On Team Grace we are all about the importance of being early. 4:00 at Ida, or else, get aboard, tune the rig, chill the brew, sail the first beat at least once to figure out the breeze and current.

Executed plan to a “T” last evening. Gorgeous evening – Rachel, long-time mastman on Grace, opted this year to forego May racing since “It is always cold, rainy, and windy”, and so she sweated ashore while Ted Hood graciously subbed. Bad call, Rachel. Matt was back from kite boarding in the Caribbean, Pete was as usual doing foredeck, John driving, me working the main.

Blowing a good 12 knots out of the SW, so we sailed up past Clingstone, found that there were some huge righties out there, and were confident in the game plan. Then poof, no wind, only to come up fitfully from the SE, with a bit of east in it. So much for our prep, so much for being early.

Line seemed heavily boat favored so started in top third, and for awhile looked really good over the crowd jammed into the pin end. Dirk on 181 was behind and to weather, and he steamed over us with superior speed – meanwhile the pin-winners, including Wendy on 138, Charlie on 145, and Jan on 33, were being lifted up beneath us with better pressure.

We did take time for a pity party for the chaps on 108 who were called back about five minutes after the gun – heard later that with the I flag up they were over the line at about 20 seconds but were clear at the gun, yet still had to re-round…. (They fought back to a very respectable 14 of 31).

We tacked to port early than the leaders so as to keep clean air, then in a puff hitched back in towards Goat. Charlie and Jan held on port too long and ran out of breeze, which gradually backed and lifted us to the mark right on Wendy’s heels. Jamie followed on 217. Long, slow run ensued in about 3 knots, and when the breeze filled in from behind from the east, by being to the left of Wendy we had a better angle and eked around the gong just ahead.

At which point the breeze freshened and it was a reach to the finish for the gun.

Next week, we will be at Ida at 5:00 sharp….

Reed Baer, Grace 107

Cold, wet, and light was the forecast for Opening Day, 2010. We got the cold and light part when we cast off our mooring, but fortunately the rain held off. At sunset, we were even treated to a stellar light show, but there was a rather long race before that…a race that most Fleet 9 sailors would rather had never happened.

Aboard Grace, 107, Ted Hood, Rachel Balaban, and co-skipper Reed Baer made up the evening’s crew. Our foredeck ace, Dr. Peter Schott, was being honored in Providence by Governor Carcieri for years of pro bono dentistry, and spin trimmer/strategician Matthew Buechner had vacated the island to practice his kitesurfing skills in St. John.

Nineteen Shields arrived at the Fleet 9 starting line set near the Jamestown Boatyard by Dr. Robin Wallace and crew. Breeze was light southeasterly, and the tide was in the second half of the flood.

The wind was trending right before the start, so we started a little way down from the boat and held starboard, liking our position but not feeling too special about our speed. (Anyone else feel rusty, too?) The wind was very spotty, and for a while, those of us going left looked famous-Charlie Shoemaker (245), Andy Burton (201), and Wendy Lotz (138) were to leeward.

Unfortunately, we ran out of breeze toward Rose Island and the right side began to win big. Number 74 (Bill Shore and Nicole Alio) came out of that corner ahead of the fleet, despite having had to restart. Others in the vanguard from right and right center included Jamie Hilton (217) and Jay Gowell (232). We fought back from the left, rounded the first mark in about 12^th or 14^th, but jibed immediately and soon moved into 10^th.

Downwind was all port tack, still very spotty, and with the current sweeping us north. Yet approaching the leeward mark, we experienced some southbound countercurrent, so after rounding behind Stubby (59), we held port tack up toward Clingstone. Stubby tacked to starboard, following the leaders across the north-bound current, but we followed the ripples and made a few tacks toward the first bell buoy, while slowly being overhauled by 138 and 201.

With the righthand shift in the breeze, the finish mark had been changed from 1 (the race mark by Rose Island) to 2 (red nun by the Fort). To make a long story short, the breeze died almost completely and what little there was shifted to the south and it took about an hour to sail the leg. Those of us who entered the current later and closer to Clingstone had less current velocity to contend with and were able to sail to the finish without tacking, sometimes even beam reaching. Not that there was much wind…max pressure might’ve been .75 kts! And we didn’t see a ripple on the water until almost at the Fort.

For a while, 226 and 138 looked strong to leeward of us, and then 201 poked ahead to windward. But with Ted adjusting the jib every 5 seconds, we somehow poked in front at the right time, extended 10 boatlengths, and drifted across the line in first, about 10 minutes before the two-hour time limit expired.

