F18 North Americans

Kicks off in 1 hour.

Live tracking here

Sail number identifier here

Not sure what effort would be required, but it would be great if they could replace the sail numbers on the tracker with last names.

Who is ARG 007??

Don't know, but they are sailing well.

I think I got a note a couple of weeks ago - I seem to remember now it is either Gonzales Cruz Smith or his brother... can't remember the details.

The registrations show ARG 007 as Sergio Mehl / Nicolas Aragones

Ah.

1st race: ARG, Easton/Burd, JC/Dalton, Tomko/Billings... I think.

Looked like JC did a turn shortly after the start, and Pitt did one just after the first offset mark...

Kattack is cool. Looks like a big right shift on the last leg to finish.

Is there live commentary anywhere? Mark roundings, conditions, etc?

Very cool to watch live!

Mike

I kept seeing signals lost...wonder if some of that was capsizing. The wind data looks sporty.

Agree that sometimes the signal gets spotty, but in the two cases I cited, there seemed to be good signal and a constant track throughout a 360 turn... Nigel had come in overstood on port, so likely a close encounter in the zone. Of course, not being there, that's just a guess. ;-)

Don't know about that. Merrick was invisible until he showed up right at the finish (near the front of the fleet, so I doubt he capsized).

Boats too fast for the system?

Interesting that they took the start mark behind the signal boat during the race.

Mike

Results are starting to show up now (they have 35 entered so far). Assuming we just watched the finish of Race 1, Robbe Daniel was also invisible (he won, and I never saw a boat ahead of the ARG boat).

Mike

Jesus F. Christ.

Another time-waster. AC last week, F18s this week. I'm not getting anything done.

I ran out of vacation time, or I'd be "wasting" it there too...

Mike

Stacking up - must be in sequence for Race 2...

JC at the pin - what a surprise...

JC got the pin and just bolted. Bauldry and Merrick were right there, too.

Todd beat Ding (by one boat). This seems to be a pattern?

I don't know that I'd call the wind "sporty" yet. Seems to be averaging in the high teens, but that's in MPH. Gusts don't seem to be over 20 knots.

Of course, I sail a Hobie Wave...

Mike

Has anyone seen a list of hull numbers with the names? The entry list I found doesn't correspond.Looking through the sail numbers is slow.

course looks pretty square. Maybe a slight left favor.

http://www.yachtscoring.com/current_event_entries.cfm?order=Sail

You could take the results of the first race, save it to Excel, and sort by hull number (the hull numbers show up in the results but not the scratch sheet).

I've just been looking at the online scratch sheet- you can sort by sail number, and it's not too bad (considering there are over 50 boats).

Mike

Definite left favor - nobody lays from the right. Mike and Tripp just short tacked AGAIN!

Weird, because going downwind, they spent more time on port in that last race. Maybe the seas are playing into it? Or, it's just shifty...

Mike

either the tracker missed a beat or ding missed a-mark. I'm betting the tracker missed a beat. Ricardi's not recording so I can't tell how punk vs. grandpa is working on this race. It looks like team Punk was up one after race 1.

Easton, Tomko at the top, with an invisible Robbie?

This system is definitely not perfect. Getting better every year, but definitely not reliable enough (yet) for boat vs. boat or boat vs. mark stuff.

Mike

oooo...Team Punk popped up on the tracker again. Grandpa with a good lead.

Nigel's got a good race going too.

I see 19 knots boat speed in the front... sweet ride!

Tomko hanging in there behind Easton. ARG 007 split at the bottom and heading up the left.

ARG splits and bails to the other gate??

Ding just did a circle - Bad Boy!

That's a little better the one I had printed off was random. At least those sail numbers are in order. Thanks.

yup. Easton coming back at them across the middle of the course though and abandons the right. Looks like they were starting to get knocked over there and bailed.

Looks like Mike crossed 'em...

Merrick's unit is just not working right. He keeps showing up randomly without a track or speed. Well, not completely random, his position changes do make sense when they show up.

Mike

Peek-a-boo Merrick very near the front of the fleet...

Did JC miss the offset?

JC squeeked that mark from a long way off to the right - first one I've seen make it from the right side...

WOW! Did ARG pitchpole right before the finish???

