monster 2A.  The wind was decent, in the mid teens, and we were scooting down the course with relative ease.  The flat water was a blessing!

I was keeling a close eye on the competitors and our distance away from the land was un-nerving since the forecast showed more wind on the beach as the day progressed.  The wind shifted to around 320 and we threw in a gybe heading for Salsipuedes.
This is where we had our most fun.  The wind continually built until we were in a steady 23kts of breeze doing a constant 14+kts of boat speed.    Blue Blazes was just ahead with Staghound and Stars & Stripes in front of them.

Beautiful sailing and an excited team were greeted by a wall of no wind.  A big shift, another gybe, and twenty minutes later we were back moving along in the westerly.  This stop was enough to watch a J-120 and Columbia 30 come roaring up from behind.  That twenty minutes really decided the race as we did not have enough room left to regain our advantage.

The sunset coming into Ensenada Bay was nothing short of amazing.  A little slice of heaven as we knew our finish position was going to be ugly.

Todo Santos | San Diego To Ensenada 

Naturally we ended up tacking into the finish around 8pm.  Good enough to beat Staghound and Blue Blazes but that was about it!  Kudos to the smaller boats for taking this one!


Keith Magnussen

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Viper 640 North American's | A Different Perspective

Photo Credit:  Joy Sailing

Viper 640 NA’s were held in near perfect conditions in Long Beach and hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC).  Tim Carter, local Viper leader, rallied the troops and set up a hugely successful event that left everyone smiling ear to ear.  The wind was epic and 34 boats marched around the racecourse hitting speeds of 15+kts. 

Usually we hear about the top end of the fleet but this year I would like to tell our story from the middle of the pack.

Photo Credit: Joy Sailing

Photo Credit: Joy Sailing

Craig Walker purchased a Viper 640 last year and has been working hard to get his sailing skills sharpened.  When I signed on with him he told me he was a newbie.  Newbie to driving and racing a boat.  Our team also included long time West Coast Big Boat Sailor Daniel Milefchik.  Dan actually drove the first day because Craig had to work… someone has to support this sport!

Our goal was to be competitive, learn, not make too many mistakes and have a great time.  Craig was eager to get moving on Thursday and showed up after 10am (This is late!).  He must have had a late night flight and needed the rest because it was game on.  Big wind and waves greeted us on the outside course and we set up our boat for the conditions.  This was Craig’s first race of the NA’s for him and we talked about being conservative.  This is a good tactic in a large fleet when the driver is not super comfortable at trying to cross boats on a full plane!  After a few tacks clearing our air we headed out in our own little lane and hit the right side of the course.  Much to our surprise a top ten mark rounding was in store for us!.

We held on with some good tactics and after a close finish with fellow friends on Locomotion we managed to hold on for a 10^th place.  This would end up being our best result of the regatta and a highlight. 

Photo Credit: Joy Sailing | Team FNG Flying!

I learned a few things about managing myself in the situations that arose.  The more calm I was, the more calm Craig was.  Which was also true on the opposite end.   I had my moments when my emotions got the better of me, usually at a leeward mark rounding when we were coming in on port doing 13kts.  With 35 boats zipping around the course it was important to keep Craig comfortable.  Avoiding port laylines and ensuring we were in commanding positions became crucial.  It is amazing how much better we did when we sailed away from the riff-raff. 

The final day came and with three races left we had a goal to be in the top 20 and beat the boats around us.  Craig was getting better with every tack and Dan was doing a really good job of talking to him about speed and shifting gears.  This made it easier for me to keep my head out of the boat.  One thing that worked well was being a little over layline at the weather mark.  The final day saw a lot of boats trying to push the laylines which resulted in collisions and people hitting the mark.  We would pass 5-7 boats by coming in high with speed and going over everyone. 

Photo Credit: Joy Sailing | Locomotion getting hooked on a mark

Let’s talk about the wind for a minute.  20-25kts of wind every day makes for some exciting and almost dangerous downwind legs.  We were cautious in setting and used the blow through gybes to keep us safe.  We only had a few crashes and were able to get out of those situations rather quickly with a release of the spinnaker halyard.  It is very intense doing 14kts into a leeward mark so you need to have your you know what together. 

Photo Credit: Joy Sailing

Photo Credit: Joy Sailing

In the end we had an amazing time.   We all learned and we all had fun which is what this sport is about… right?

