US Olympic Multihull Trials

In case anyone missed it, the Olympic Development Team for the multihull event (Sarah Newberry and Matt Whitehead) are on the way to Spain to represent the US at the Olympic Multihull Trials in Santander.

Pretty.

Freakin'.

Cool.

awesome!!!!!

Word is no selection til May??

That's a whopping six weeks away.

Really,

Freakin'

Cool!

Go Hobie 16!!! No one else will say it...

I think that another interesting part of the story is that Enrique (Hobie 16 phenom and Tornado Olympian) is on the Evaluation Panel:

http://2016equipmentevaluation.wordpress.com/evaluation-panel-2/

Mike

What about team John Williams?

It was a struggle to get US Sailing to send two people - Sarah and Matt are great candidates and will represent us very well.

John, can you tell us what their role will be? Do they just sail the boats and provide subjective feedback for the panel to act upon, or is there more to it?

Mike

Thread title error?

While I am sure they are both very good candidates perhaps instead of representing the US the they should representing the multihull community as they will be part of the process recommending the next Olympic multihull.

Did the US think it wise to send two viper sailors who possibly have had not much international experience. Not much cross class multihull sailing at such an important decision making process? It may have been wiser to send a more experienced international sailors.

Just a thought but too late now.

Actually... i think the biggest criteria would be how well they express themselves about sailing performance in conversation and in writing.

Their opinion that the viper is the best boat ever... is irrelevant.. I doubt they ever vote...

What they do have to do is report accurately on the questions they are asked and get some strengths, weaknesses and features down on paper. They are not even there to suggest FIXES or improvements to boats.. They are not the judge or jury in this process ..... The pressure to not be way out of line with your point of view will be there ... you want to fit in with the rest of the international sailors. The only way you can do this is make sure you are accurate with your opinions.

I think of them as people who fill out those consumer reports surveys on their new car.

Enrique Figoroa is the guy who gets to interview the pilots, pull all the information together and work with the committee to render an opinion

I think you know not what you speak/type. I don't know about Matthew but I DO know Sarah has plenty of other boat experience, (Tornado and H-16 as well as F-16 and F-18) and lots of it.

I second that - Sara is extremely skilled, responsible, and very capable of making and arguing salient points. Besides, this isn't supposed to be the game of the old fuddy duddies - that's kind of the point of this attempt. I don't think we could have a better pair.

Skipper's Mtg - Matt/Sarah in the middle next to some dudes with cool AHPC jackets

http://2016equipmentevaluation.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/img_1975.jpg

And Sara comes from good stock.., the Livingstons of Miami. Jamie was a Mentor to Sara on the Tornado and other boats.

Rigged and Ready - looks like 2 H16's, 2 Tigers, 2 T's, 2 N16's, 1 N17, 2 Vipers

http://2016equipmentevaluation.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/rigged-and-ready/#

gotta love the traditional blue poly tarp on the 16's.

boy the sailors look young..... damn I feel old.

That's Brett Goodall and Jason Waterhouse, both top Viper team riders. ISAF is doing a nice job posting updates to their blog, and pictures on Twitter @ISAFupdates. I'm trying to post things to the F18 Eastern Area facebook page and Twitter @F18EasternArea.

Two Nacra 17s are there, one black hull and one white hull

Splendid!

Hi Mark,

I don't believe that those are "blue poly" tarps on the H16's .... those are "custom" made tramp storage covers I think ... most-likely of blue "Sunbrella" material ....

SWEEEEEET ....

Harry
H18Mag/P19MX

One of the NACRA 17's popped a mast today. A nasty front came through and did a number on things.

Karl,

How did you come by that info ?

Wouter

Nacra Sailing
First afternoon of the first day at the Olympic trials.

It all started quietly in the morning and after explaining all test sailors how to handle all Multihulls at 2:00 pm all the boats went out. We took a big RIB boat to Santander to facilitate the sailors as much as possible on the water with assistance when needed. The weather started to change rapidly and dark clouds were moving in fast. The wind picked up to 25 knots gusting 30 in the bay. Many boats capsized and unfortunately one of our Nacra 17’s snapped its mast after capsizing. In this bay there is a big sandbank and it probably hit the ground. Gladly we were present to help out and as we speak we are shore replacing it with a new mast. Only 9 days to go and these things happen when it gets rough, so no worries. We have enough spare stuff ;-) . The sailors coming of the NACRA F16 and the NACRA 17 were stoked and enthusiastic. That is where we all work for. To get the as much smiling faces as possible!!! We are going strong and we will report asap again!! Tomorrow looks like a really windy day and the ISAF crew already said that there might not be any sailing done. We just wait and see and will be ready for some hot action.