Doubt it, that's just the error in the system sometimes.

Mike

Looked that way... bummer for Sergio!

The other big rivalry is Ding and Bret Moss. Bret's doing well ,especially for not racing an F-18 but once before.

Between races, we have to go back and read through this thread. We're all talking past each other because of how slowly the pages update, or because of how excitedly we're adding stuff and moving from page to page!

Mike

Too bad the system doesn't overlay race info: race number, leg number, start sequence, etc...

Mike

"I see everything twice!"

- Yossarian, circa 1968

I wonder why Karl and Beth are on the beach?

Looks like they're circling the wagon again...

Site is real slow for me.

Mike and Tripp - nice start at the boat...

Easton's feed is getting goofy...

Team Grandpa just crosses ahead (on starboard) of Team Punk headed to A-pin.

Kattack server keeps burping? All boats?

Trust me. Don't believe everything you "see" with this system. The resolution is NOT that good.

Mike

A bunch of feeds are flaking out. I wonder if there's a bigger issue?

Very unreliable.

Looks like Robert Todd is swimming on this one...

Results are up - Robbie the Invisible with two bullets...

he must have borrowed Wonder Woman's boat.

ouch...and titcomb with an OCS in R2.

Looks like they're headed to the bar!

The Gramps/Punk race is looking tight.

There will be some DNCs to post for the third race...

Nice sailing Robbie!

Where do you see OCS listed for Titcomb (or anyone)? You're probably right, I'm just not seeing any letter codes.



Seriously, MUST they hold hands at every regatta?

Mike

The OCS was there (I saw it, too), but now he has a number score...

Results are up - Robbie with the Hat Trick...

Who's crewing for John Bauldry?

Mike

Giselle.

Oh yeah...definitely did some swimming. Waves were 3-4 ft, steep, current running into the wind, water only about 30 ft deep. Lots of broken stuff in the fleet.

Yeah, I touched the mark.

Team Punk Versus Grandpa update...
Race 1 we had around 5-6 boats between us but Bo Kearsey kept us from jibing and we overstood the line and had to drop the chute, Bo flipped on the RC boat, amazingly only his daggerboard touched the boat. We had to sail upwind to get back to the line.
Race 2 Ding has a BIG lead... we caught him somewhat on the second upwind... and (I'm going to throw him under the bus) he dragged his butt behind the boat between the windward mark and the offset, there is great photo evidence. They didn't trap after this and we closed a big gap in the matter of just a couple minutes, rolled him as he jibed away, and ended up beating him by a bunch. If we don't beat him in the regatta that alone makes my year and he knows it!
Race 3 I think Ding was ahead but we had to stop to get our mainsheet unwrapped from our rudder at the windward mark, put it back down and put the chute up, it kicked up and we flipped, had some other little issues and were DFL so we called it.

Lots of wipe outs, broken parts and people. Wind was 15-20 all day with very few moments of just higher, but the waves were steep and close together and confused. Jay Foss has more bad luck as he has some broken ribs now. Trevor Burd put a big chip in his front tooth. Mike & Tripp bent their spin pole really good.

That's giving the impression your un-employed butt has something to do.

A "bunch" Ricky? Do you tell the ladies you have a "big" unit too?

Wow - great start with some OCSs, and Mike/Tripp and JC/Dalton in a knife fight for the pin!

Thanks Ding, that was helpful...

What's going on today? Was there an AP at 1030, or did they change the schedule, or is everyone still sleeping here?

Looks like they (literally) just started a race, but the gate and finish marks aren't set, and there are no comments here, and no results up for any races since yesterday.

Crack kills...

Mike

Boats that were in trouble and bailed right are now looking pretty good, with a knot more boat speed...

Expect to see right continue to be favored for a while today with the breeze starting so far to the left of yesterday...

Glasers and Tomko came out of that mess beautifully...

Glasers look good in the middle. Sergio and Robbie look like they got buried. Annie looks good out on the right.

Mike

Local knowledge in southern New England: SW is prevailing, when in doubt, go right, especially in Newport...

Also, it was really, really cold here yesterday. The drizzle didn't help, either.

Mike

Annie and Eric look good for first A-pin...