Keith Magnussen

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Sail Trim Unlocked!!

It doesn't matter if you are a world champion or a total beginner. We can all learn a little more about sail trim. Every Newport to Ensenada Race (N2E) is going to be sailed in light air at some point… so grab a drink of some sort, sit back and soak up a few tips from Ullman Sails that you may find useful this year.

Light Air 2-8 kts

Light air upwind sailing is something that is commonly overlooked in preparation for the N2E. Something that seems unlikely as we all dream about flying spinnakers all night towards Ensenada.  The reality is though that a southerly breeze is likely at the beginning of the race and also in the early morning hours.  Knowing how to maximize your speed during these times can be the difference between being on the podium and watching from the peanut gallery. 

The most important thing to remember is there are no hard and fast rules. Whatever works for you and your boat will not be the same for everyone. The only thing that remains the same is that boat speed makes you look good. We can all point straight up wind and not go anywhere but in light airs the people who move are the people who win.

Sail choice is the hardest part. Do you want your 155% genoa or drifter?  Usually if boat speed is over 2kts then you want your Genoa up. 

Adjustments should be made gently, the aim is to improve the flow. Not to stop it and start it again once the sail is set.

Keeping crew weight low and forward is the norm in these conditions but try to keep it compacted together as well. Most hull designs will have a lower wetted area with this weight forward approach.

Boat speed makes you look good! We can all point straight up wind and not go anywhere but in light air the people who move are the people who win.

Many helms like to drive from the leeward side in these conditions. Sitting low by the water can mislead you into thinking you are going fast.  It can help the driver keep the bow down though and this is a fantastic technique in the N2E.

Headsail

1.Backstay Eased. This allows the forestay to sag inducing more fullness in the headsail.

2.Luff tension eased allowing the sail to sit as full as possible to its design shape. Typically some small creases may form in the luff. Don't worry, this is fast...

3. Jib car. The relationship between car and sheet is imperative. Moving the car forward makes the sail fuller in the lower section. The sheet tension will control the twist in the leech. In light air you are looking for shape low and twist in the leech to keep air flowing onto the mainsail.

Mainsail

1. Backstay Eased. Mast as straight as possible making the main full.

2.Luff Tension Eased. Again some small creases are nothing to worry about.

3. Outhaul eased, typically you should be able to get your hand easily between the boom and the sail.

4.Leech. The aim is to keep the telltales flying to keep flow across the mainsail and therefore drive. Tensioning the leech will allow you to point but may lead to stalling the main. Keep it on the fast side of too tight is our advice.

If you would like more information on sail trim then please contact your local Ullman Sails loft:

Ullman Sails Newport Beach     (714) 432-1860

Ullman Sails Long Beach         (562) 598-6441

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20 Questions with Derek Pickell, #9333 2013 Junior Sabot National Champion

Derek, Congratulations on winning the 2013 Junior Sabot Nationals!

Pre Race:

1. What kind of sailing/training had you done in preparation for the 2013 Sabot Nationals?

I’ve been actively sailing Sabots since I was seven and had participated in five previous Sabot Nationals, so I had a lot of preparation heading into the 2013! In the year leading up to the event, I was a member of the Corona del Mar sailing team which gave me a lot of water time (in CFJs). I then continued sailing CFJs during the summer at BCYC while coaching novice Sabot sailors. I had a mid-program break during which time I was backpacking in Canada. When I returned, I put all my attention on Sabots in the weeks leading up to Sabot Nationals. I think the combination of years of Sabot experience together with time in other boats was a great preparation.

2. Who are the people and coaches that helped you prepare for the regatta?

I’ve had a lot of great Sabot coaches over the years. Leading up to 2013 Sabot Nationals, the individuals who had the biggest impact were Nate Dunham who was both my Sabot coach and high school coach, Cameron McClaren who was the head coach at BCYC, and Mark Gaudio who supported our team leading up to and during Nationals. 

3. How do you prepare yourself the day of a large regatta such as Nationals? Any Superstitions or rituals?

Luckily, I don’t have any rituals or superstitions since there’s enough stress with regattas without any extra worries! Basically, my focus was simply on the weather, water conditions, and the fleet.

4. What did you do to prepare your boat?

I was lucky to find 9333 when I was 9 and have worked hard to keep it in great shape ever since. My Sabots routine is pretty simple, I made sure everything was working properly, it was washed, sanded, and waxed, and tuned for the conditions.