Team NACRA sailing!

Facebook?

ohh yeah,

One has to click on "see more" to see the whole message. DUH !

Sometimes I'm just as smart as I look ! =)

Wouter

Email

I'm glad we are sending these two. As far as I can tell they are the first US team to step forward and announce that they will campaign for the 2016 Games. Do we know of any other teams or potential teams out there?

Sarah and Matt, mixing it up...

Surprising to Matt on the helm. I figured it would be the other way around.

That's what I mean by "mixing it up." Smart (IMO) to try both positions. makes the team stronger and gives better perspective in evaluating each platform. These two continue to impress me.

I thought Taylor Reis was going too? No?

Looks cold in that pic. Not drysuit cold, but cold nonetheless.

Mike

gotta play with all of the controls on the boat to answer the questionnaire...
That is what it's all about... your answers on the questionnaire!

I read they did some informal racing in Santander today. Just based on the facebook updates I have read, it sounds like the Nacra 17 and Viper were the top performers, depending mostely on who was at the helm. The AHPC update made it sound like Sarah and Matt really made the Viper perform, which is great to hear!

>Apparently the Nacra 17 beat the Tornado by 1.5 minutes in the first sail-off of all the cats in 15+ knots. Having seen first hand how much faster an F20c is than a Tornado, I am not surprised that the Nacra 17 (basically a scaled down F20c) is the fastest boat at these trials. I suspect the difference would be even greater in lighter wind where the Tornado's stubby centreboards are a bigger liability.

The fact is that there is one boat that is clearly better than all of the others at these trials...the one with curved boards. <
http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/in...id=3636516&st=1200&#entry3636516

Umm... who were the test pilots?

Usually the nut on the tiller gets the credit!

What I find puzzling it that that other sources report conflicting data.

This is what AHPC claims :

Had 2 teams on the Viper for the afternoon session. Both love the boat. They ran some short races in 8 - 12 knots. Viper did well in the 1st race, 2nd with a average crew who then swapped to the Tornado and really struggled.

Matt and Sara (from USA) were then on for the last 2 races. Lead the first race all the way to the finish but had to stop a bit short with a spin sheet around and under the bow.

Won the last race after a bad first work and hooking to top mark on the rudder.


Note that neither the AHPC or nacra sailing facebook page mention the Tornado as a top finisher. Neither does teh Nacra page say that the second boat (at 1.5 min) was a Tornado. In fact it may well have been the Viper and thus may see both the Nacra version of events line up with AHPC's version.

However, with the Viper doing 1st in the last race and 2nd in the first with a long lead in the second doesn't really align well with the claim that the Nacra 17 is "just clearly better then all the others at the trial. At least not in performance when sailed by a collection of sailors that are new to most designs.


The main conclusion is therefore that there is lots of hype coming from all corners.

It may also be interesting to note how a 15.900 euro Tornadao performance with a 25.900 Euro Marstrom.

I read the updates to mean that the Nacra 17 was first across the line with the Viper second in the first race. Not sure which boat won the second race, sounds like Viper won the third.

I don't think, however, that the race results say too much about the designs. It is pretty clear that the level of sailor on the boat makes a tremendous difference, and not all the sailors at the trials are equal. Sarah and Matt have spent tons of time on a Viper, and I think the results above reflect that. Unfortunately, I don't think the full finishing order will be released.

Why have a PR machine if you can't use it...

I think the Marstrom M20 got all of the noise relative to the Tornado the last time we did this kind of thing.

This is not a race... This is not a handicap race... This is an information gathering exercise...

Again...What do we not know about these boats... Only the F17 is new.... How magical do you think the C boards are???

Have the conditions in Spain conclusively shown this magic???

Hype is a mild way to describe the noise... It almost certainly leads to... "Those Idiots at ISAF... screwed it up again... They were biased against __________ did you not hear what the sailors are saying.... _________ is clearly BEST ... Why should we support these fools... Off with their heads!"

Bingo. I'd bet the H16 was pretty consistently at the bottom of the pile, yet is up there in likelihood of being selected.