Glasers with a nice tack and clean air to the mark...

I don't think she's making the mark. Easton looks to be getting a glory lift...

Left shift - wow!

What the... Robbie short-tacked the mark!!!

Nice lee-bow by Pitt...

Speed doubled with the kites up...

Looks like a couple of people got screwed by tacking too early, guessing the wind is a little shifty or a consitent shift.

I wish you could click on the tails to see the data.

What happened to Tomko? Or is the tracking flaking out?

You can increase the time on tails - use the advanced tab.

JC gybes first...

Left really favored on the run - Mike gybed to cover, but I might have asked to extend to the lay...

JC gybes back to break free of Pease...

Mike gybes with JC! Looking like they're gunning for each other!

Mike on the lay, and JC gybes on top of him...

Nigel soaking it low in his own lane, lake-style!

Robbie found a good lane across the middle and has broken free of traffic...

Port starboard, selsmeyer and glaser...

Glasers inside, but a slow rounding...

Robbie and JC going right - alone, too - looks like the correct move...

John, who are the ones you are monitoring, I'm only looking at a few...If I do everyone, it's all jumbled up.

Lotta lake sailors up near the front - Selsmeyer, Korte, Krutty (my crew at the upcoming CofC in *gulp* Flying Scots).

Mike, I've got all the boats "on" but I zoom in until they're distinct.

Matt - I hate that buffalo boat. Agonizing.

got it...!

Bit of a rightie, but maybe too late for the guys that went left...

Is the wind building, the boats look like they are going a little faster upwind than they were on the first leg.

JC still connected to the Glasers - hurting his angle...

Very slight increase in velocity - we're seeing the leaders in cleaner air, I think, not a particularly building breeze.

That makes sense.

gramps and punks tight again. Just saw a really close crossing though they both seem to be pretty buried in the fleet.

Paul and Kim having a GREAT ride!

Robbie free of traffic now...

Looks like they are getting lifted from the finish mark.

At first, I thought they laid it almost, but not at this point.

Amazing how Rob and Hunter work their way through the fleet - really technically superior.

They were a little behind on the first leg upwind, but made a lot up going downwind.

Mike goads JC into gybing early...

Horizon job after being buried at the start, amazing...

Looks like JC is going to have to do another jibe.

Great race for the Glasers... love watching Casey/Easton match up.

The wind must be a little shifty for JC and a couple of others do a couple of short jibes like that to get to the finish?

Is that correct?

Anyone know why they started at noon? Schedule says 1030.

Could have been setting up for preferred position at the finish, avoiding laylines, etc.

Mike

Mike - those gybes were tactical - Easton was trying to pick up Casey by gybing... Casey kept gybing to cover. Mike was hoping for either an error in boat handling or some leverage...

Probably waiting for velocity. The real time wind on the site was reading below 5 for a while. Only 8 right now.

Is Reiss driving with Nigel calling the shots?

Hard to tell, but the wind didn't look significantly different at 10:30, unless they postponed ashore well before that (good chance of that since there was very little wind to get them out to the course).

Of course, looking at the forecast on the windalert site, looks to be going left all day. So much for local knowledge...

Mike

got it!

Scores are up.

Results being entered now. Not seeing and "surprises" in the top end, so all the trackers appear to be working.

BTW, anyone know about the redress for Korte in races 1 and 2? Or, about the other boats listed as "Protest" (are they still pending)?

Mike

Anyone know what's up with the RDGs for Korte?

Here we go!

Lining up to start, looks like Ferrara was caught napping...

I-flag now, do you think, Mike?

Tomko dipping! - Better NOT be an I-flag up!

Suddenly, the signal boat is on the beach... Ugh!

Mike

Looks like a decent start for the whole fleet!

Another general recall!

Looks like generall recall!

JC was at the pin, and Easton took the boat - let's see if they line up like that again.

Pitty. One of the best starts I've seen for the Frenchies Krokstad/Poutays

All tracking has stopped working for me (all boats have speed of "?")...

What happened to Robbie's tracker? did it stop, or is just me?

OK, I refreshed, and it's better. This site (catsailor) is obnoxiously slow again...

That worked for me too!

Man - Easton took a whole pack of boats up right at the gun - there will be OCSs there.