5. What do you like about your Ullman Sail that led you to choosing it to help you win the Nationals?

I switched to Ullman sails about four years ago and have liked the sails ever since. The cut works for me and the conditions we see most often in Southern California.

6. How old are you now and how old were you when you started sailing?

I started sailing with my Dad in his Harbor 20 when I was 3 and then through the BCYC Summer program when I was 5. I’m 15 now.

7. What sailors do you look up to and admire?

I can’t say there’s a specific sailor I look up to, but I am in awe of sailors who compete in round the world races and similar tests of endurance and perseverance.

8. Do you sail any other types of boats?

Right now I’m focused on CFJs through high school and club sailing. I’m hoping to branch out into other boats soon, maybe a 29er.

9. When you are not on the water, what do you like to do?

I enjoy outdoor sports like skiing, mountain biking, and especially rock climbing.

The Race:

10. You were very consistent. In fact you were the only skipper in the gold fleet to have only one finish outside the top 10. Going into the last race, it was anybody’s regatta. Did you feel the pressure?

I absolutely felt the pressure -- especially this year since it was possibly my last Sabot Nationals. Like you said, no one was in first for more than one race so it all came down to the fine details. As the regatta progressed, I would say that my steady move up the ranks made me nervous more so than under pressure as the possibility on a top finish became a reality.

11. You were 11th in the flight selection Series, did you change anything to win the regatta?

I spent the flight selection series getting comfortable in my Sabot while sailing conservatively. My goal was to just get a decent finish while feeling out the conditions and the fleet. This was important because I hadn’t participated in a lot of Sabot regattas in 2013.

.

12. Tell is about the wind shifts and weather, Mission Bay can be a tricky place to sail.

The weather was particularly unusual for Mission Bay during nationals--more so like that of Newport—shifty and variable--all the better for me. In reality, I’ve been able to spend so much time in Mission Bay, Alamitos Bay, and Newport, I feel like a local in all three.

13. We know you can’t give away all of your speed secrets, but could you share just one with us? Tell us how to go fast…please?

For me, it's all about staying in phase and clean air, especially for this Nationals. Even if you got a bad start, you could catch up as long as you played the shifts and found a clean lane, while still maintaining a fairly conservative mindset- not banging a corner too hard or making any brash decisions.

14. What piece of equipment do you rely on most when racing?

Well, I guess there’s only one correct answer for this interview – my Ullman sail!

15. The points were very tight going into the last race. Did this play into your decisions or did you just sail your own race?

I tried my best to stick to my strategy--although this time I knew I had to keep a close eye, almost target, the people close to me. The fun part, if you can call it that, was that I felt like all of the years I’ve had in a Sabot and all of the regattas I’ve raced really led up to being able to sail this last race really well. Having a big regatta like this come down to the last race is great for the competitors and spectators.

Post Race:

16. How did it feel when you lifted the trophy knowing that you will be joining great names such as Jeff Lenhart, Earl Elms, and Bill Hardesty?

I’ve had good success in Sabots over time but didn’t perform to my expectations in a few previous Sabot Nationals. It was a really special opportunity to achieve what I did in the 2013 event and to join the ranks of some of the amazing sailors who had won this event previously. I’m lucky to sail in an area like SoCal where the sailing tradition is so rich.

17. What advice do you have for other young juniors out there who aspire to become Sabot Champions and more?

Like most sports, sailing success comes through desire, perseverance, and practice. The younger sailors who want it the most and are committed will generally perform well over time. The great thing about our area is that there are limitless opportunities to practice and get better. At the same time, I think it’s also important to mix things up a bit and not risk getting burned out. I tried other boats, other venues, and kept up my interests in other sports and activities.

18. What is the most important thing you learned during this regatta?

I think this event really showed that having a plan and executing on it is really important. I started kind of slow but I knew I could keep getting better and also knew the variable conditions would keep things wide open. I didn’t panic early on and kept focused. The fact that I had a game plan helped me keep things together.

19. What is the next big regatta for Derek Pickell?

Well right now I’m pretty focused on helping our CDM team achieve its potential. We have lots of key events still ahead as we make a big run this year. We have the talent to do really well this year.

20. What is the next class you are going to attack?

Beyond CFJs, I’m interested in the 29er and am looking at giving this class a try. I’d like to try some “big boat” sailing as well.

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