Wendy Lotz, in 138, was next, then Andy Burton in 201, finishing under spinnaker.  Stubby (59) finished fourth. As Jay Gowell (232) approached the line, having rounded the leeward mark second and having sailed a great circle route to get to the finish, the time limit expired. He was less than two lengths from the nun.

I know Wendy and Andy will agree with me when I suggest that the principle lesson of Race 1 in 2010 is to go left on the first beat in these conditions, even though it’s faster to go right.

-John Burnham

Fleet 9 sailed a long race on Wednesday night—the course was two laps around the green can “13” and the lighted bell “V” in 5-10 knots of southwest breeze. Not that it was so terribly far over the bottom, but we found ourselves sailing upwind in a mild breeze that grew generally lighter and a strong flood current that wouldn’t quit. As often happens when we start just southeast of Gould Island, the breeze was left at the port end of the line—what we call the ocean seabreeze because it’s colder—and further right at the starboard end—the Jamestown thermal because it’s hot. On this evening aboard 107, Grace, we decided to bet on the Jamestown heat pump because it was such a hot day, there was a generally westerly gradient, and that side offered more current relief. My partner, Reed Baer, was away this week, but we had all regulars aboard: Rachel Balaban, Matt Buechner, Ted Hood, and Peter Schott.

After one general recall, for which we found ourselves uncharacteristically with an ideal (not early) start at the boat, we got off the line a little slowly near the boat between 108 and 138. They gradually sandwiched us, and we tacked right with a lane above 17, Tom Derecktor’s red boat. Five minutes into the race, those of us going right were sailing 260 on port while some of the boats from the middle of the line were on the same tack doing about 230 in better pressure.

But the future lay ahead of us, and we worked the far right while their bows gradually came down towards us. We tacked to leeward of 17, which was first out of the Jamestown corner, and pretty soon Phil and Wendy Lotz on 138 tacked in to leeward of us. Unfortunately, we gradually found ourselves in that old familiar sandwich and had to tack right again, this time also taking Rob Salk’s stern (53). Although the current was less on the right and the pressure was generally better, as we approached the can, the current increased and the wind backed left. Several more boats passed us, and we rounded the mark out of the top 5, with Jeff Gladchun in 108 gassing us nicely and Charlie Shoemaker, in 245, coming in from the left to join the lead group at the mark.

The light-air run went by reasonably fast thanks to the strong current on our tails. I believe the fastest runs may have been sailed by Bill Doyle (222) and Ron Oard (15), who gained quite a bit on us by sailing a fairly hot angle toward the Newport shore, catching some extra ocean seabreeze. Also coming very fast down the run behind us, Claire, the guest driver on 201, quietly made up a lot of time on us, too. (Neither the regular skipper or tactician were aboard to make the usual racket).

We waited for the guys on Rich Sugarmans Bandit (21) to round inside us, and when they had to make a tight turn in the current, we were able to slip inside and gain a good high lane versus some of those who had rounded ahead of us. Once again there was a tough choice to be made: Sail 260 or even 270 degrees, fighting the ferocious current sliding past Gould Island while betting on the Jamestown thermal, or tack out into even more current and try to hook into the ocean breeze, which was still evident. Both 245 and 108 made the tack. We followed 17, 138, 53, and Pete Denton’s 226 to the right. When Charlie tacked back in 245 he was sailing what must’ve been 230 or 240 and had more pressure; I’m not sure if Jeff went farther left in 108, but unlike Charlie, he was unable to get across to the westerly, which fortunately for us, reasserted itself.

As we got past Gould, sailing the headed tack, it soon appeared that we could lay the mark on starboard. Pete Denton’s 226 took the bait and tacked, but Matt and Ted convinced me to keep digging right. A couple hundred yards later we tacked in more pressure and we soon realized that the three boats ahead of us had overstood, one of which, 138, we passed in the process. For a long time we felt we were just holding the edge of the pressure, so we sailed closehauled and let 17 and 53 reach down over us. Charlie Shoemaker tacked well ahead and to leeward, thankful I’m sure that he had just enough angle to lay the mark, although he rounded with 53, behind 17. We rounded fourth, with 201 and 138 close behind. Phil and Wendy made what turned out to be the smart move, jibing immediately and holding enough of the Jamestown breeze to pass us. Both 53 and 245 jibed as well although not as early.

We sailed down the Newport side of the run, well behind 17 and just ahead of 201, and I think we not only sailed out of the best current, we didn’t get the ocean seabreeze we’d hoped for. As the breeze kept easing, Robin Wallace on the committee boat made the tough decision to shorten course at V to be sure all boats could make the time limit. Closing fast on 17, both 53 and 245 finished right at V, but Tom finished at the boat and got a well-deserved gun. We were fifth with 201 right behind us.