Easton, middle/right. Interesting...

Tomko looks WAY overstood on the right - hope the marks aren't where we think!

Where are you seeing timing for a gun???

In my noggin - I could be wrong. ;->

Sandra having a great first beat!

Lots of boats WAY overstood on STBD. Easton looking great if he doesn't get rolled.

Well, if this is really real-time, Tom is probably using GPS time for the starts, so it might not be too hard to follow the sequences (at least leading up to the start gun, no way to know when warnings go up).

Mike

Easton, Sandra, Glasers having a great race. Anyone see Robbie?

Mike

According to tracking Robbie is sitting on the start line

Looks like Easton is almost going to lay it. It's going to be close.

He's looking good!

I don't think Robbie's is working again.

He was holed by another boat in race 1, went to the beach for repairs (duct tape), came out again for race 3. Posted on the CRAW FB page.

Spoke too soon!

That's interesting, JC decided to go out, where Easton went to the middle.

JC tacked as soon as I posted it!

What just happened at the end? All the marks and lines moved around. Did JC catch Mike?

No - Mike got it by a bit. No idea where Rob is. Tomko having a terrible day.

Scores are up - Rob the Invisible on one hell of a run...

Merrick with a BFD. That's going to leave a mark.

Light air and waves... one of Robbie's greatest strengths. Requires such a high level of concentration to keep up with him in those conditions.

Looks like another start.

Easton and Casey off the committee boat...

That's going to be a little hard to recover from. OUCH!

JB got the pin (surprise). Looks like he's holding on to clean air.

This looks to be a good start for the whole fleet.

Sure would like too Robbie's GPS

Think Mike went too early. JC looks like he's set.

That was painful watching Tomko get shut out by the freight train at the weather mark.

Looks like a possible collision in mid pack. Hard to tell for sure though. But the way a boat behind maneuvered around...

Max is having a good one - love that guy.

Wow! And look at Matt and Bret!

Whoa - JC taking a quick hitch up, anticipating a leftie...

JC biting in with gybes - bet there will be three.

There's number two...

Easton didn't take the bait...

Max holding off Nigel...

They're doing an amazing job updating results on the water.

Man, looked like a bunch piled up at the committee boat.

Easton GPS on the frits or did they just fall back?

Edit: NVM. GPS hick up.

Can't tell where Robbie is, but based on the way JC tacked he looks to be covering the fleet so I'm guessing he's got the lead.

Easton got hurt by the leftie on the first beat.

Awesome work Robbie!

Also way to go Chris and Patrick. Looks like those guys have been training...

Don't think I've seen this mentioned yet - there are some outstanding photos from yesterday here.

Tom using the black flag doesn't surprise me at all (he runs lots of large Laser regattas), but I can't remember the last time I saw Merrick get an OCS of any flavor. Ouch, indeed...

Mike

They're doing a great job of getting the results up, but other than the tracking (which is too cool for words, really), they are not delivering the mulitmedia content promised in a timely fashion (looks like yesterday's pics and video went up today, and there have been no updates, on-water reports, etc.).

Of course, this is just nit-picking for future enhancement, overall, it's great fun to watch!

Mike

In the results it shows Bret and Matt with an 8/OCS how does that work? Everyone else with ocs got 55.
Any ideas Mike?

+1 Thanks for the pointer, Mark. I wonder what happened after the 447 - 448 sequence of shots. Also, Guy & JJ look like they have their hands full in 518. Wally

So.... the question I never see resolved... How many people are watching? A cat worlds... seem to have 80 or so viewers..

If you had to buy a ticket for the coverage... How much would it be worth to you?

I had this conversation with Dave Reed of Sailing World two years ago.... Obviously... they are not on board with this kind of coverage and that is not an accident.

Yeah that's a great shot . Be sure to view in slideshow mode for full screen.

Mark ,
Do you really have to bring your negative doom and gloom to every thread. Start your own thread about coverage and leave this one to cover the racing. With all the cat stuff not in Sailing World, who gives 2 ****s what they think.
Please start a new thread so this one will not get derailed.

pretty please!