Apparently not that magical anymore seeing as the AC boats are going to the "L" boards

"C" boards are a fad.

Could be? I don't know. Maybe everyone jumped the gun, and maybe they didn't.

You have obviously never sailed a boat with them

Just like the F-18. Oh yeah, and spinnakers and rudders are too.

Geeze, I can see Dave not getting the joke (being Canadian and all) but Todd, really? My disappoint is... palpable.

Yes I get the joke! eh?

But seriously C boards are a real step forward for cats.. My experience is that it makes a boat much easier to sail and lighter feeling especially at the limit.

Heheheheh... he said Palpable.

You didn't use a smiley face and it wasn't really funny, so how would I know?

Do these boards make the optimal performance window more or less narrow than straight boards? I think the answer to this question may dictate how well it does in the recreational marketplace.

FYI I consider "recreational marketplace" those of us who like performance sailing but don't have any realistic expectation of getting to the pro level...

I don't know but I suspect it does widen the weight range because the boat doesn't displace as much..Maybe Mike Krantz can chime in on that.

I was foolish enough to place a posting about comparing the Nacra 17 to the Nacra F16 in the thread about the US multihull committee. Sorry about that.

This post did however receive some interesting replies and therefor I present a link that that thread here.

Nacra 17 to Nacra F16 comparisons

Wouter

I was clearing out my archive of catamaran design topics and ran accross this paper. (BEWARE, it is a 13 MB download)

Paper on the non-foiling Alpha and foiling Rocker C-class cats when racing Patient lady 6 and Cogito

It is actually a good read and very insightful about foiling cats. I guess that this proofs Tim Bohans idea about lashing to Moths together and thus arrive at a full foiling cat with a leap in performance as outside of the realm of reality. Sorry Tim.

Basically the C-class contest tried to improve performance WITHIN a fixed rule base as indeed all the cats at the ISAD evaluation do. That Nacra 17 is pretty much a standard beach catamaran but fitted with partially lifting foils.

One of the more interesting questions is whether the Nacra 17 (or indeed nacra 20c) with curved foils is faster then the same designs with normal straight boards. Of course this question is not answered directlt by this paper, although both Cogito and Alpha used straight asymmetric daggers rather then curved foils as tried an earlier C-class competitor Patient lady ?? (I forgot which number this version had)

Most interesting fact in the paper was that Rocker proof just as competitive as Alpha ones the foils had been sawed off the boat. Auch ! That basically means that the performance of Rocker was actually held back by the lifting foils rather then being increased or stay the same.

I wonder what this says about (symmetrically) curved foiled cats. Afterall, Neither the Nacra 20C or the Nacra 17 has yet proven to perform beyond their Texel or ISAF handicap ratings. (i.e. Thai regatta and now the ISAF Olympic trials). Note that the Nacra 17 is rated the same as an F16 under SCHRS rating system (12 secs/hour quicker actually, but that is next to nothing)

Anyway, read the paper and make your own mind up.

Wouter

Maybe this has been answered somewhere else already, but I'm curious about whether all the boats sailed with the requested two piece mast.

A comment on AHPC's Facebook page noted that they were sailing in standard Viper configuration, which might be taken to mean a one piece mast, though I suspect that isn't what they meant.

I only know that Darren Bundock admitted that he had ordered a two-piece carbon mast for the Viper as a measure to cover that base. Apparently, they decide not to use it on the trial boats (although there was a third Viper at the trials)

Maybe he brought one along, just in case, and mentioned it as an option in that panel discussion. Personally, I feel the two piece mast is a pointless requirement and it appears none of manufactorers are in favour of it even when they covered their bases as Darren did (nacra for example did)

The dog that has not barked yet is the ISAF grade I schedule for the next cycle. We were told that they want to de emphasize Europe regattas as the path to a medal.. perhaps 2 grade I s in Europe. New qualification criteria.

So.. the need to box these boats up and ship to new continents and countries may be much greater in the future.

For instance... why is the America's Grade I ISAF event in Miami... given the games in Brazil... I would bet that ISAF moves those to a South American country....

The costs in shipping have probably been sorted out and presented in their presentations... BUT who knows... some factory teams reportedly showed up for a MIXED Trial with NO Women on their team... That's almost as good as the US sending a Mixed team to the MEN's ISAF World F18's championship.... (FAIL)

(What's so hard to understand about the word MIXED?)

