Team race championships

We competed in the VISA team race championships at NYCC on Saturday 12 October 2019. Participating were Abbie and Maria in one boat and Chase and Frances in a second boat. Below is the regatta report by the organizers.

   Fifteen teams from 11 schools arrived on the Lafayette River for the season Championship Team race regatta to find unusually high tides covering the entire lower parking lot at NYCC and a good portion of the fixed docks. Some cloud cover gave way to partly cloudy skies and a high temperature of 75 degrees. Seas were flat. Light winds NNW at 3-6 mph with gusts higher and some oscillations shifting slightly north before dying at 3:00PM when racing was abandoned.

   Sailors completed 2 round robins on two digital N courses. Teams were initially seeded into three groups on the two separate courses, with Group 1 on course 1, and groups 2 and 3 on course 2. After the initial rounds were completed teams were re-seeded into 4 groups with teams moving up or down based on the initial round results. Lack of wind precluded a third round with more movement.

   Final rankings are based on Round 2. Christchurch School Team 1 took first place, followed by Norfolk Collegiate School Team 1 in second, and Norfolk Academy Team 1 in third place.

    We are very grateful to all of the volunteers that made this event possible, especially Levi Thomson and David Chase who served as PRO's on the two different courses.

Again we struggled in the light air, but Abbie and Chase found getting on-time starts to be much easier with the small size fleet (we raced 2 v. 2 since we couldn't muster a third skipper.) At the end of the day, we finished with 2 wins and 4 losses to place 12th of the 16 teams. Below are the scores of the teams on course 2 (the lower seeded teams.)

Regatta report 28 September

On the 28th of September we sailing in a regatta at Fort Monroe, hosted by the Youth Sailing of Virginia. Here is the regatta report from the organizers:

    Eighteen teams from 14 schools gathered on Fort Monroe to compete on Mill Creek. Morning overcast skies gave way to blazing sunlight combined with little breeze and temperatures in the mid 80's, making for a long hot stiff, but fun, day on the water. Morning breezes were ENE 3-7 mph with gusts to 10 mph, slowing considerably to NE 2-3 when racing was abandoned.

    Two divisions each completed 4 W-4 races followed by 2 W-2 races. Races averaged 20 minutes long. A seventh A division race was sailed and scored, but had to be thrown out because a seventh B race was unable to be completed.

    Norfolk Academy Team 1 took first place. Behind by only one point, in second place was Norfolk Collegiate School Team 1, followed by Poquoson High School Team 1 in third place.

    Many thanks to Alan Bomar for serving as PRO, and not leaving anything on the water.

Our finishes are below. We struggled in the light air, finishing tied with Granby on points but beating them by finishing ahead of them in seven of the twelve races completed.

Moth Nationals

On Saturday and Sunday the classic moth national championships were held in Elizabeth City, NC. Abbie and Sev attended Saturday and Chase sailed both Saturday and Sunday. There were 23 boats in the fleet broken out as vintage, generation 1, and generation 2 boats. Of the 23 competitors, seven were "juniors" (under 18). The oldest competitor was 75 years old (coach Bousquet was only 64.)

Some shots of our Crusaders, first heading out to the start area:

And then some taken during the race:

The breeze was shifty and puffy giving challenging conditions.

Winning the championship was Mike Parsons from Philadelphia with finishes of 1-(3)-1-1-1-2-2 = 8. Coach Bousquet finished in 2nd place with 2-1-2-2-(4)-1-1 = 9.  Both Mike and Coach sailed the Mistral design, the fastest in the Generation 2 fleet.

The scores for Chase, Sev and Abbie were
Chase: 15-(19)-17-19-16-15-15 = 97 for an 8th place in the Generation 1 fleet
Sev: 20-15-18-11-(DNS)-DNS-DNS = 112  for a 5th place finish in the Generation 2 fleet
Abbie: 16-21-19-21-(DNS)-DNS-DNS = 125 for a 12th place in the Generation 1 fleet

More pictures and video are posted on the Classic Moth Boat Association: FB page

The regatta was written up in Monday's The Daily Advance (the Elizabeth City newspaper): http://www.dailyadvance.com/Sports/2019/09/23/Family-ties-throughout-Moth-Boat-Nationals.html

Team race at NYCC

On Thursday 19 September we went to NYCC for a team race event. We had a reduced contingent (only 4 sailors) so couldn't field a third boat. The was an extra NC sailor so Coach Bousquet and Jake (from NC) jumped in a boat to join Chase and Jean-Santiago and Sev and Jack out on the water. We first simply sailed around the digital N course (shown below).