No helicopters? No graphic overlays? No HD onboard cameras? No Mics?
How am I suppose to watch this??!!

first world problems

As I'm sure everyone has figured out there was a postpone today. The wind didn't settle in until around noon when we started, these folks really know there stuff and the area I cannot say enough postive things about the race management, they are absolutly amazing and are a great bunch of people to work with. Everyone at HYC has really gone out of their way to make us feel at home and welcome.

Tomorrow is promsing to be sporty again. The seastate here at 15 and above is a pain in the butt.

Someone mentioned it was a bit like lake sailing today... Sure if lake sailing has current :-) For those not used to sailing in current, it does change your game plan a bit.

Having a great time and well worth the 26 hours of driving an the 4 hours it took to get through New York :-) The chowda and lobsta alone is worth the trip.

Hopefully this post is readable, I may have had a rummy

Thanks for the updates Ding. Keep up the good work.
Oh yeah, if you keep practicing that body drag ,you'll be barefoot skiing in no time and you'll be a "bunch ahead" of everybody.
p.s. How do you get an 8/ocs like your carbon buddy? Just curious, I assume it's a scoring error.
p.s.s. Have a couple of rummies for me.

I'm not sure what the story is with the 8/OCS maybe it's some kind of "I'm sailing a heavy boat allowance" :-)

I'll get the skinny tomorrow, I'm sure it's some kind of scoring error.

Crap...suck...damnit. stupid spine of mine.

Ding, here's Team Grandpa's theme for tomorrow:

Just keep telling yourself... Current is my friend...

That's what we teach the Opti kids. Those that listen tend to smoke those that don't.

Current certainly would explain some of the odd-looking tracks.

I'm also sure that the 8/OCS is a scoring error. Some of these programs will allow you to add letters without necessarily calculating automatically/correctly, depending on how they're programmed (so you can be creative with your penalties). These programs are written with really, really wide user requirements (to say the least).

Mike

Mike, current is my friend and so is a nasty seastate (that's right Ricky, grandpa aint scared), these are new experiences for me and I'm freaking loving it, even though I'm getting my a$$ confidently kicked and will never hear the end of it from the carbon fiber wonder boy. Still having an awesome time talking sh!t and busting balls. That's right, you don't have to win to talk sh!t.

It's time for sleep grandpa is tired.

Oh hell YEAH! As I belly surf around A mark tomorrow that will be the tune going through my head!

Great job today by NW team, Shrek Jr, USA 7007, John Hoag and Todd Christensen, 6th and 8th, now 11th overall. Good luck, we are all pulling for you.

It's starting to rain here, and the forecast for today has changed and is now looking like it will be a repeat of yesterday.

In that case, I think we'll go with this today.

It looks like they've started.

Tracking is really flaky today - boats dropping in and out, lots of buffering . . . buffering . . . buffering. It's almost unwatchable.

I might actually be productive today.

I was thinking the same thing!

Thought it was just me!

Another start - lots of boats at the signal boat, not so many at the pin. Right side must be favored big time.

BLR_0719
enthusiast
Registered: 11/07/07
Posts: 260

Is Reiss driving with Nigel calling the shots?

Nigel drove Tues races 1, 2 and 3. Reiss drove Wed races 4, 5, 6 & 7. Plan for Thursday was for Nigel to drive, but can't confirm until they are off the water.

Looks like some top players got in a bad hole or something on Race 9, which just got posted.

LOL - two GPSs aboard Robbie today eh.

Tracking was OK at this start, but now it's on the fritz. I refreshed and only see 9 boats...

Looking at the scores, lots of ugly stuff in the Top 10:

Sergio, DNF and DNS, yuck!
Merrick BFD and a 21
Glasers OCS
JC got a 10!

Top 3 looking much tougher to crack, but anything could happen with 2.5 days to go!

Refreshed again, all boats online, JC out front at A...

Mike

JC looking for the bullet!

From the tracker, Top 5 Finish, Race 10:

JC
Robbie
Nigel
Easton
Hoag

Mike

What is the link to the live tracking? Thx.

http://f18northamericans.com/index.php/race-information/live-tracking

scores

http://www.yachtscoring.com/select_event.cfm?CFID=9524469&CFTOKEN=59529181

See first post on page 1 of this thread.