Nacra did extensive 2 boat testing during the F20c development and proved in-house that the curved foils were superior. Why else add an easy $1-$2K to the boat in a depressed economy? They are also here to stay in the A-Cat's. My general impression, from well outside both classes, is the curved foils aren't inherently faster upwind through beam reaching, but aren't slower on that point of sail. Downwind though they let the boat gybe through narrower angles, and if the sea state gets rough, make the boat easier to handle. There is still much to learn about there use and getting the maximum performance from a C-foil is more work than a straight board, that is inherent to the lifting nature of the design.

What I find interesting about these trials is the lack of Nacra F16 vs. Viper F16 data. Frankly, I don't believe a lick of information coming out of the event, it's all been spin doctored to death.

From what I hear the N20C's rating is quite soft so I'm not not too sure about that.
The N17 has not actually sailed any races yet but I would be surprised if it is slower then an F18, the foils might allow it to be pushed a bit harder in all conditions?

of course, this is all subject to further on the water data.

However, what I find interesting about this article as a designer is the following conclusion.

Something that works so well in the moth doesn't work at all in C-class.

I mean we do similar reasoning all the time right. This and that works in the A-cats so it must also work for design X. Well, it appears that more often then not you can not transfer aspects of one design to another like that.

Another example, A wingsailobviously works in the C-class but doesn't in the A-cats. We saw that again a few years ago.

This article reminded me again of how easy it is to draw conclusions that will not hold up under proper testing or real life.

Interview with Thijs Visser who attended the ISAF event:
http://catsailingnews.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/olympic-trials-q-with-thijs-visser.html

I am telling you... It's gonna be the best reality TV show in sports!

Dude I say that every weekend when I sail with my wife.

Ha.... an expert!!

What are the keys to managing the mixed team?

Relationship coach?
Pee in the 5 minutes sequence guidelines?
Time at the launch waiting tips?
What can you do and not do at the party with ahem fraternizing?

Here is the Key.
Honey on the boat we are not married we are skipper and crew. If you would like to discuss what I just asked for we will have plenty of time to talk while we get ready to right the boat. Or you can do what I ask when I ask and we can keep sailing. Either way I will say I'm sorry as soon as we are safely on the beach.
Love you but till then you are crew.

Skipper and crew....... sounds like Husband and Wife...

I don't think that skipper and crew's gonna work in this day and age. the power relationships seem a bit traditional...

perhaps you could evolve to helm and sheet... and do better on the course and off???

Wouter,

I think that you will find if you speak with Ben, his wing needed more development. Once that wing went to the BMWO camp, they modified it some and got it to work much better than it did when they recieved it. I think that if someone puts the time and effort into the wing that the C-Class guys do in developing theirs, you will have a competitive wing. I think it is the cost factor stopping this from happening.

You guys talk about this like it's some novel invention.

I sailed with my wife as my only crew for 10 years - and still do occasionally. (She's gotten tired of the "stand in a cold shower, dressed in a rubber suit, ripping up $100 bills while I beat her with a stick" routine.)

I've had lots of different female crews (including my daughter since she was about 8 years old) in the last 20 years since my wife stopped crewing regularly (being pregnant / taking care of the kid will do that).

This is the norm in Hobie 16s. At the last North Americans, there were only 2 teams (out of 50) that were two adult males. You guys can keep your wiener-fests. We may not sail the fastest boats, but at least the parties aren't a bunch of guys, awkwardly standing around, scratching and farting.

Also, on the whole Wing sail thing, would it be 'doable' on a single handed boat like the A cat, or are there more strings to pull to tweek it, ie. more than the 3 the A cat skipper has to deal with now, Downhaul, outhaul, mainsheet, or would it require a second set of hands if you developed multiple 'flap' sections, segments, etc. Or are there mabye less strings, making it 'easier' perhaps?

I only got to see Ben's wing up close once, but it was pretty neet, my problem would be crash survivability, as we've seen in both the C's and the A/C 45's, when you fall on it, it's game over for the day, unless you've got a spare in the trailer box.

Still you're out for that race where as with our current sails, there's a pretty good chance you won't bust it if you do fall on it.

"This is the norm in Hobie 16s. At the last North Americans, there were only 2 teams (out of 50) that were two adult males. You guys can keep your wiener-fests. We may not sail the fastest boats, but at least the parties aren't a bunch of guys, awkwardly standing around, scratching and farting."