After a course orientation, we did sail two non-scoring races against three boats from NC. Our skippers Sev and Chase learned a lot and we're looking forward to the next team race at NYCC next week.

Re-posting old links

Please review these:

 https://crusadersailing.blogspot.com/2016/09/w-4-explained.html

https://crusadersailing.blogspot.com/2016/09/sailing-rules-discussion.html

Regatta report

On Saturday September 14 we competed at NYCC in the first VISA varsity regatta of the season. We entered one varsity A/B team with Josh and Chase skippering and one boat in the JV division with Abbie and Sev alternating as skipper. 

Here is a description of the conditions on the varsity and JV courses from the event organizers:  

A beautiful day on the Lafayette river welcomed sailors to the first regatta of the season today. Winds were NE 4 to 10 with gusts higher with some oscillation serving a challenging calm to the course at times. Seas were flat with beautiful skies. The high school regatta season was kicked off with 23 varsity teams from 14 schools. On the JV course we had 18 teams from 9 schools in a single division.

We accomplished five W-4 races in each of two divisions on the varsity course. Races averaged 15 minutes. Congratulations to Norfolk Collegiate School Team 1 for capturing first place followed by Norfolk Academy Team 1 in second and Christchurch School Team 1 in third place.

JV alternated between W-4 and W-3 courses. Ten single division races were accomplished. First Place went to Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, followed by Norfolk Academy Team 1 in second place and Norfolk Academy Team 3 in third place.

Our varsity results are below. The highlighted line shows each finish position, the cumulative points accrued and the relative placing in the fleet. The race sequence scored was A division races 1 and 2, then B division races 1 and 2, then A division races 3 and 4, then B division races 3 and 4 and lastly A division race 5 and B division race 5. At the end of the day we finished ahead of a team from Poquoson (on a head-to-head tiebreaker), York, Walsingham, and two teams from Christchurch.

Here are the JV results:

Skippers Abbie and Sev learned a lot and are looking forward to racing again.

Feast or Famine

The team race and fleet race scheduled for the week of September 3rd were both scrubbed due to Dorian. The team race scheduled for yesterday (September 12th) found us at Norfolk Yacht and Country Club with a handful of other schools, but with no wind. At least we got all team members together for a picture!

We hope to race tomorrow, Saturday September 14th at this same venue. The weather forecast looks promising: maybe a bit of rain but good racing winds!

Practice underway

We've had three practice sessions so far and are still breaking in new crews and skippers. After a Monday's too much and Tuesday's just right breezes, Wednesday's session on Willoughby saw breezes dropping from 8 to eventually 2 knots.

Monday's breezes:

Tuesday's breezes:

Wednesday's sailing:

Season scheduled posted.

Check the sidebar to the right. Details are below.

August 31st (Saturday). NYCC regatta (not a high school event). An open regatta with no entry fee. More info is linked here. I have three moth boats available (I'll sail one of them.) If one of the Kiggans brings theirs we can have a separate start.

September 5th (Thursday). First "team race" event at NYCC. We need three skippers (at at least three crews) to form a team. In FJs. I will drive a short bus to and from the yacht club. This will be in lieu of practice at the Naval Base.

September 7th (Saturday). First fleet race in FJs and 420s (A and B divisions will sail different boats.) This race will be at Christ Church School. I will drive a short bus. We'll have to leave the parking lot early (6:00 a.m.) and won't be back to school until 6:00 p.m. A long day!

September 12th (Thursday). Second "team race" event at NYCC. We need three skippers (at at least three crews) to form a team. Again in FJs.

September 14th (Saturday). Second fleet race. Will be at NYCC in FJs. A and B divisions. I will drive a short bus. We'll have to leave the parking lot by 8:00 a.m. and will be back to school around 4:00. This regatta will also have a single JV division on a separate course where 9th and 10th graders can sail against non-varsity skippers.

September 19th (Thursday). Third "team race" event at NYCC. We need three skippers (at at least three crews) to form a team. Again in FJs.