Just looking at yesterday's video. Hard to say if that looks/sounds like Tom D announcing the postponement at the skippers meeting (although that did sound like his voice on the radio/loudhailer at the countdown), who is the PRO?

Mike

Dialing up now!!!

I think I'd rather see all the boats in black except for the first five or ten.

General...

STarted, looks like JC is covering Robbie.

Easton isn't that far away.

Tom Duggan

That's what I thought, didn't look or sound like him ashore, but definitely sounded like him at the start in that video.

EDIT: Maybe the beach captain?

Mike

First run: Nigel, Easton, Glasers

Merrick's having a better day...

Mike

Pitt and Reiss appear to be in the lead and chased by Easton. Looking at them come around the C-gate and foot LOWER than Easton/Bird makes me wonder if Taylor isn't driving (I don't think I've ever seen Nigel do that). Their speed was about 1.2kn faster than Easton but the angle is worse...it looks like it's paying off though and they're staying ahead enough to make the cross when they come back on port.

Heck, their speed is almost 2knots faster than Easton now and they're staying on that same footed course becoming more separated but (I think) gaining distance.

Way to go Hoag, now in the top ten.

doh! BFD for Pitt AND Casey.

Oh my. JC's not going to be happy with that.

What's a BFD?

Just saw the same thing! Wow, that 10 is really looming large now, he was starting to gain points on Easton.

Three boats in the top 10 got the Biff in the last race today, the competition is obviously fierce!

Also noteworthy is that looking through the scores for the whole week, the top 10 guys have been very selfish with the single-digit finishes.

Anyone know what happened to Sergio? Hopefully, no one got hurt.

Mike

BFD=Black Flag Disqualification

This means that you were over early within the final minute before the start, with the black flag used as prep.

The only thing worse than that (in terms of starting penalties) is DNE, which happens if you are identified and there's a general recall, and you sail the restart.

See RRS 30.3 and Appendix A.

Mike

Are you kidding? He's gotta be used to 'em by now. He gets alot of them, but you gotta charge.I was surprised he didn't have one before now. I think that's how he knows he's pushing hard enough, there was a ratio, clean starts : ocs/bfd.

As a PRO, I don't like to advertise this, but you're absolutely right. I was taught that if you aren't OCS in 1 out of every 10 races, you don't know where the line actually is...

Mike

You're right in that it shows that he's being aggressive, but when he was well in contention for the podium... he's going to need to throw it out I'm guessing.

Yeah, but you're not going to win against guys that are posting top 3's and not getting OCS scores!

Absolutely correct. Same as going to a Hobie 16 event and Enrique shows up. Those guys can start anywhere and sail to the front (I watched Robbie do it yesterday).

As for not making the podium, it's hard to start getting conservative halfway through the regatta. He's got a decent lead over 4th place, but I'd say it's too early to start being too conservative, especially in that fleet.

Mike

http://www.photoboatgallery.net/p686725173/h33c12334#h3bb38572

1-124 are taken on 9/20
125-230 are taken on 9/21

Personally, I don't think the black flag is called for with this fleet. It's not part of the catamaran racing culture in North America.

Only once have I ever seen it used at a major catamaran event, and that was 13 years ago.

There are an awful lot of letter scores in those results.

Perfect weather for the 3 teams from the Pacific Northwest.
They have been training for those conditions all year.

A few years back,BK suggested competitors grab a beer, get out their lap tops and post the party goings on here on CS.

So, how about it? Who did what to whom?

I totally agree. I wonder how many recalls it took to break it out.

Hats off to the 2011 F18 NA's race management team! The timeliness of the race results posting sets a new standard. Well done! Really enjoyed the Kattack replays/live tracking, photos and video, as well. Many thanks!

No complaints from the competitors regarding the black flag. This is a very aggressive fleet. After the first general recall, the I flag went up. After the second general recall, the black flag went up. The race management is doing a fantastic job getting races off.

What happened to you guys the first day?

Looks like the Dinger got max speed for race 7. The carbon wonder boy ain't gonna like that. I told you that body drag thing could work for you. Next try the back flip off the top hull in a flip.

Um, wasn't PU using it at one of the 16NAs in California not too long ago?