Of course, we faced a long sail back to Newport, so we did a racing as we crossed, rounded, jibed, rounded V, and headed west again while almost everyone else chose to beat up past the War College. It was almost like doing a third lap; this time we got the Jamestown header and the current on the far shore had even turned southbound. We may have sailed twice as far, but we were first to the Ida Lewis Yacht Club bar!

On a beautiful early spring day on Narragansett Bay, Newport Shields Fleet #9 competed in the opening race of the 2009 Spring Series. With about 14 boats in attendance, Dr. Robin Wallace and his crack team of race committee volunteers wasted no time in starting the season off on a high note. The race was sailed in a southerly breeze at about 5-10 knots and the current was just changing to flood. Dr. Wallace chose a starting area south of Rose Island and sent the fleet to the race buoy off of Hammersmith Farm. The course was 4p Sp twice around. On the first beat we decided to work the left side to get out of the incoming current. We soon found out, somewhere around the point of Fort Adams, that the current was still going out at the Dumplings. We decided to head west to the uphill flow but we never really crossed the tide line. 258 was the leader out of the right side and 222 did well by working the left all the way to the weather mark. They rounded 1, 2 and we ended up rounding 5th after missing the last shift to the left.
Dr. Wallace’s choice of a twice ’round course was vital in the 217 comeback as the racers maintained their placements around the first leeward mark, the red bell off of Rose Island lighthouse. This time 217 struck out for the right side and tactician Tim Healy sited the Dumplings honor buoy perfectly. Working up the inside right, John Dory experienced a right shift and slack current at the Dumplings and then dove back left in good pressure to cross the incoming river. We managed to cross 226, who worked the Newport side hard, by 2-3 boat lengths. 222 sailed the middle of course and faded back a bit due to the incoming current. We rounded in first followed by 226.

The course was changed to 6p (green bell) for the last leeward mark and our crew worked hard to maintained our lead to the finish line 1/4 mile to weather of the green Bell. . All around it was a great start to the 2009 Spring Series. Thanks to the RC and the fleet for a beautiful night o racing!

Eric Hanson- 217 John Dory

Well, here we go again- Wednesday Night Shields Racing! A nice little turnout for the first week with 15 or so boats hitting the line. Too bad for those members that did not sail because it was a killer night with a nice southerly flow ranging from 6-12 knots and plenty of sun. The course was 4p Sp twice around with an incoming tide, except for up by The House on the Rock or Andy Burton’s Corner as we call it, where the tide was still going out. The last race of last season I sailed with Andy and the same scenario played out, we started on the right side, tacked toward The House on the Rock, hooked into the eddy and crushed it-so I am a believer now.

The typical Tuesday Afternoon/Wednesday Morning rig up was the play with hopes of going sailing at 3:00pm to figure it all out again-this usually does not happen and did not this time either. Sure enough a few parts are always missing, West Marine runs interrupt the flow for sure-I think Wendy and I only had three… Pretty fun though as there were five Shields rigging up and we all help each other put rigs up and launch together-good fun! We put a new rig in 138 so there were some pieces that needed to be tweaked and the rig needs a bit of time to “find itself” with stretch, etc…

Anyway, all the boats left Sail Newport towards the course, Robin set up directly south of Rose Island and was nicely communicating on Channel 72 what his intentions were, when the start was going to happen, etc… it all went off on time with no individuals or generals. We were off like a heard of donkeys! The new compass showed us sailing on starboard at 174 degrees and when we got headed you could actually read the numbers: remember squinting towards the old card compasses-no more. The line had a right phase in it with 245, 138 and 254 starting up at that end, as boats started to tack onto port from the left side they would end up lee bowing these three boats. Some of the boats with not so great starts bailed toward Andy Burton’s Corner and made out nicely getting back in the game big time, Kip Curren (with his new Shields 258), Ron Oard and Reed Baer led this group out in the favorable current. 217, 226, 222 and 224 led the “pinball game” out of the left side as it got real light and shifty each time up when approaching Hammersmith, there was a nice left angle on the final approach to the yellow buoy if you could hook into that.

As we were sailing to The Red Gong off of Rose Island downwind (SW Corner), the best play was to gybe early rather than later as you would find yourself much more in phase with your bow pointing closer towards the upcoming mark. There was not a lot of change in positions on this leg . The next upwind became interesting as some boats tacked towards The Fort while other kept going towards Jamestown. We decided to go straight with 217, 258 and 245-all of us made out nicely as there was good breeze, better current, flat water and a great angle. 217 made out the best as they dug in even deeper to the right which brought them into the weather mark with 226, who came out of the left side nicely. These two boats would battle for the top spot, 224 was kind of in their own zone owning third place, while back behind them was a nice group including 245, 138, 222, 258 and 254 all going for the four and five spots. The R/C had changed the leeward mark over to the Green buoy on the SE Corner of Rose Island, so it was more of a bear away and hold versus the previous downwind. 245 and 138 held the right side of the group as this paid off at the bottom when both boats extended on the group. It was a short up wind to the finish: ½ mile or so-meaning that there were not a lot passing opportunities in such a short distance, so how you rounded the last leeward mark would pretty much stand as your result.