Saturday and Sunday September 21 & 22. Classic Moth National Championships in Elizabeth City, N.C. (not a high school event.)  More info is linked here. Again, I have three boats available for use. There is an entry fee for this championship but includes dinner Saturday, a t-shirt, and prizes for top finishers in various categories (generation 1 boats, generation 2 boats, juniors, girls.) Since I am the reigning national champion, I need to attend and defend my title. Typically 4-5 races Saturday and 2-3 races Sunday. Team members need not sail both days unless they want to. If you are interested, please have parents talk with me. I typically drive down and back each day (E. City is about an hour's drive from Va Beach.)

September 26th (Thursday). Fourth "team race" event at NYCC. We need three skippers (at at least three crews) to form a team. Again in FJs.

September 28th (Saturday). Third fleet race. Will be at Youth Sailing Virginia (Fort Monroe) in FJs. A and B divisions. I will drive a short bus. We'll have to leave the parking lot by 8:00 a.m. and will be back to school around 4:00.

October 12th (Saturday) VISA (Virginia Interscholastic Sailing Association) Team Race Championships at NYCC in FJs. The top tier teams will race in the "gold" division with 3 on 3. The lower tier teams will race in the "Silver" division with 2 on 2. We'll have to leave the parking lot by 8:00 a.m. and will be back to school around 4:00.

October 19th & 20th (Saturday and Sunday) This weekend has three options: (1) The MASSA Fleet Racing Championships for the top ranking teams in VISA. Typically VISA gets 3 bids for this A and B division Championship regatta. Held in Annapolis, MD. (2) The MASSA Fleet Racing Silver Championships for the lower ranking teams in VISA. Typically VISA gets 3-4 bids for this Silver A and B division Championship regatta. Held in Tred Avon, MD. (3) VISA "fun" regatta at Youth Sailing Virginia (Fort Monroe) held in FJs.   As a team we can only go to one of these three options. It's doubtful that we'll qualify for the MASSA Championships, but we will probably be able to go to the Silver Championships. The Maryland trip requires an overnight stay and a female chaperone (in addition to me.) If we decide to go out of state, I would drive the short bus, probably leaving very early Saturday morning (4 a.m.?) and returning Sunday evening. The fun regatta is Saturday only and if we go there the logistics would be similar to that of the YSV regatta on the September 28th.

October 24th (Thursday) The TCIS Sailing Championships. Probably at NYCC in FJs (may be at YSV in FJs) . Each TCIS school gets three boats and fleet racing is held with the top school determined as the one with the lowest cumulative score. Early dismissal for this regatta - typically around 1:00 p.m. I would drive the short bus.

October 26th (Saturday) The VISA Fleet Racing Championships. At NYCC, held in FJs and 420s. A and B divisions. I'll drive the short bus. We'll have to leave the parking lot by 8:00 a.m. and will be back to school around 4:00.

Try-outs & practices to begin NEXT Wednesday the 21st.

We have been given permission to use the Naval Station facilities at the sailing center. I will be moving boats from school to the Base over the next few days. I hope to start practice next Wednesday, August 21st, weather permitting. The plan will be to meet at school in the parking lot at 4:00 p.m. I will drive students to the Naval Station using one of the school's mini-buses. We should be returning to school between 6:30 and 7:00. Please e-mail me if you plan on attending: bousquej@chsvb.org.


Students need to bring a type III PFD (I recommend the Medalist at West Marine, now on sale:  https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--medalist-life-jackets--P008_240_007_508?recordNum=1 ). The school will provide helmets and pinnies.

Remember, any student trying out must have a current physical on-file with the athletic director. A blank form is here: file:///media/fuse/drivefs-8cc012d06750c25900dc53f9bdd8f48b/root/Physical%20Form.pdf
You may not participate unless your name is on the list. If you do not know, feel free to e-mail me.

The planned practice schedule will be firmed up next week, depending on the number of participants. The regatta schedule will be pinned down on the 20th, when all the VISA schools will be meeting. I anticipate the racing schedule will be similar to last year's.

Interest meeting on May 30th

An interest meeting was held after the English exam. The following folks attended:

Skippers:

Crews:



It is the hope that we we start practice in July this summer. All participants need to have a current physical on file with the athletic director before trying out or practicing. Team members must be good swimmers - capsize drills will be conducted the first day. The school will provide the helmets but students must own a type III p.f.d. and bring it every day to practice.  I own and recommend the West Marine "medalist" https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--medalist-life-jackets--P008_240_007_508?recordNum=38



Students who have experience in sailing are preferred. Helms are needed as skippers; novices can act as crews. The boats we use are weight sensitive and smaller students will be faster than heavier students.