You say it like it's a bad thing, all this scratching and farting! I don't even like sailing, but I LOVE standing around with a bunch of guys, drinking beer, scratching and farting, without my WIFE there, to tell me to quit!

It's really the only reason I sail...

Exactly
I started sailing and racing cats with my now wife (gf back then in Mexico) and before , in the middle and at the end of each race I remarked her that all my rants, were on my own frustration and that she didn´t have to take it personally.
Something like above "We are just racing, you are a crew"

No wonder the Mex fleet said to me that she valued her weight in gold for continue racing! haa but we had the best time together, specially at the 2004 H16 Worlds.

We trained at Valle de Bravo Lake and the first race in Playa del Carmen was held in +20knots and huge waves... it was tough, with 1 year of sailing only. No wonder I married her later!

Back in Arg with the F18 launched , we didn´t race again. Maybe with an F16 in the future?

I'll just leave these right here . . . a small sampling.




Every woman in those photos is a Hobie 16 crew and/or skipper. (Taken at the 2011 Hobie 16 NAs.)

That one chick is uuuuugly. And she needs a shave.

easy - no need for relationship therapist -

give her the tiller and STFU. Rail meat's not supposed to talk anyway. Only answer questions related to speed, course, time/distance to line/mark, and other boat positions.

Fast teams share information while sailing (when necessary), not critique, postulation, or "feelings".

So... you may not have the luxury of :

"dearest crew person, it has come to my attention that perhaps one or more of our sails has become overtaxed in its current configuration by the developing wind and sea state .

If, pray tell, you find it within your already busy schedule to ease some of the tension on this particular sail control line located 24 centimeters to the starboard of the mast base with the red and white flecked cover, it would certainly assist our efforts in reducing the tendency of this sailing craft to invert.

I thank you in advance for your consideration of my request, and look forward, with eager anticipation, to your thoughts regarding this potential course of action. "

Where relationship therapy needs to be is if my spouse ever took interest in sailing. "move the thing over to there!" seems to leave me wanting for a bit more....detail?

Straight up kinky Matt.





Yeah, but how much of that has to do with teams needing to be light, last I checked a team was deemed as non-competitive at 285.25 lbs. I know, its not that bad, but still. Over 300, and having high expectations is kinda out of the question isn't it?

I think what he is saying is that every class has a Class Culture.. The Hobie 16 class is what you see.

I will note that this class gets the highest participation at NA's of any catamaran class in North America. AND its among the top 10 or 15 OD classes in the country. (RogerJolley annual report)

So... if you want some answers to the giggle questions I asked..... ASK THOSE GUYS AND GALS!!!

(its not a new problem.... just new to some folks)

Jay's Wife: "Well Jay, how does that make you feel, when I ask you to trim the jib tighter? Are you mad that I asked you to trim the jib? Are you telling me you think I'm wrong? Or are you saying you just don't want to trim my jib anymore? What's wrong with my jib? Do you think my jib is fat? You wanted to trim HER jib! I saw the way you were looking at her jib, Jay! Admit it, you'd rather trim HER jib, wouldn't you Jay?? Admit it, you think HER jib is nicer than my jib, don't you Jay!"

Jay: "OK, I'll trim your Damn Jib, now Leave me ALONE!!"

Reminds me of your favorite Old Spice ad, Timbo

Look at him, now look at me, now look at him looking at me...

I've seemed to do ok the last few seasons in the 300-315 range

Proof that "it's not the size of the stick that matters".

How bout sailing with another sailor you have respect and faith in their ability. It also helps to have your expectations aligned with the level of the event and of your co-sailor. I often sail with my wife, on both the front and the back of the boat. Done it for near 20 years and can't remember any huge disagreement that left the water.

Now....when on different boats, same fleet, THAT'S a whole nother story

Thanks Jake

Wing sail has been used on Moths and the A, my understanding is there are equal to or less lines than conventional sails if rigged correctly.

Issue is cost, durability, transportability, and rig-ability. They are really neat but the engineering and materials have a ways to come before its a mass market product IMO.

You mean my Wife's Favorite Ad?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE&feature=related

Clearly you haven't done much 2 up distance racing, or perhaps there was too much concentration on the racing and not enough fun? I know that doing 100+ miles per day gets boring quick if you don't have something to talk about-after 3 days the crew knows what line to pull on when or you're already in the drink.