Congrats to 217, 226 and 224 at the top. Also-Kip’s new Shields looks great, check out 258 when you get a chance-awesome!
-Chuck Allen, 138

Report from Gosling #17

Team: Tom Derecktor, Peter Stalkus, Sharon Mooney, Susan Mortgu

Pre-race wind checks showed a swing between 190-205, with stronger pressure center channel and occasionally right side.  Low water was at 15:36; the flood developed a bit late, but came in strong due to the moon tide. 

At the start most boats, including 145 (1st) and 108 (3rd) went for pin end probably for tidal relief and left wind favor.  Our original plan was to go 30 percent pin end and look for a clear lane above the fray and extend on a long starboard beat.  At the four minute mark we altered our plan as the pressure appeared to move more center-right. We started mid-line, were held on starboard tack by two boats a little longer than desired but once clear, tacked to port in a nice lane of pressure and left shift in center channel.  This consolidated our position favorably with the 6-8 boats heading to the Dumplings on the Jamestown side.   Meanwhile, most of the fleet fought each on the left (Newport) side.  145 followed by 108 excelled by working left shifts and avoiding the soft spots off Fort Adams.  We stayed on the center/right side of the course, worked a few shifts in pressure to offset the developing flood tide and transitioned across to Hammersmith in good pressure, but hit wild shifts as we neared the mark, which we rounded in 3rd position.  145 had a flawless first leg and launched into the lead.

On the down wind leg the flood was well established, making it worthwhile to work the center channel. We found more pressure in the center that added to the tidal boost, and managed to get by 108 who went further left. The sloppy conditions from a few power boats and the decreasing breeze put the pressure on to “heat it up” and keep the boat tracking.  Heading low was very slow; we kept our pole 2 to 4 ft off the headstay the whole leg.  We rounded the last mark in 2^nd place, with 145 already half-way to the finish. 

The last beat tightened up the 6 leading boats. We hung on port for most of the leg, favoring the right side with minimal tacking. 201, 108, and 245 were close behind, but we managed to hang on to second place for the finish. 

Setup

• 800# on the  uppers
• Barely hand-tight lowers
• 47” on the headstay datum

Observations:

• Our teamwork has steadily improved this season. The combination of Peter (or Phil’s) tactics, Susan’s chute work, and Sharon’s foredeck acrobatics is phenomenal, making any driver look good.
• Actively recording the shifts is helpful visualizing the trends (although Peter, who contributed heavily to the commentary above, does it in his head). 
• Playing the backstay with the changes in pressure has had a huge impact
• Thanks to Hull Commandos for keeping our bottom clean

Congratulations to Ted Fisher & Crew for a perfect race on 145.  Thanks to Robin and the RC Team for another beautiful race on the Bay.

Tom Derecktor, Gosling  #17

To quote one of the literary greats, John Burnham, “Shields don’t like sailing with other Shields. That’s something Charlie Levy always told me, and it’s true. You almost always go faster when you’re in your own patch of wind”; an excerpt from  http://www.northsailsod.com/class/shields/shields_teamprofile1.html

That being said, I don’t have anything tactical, tuning, or revealing, just this: the need to keep clear air heading into this ebb was going to be critical (and don’t tack too much!).  We were able to nose out with a good start at the boat, and stayed middle-left of the beat, finding the wind was best right in the middle of the channel approaching the bridge.  Every time we looked around, it appeared either side of the course was doing better, then much worse, then better again.  After lee-bowing 217 and then passing under the bridge, we noticed #1 had come out of the right side looking fast, and we crossed over to the Coaster’s Island side of the course; approaching the windward mark, the guys coming in from the left side (101, 33, 167) were looking great on port tack, and lifted. We were able to round first just inside 167.

Downwind we were able to keep our momentum and clear air, and a hot angle and the outgoing tide seemed to keep us pointing toward the bridge, and we headed to the middle of the channel again.  After the bridge, 33 and a couple other boats had taken the low road along Rose Island, and could very well have been a whole lot closer, just one shift away.  We managed to hold off 217, and worked to keep pressure on the kite in the lightening breeze. Someone correctly read the code flags on RC, and Robin later confirmed the downwind finish on the shortened course; a beautiful night finished even better.

Thanks to Race Committee for another great race!