I know we discussed it at the 17/18 event in Geneva (you, me and PU), he was saying that ISAF, Olympics and other major classes were pushing to use it more (he was discussing the scenarios of how to make it unstick with an AP, etc.).

I'm not remotely shocked, and even without being there, I know that Tom's playbook is Prep-I-Black (as Beth mentioned). I've worked with him a lot, and attended his seminars for years. Unless the line is grossly unfair due to an RC issue, you're not going to get rolling generals with him on the course.

For anyone here who isn't aware, Tom is an IRO, runs circles at the OCR, and trained the RC for the Olympics in China. I've never met anyone (other than PU and Luigi) who is more pro-sailor than Tom.

Mike

The conditions we're really gnarly on Tuesday. There was quite a bit of carnage...Broken bones and broken boats. We opted to fight another day and not break us or the boat.

The BFD is a frequent sight in international racing - we aren't preparing our teams for Worlds if we don't use it. The first time I ever saw it was at F18 Worlds in France - I had the book-smarts, but not the practical knowledge about dealing with race management controlling a line, and sailing in an aggressive, large fleet. Thanks, Robbie, for taking me there and showing me what sailing in a Worlds was about! And thanks, Tom, for bringing this level of race management to our fleet - we have a very good streak of top-level PROs going.

There was the same fleet, almost the same size (only 4 fewer boats) in Racine last year and there was only 1 general recall.

Then again, we only had 5 races in 5 days due to the light air.

I know Tom, too and I agree he is "customer focused". I'm not surprised he's gone P-I-BF - I'd probably do it too.

I'm just saying it's not part of the catamaran culture in NA. The event I saw it used at was the 1998 Hobie 16 NAs in Rehoboth. PU didn't even have a flag - he used a black plastic garbage bag.

BTW, there are some classes that absolutely forbid it (Snipes, Thistles, Flying Scots to name a few) - even on an international level.

Other classes (Etchells, Melges) use the Z flag and the I over Z successfully, along with a mid-line signal boat to control aggressive fleets. Hank Stuart and Wayne Bretsch ran a 100-boat J-22 Worlds in Rochester without a single black flag.

Bottom line: if the competitors don't mind it being used, then Tom's doing the right thing.

I also have to concure with John and Beth's assesment of the race management. The PRO told us the protocal at the skippers meeting. He told us that the current will screw with us a bit but when the black flag came out we all (most all) magically figure it out. I applaud the use of the black flag and it simply shows that the fleet is getting more aggresive and ready for worlds in 2012. Kudos to Tom and his crew, absolutly no complaints as a participant in the event.

We had a presentation from Steve Eliasen tonight to host the 2013 NAF18 Championship in Sheboygan, WI, I'm impressed by the professionalism of this outfit and look forward to the feed back from the fleet regarding this venue, it's a very exciting time to be involved with the F18 Fleet.

I remember the garbage bag well, and I agree that it hasn't traditionally been part of the NA culture. For a long time, that's what we called the black flag starts (I still refer to them as such): garbage flag starts. Maybe it's time to change...

Ding's right, with the appropriate penalty flag, it's amazing how quickly the fleet figures things out.

Don't get me wrong, Tom is definitely not a one-trick pony, and would certainly prefer the fleet to get it right under P or I at worst.

In addition to those classes (and preferences) you mention, there are many classes, Stars and Lasers in particular, that don't want to see anything other than P then straight to black. Stars lean more to black-only.

Mid-line boats are a mixed blessing. We've been using 4-boat lines with I flags at major Opti events (think 300+ boat fleets here, with round-robin starts of 80-100 per start). No generals, but a lot of delays, even with a separate finish line.

I'm sure that we've all noticed that they're also using bow numbers and a pin boat, so I'm sure that if the I-flag isn't working, there's a surge right before the start (which a mid-line boat won't fix). Tom does prefer square lines, where those of us who learned under PU prefer pin-favored; but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that the fleet is being a bit aggressive, especially in the lighter breezes...

Mike

EDIT: Was that PU at Rehoboth that year? I thought we had a guest RO for some reason.

You're thinking 2003.

I love Rehoboth! Has any place hosted more NAs?

Mike

That not a statistic I want to determine right now - and it's a pretty severe threadjack.