As the boats get smaller, there is also a technical trade-off with the extra weight aloft with the wing and pitching moment of the hulls. Ben surmised that the A-cat is pretty close to the threshold where a rigid wing (and the weight built with current technology) added enough to the pitching moment that it slowed the boat about as much as it sped it up. Granted, wave conditions play a big role here.

Curved foils limit some pitching?

RE: mixed sailing I bump this video because it's amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwgT7RnYe4g
I Am A Cat Sailor

Wow. Just, wow...

Mike

[quote=Karl_Brogger

Yeah, but how much of that has to do with teams needing to be light, last I checked a team was deemed as non-competitive at 285.25 lbs. I know, its not that bad, but still. Over 300, and having high expectations is kinda out of the question isn't it? [/quote]

5th place Team Anthony Duchatel and his Crew were over 320 lbs.Karl you have also had the privelege like myself to race against (and be beaten) by Mr. Jagger.He has never sailed at anything but well over 360 Lbs.

Really? Ted is 360#'s? I always thought he was adding some weight to make minimum.

Still, how much of the mostly mixed H16 teams has to do with needing to get weight down?

and Mike, don't get all sensitive on me.

Karl you know me I am just a sensitive type guy.
There are two things that are worth defending,your family and your boat and not necessarily in that order.
Ted is not 360 him and his crew are .

Late surprise : quoted tornado prices are EXCLUDING taxes

International Tornado website is source of late surprise

I quote directly

"Both boats are priced competitively with the Exploder being €15,900 and the Marstrom being €25,900, these prices are excluding tax and delivery but include a full suit of Ullman One Design Sails and a Carbon Mast."


Well, there it is.

Many of us were suspecting something fishy was going on with the Tornado quotes as is the case with many of the Tornado-trials related statements lately.

Taxes in euro zone are 19% VAT and that places the Exploder Tornado at € 18.921 when you pick it up yourself in Poland. A carbon masted F16 from one of the EU agents (UK, NL, France, ITA or Belgium) will be cheaper then that.

A Marstrom Tornado, that you have to pick up in Sweden, will set you back a € 30.821


Go figure,

Wouter

Correct. No W-1000, T-500 or GT-300, but a 1/2 dozen steeplechases and short stuff like that. I think Ksurfer2 let me nap during the day for one of them...

I was referring to buoy racing with my humor, but you have a point...

Jay,
You've got more experience than Sam, don't sweat it. He's one of those guys who uses the Intarweb to make people think he's something he's not, repetitively.

The year I sailed the Tybee 500 with Carl Roberts, I think we probably said about three words an hour to each other...got along just fine and had a good trip.

I would never have guessed that from his on-line persona, Jake. He is a smiling, gentle giant IRL, but Jeebus he could rant on the 'net.

I know! We're both probably fortunate that we didn't sort out each other's political persuasions on the trip though. It really was a very memorable Tybee. His lack of communication created a little stress occasionally...like when we had the lead coming out of Fernandina and for about 15 minutes I kept pointing out that we were letting the fleet reach further out and I kept calling out the ever-increasing bearing we needed to maintain to clear the end of the jetty. With the waves crashing on the rock jetty clearly in sight, I finally demanded an answer...and then all I got were three quietly mumbled words that made me go a little pale.

No universal healthcare?

Chemistry is everything when you're on a boat all day with someone.

I'll never forget a pickup crew I had one year for New England 100. We were bored and telling jokes. One of his jokes was so disturbing that I was seriously looking around like, "How close are we to Jamestown????!!!!"

I'm sure I turned a few shades whiter.

Mike

close...but I was pretty sure I was going to need that within the next ten minutes.

He liked going over that jetty. I followed him once, but figured it wasn't that much faster considering the risk of being in the trough instead of on the crest and avoided the temptation after that.Plus it terrified my crew.
Not only was he quiet when I sailed with him, but when he did talk it was a whisper. If I said "what' once I said it 10,000 times.



Jabber is distracting. Racing is about the only time I shut up.

And what's even more amazing is that I don't think he ever looked at tide info. I couldn't believe what we had just done and was just getting over the shock when I realized there was a second side coming up quickly. There was dry rock between and on either side of the hulls...we couldn't have had more than 12 inches of water under the hulls and that was only because he had timed a wave right.

I remember that Jake. I watched you go in there and thought you/he were crazy. I went around. Popped out the other side and you guys had a nice lead. I didn't like that much and would never try to put my boat through there.