Back to the F18s . . . .

It was a rhetorical question, just trying to lighten the mood. Back on topic…

Looks like they’re maybe launching now (obvious AP ashore), trackers turning on and boats moving off the beach. Hard to say if they're really sailing yet, though.

The weather up here today is warm and sticky. Wind has been light all morning, forecast sucks.

Catsailor is painfully slow again today…

Mike

Yesterday's pics and videos are up.

Mike

The trackers have looked like that for a couple of hours now...

Dalton's posted an update from around 1PM - no racing today.

Yuck...

Hyannis ATM

Someone should tell them to shut off the trackers and save the batteries?

I got so used to there being no info on the home and "news" pages that I stopped looking there...

Here's the NOAA forecast, looks like some hope for tomorrow.

THIS AFTERNOON
S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 1 FOOT OR LESS. PATCHY
FOG. SHOWERS LIKELY. VSBY 1 NM OR LESS.

TONIGHT
S WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS AROUND 2 FT. SHOWERS. VSBY
1 NM OR LESS.

SAT
SW WINDS AROUND 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. SHOWERS. VSBY 1 NM
OR LESS.

The rain might be really nasty though.

Mike

Kattack needs to figure out a way to incorporate RC signals onto its real-time display. AP, start flags, N would be really good to see up with the boats.

Again, picking nits...

Mike

Like sailing down memory lane!!! I cant remember how many months I spent indoors while growing up in this part of MA due to the wx...

Florida's ok by me.

How are things at the shuttle pad these days, anyway?

You coming to Hiram's?

The trackers are Boost mobile phones running an app. The phones are enclosed in a waterproof case.

Lots of rain and fog today. We played tourist for the day, we'll be heading to the party shortly.

Thank you for asking, you are one of the few. Pads A and B are now empty and 85% of the people I worked with are now gone (Most took the voluntary layoff& $$). One of the side jobs I used to do and sincerely miss, was going out to sea on Liberty Star to retrieve the solid rocket boosters.

WRT the future, the group Im in, Mechancial Design Engineering, has been retained for subsequent work on the Space Launch System.
Space Launch System
In addition to preliminary design evaluations for the SLS, Im also involved in some smaller DOD reverse engineering projects (toilet for a C-130 , NO $HIT, no pun intended!) and I've been teaching Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing in accordance with ASME Y14.5. Actually heading to Nashville Oct. 3rd thru 7th for the national committee meeting (presenting a dimensioning scheme for rectangular features of size).


Yeppers. Have to improve on last year's performance. Should be a Wildcat next weekend.

BTW I gave up on trying to keep track of your real "Kitchen Passes",
even NASA can't discern those facts from fiction...

Enough with the thread hi-jack damn it! Back to the topic.

What happened to Sergio? I missed a few days here and my ADD wont allow me to read all 54 posts I missed...

Watching now - seriously oscillating breeze...

They're headed for the bar - looks like it was a great week of sailing. Congrats to the sailors, and sincere gratitude to Hyannis for hosting. Mountains of work went into this event, as ever - kudos to all involved. :-)

Way to go Robbie!

Very fun to watch, great job to all.

Mike

Thank you to the Hyannis YC and all the volunteers, especially Tripp and Mike who pulled so much of the weight and competed at the same time! This was a great event and a great group of people to race against. I hope to see you all at the Worlds in 2012.

Just want to mention a couple of things.

First the Black Flag: It has not been traditionally part of the Multihull Culture in the past, but it is definitely needed these days. I was in RI when PU was throwing the garbage bag up. I do not remember how many we over during a BF but would guess none as there was no one near the line when it was up. I have never experienced or seen a General Recall on a Black Flag, but that is exactly what we got one time in Hyannis. The current carried most of the fleet over the line many times. F18 racing is really coming on.

Second thing is the trackers are returned and charged each night, so there is no issue about the batteries running down. They are Boost phone based so should easily last all day. I appreciate that we have the data to review for the future. I think we can all benefit.

Later,
Dan

Mast went down on hardware failure it seems.
A pity as they were racing quite good.

We hope to have some US sailors coming to our playground next year.

1st Official South Americans in two weeks.

Martin
F18 Argentina